The Philosophy of Religion Reader

by Meister; Chad

• ISBN13: 9780415408912
• ISBN10: 0415408911
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-02
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Reflecting current trends and research interests in the field - including the growing interest in religious diversity and global philosophy of religion - this broad and up to date introduction explores key writings from both the Western theistic tradition and from non-Western, non-theistic sources. The nine sections cover: Religious Diversity The Nature and Attributes of God Arguments for and Against the Existence of God Science Faith and Miracles The Self and Human Condition Religious Experience The Problem of Evil and Suffering Death and the Afterlife. With section introductions, discusssion questions, extensive bibliographies and a supporting website featuring additional material, it is the ideal reference tool to help clarify important points and reinforce understanding.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Permissions
General Introduction	p. 1
Religious diversity	p. 5
Introduction to Part One	p. 5
Religious Pluralism and the Pluralistic Hypothesis	p. 9
Truth and the Diversity of Religions	p. 26
A Defense of Religious Exclusivism	p. 40
Religious Relativism	p. 60
Interreligious Harmony	p. 79
The nature and attributes of God/Ultimate Reality
Introduction to Part Two	p. 87
Theistic Perspectives of Ultimate Reality	p. 91
God's Nature and Knowledge	p. 93
Divine Simplicity, Negative Theology, and God-Talk	p. 100
Providence, Foreknowledge, and Free Will	p. 108
Omnipotence	p. 119
God as Infinite, Personal, and Good	p. 123
God Incarnate and Triune	p. 127
The Openness of God	p. 146
Process Theology - God in and for Nature	p. 161
Non-Theistic Perspectives of Ultimate Reality
Brahman Is All	p. 171
The Tao	p. 176
Nirvana Is Ultimate Reality	p. 181
Arguments for and against the existence of God	p. 187
Introduction to Part Three	p. 187
The Cosmological Argument	p. 191
The Classical Cosmological Argument	p. 193
The Kalam Cosmological Argument	p. 197
A Critique of Cosmological Arguments	p. 215
A Logical Argument Against a Divine Cause	p. 227
The Teleological Argument	p. 249
The Classical Design Argument	p. 251
A Recent Intelligent Design Argument	p. 256
A Recent Fine-Tuning Argument	p. 267
A Critique of the Design Argument	p. 279
The Ontological Argument	p. 289
The Classical Ontological Argument	p. 291
Gaunilo's Response to Anselm	p. 295
A Critique of the Ontological Argument	p. 300
A Recent Ontological Argument	p. 306
Non-Traditional Arguments	p. 313
The Moral Argum Ent	p. 315
Religion as Projection	p. 338
The Noological Argument	p. 346
Faith, reason, and evidence	p. 357
Introduction to Part Four	p. 357
The Ethics of Belief	p. 359
The Will to Believe	p. 366
Belief in God as Properly Basic	p. 379
The Wager	p. 389
Science, religion, and miracles	p. 395
Introduction to Part Five	p. 395
The Unreasonability of Belief in Miracles	p. 397
A Case for Miracles	p. 409
Naturalism and Science	p. 415
Science and Religion	p. 426
The self and the human condition	p. 439
Introouction to Part Six	p. 439
The Fallen Self	p. 441
Human Nature Is Naturally Good	p. 447
The Noble Human Being	p. 451
The Empty Self	p. 458
Karma and the Self in Zen Buddhism	p. 464
Religious experience	p. 473
Introduction to Part Seven	p. 473
Mysticism	p. 476
Experiencing God	p. 485
Satori/Enlightenment	p. 491
Religious Ideas as Wish Fulfillments	p. 502
The Evidential Value of Religious Experience	p. 506
The problem of evil	p. 523
Introduction to Part Eight	p. 523
The Problem of Evil	p. 526
A Soul-Making Theodicy	p. 537
A Free Will Defense	p. 550
Horrendous Evil	p. 564
Suffering - A Buddhist Perspective	p. 576
Death and the afterlife	p. 585
Introduction to Part Nine	p. 585
Immortality of the Soul	p. 587
Resurrection of the Body	p. 595
Death, Dying, and the Hiddenness of God	p. 613
Why We Need Immortality	p. 625
Rebirth and the Self	p. 636
Should the Atheist Fear Death?	p. 642
Recent trends	p. 653
Introduction to Part Ten	p. 653
Feminism in Philosophy of Religion	p. 655
Religion and a Global Ethic	p. 671
Religion and the Environment	p. 686
Glossary	p. 700
Index	p. 705
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