Debating Christian Theism

by J. P. Moreland, Khaldoun A. Sweis, Chad V. Meister

Overview

Comprising groundbreaking dialogues by many of the most prominent scholars in Christian apologetics and the philosophy of religion, this volume offers a definitive treatment of central questions of Christian faith. The essays are ecumenical and broadly Christian, in the spirit of C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, and feature lucid and up-to-date material designed to engage readers in contemporary theistic and Christian issues. Beginning with dialogues about God's existence and the coherence of theism and then moving beyond generic theism to address significant debates over such specifically Christian doctrines as the Trinity and the resurrection of Jesus, Debating Christian Theism provides an ideal starting point for anyone seeking to understand the current debates in Christian theology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199755431
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/02/2013
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

J. P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University. He has authored, edited, or contributed papers to thirty-five books, including Does God Exist?, Universals, Consciousness and the Existence of God, and The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology.

Chad Meister is Professor of Philosophy at Bethel College. He is author or editor of fifteen books, including Evil: A Guide for the Perplexed, Introducing Philosophy of Religion, The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Religion, co-edited with Paul Copan, and God is Great, God is Good, co-edited with William Lane Craig. He is the general editor (with Paul Moser) of the forthcoming book series Cambridge Studies in Religion, Philosophy, and Society.

Khaldoun A. Sweis is Chair of the World Languages and Cultures Department and Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Olive-Harvey College. His publications include articles in Think: A Journal of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, The Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, and he is co-editor (with Chad Meister) of Christian Apologetics: An Anthology of Primary Sources.

Table of Contents

Contributors
Introduction

PART I - DEBATES ABOUT GOD'S EXISTENCE

A Cosmological Argument
1. The Kalam Argument - William Lane Craig
2. Doubts about the Kalam Argument - Wes Morriston

A Teleological Fine-Tuning Argument
3. The Fine-Tuning Evidence is Convincing - Robin Collins
4. The Universe Shows No Evidence for Design - Victor J. Stenger

An Ontological Argument
5. A Modal Version of the Ontological Argument - E.J. Lowe
6. Lowe on ''The Ontological Argument'' - Graham Oppy

A Moral Argument
7. Ethics Needs God - Paul Copan
8. The Failure of Moral Arguments - Louise Antony

An Argument from Consciousness
9. The Argument from Consciousness - J. P. Moreland
10. Consciousness, Theism, and Naturalism - Graham Oppy

The Coherence of Theism: Part 1
11. Problems with Omnipotence - Nicholas Everitt
12. Coherence of Divine Power - Charles Taliaferro

The Coherence of Theism: Part 2
13. Problems with Omniscience - Patrick Grim
14. The Coherence of Omniscience - Jerome Gellman

The Problem of Evil
15. Evil as Evidence against God - Richard M. Gale
16. God and Evil - Chad Meister

Evolution and Belief in God
17. Bayes and the Evolution of Religious Belief - Joseph Bulbulia
18. Evolutionary Accounts of Religion and the Justification of Religious Belief - Michael Murray and Jeffrey Schloss

The Nature of Human Beings
19. Human Persons are Material and Immaterial (Body and Soul) - Stewart Goetz
20. Human Persons are Material Only - Kevin Corcoran

PART II - DEBATES ABOUT SPECIFIC CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

Miracles and Christian Theism
21. Christianity and Miracles - Paul Moser
22. It is Not Reasonable to Believe in Miracles - Evan Fales

Science and Christian Faith
23. Science is at Odds with Christianity - Julian Baggini
24. Science is Not at Odds with Christianity - Keith Ward

The Doctrine of the Trinity
25. The Doctrine of the Trinity is Coherent - Thomas D. Senor
26. The Trinity is Incoherent - Timothy Winter

The Atonement
27. Responsibility, Atonement, and Forgiveness - Richard Swinburne
28. Problems with the Doctrine of Atonement - John Hick

The Incarnation
29. An Anselmian Defense of the Incarnation - Katherin A. Rogers
30. The Incarnation Doctrine is Incoherent and Unlikely - Michael Martin

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament
31. The Gospels are Reliable as Historically Factual Accounts - Stephen T. Davis
32. The Gospels are Reliable as Memory and Testimony - Marcus Borg

The Historical Jesus
33. The Christ of Faith is Not the Jesus of History - Stephen J. Patterson
34. The Christ of Faith is the Jesus of History - Craig A. Evans

The Resurrection of Jesus
35. Jesus Did Rise From the Dead - Gary Habermas
36. Jesus Did Not Rise From the Dead - James Crossley

Only One Way to God?
37. Jesus is the Only Way to God - Harold Netland
38. There are Many Ways to God - Paul Knitter

Heaven and Hell
39. It is Reasonable to Believe in Heaven and Hell - Jerry L. Walls
40. It is Not Reasonable to Believe in Heaven and Hell - Keith Parsons

Index

Editorial Reviews

"[Debating Christian Theism] illustrates how deeply the mysteries of Christianity in particular, and of spiritual faith (or lack of it) in general, engages with a person's entire life-condition—cognitive and affective, commonplace and cosmic. J.P. Moreland, Chad Meister, and Khaldoun A. Sweis have done a masterful job at collecting a volume of contributions which treat these matters seriously and illuminate them impressively."—Essays in Philosophy

"A wide-ranging and ambitious book For range of topics, quality of argumentation, and up-to-date currency with recent scholarship, this volume is very hard to beat. I know of no comparable volume that shares that constellation of virtues . A very good resource for undergraduate and graduate seminars in philosophy of religion, theology, and apologetics."—Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

"Accessible to educated readers and advanced undergraduate students, this volume provides a handy summary of key positions in important debates."—CHOICE

"Debating Christian Theism contains new essays on central topics by a number of distinguished scholars. It should not only prove of general interest but would provide an excellent supplemental text for undergraduate and graduate courses in philosophy of religion or theology." —William Wainwright, author of Religion and Morality

"Pro/con pairs of essays, fairness, high-level discussion, rare breadth-all these combine to make this book an excellent representation of, and addition to, current debates regarding Christian theism." —Keith E. Yandell, author of Philosophy of Religion

"Debating Christian Theism is a groundbreaking book... truly paradigm-shifting... Every serious Christian apologist and Christian philosopher, and every serious critic of Christianity, should read this fascinating book." —Philosophia Christi

"[T]he engaged mind can find here much that deserves rumination. The various topics can be read at any pace, and there is no need to read the topics in any particular order. It is a treat to have a single volume present not just 'both sides of the argument,' but in the words of serious thinkers on both sides of the argument (and not one side attempting to relate or minimize the other side s points). The ability to get a solid sense of the current state of these debates is the volume s chief virtue. Recommended for graduate students or advanced readers, with some of the essays suitable for a broader audience."—Theological Studies

From the Publisher