God and the Reach of Reason: C. S. Lewis, David Hume, and Bertrand Russell

by Erik J. Wielenberg

• ISBN13: 9780521880862
• ISBN10: 0521880866
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-17
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

C. S. Lewis is one of the most beloved Christian apologists of the twentieth century; David Hume and Bertrand Russell are among Christianity's most important critics. This book puts these three intellectual giants in conversation with one another to shed light on some of life's most difficult yet important questions. It examines their views on a variety of topics, including the existence of God, suffering, morality, reason, joy, miracles, and faith. Along with irreconcilable differences and points of tension, some surprising areas of agreement emerge. Today, amidst the often shrill and vapid exchanges between 'new atheists' and twenty-first-century believers, curious readers will find penetrating insights in the reasoned dialogue of these three great thinkers.

Author Biography

Erik J. Wielenberg teaches in the Philosophy Department at DePauw University

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
The Love of God and the Suffering of Humanity	p. 7
The Problem	p. 7
Hume's Presentation of the Problem	p. 8
Lewis's Attempt to Solve the Problem	p. 16
The Case of Ivan Ilyich	p. 35
The Incompleteness of Lewis's Solution	p. 40
Conclusion	p. 52
Beyond Nature	p. 56
Introduction	p. 56
The Moral Argument	p. 59
The Argument from Reason	p. 93
The Argument from Desire	p. 108
Conclusion	p. 119
Miracles	p. 121
Introduction	p. 121
Debating Miracles in the Eighteenth Century	p. 122
A Preliminary Skirmish	p. 124
Hume's Main Assault	p. 126
Lewis's Counterattack	p. 134
The Fitness of the Incarnation	p. 143
Lewis's Mitigated Victory and the Trilemma	p. 146
Conclusion	p. 152
Faith, Design, and True Religion	p. 153
Introduction	p. 153
Faith	p. 153
Design	p. 169
True Religion	p. 187
Notes	p. 203
References	p. 233
Index	p. 241
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