Schrag begins by elucidating traditional theistic conceptions of God in terms of Being and explains how those conceptions inevitably give way to atheism. Moving beyond atheism and theism alike, he explores alternative understandings of God in terms of "the gift" by turning first from ontology into ethics and then from ethics toward an understanding of the gift as beyond any economy of exchange and return. Thus understood, the gift becomes the content and measure of the fitting response within the corridors of civil society. Schrag draws with grace, ease, and precision upon the history of Western metaphysics, from Plato and Aristotle through Nietzsche and Heidegger. Most important to his central question of God as "otherwise than Being," however, are such influential post-Heideggerian thinkers as Jean-Luc Marion, Jacques Derrida, and Emmanuel Levinas. Schrag's inquiry engages these thinkers at a serious level and also expands recent discussions by relating them to the work of figures hitherto overlooked or underplayed, most notably Paul Tillich. Seeking a notion of God compatible with the postmodern perspective, Schrag's remarkably lucid and accessible work stands as a helpful guide, providing rare insight into an often impenetrable philosophical and theological enigma.