Reason and Religious Belief An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion

by Peterson, Michael; Hasker, William; Reichenbach, Bruce; Basinger, David

• ISBN13: 9780195335996
• ISBN10: 0195335996
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-05-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What is the status of belief in God? Must a rational case be made or cansuch belief be properly basic? Is it possible to reconcile the concept of a goodGod with evil and suffering? In light of great differences among religions, canonly one religion be true? The most comprehensive work of its kind, Reason and Religious Belief, nowin its fourth edition, explores these and other perennial questions in thephilosophy of religion. Drawing from the best in both classical and contemporarydiscussions, the authors examine religious experience, faith and reason, thedivine attributes, arguments for and against the existence of God, divine action(in various forms of theism), Reformed epistemology, religious language,religious diversity, religion and science, and much more. Retaining the engaging style and thorough coverage of previous editions,the fourth edition adds a critical new chapter on the ontological status ofreligion and religious claims. It also features revised treatments ofomnipotence, miracles, and providence and updated suggestions for furtherreading. A sophisticated yet accessible introduction, Reason and ReligiousBelief, Fourth Edition, is ideally suited for use with the authors' companionanthology, Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, Third Edition (OUP,2006).

Table of Contents

Preface to the Fourth Edition	p. ix
Preface to the First Edition	p. xi
Introduction	p. 1
Thinking About God: The Search for the Ultimate	p. 5
Defining Religion	p. 6
What Is Philosophy of Religion?	p. 8
The God of Theism	p. 9
The Religious Ambiguity of Life	p. 10
Our Task	p. 12
The Nature of Religion: What are Religious Beliefs About?	p. 16
Nonrealism	p. 17
Realism	p. 21
Wittgenstein	p. 22
Conclusion	p. 24
Religious Experience: What Does it Mean to Encounter the Divine?	p. 27
Types of Religious Experience	p. 28
Religious Experience as Feeling	p. 31
Religious Experience as Perceptual Experience	p. 33
Religious Experience as Interpretation Based on Religious Beliefs	p. 36
Can Religious Experience Justify Religious Belief?	p. 38
The Principle of Credulity	p. 40
Diversity of Religious Experiences	p. 42
Is There a Common Core to Religious Experience?	p. 44
Faith and Reason: How are They Related?	p. 52
Can Reason Be Trusted?	p. 53
Strong Rationalism	p. 54
Fideism	p. 58
Critical Rationalism	p. 61
The Divine Attributes: What is God Like?	p. 71
Perfect and Worthy of Worship	p. 73
Necessary and Self-Existent	p. 75
Personal and Free Creator	p. 77
All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and Perfectly Good	p. 80
God Eternal-Timeless or Everlasting	p. 83
Theistic Arguments: Is There Evidence for God's Existence?	p. 90
Theistic Arguments as Proofs	p. 90
The Ontological Argument	p. 92
Contemporary Versions of the Ontological Argument	p. 95
The Cosmological Argument	p. 96
The Kalam Cosmological Argument	p. 97
An Atheistic Argument from the Big Bang	p. 100
The Atemporal Cosmological Argument	p. 101
The Analogical Teleological Argument	p. 104
The Anthropic Teleological Argument	p. 106
The Intelligent Design Teleological Argument	p. 108
The Moral Argument	p. 112
Cumulative Case Arguments and God	p. 115
The God of Religion and of Philosophy	p. 116
Knowing God Without Arguments: Does Theism Need a Basis?	p. 123
Evidentialism	p. 124
Critique of Evidentialism	p. 125
Plantinga on Properly Basic Beliefs	p. 128
Alston on Perceiving God	p. 134
Plantinga on Warrant and Knowledge	p. 136
The Problem of Evil: The Case Against God's Existence	p. 145
The Logical Problem of Evil	p. 147
The Evidential Problem of Evil	p. 150
Defense and Theodicy	p. 154
Themes in Theodicy	p. 157
Some Important Global Theodicies	p. 161
Horrendous Evils and the Assessment of Theism	p. 165
Divine Action: How Does God Relate to the World?	p. 172
What Kind of Power Does God Exercise?	p. 173
What Kind of Freedom Has God Given?	p. 176
Does God Know What Would Have Happened?	p. 178
Does God Know the Actual Future?	p. 182
What If the Future Is Truly Open?	p. 185
Miracles: Does God Intervene in Earthly Affairs?	p. 192
Miracles Defined	p. 192
Miracles as Historical Events	p. 195
Miracles as Unexplainable Events	p. 199
Miracles as Acts of God	p. 201
Practical Considerations	p. 205
Life After Death: Are There Reasons for Hope?	p. 214
Terminology	p. 215
Concepts of Life After Death	p. 216
Personal Identity and the Soul	p. 219
Immortality of the Soul	p. 221
Criticism of the Soul-Concept	p. 222
The Self as a Psychophysical Unity	p. 224
Re-creation and Spatio-temporal Continuity	p. 226
A Posteriori Arguments for Life After Death	p. 230
A Priori Arguments for Life After Death	p. 233
Prospects	p. 235
Religious Language: How Can We Speak Meaningfully of God?	p. 241
Human Language and the Infinite	p. 242
The Classical Theory of Analogy	p. 243
Verification and Falsification Issues	p. 246
The Functions of Religious Discourse	p. 250
Religious Language as Symbolic	p. 253
Feminism and Masculine God-Talk	p. 255
Can Talk of God Be Literal?	p. 258
Religion and Science: Compatible or Incompatible?	p. 268
Do Religion and Science Conflict?	p. 270
Are Religion and Science Independent?	p. 273
Is Dialogue Possible?	p. 275
Attempts at Integration	p. 282
Insights	p. 284
Religious Diversity: How Can We Understand Differences Among Religions?	p. 290
Religious Diversity	p. 291
Exclusivism	p. 292
Critique of Exlusivism	p. 294
Exclusivism and Justified Belief	p. 295
Pluralism	p. 296
Critique of Pluralism	p. 298
Pluralism as a Plurality of Salvations	p. 301
Inclusivism	p. 303
Critique of Inclusivism	p. 305
Criteria for Assessing Religions	p. 306
Religious Ethics: The Relation of God to Morality	p. 313
The Source of Religious Ethical Truth	p. 314
The Authoritative Basis of Religious Ethical Truth	p. 317
The Acquisition of Religiously Based Ethical Truth	p. 319
The Significance of Religiously Based Ethical Truth	p. 323
Current Issues	p. 327
The Continuing Quest: God and the Human Venture	p. 335
The Intellectual Process	p. 336
Philosophical Activity and Religious Faith	p. 337
Where Do We Go from Here?	p. 339
Name Index	p. 343
Subject Index	p. 347
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