Reasoning About God : An Introduction to Thinking Logically About Religion

__Reasoning about God__ is an introduction to philosophy of religion, meeting college students where they are with their own doubts and questions. Each chapter begins with a passage from a fictional student, who raises intellectual problems against God, which is followed by the author’s informed and easy-to-understand analysis. This debate structure allows student readers to clearly see the clash of ideas, gets them involved in the issues, and encourages their critical thinking (since students are pushed to find flaws in the ideas). It emulates the structure the author followed successfully in his __Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction__, which is now in its third edition and has been translated five times into other languages. This structure works well in philosophy of religion, even better than in does in ethics. Key Features of __Reasoning about God__: * Written clearly and concisely, making difficult issues easy to understand. * Makes a strong case for belief in God, based on various factors – including arguments about fine-tuning, Kalam, and near-death experiences – as well as approaches that are more instinctual or emotional. A major theme of the book is "There are many paths to God." * Includes material on both traditional topics of philosophy of religion (like the problem of evil) and other related topics of interest (like whether religion is harmful, life after death, the variety of world religions, and the meaning of life). * Explores how science connects to God’s existence, arguing that recent science is friendlier toward religion than older science. * Written by a Christian author, whose defense of belief in God works with other theistic traditions as well (like Islam and Judaism). Cover Half Title Title Copyright Table of Contents Preface Introduction A. Philosophy B. Logical Reasoning C. Mere Monotheism D. Skepticus and Analysis 1. Growing Up, Freud, Science 1.1 Skepticus: Growing Up 1.2 Skepticus: Freud and Science 1.3 Analysis: Good and Bad Skepticism 1.4 Analysis: Freud Wasn’t So Scientific 1.5 Analysis: Augustine Versus Freud 1.6 Analysis: Family Issues 2. Is Religion Harmful 2.1 Skepticus: Russell and Religion’s Harmfulness 2.2 Analysis: We Need to Appeal to Science 2.3 Analysis: Belief’s Psychological Benefits 2.4 Analysis: Belief’s Medical Benefits 2.5 Analysis: Belief’s Ethical Benefits 2.6 Analysis: Russell’s Daughter 3. Logical Positivism 3.1 Skepticus: Logical Positivism and God-Talk 3.2 Skepticus: Flew’s Gardener 3.3 Skepticus: Godless Religion 3.4 Skepticus: Emotivist Ethics 3.5 Skepticus: Simplicity Argument for Emotivism 3.6 Skepticus: Moral Reasoning on Emotivism 3.7 Analysis: Problems With Logical Positivism 3.8 Analysis: Problems With Emotivism 3.9 Analysis: Further Remarks on Logical Positivism 4. Is There Life After Death 4.1 Skepticus: There’s No Life After Death 4.2 Analysis: Religion and the Afterlife 4.3 Analysis: Body-Soul and the Afterlife 4.4 Analysis: Near-Death Experiences 4.5 Analysis: Ayer’s Near-Death Experience 4.6 Analysis: Kübler-Ross, Evidence for Life After Death 4.7 Analysis: Long, Evidence for Life After Death 5. Is There a First Cause 5.1 Skepticus: There’s No First Cause 5.2 Skepticus: Aquinas’s Five Ways 5.3 Analysis: Arguments for God’s Existence 5.4 Analysis: How Much Evidence Would God Give Us? 5.5 Analysis: The Kalam Argument 5.6 Analysis: The Sufficient Reason Argument 6. Is the Universe Designed 6.1 Skepticus: Initial Problems With the Design Argument 6.2 Skepticus: Darwin Destroys the Design Argument 6.3 Analysis: Biblical Interpretation 6.4 Analysis: Evolution and Purpose 6.5 Analysis: The Fine-Tuning Argument 7. Three Paths + Polytheism 7.1 Skepticus: The Ontological Argument 7.2 Analysis: The Ontological Argument 7.3 Skepticus: Reformed Epistemology 7.4 Analysis: Reformed Epistemology 7.5 Skepticus: Mysticism 7.6 Analysis: Mysticism 7.7 Analysis: Why One God? 7.8 Analysis: A Pagan-Christian Debate 8. Does Suffering Disprove God 8.1 Skepticus: The Problem of Evil 8.2 Skepticus: Did Adam’s Sin Begin Disease and Death? 8.3 Skepticus: The Biblical Problem of Evil 8.4 Analysis: How Irenaeus Explains Evil 8.5 Analysis: What Kind of World Would God Create? 8.6 Analysis: Further Questions About Evil 8.7 Analysis: The Biblical Problem of Evil 9. Why So Many Religions? 9.1 Skepticus: Chaotic Religious Diversity 9.2 Analysis: Similarities and Differences 9.3 Analysis: Fellow GR Pilgrims, or Enemies? 9.4 Analysis: The Golden Rule 9.5 Analysis: Five GR Fallacies 9.6 Analysis: GR in Christianity 9.7 Analysis: GR in Other Faiths 9.8 Analysis: GR and Evolution 10. Is Ethics Based on Religion? 10.1 Skepticus: Divine Command Theory 10.2 Skepticus: Divine Command Objections 10.3 Skepticus: An Objection to Natural Law 10.4 Analysis: Natural Law and Racism 10.5 Analysis: Knowing God’s Will 10.6 Analysis: Natural Law’s Three Parts 10.7 Analysis: As Rational Beings 10.8 Analysis: As Biological Beings 10.9 Analysis: As Spiritual Beings 11. The Meaning of Life 11.1 Skepticus: Life Has No Meaning 11.2 Analysis: Life Has a Meaning 11.3 Analysis: Why Think That Life Has a Meaning? 11.4 Analysis: Atheism’s Dark Side 11.5 Analysis: Skepticus Errors 11.6 Analysis: Your Favorite Paths to God? Bibliography Index "Reasoning about God is an introduction to philosophy of religion, meeting college students where they are with their own doubts and questions. Each chapter begins with a passage from a fictional student, who raises intellectual problems against God, which is followed by the author's informed and easy-to-understand analysis. This debate structure allows student readers to clearly see the clash of ideas, gets them involved in the issues, and encourages their critical thinking (since students are pushed to find flaws in the ideas). It emulates the structure the author followed successfully in his Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction, which is now in its third edition and has been translated five times into other languages. This structure works well in philosophy of religion, even better than in does in ethics. Key Features of Reasoning about God: Written clearly and concisely, making difficult issues easy to understand. Makes a strong case for belief in God, based on various factors - including arguments about fine-tuning, Kalam, and near-death experiences - as well as approaches that are more instinctual or emotional. A major theme of the book is "There are many paths to God." Includes material on both traditional topics of philosophy of religion (like the problem of evil) and other related topics of interest (like whether religion is harmful, life after death, the variety of world religions, and the meaning of life). Explores how science connects to God's existence, arguing that recent science is friendlier toward religion than older science. Written by a Christian author, whose defense of belief in God works with other theistic traditions as well (like Islam and Judaism)"-- Provided by publisher