Reason & Religious Belief

Description

Reason and Religious Belief, now in its fifth edition, explores perennial questions in the philosophy of religion. Drawing from the best in both classical and contemporary discussions, the authors examine religious experience, faith and reason, the divine attributes, arguments for and against the existence of God, divine action (in various forms of theism), Reformed epistemology, religious language, religious diversity, and religion and science.

Revised and updated to reflect current philosophical discourse, the fifth edition offers new material on neuro-theology, the "new Atheism," the intelligent design movement, theistic evolution, and skeptical theism. It also provides more coverage of non-Western religions--particularly Buddhism--and updated discussions of evidentialism, free will, life after death, apophatic theology, and more. A sophisticated yet accessible introduction, Reason and Religious Belief, Fifth Edition, is ideally suited for use with the authors' companion anthology, Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, Fourth Edition (OUP, 2009).

New to this Edition

• Discussion of Buddhism added to chapters 2, 11, and 14, expands coverage beyond Christianity.
• Chapter 2: Added a discussion of Dennett's Breaking the Spell. Added section on Buddhist non-realism. Updated and extended the discussion to other religions.
• Chapter 3: Added section on Neuro-theology. Discusses a nonrealist, quasi-scientific approach to religious experience.
• Chapter 11: Added discussion of Mark Johnston's Surviving Death; enhances the discussion of both dualist and the monist views of life after death. Added new section on No Persisting Self (including discussion of Parfit and Buddhism). Both updated the discussion and expanded it to other world religions.
• Chapters 8 and 10: More clearly identify the implications of certain assumptions about God's power and knowledge for important theological concepts such as prayer, miracle and divine guidance. Helps the reader better see the interconnectedness of various religious beliefs.
• Chapter 6: Updated discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of evidentialism - the claim that the rationality of religious belief is based on evidence open to all. To better reflect the current philosophical discussion of this issue.
• Chapter 8: Updated discussion of the seeming incompatibility between maintaining that humans make free choices and that God foreknows what these choices will be. This better reflects the current philosophical discussion of the issue.
• Chapter 9 includes a new section on Skeptical Theism as a growing response to the problem of evil. It also adds some modest few lines showing the connection of the problem of evil to divine hiddenness. Students gain exposure to an important and rapidly growing discussion of the problem of evil along lines of skeptical theism.
• Chapter 13 adds new material on the New Atheism in the science-religion discussion-e.g., Stephen Hawking's argument for how the universe created itself and therefore is not dependent on God. Material added on the Intelligent Design Movement and the Theistic Evolution position. It also covers the recent Plantinga-Dennett debate over science and religion. Discusses atheist Michael Ruse's argument that evolution and philosophical naturalism make the most adequate total worldview in tension with John Polkinghorne's argument that Christian theism and evolution make the more adequate worldview. This will keep up with the rapidly growing literature reflecting the unfolding science-religion discussion on a variety of fronts. Will also keep up with the rapidly growing literature reflecting the unfolding discussion, representing recent important contributions from thinkers on both sides and providing fair analysis and classification of the positions.
• Chapter 14: Added discussion of Buddhism. This is part of a total upgrade in treatment of nonwestern religions.
• Chapter 12: Augmented discussion of apophatic and cataphatic theology related to issues in religious language. This treats an important debate over whether we can speak positively about what God is vs. speak only negatively about what god is not.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Fifth Edition
Introduction
1. Thinking about God: The Search for the Divine
Defining Religion
What Is Philosophy of Religion?
The God of Theism
Thoughtful Inquiry and Religious Faith
The Religious Ambiguity of Life
Our Task
2. The Nature of Religion: What Are Religious Beliefs About?
Religious Non-realism
Buddhist Non-realism
Religious Realism
Wittgenstein on Religion
Why Is This Issue Important?
3. Religious Experience: What Does It Mean to Encounter the Divine?
Types of Religious Experience
Religious Experience as Feeling
Some Religious Experience as Perceptual Experience
Religious Experience as Interpretation Based on Religious Beliefs
Can Religious Experience Justify Religious Belief?
The Principle of Credulity
Diversity of Religious Experiences
Is There a Common Core to Religious Experience?
4. Faith and Reason: How Are They Related?
Can Reason Be Trusted?
Strong Rationalism
Fideism
Critical Rationalism
5. Theistic Arguments: Is there Evidence for God's Existence?
Theistic Arguments as Proofs
The Ontological Argument
Contemporary Versions of the Ontological Argument
The Cosmological Argument
The Kalam Cosmological Argument
The Atemporal Cosmological Argument
The Analogical Teleological Argument
The Anthropic Teleological Argument
The Intelligent Design Teleological Argument
The Moral Argument
Cumulative Case Arguments and God
The God of Religion and of Philosophy
6. Knowing God without Arguments: Does Theism Need a Basis?
Evidentialism
Critique of Evidentialism
Plantinga on Properly Basic Beliefs
Alston on Perceiving God
Plantinga on Warrant and Knowledge
7. The Divine Attributes: What Is God Like?
Perfect and Worthy of Worship
Necessary and Self-Existent
Personal and Free Creator
All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and Perfectly Good
God Eternal--Timeless or Everlasting
8. Divine Action: How Does God Relate to the World?
What Kind of Power Does God Exercise?
What Kind of Freedom Has God Given?
Does God Know What Would Have Happened?
Does God Know the Actual Future?
What If the Future Is Truly Open?
9. The Problem of Evil: Is there Evidence against God's Existence?
The Logical Problem of Evil
The Evidential Problem of Evil
Skeptical Theism as a Response
Can Theists Accept the Factual Premise?
Defense and Theodicy
Themes in Theodicy
Some Important Global Theodicies
Horrendous Evils and the Assessment of Theism
10. Miracles: Does God Intervene in Earthly Affairs?
Miracles Defined
Miracles as Possible Events
Miracles as Historical Events
Miracles as Unexplainable Events
Miracles as Acts of God
The "Miraculous" Resurrection of Jesus
Miracles and Evil
11. Life after Death: Are there Reasons for Hope?
Terminology
Concepts of Life after Death
Personal Identity and the Soul
Immortality of the Soul
Criticism of the Soul-Concept
The Self as a Psychophysical Unity
Re-creation and Spatiotemporal Continuity
There Is No Persisting Self
A Posteriori Arguments for Life after Death
A Priori Arguments for Life after Death
Prospects
12. Religious Language: How Can We Speak Meaningfully of God?
Human Language and the Infinite
The Classical Theory of Analogy
Verification and Falsification Issues
The Functions of Religious Discourse
Religious Language as Symbolic
Feminism and Masculine God-Talk
Can Talk of God Be Literal?
13. Religion and Science: Are They Compatible or Incompatible?
Do Religion and Science Conflict?
Are Religion and Science Independent?
Is Dialogue Possible?
Attempts at Integration
Theistic Evolution and the Science-Religion Debate
Insights
14. Religious Diversity: How Can We Understand Differences among Religions?
Religious Diversity
Exclusivism
Critique of Exclusivism
Exclusivism and Justified Belief
Pluralism
Critique of Pluralism
Pluralism as Plurality of Salvations
Inclusivism
Critique of Inclusivism
Criteria for Assessing Religions
15. Religious Ethics: What Is God's Relation to Morality?
The Source of Religious Ethical Truth
The Authoritative Basis of Religious Ethical Truth
The Acquisition of Religiously Based Ethical Truth
The Significance of Religiously Based Ethical Truth
Current Issues
16. The Continuing Quest: God and the Human Venture
The Intellectual Process
Philosophical Activity and Religious Faith
Where Do We Go from Here?
Glossary
Name Index
General Index