Good God The Theistic Foundations of Morality

by Baggett, David; Walls, Jerry L.

• ISBN13: 9780199751815
• ISBN10: 0199751811
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Moral arguments for God's existence have undergone something of a resurgence in recent years. For quite a while they were out of vogue for a variety of reasons, but recent advances in the philosophy of language and philosophical and natural theology have reinvigorated moral apologetics. This is the first book to consolidate these gains into one coherent treatment, which will rigorously demonstrate to a wide readership how effectively various objections to moral apologetics have been answered. The authors show how strides in answering the problem of evil, the Euthyphro Dilemma, and epistemic vacuity and arbitrariness challenges to theistic ethics make possible a compelling cumulative moral argument that can greatly contribute to the rational case for God's existence--and God's goodness. The authors hope to reach a readership of not just philosophers, apologists, and theologians, but bright college students up through graduate school and beyond. Christians and non-Christians alike, those interested in apologetics, moral theology, atheology, and morality and religious ethics should find the book a significant contribution to their field.

Author Biography

David Baggett is professor of philosophy at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His books include C S Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness and Beauty; Did the Resurrection Happen?: A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew; Tennis and Philosophy: What the Racket is All About and The Philosophy of Sherlock Holmes. Jerry L. Walls recently served as a Research Fellow in The Center for Philosophy of Religion at Notre Dame and is currently a visiting scholar there. Among his books are Hell: The Logic of Damnation, Heaven: The Logic of Total Transformation. He is also the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Moral Apologia	p. 7
The Euthyphro Dilemma	p. 31
Naming the Whirlwind	p. 49
A Reformed Tradition Not Quite Right	p. 65
God and Goodness	p. 83
Divine Command Theory	p. 103
Abhorrent Commands	p. 125
The Problem of Evil	p. 143
Knowing God's Will	p. 159
Ethics and Eternity	p. 179
Conclusion	p. 199
Answering the Extended Arbitrariness Objection to Divine Command Theory	p. 207
Outrageous Evil and the Hope of Healing	p. 217
Notes	p. 229
Index	p. 269
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