Reason & Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion / Edition 5

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

Overview

Reason and Religious Belief, now in its fifth edition, explores perennial questions in the philosophy of religion. Drawing from the best in both classical and contemporary discussions, the authors examine religious experience, faith and reason, the divine attributes, arguments for and against the existence of God, divine action (in various forms of theism), Reformed epistemology, religious language, religious diversity, and religion and science.

Revised and updated to reflect current philosophical discourse, the fifth edition offers new material on neuro-theology, the "new Atheism," the intelligent design movement, theistic evolution, and skeptical theism. It also provides more coverage of non-Western religions—particularly Buddhism—and updated discussions of evidentialism, free will, life after death, apophatic theology, and more. A sophisticated yet accessible introduction, Reason and Religious Belief, Fifth Edition, is ideally suited for use with the authors' companion anthology, Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings, Fourth Edition (OUP, 2009).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199946570
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/12/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)

Table of Contents

Preface to the Fifth Edition
Introduction
1. Thinking about God: The Search for the Divine
Defining Religion
What Is Philosophy of Religion?
The God of Theism
Thoughtful Inquiry and Religious Faith
The Religious Ambiguity of Life
Our Task
2. The Nature of Religion: What Are Religious Beliefs About?
Religious Non-realism
Buddhist Non-realism
Religious Realism
Wittgenstein on Religion
Why Is This Issue Important?
3. Religious Experience: What Does It Mean to Encounter the Divine?
Types of Religious Experience
Religious Experience as Feeling
Some Religious Experience as Perceptual Experience
Religious Experience as Interpretation Based on Religious Beliefs
Can Religious Experience Justify Religious Belief?
The Principle of Credulity
Diversity of Religious Experiences
Is There a Common Core to Religious Experience?
4. Faith and Reason: How Are They Related?
Can Reason Be Trusted?
Strong Rationalism
Fideism
Critical Rationalism
5. Theistic Arguments: Is there Evidence for God's Existence?
Theistic Arguments as Proofs
The Ontological Argument
Contemporary Versions of the Ontological Argument
The Cosmological Argument
The Kalam Cosmological Argument
The Atemporal Cosmological Argument
The Analogical Teleological Argument
The Anthropic Teleological Argument
The Intelligent Design Teleological Argument
The Moral Argument
Cumulative Case Arguments and God
The God of Religion and of Philosophy
6. Knowing God without Arguments: Does Theism Need a Basis?
Evidentialism
Critique of Evidentialism
Plantinga on Properly Basic Beliefs
Alston on Perceiving God
Plantinga on Warrant and Knowledge
7. The Divine Attributes: What Is God Like?
Perfect and Worthy of Worship
Necessary and Self-Existent
Personal and Free Creator
All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and Perfectly Good
God Eternal—Timeless or Everlasting
8. Divine Action: How Does God Relate to the World?
What Kind of Power Does God Exercise?
What Kind of Freedom Has God Given?
Does God Know What Would Have Happened?
Does God Know the Actual Future?
What If the Future Is Truly Open?
9. The Problem of Evil: Is there Evidence against God's Existence?
The Logical Problem of Evil
The Evidential Problem of Evil
Skeptical Theism as a Response
Can Theists Accept the Factual Premise?
Defense and Theodicy
Themes in Theodicy
Some Important Global Theodicies
Horrendous Evils and the Assessment of Theism
10. Miracles: Does God Intervene in Earthly Affairs?
Miracles Defined
Miracles as Possible Events
Miracles as Historical Events
Miracles as Unexplainable Events
Miracles as Acts of God
The "Miraculous" Resurrection of Jesus
Miracles and Evil
11. Life after Death: Are there Reasons for Hope?
Terminology
Concepts of Life after Death
Personal Identity and the Soul
Immortality of the Soul
Criticism of the Soul-Concept
The Self as a Psychophysical Unity
Re-creation and Spatiotemporal Continuity
There Is No Persisting Self
A Posteriori Arguments for Life after Death
A Priori Arguments for Life after Death
Prospects
12. Religious Language: How Can We Speak Meaningfully of God?
Human Language and the Infinite
The Classical Theory of Analogy
Verification and Falsification Issues
The Functions of Religious Discourse
Religious Language as Symbolic
Feminism and Masculine God-Talk
Can Talk of God Be Literal?
13. Religion and Science: Are They Compatible or Incompatible?
Do Religion and Science Conflict?
Are Religion and Science Independent?
Is Dialogue Possible?
Attempts at Integration
Theistic Evolution and the Science-Religion Debate
Insights
14. Religious Diversity: How Can We Understand Differences among Religions?
Religious Diversity
Exclusivism
Critique of Exclusivism
Exclusivism and Justified Belief
Pluralism
Critique of Pluralism
Pluralism as Plurality of Salvations
Inclusivism
Critique of Inclusivism
Criteria for Assessing Religions
15. Religious Ethics: What Is God's Relation to Morality?
The Source of Religious Ethical Truth
The Authoritative Basis of Religious Ethical Truth
The Acquisition of Religiously Based Ethical Truth
The Significance of Religiously Based Ethical Truth
Current Issues
16. The Continuing Quest: God and the Human Venture
The Intellectual Process
Philosophical Activity and Religious Faith
Where Do We Go from Here?
Glossary
Name Index
General Index

Editorial Reviews

"I believe that Reason and Religious Belief is the best text available for an introductory philosophy of religion course. One of the greatest strengths is its fair representation of differing positions and approaches to problems. The level is just right for my purposes—introducing students to philosophy of religion in a way that challenges them."—Gordon Pettit, Western Illinois University

"The treatments of opposing viewpoints are fair and well balanced. The writing style is superb: consistently economical, engaging, and clear."—Gary Rosenkrantz, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

"This is an excellent book, in my view the best available for use in philosophy of religion survey courses. It covers all the general topics likely to be covered in such courses, and then some."—Clyde P. Ragland, Saint Louis University

"I would recommend this book to anyone teaching philosophy of religion."—Kevin Carnahan, Central Methodist University

From the Publisher