1. Introduction – Jānis T. Ozoliņš (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- 2. Proglomena: Globalisation, Culture and Diversity – Jānis T. Ozoliņš (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- Part I – The Nature of Belief -- 3. I hope I believe in God – Bernadette Tobin (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- 4. Ethical Beliefs – Peter Drum (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- 5. Faith, Philosophy and the Elemental: Beyond Polarisation and Synthesis – Richard Colledge (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- Part 2 – Dialogues between Culture and Tradition -- 6. Reason, Interpreting across Boundaries and the Nature of Dialogue – John Quilter (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- 7. Aquinas’ Natural Law Versus Ethical and Cultural Pluralism – John Knasas (University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, United States) -- Part 3 - Eastern Perspectives on God and Ethics -- 8. God and Conceptions of Immanence and Transcendence in Aquinas and Mèngzǐ - Jānis T. Ozoliņš (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- 9. The Confucian Filial Duty To Care (Xiao 孝) For Elderly Parents – Brian Mooney and John N. Williams (Singapore Management University, Singapore) -- 10. A Daughter's Filiality, A Courtesan's Moral Propriety and a Wife's Conjugal Love: Rethinking Confucian Ethics for Women in the Tale of Kiều (Truyện Kiều) – Jonathan Y. Tan (Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, United States) -- Part 4 – Human Dignity and Rights.- 11. The Patristic Notion of Person and its Importance for Modern Culture – Dan Chițoiu (Alexander Cusa University, Iasi, Romania) -- 12.Questioning Human Dignity: The Dimensions of Dignity Model as a Bridge between Cosmopolitanism and the Particular – David G. Kirchhoffer (Australian Catholic University, Australia) -- 13.Values, Culture and Models of Human Rights – William Sweet (St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada) -- 14. Life Experience, Values and Education – Maija Kūle (University of Latvia, Latvia).

This volume addresses the issue of the human encounter with the Mystery of God and the purpose of human life. It explores major themes from diverse cultural and philosophical traditions, starting with questions about the possibility of belief in God, His transcendence as seen in both East and West, and ending with questions about ethics and about personhood, human dignity and human rights. Taking an eclectic approach, the chapters in this book each uniquely address aspects of the human encounter with the Mystery of God, drawing from specific cultures and traditions, and using a particular philosophical and theological style. Together, the chapters provide a fresh approach and a synergy that ensures that each topic contributes something new to the dialogue between religion and culture.