God's Grand Game: Divine Sovereignty and the Cosmic Playground

This 800 page collection offers a feast of philosophical and theological insight and includes all of Colborne's full-length book releases to date. Readers will finish this collection understanding the full depth and beauty of Colborne's philosophy, which depicts God as in sovereign control of all events in existence, including all human activity — hence the title, 'Puppets'.

The following books are included in the compilation:

GOD'S GRAND GAME

This is Colborne's magnum opus and is a systematic presentation of his philosophical worldview. The book is the result of more than 10 years of research and reflection in relation to the divine sovereignty versus human free will predicament.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF A MAD MAN

Part spiritual memoir, part philosophical exposition, this was Colborne's debut book release, and offers a compelling insight into the man behind the philosophy.

THE GOD ARTICLES

A diverse selection of Colborne's dialogues, discourses, prayers, poems, and reflections on matters of spirituality and religion. Includes fascinating accounts of major events in Colborne's spiritual life such as his Holy Spirit baptism and miraculous street healing.

A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS

Includes twelve essays spanning Colborne's career, from his first class undergraduate thesis on musical meaning, to his Heythrop essays discussing leading figures from the history of philosophy, and several of his later essays, including An Almighty Predicament: A Discourse on the Arguments For and Against Christianity and The Only Question You Ever Need Ask.

Presented with striking and beautiful artwork, Puppets offers a chance to fully understand the life story and philosophy of a profoundly important philosopher whose ideas represent a vital contemporary contribution to the history of thought.

Colborne's spiritual journey has been quite remarkable. An atheist during his teenage years, Colborne used to hate the idea of God, believing it to be foolish and naive. After his mother became ill with a serious disease, Colborne was forced to confront the issue of suffering in depth for the first time. His mother's death sparked a spiritual yearning in Colborne which led him to explore both Eastern and Western philosophy and various associated religious practises. As part of these explorations, Colborne read authors such as Alan Watts, Deepak Chopra, Brandon Bays, Ramana Maharshi, and Eckhart Tolle, but none of these teachers brought solace to Colborne, who found himself suffering from deep depression and spiritual confusion.

At the age of 25, during an admission to psychiatric hospital following an episode of psychosis, Colborne unexpectedly requested that he be brought a Bible. Upon reading the New Testament properly for the first time, Colborne was persuaded of the veracity of the Christian faith and he became a Christian.

Despite immersing himself in Christian life in the years that followed, Colborne struggled with several areas of Christian doctrine that to him seemed highly illogical. He was especially troubled by the divine sovereignty versus human free will problem, which seemed to present a logical contradiction at the heart of the Christian worldview. It is this problem — the so-called 'free will predicament' — which is central to Colborne's arguments in The Only Question You Ever Need Ask.

The Satanic Witch is not designed for Barbie Dolls, but women cunning and crafty enough to employ the workable formulas within, which instantly surpass the entire catalogue of self-help tomes and New Age idiocies.

The Introduction — Peggy Nadramia, High Priestess of the Church of Satan, tells us how this book changed her life.

The Afterword — Blanche Barton, Anton LaVey’s biographer, Chairmistress of the Council of Nine, and mother of Satan Xerxes Carnacki LaVey, Anton’s third child, informs us how The Satanic Witch came to pass and influence the behavior of so many women.

The following essays are included in this volume:

A Listener-Centred, Dialectical Model for Popular Music Analysis

Heraclitus and the Nature of Change

The Schopenhauerian Concept of Will

The Soul in Christianity and Platonism

George Eliot and Feuerbach on God and the Good

Karl Rahner’s Anthropology

Karl Barth’s Doctrine of Election

The Trinity and Suffering

A Letter to George Eliot about God and the Good

God and Suffering: Approaches and Issues

An Almighty Predicament: A Discourse on the Arguments For and Against Christianity

The Only Question You Ever Need Ask

The opening essay in this volume is Colborne's first-class undergraduate dissertation, written during his final year of study at the University of Westminster. The essay presents a radical approach to music analysis.

The majority of the included essays were written during Colborne's postgraduate studies at Heythrop College, University of London. The Heythrop essays include a discussion of the nature of the human soul, as well as various discourses related to the subject of suffering. Colborne also examines the ideas of several important figures in Western philosophy, including Plato, Heraclitus, and Schopenhauer. The ideas of various contemporary writers and theologians are also explored, including Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, George Eliot, and others.

The final two essays in this volume are what might be referred to as Colborne's 'mature' essays. These essays, written between 2017 and 2020, offer profound insights into the divine sovereignty versus human free will predicament with specific reference to Christian theology. As with so much of Colborne's work, the problem of suffering is a key focus.

This book presents some of Colborne's finest work, and readers will finish the book having gained a thorough understanding of Colborne's philosophical worldview and most important academic contributions.