The Apologetics of Joy

by Puckett, Joe Jr.; Linville, Mark

• ISBN13: 9781620323731
• ISBN10: 1620323737
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-26
• Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub

Summary

Among all the arguments for the existence of God there may be none more personal and intimate than C. S. Lewis's Argument from Desire. This book attempts to explain what the Argument from Desire is and why we believe that the argument is an inductively strong one. In the spirit of C. S. Lewis, Augustine, and Pascal, this book invites both the head and the heart of the reader to consider the case for God's existence. While many arguments look out to the external world for evidence of God's existence, this book calls the reader to look inward to the human heart. While learning from classical thinkers (particularly C. S. Lewis) the Argument from Desire will bring both intuition and experience together to demonstrate the truth of divine presence in the world. The reader will walk away with either a newfound faith or a reinforced conviction that has a strong intellectual and experiential dimension.

Author Biography

Joe Puckett Jr. (MLitt, Faulkner University) is pulpit minister for the 16th Ave. Church of Christ in Sterling, Illinois. He is currently working toward his PhD in Humanities from Salve Regina University in the area of the philosophy of mind.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction	p. xvii
C. S. Lewis and the Argument from Desire	p. 1
The Argument as Presented in Selected Works of C. S. Lewis	p. 13
Defining "Joy" as Sehnsucht	p. 22
Plantinga and Lewis: Balancing the Mystical and the Natural in Sehnsucht	p. 28
A Word on the Different Forms that the Argument Can Take	p. 35
Examining Beversluis's Objections to the Argument	p. 43
Does Lewis "Beg the Question"?	p. 47
Does the Quality of Sehnsucht Lack Innateness?	p. 52
If "Joy" Is So Natural and Desirable Then Why Did Lewis Run Away from It?	p. 56
Does the Concept of Sehnsucht Contradict the Bible?	p. 61
Why Do Some People Never Experience what C. S. Lewis Calls "Joy"?	p. 66
Haunted by Desire	p. 77
Echoes and Evidences of the Second Premise	p. 81
Imagination and the Heart's Deep Need for a Happy Ending	p. 86
In the Defense of Beauty	p. 98
Lewis, Leisure, and Sehnsucht	p. 110
Concerning the Conclusion of the Argument from Desire	p. 119
The Evolutionary Objection	p. 123
Is there a Human Gene for Sehnsucht?	p. 133
Conclusion	p. 141
Appendix: The End of Human Desire	p. 146
Bibliography	p. 151
Subject/Name Index	p. 155
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