An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion (Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy)

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion provides a broad overview of the topics which are at the forefront of discussion in contemporary philosophy of religion. Prominent views and arguments from both historical and contemporary authors are discussed and analyzed. The book treats all of the central topics in the field, including the coherence of the divine attributes, theistic and atheistic arguments, faith and reason, religion and ethics, miracles, human freedom and divine providence, science and religion, and immortality. In addition it addresses topics of significant importance that similar books often ignore, including the argument for atheism from hiddenness, the coherence of the doctrines of the Trinity and the Incarnation, and the relationship between religion and politics. It will be a valuable accompaniment to undergraduate and introductory graduate-level courses. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 Preface 11 Part I The Nature of God 17 1 Attributes of God: independence, goodness, and power 19 The concept of God 19 Perfect-being theology 23 Self-existence and necessity 28 Omnipotence: perfect power 31 The paradox of the stone 31 Defining omnipotence 33 Maximal power and divine goodness 35 Creation, conservation, and providence 38 Goodness 42 The first tension 43 The second tension 46 Conclusion 49 Further reading 50 2 Attributes of God: eternity, knowledge, and providence 51 Past, present, and future 52 Eternal or everlasting? 55 Omniscience 63 Characterizing omniscience: initial concerns 63 The problem of freedom and divine foreknowledge 65 Four views of divine providence 70 Openism 71 Responsivism 73 Molinism 74 Calvinism 77 Further reading 79 3 God triune and incarnate 80 The Trinity 82 The threeness-oneness problem 83 The social analogy 85 Psychological analogies 86 The statue-lump analogy 87 Arguments for belief in the Trinity 89 Incarnation 91 Believing in the Incarnation 91 The doctrine of the Incarnation and its problems 96 Conclusion 106 Further reading 106 Part II The Rationality of Religious Belief 107 4 Faith and rationality 109 The nature of faith 110 Faith, evidence, and knowledge 112 Toward a positive conception of faith 116 Faith and rationality 119 Religious disagreement and religious pluralism 127 Is atheism irrational? 135 Further reading 138 5 Theistic arguments 139 Ontological Arguments 140 Objections: Gaunilo 142 Objections: Kant 144 Objections: question-begging 145 The modal version 146 Cosmological arguments 151 Dependence version 1 152 Dependence version 2 158 The kalam version 159 Design arguments 162 The analogy argument 163 Design as an inference to the best explanation 164 "Fine-tuning" design arguments 166 Conclusion 171 Further reading 171 6 Anti-theistic arguments 173 The argument from evil 174 The logical argument 175 The Evidential Argument part 1: the "Direct Argument" 180 The G.E. Moore shift 181 Noseeum arguments 183 Theodicies 186 The punishment theodicy 186 Natural consequence theodicy 187 The free will theodicy 188 The natural law theodicy 190 Soul-making theodicies 192 The Evidential Argument part 2: the "Distribution Argument" 194 The Argument from Hiddenness 196 Schellenberg’s argument 197 Theodicies focused on the goods of free choice or soul-making 201 Theodicies focused on the good of filial knowledge 203 Conclusion 204 Further reading 205 Part III Science, Morality, and Immortality 207 7 Religion and science 209 Three views on science and religion 210 Inevitable conflict 210 Independence 212 Potential conflict 215 Science and the credibility of miracles 216 Humean arguments for the unbelievability of miracles 217 The balance of evidence argument 218 The Wrong Laws Argument 219 The Purely Anomalous Event Argument 221 A Humean-style argument for the impossibility of miracles 222 Conclusions: miracles and science 224 Contemporary interfaces between science and religion 225 Science challenges religion: a case study 225 Can science support religion? 228 A controversial case of scientific support of religion: intelligent design 230 Theoretical intelligent design 231 Applied intelligent design 232 Problems with intelligent design 234 Two final challenges to religion from science 236 Religion has nothing to explain 236 Evolutionary psychology and religious belief 238 An assessment of evolutionary models of religious belief 240 Conclusion 241 Further reading 242 8 Religion, morality, and politics 243 Ethical objectivism and ethical subjectivism 244 Two arguments for subjectivism 245 Assessing the arguments for subjectivism 246 The two central questions 248 The grounds of objective morality 251 Laws imply a law-giver 252 Necessary truths require a necessary being 252 Good requires a paradigmatic standard of goodness 254 Moral obligation requires (personal) imperatives 256 Moral motivation and religion 258 Divine command theories of the right and the good 262 Religion and public discourse 266 Religious toleration 266 The role of religious belief in liberal democracies 270 Conclusion 272 Further reading 273 9 Mind, body, and immortality 274 What life after death might be 275 Materialism vs. dualism 278 Survival and identity 282 Arguments for and against survival 287 Disembodied survival 287 Reincarnation 290 Resurrection 296 Conclusion 301 Further reading 302 Index 303 Cover......Page 1 Title Page......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 9 Preface......Page 11 Part I: The Nature of God......Page 17 1. Attributes of God: independence, goodness, and power......Page 19 2. Attributes of God: eternity, knowledge, and providence......Page 51 3. God triune and incarnate......Page 80 Part II: The Rationality of Religious Belief......Page 107 4. Faith and rationality......Page 109 5. Theistic arguments......Page 139 6. Anti-theistic arguments......Page 173 Part III: Science, Morality, and Immortality......Page 207 7. Religion and science......Page 209 8. Religion, morality, and politics......Page 243 9. Mind, body, and immortality......Page 274 Index......Page 303 Attributes Of God : Independence, Goodness, And Power -- Attributes Of God : Eternity, Knowledge, And Providence -- God Triune And Incarnate -- Faith And Rationality -- Theistic Arguments -- Anti-theistic Arguments -- Religion And Science -- Religion, Morality, And Politics -- Mind, Body, And Immortality. Michael J. Murray And Michael C. Rea. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This introduction provides a broad overview of the topics which are at the forefront of discussion in contemporary philosophy of religion. Prominent views and arguments from both historical and contemporary authors are discussed and analysed