Which is more reasonable: believing in God or not believing in God? Can any of the usual arguments actually show that God does or does not exist?

The Rationality of Theism is a controversial collection of brand new papers by thirteen outstanding philosophers and scholars. Its aim is to offer comprehensive theistic replies to the traditional arguments against the existence of God, offering a positive case for theism as well as rebuttals of recent influential criticisms of theism.

Part One addresses foundational issues about religious language and epistemology. Part Two focuses on the traditional arguments for God's existence, including the ontological argument, the cosmological argument, the teleological argument, and miracles. In Part Three, the contributors turn their attention to the two main arguments against theism: the divine attributes and the argument from evil.

Overall, the book contends that theism rather than atheism offers the more rationally plausible and defensible explanatory viewpoint. It will be of serious interest to anyone studying or working in philosophy of religion.

This book presents the first accessible analysis of Spinoza's Tractatus Theologico-politicus, situating the work in the context of Spinoza's general philosophy and its 17th-century historical background. According to Spinoza it is impossible for a being to be infinitely perfect and to have a legislative will. This idea, demonstrated in the Ethics, is presupposed and further elaborated in the Tractatus Theologico-politicus. It implies not only that on the level of truth all revealed religion is false, but also that all authority is of human origin and that all obedience is rooted in a political structure. The consequences for authority as it is used in a religious context are explored: the authority of Scripture, the authority of particular interpretations of Scripture, and the authority of the Church. Verbeek also explores the work of two other philosophers of the period - Hobbes and Descartes - to highlight certain peculiarities of Spinoza's position, and to show the contrasts between their theories.

Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology and biochemistry have captured the public imagination and made the Design Argument - the theory that God created the world according to a specific plan - the object of renewed scientific and philosophical interest. This accessible but serious introduction to the design problem brings together new perspectives from prominent scientists and philosophers including Paul Davies, Richard Swinburne, Sir Martin Rees, Michael Behe, Elliot Sober and Peter van Inwagen.
It probes the relationship between modern science and religious belief, considering their points of conflict and their many points of similarity. Is the real God of creationism the 'master clockmaker', who sets the world's mechanism on a perfectly enduring course, or a miraculous presence who continually intervenes in and alters the world we know? Are science and faith, or evolution and creation, really in conflict at all? Expanding the parameters of a lively and urgent debate, God and Design considers how perennial questions of origin continue to fascinate and disturb us.

Recent discoveries in physics, cosmology and biochemistry have captured the public imagination and made the Design Argument - the theory that God created the world according to a specific plan - the object of renewed scientific and philosophical interest. This accessible but serious introduction to the design problem brings together new perspectives from prominent scientists and philosophers including Paul Davies, Richard Swinburne, Sir Martin Rees, Michael Behe, Elliot Sober and Peter van Inwagen.
It probes the relationship between modern science and religious belief, considering their points of conflict and their many points of similarity. Is the real God of creationism the 'master clockmaker', who sets the world's mechanism on a perfectly enduring course, or a miraculous presence who continually intervenes in and alters the world we know? Are science and faith, or evolution and creation, really in conflict at all? Expanding the parameters of a lively and urgent debate, God and Design considers how perennial questions of origin continue to fascinate and disturb us.

This is a groundbreaking, highly original work of postmodern feminist theology from one of the most important authors in the field. The Face of the Deep deconstructs the Christian doctrine of creation which claims that a transcendent Lord unilaterally created the universe out of nothing. Catherine Keller's impassioned, graceful meditation develops an alternative representation of the cosmic creative process, drawing upon Hebrew myths of creation from chaos, and engaging with the political and the mystical, the literary and the scientific, the sexual and the racial.
As a landmark work of immense significance for Jewish and Christian theology, gender studies, literature, philosophy and ecology, The Face of the Deep takes our originary story to a new horizon, rewriting the starting point for western spiritual discourse.

Throughout the Bible, divine interaction with humanity is portrayed in almost embarrassingly human terms. God sees, hears, thinks, feels, runs, rides chariots, laughs, wields weapons, gives birth, and even repents. Many of these descriptions, taken at face value, seem to run afoul of classical thought about God's qualities of divine simplicity, transcendence, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, and, especially, immutability. Traditionally, such representations have been seen as "accommodations" to human intellectual and moral limitations. They allowed God to be more comprehensible but did not actually describe any "real" part of His character, being, or interaction with humanity. References to God seeing or hearing, for example, are not deemed to represent real acts, as God is all-knowing. This view is largely based on the Aristotelian conception of metaphors: they are rhetorical devices and should not be taken literally. Since the 1970s, our understanding of the ways in which metaphors convey meaning has become much more sophisticated. We are better able to unlock the function of "human" acts of God within the Bible. This book aims to explore the biblical metaphor of divine sight in Genesis and how current conceptions of metaphorical function can enrich our reading of the text and its theology. Brian C. Howell is a lecturer for the West of England Ministerial Training Course, and a freelance writer, lecturer, speaker, saxophonist, and music teacher. "Learned and lucid, this fine work explores the nature of anthropomorphic language in Scripture and Christian theology. What it means to describe God in human terms has long been controversial, but this book tackles the issues in an irenic and scholarly way. Using modern insights into metaphors, Howell examines the places in Genesis where God is said to see to produce a most illuminating discussion that biblical scholars and systematic theologians should not overlook." Gordon Wenham, Trinity College, Bristol.

This criticism of theism, especially monotheism, questions the assumption that rejecting God means rejecting religion. Drawing on Western philosophical critiques of religion and non-theistic Eastern religions, Ray Billington shows how a religion without God could work.
The concept of religion without God has informed not only the theories of Nietzsche, Kant and Spinoza, but also expressions of belief in Indian and Chinese religions-Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism Zen and Taoism. Concluding with a look at the "the future of faith," this is a wide ranging and lucidly-written look at what it means to "have faith" and how this is distinct from religious belief.
Ray Billington is an experienced and respected author on Eastern religion and philosophy. His books include Understanding Eastern Philospophy, Living Philosophy and East of Existentialism, all published by Routledge. He also writes occasional journalism most notably as a contributor to The Guardian's 'Face to Faith' column. An ex-Methodist minister and onetime chaplain with the SAS, he has now retired from his post as Principal Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of the West of England.

The eternal God has created the universe. And that universe is time-bound. How can we best understand God's relationship with our time-bound universe? For example, does God experience each moment of time in succession or are all times present to God? How we think of God and time has implications for our understanding of the nature of time, the creation of the universe, God's knowledge of the future, God's interaction with his creation and the fullness of God's life. In this book, four notable philosophers skillfully take on this difficult topic--all writing from within a Christian framework yet contending for different views. Paul Helm argues that divine eternity should be construed as a state of absolute timelessness. Alan G. Padgett maintains that God's eternity is more plausibly to be understood as relative timelessness. William Lane Craig presents a hybrid view that combines timelessness with omnitemporality. And Nicholas Wolterstorff advocates a doctrine of unqualified divine temporality. Each essay is followed by responses from the other three contributors and a final counter-response from the original essayist, making for a lively exchange of ideas. Editor Gregory E. Ganssle provides a helpful introduction to the debate and its significance. Together these five scholars conduct readers on a stimulating and mind-stretching journey into one of the most controversial and challenging areas of theology today.

The question of the nature of God's foreknowledge and how that relates to human freedom has been pondered and debated by Christian theologians at least since the time of Augustine. And the issue will not go away. More recently, the terms of the debate have shifted, and the issue has taken on new urgency with the theological proposal known as the openness of God. This view maintains that God's knowledge, while perfect, is limited regarding the future inasmuch as the future is "open" and not settled. This Spectrum Multiview volume provides a venue for well-known proponents of four distinct views of divine foreknowledge to present their cases: Gregory A. Boyd of Bethel College presents the open-theism view. David Hunt of Whittier College weighs in on the simple-foreknowledge view. William Lane Craig of Talbot School of Theology takes the middle-knowledge view. Paul Helm of Regent College, Vancouver, presents the Augustinian-Calvinist view. All four respond to each of the other essayists, noting points of agreement and disagreement. Editors James K. Beilby and Paul R. Eddy introduce the contemporary debate and also offer a conclusion that helps you evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of each view. The result is a unique opportunity to grapple with the issues and arguments and frame your own understanding of this important debate. Spectrum Multiview Books offer a range of viewpoints on contested topics within Christianity, giving contributors the opportunity to present their position and also respond to others in this dynamic publishing format.

Instead of introducing students to Christian theology through its doctrines, this text introduces it through discussion of church practices and of the experience of everyday Christian life. By taking a practical approach it encourages students to see that the goal of inquiring after God should be spiritual growth as well as intellectual understanding, enabling them to integrate their faith with their thinking.

The classic and contemporary texts brought together here introduce students to Christian life and thought across the centuries, opening up a dialogue between past and present. These discussions will acquaint readers with Christian claims about God, Jesus Christ, scripture, human nature, sin and salvation in everyday life as well as in communal ecclesial practice. The points of entry examined are study, science, work, affliction, repentance and forgiveness, prayer, love of neighbor, scripture, meditation, preaching, the Christian sacrament of the altar, Christian art, and reflective discernment.

Arguing for a new direction in postmodern theological thinking, away from the liberalism and nihilism of those who name themselves postmodern theologians, the book collects together for the first time important examples of the work of continental critical theorists relevant to the study of theology or religious studies. Each essay or excerpt is selected, edited and introduced by a leading exponent of that person's work, an exponent who is also a leading figure in contemporary theological debate.

"The Postmodern God" introduces students and researchers to contemporary thought and how it could affect tomorrow's theology. In addition, the "Reader" offers examples of the work currently being done in theology and ethics which engages with contemporary critical theory. The material in this section treats some of the major themes of this new critical theology - the reappraisal of liturgy, theologies of the city, feminism and religious discourse, postmodern ethics, radical hermeneutics and theology beyond metaphysics.

The doctrine of the Trinity has recently been rescued from relative obscurity in Christian theology, but its profound implications have not yet been fully realized. In "These Three are One," David Cunningham articulates a Trinitarian perspective that challenges a wide range of modern assumptions about God and the created order.

Cunningham seeks to rehabilitate the Augustinian tradition of locating the "triune marks" left upon the world by its Creator. He explores ancient rhetoric, communication theory, and literature - as well as more traditional theological sources - in order to illuminate not only the Christian doctrine of God, but also its radical critique of contemporary culture.

According to Cunningham, Trinitarian theology challenges many of our most cherished practices, including our craving for violence, our neglect of children, and our misguided quest for homogeneity. His book confounds the popular notion that the doctrine of the Trinity is esoteric and irrelevant; on the contrary, it shows it to be at the very heart of Christian life and thought.

Immanuel Kant is often referred to as the 'philosopher of Protestantism' because he provides a model for mediating successfully between a modern scientific world view and theism. This radical new reading of Kant's religious thought suggests that he is in fact more accurately read as a precursor to nineteenth-century atheism than to liberal Protestant theology.

Michalson locates major themes in Kant's philosophy that are more continuous with nineteenth-century atheism than with constructive theology. The 'problem of God' in Kant turns out to be the problem of retaining authentic references to God in light of the 'self-inventing' character of Kant's theory of human freedom. The book explores several ways in which this problem comes to light in Kant's philosophy, including an extended examination of Kant's own moral proof of the existence of God. Finally, Michalson suggests that, in his effort to develop a theory of human freedom consistent with his Enlightenment ideals, Kant produced a philosophical vision that ultimately absorbs heaven into earth.

In addition to providing an alternative perspective on Kant's religious thought, this book raises serious questions about the idea of theological 'mediation' which attempts to accommodate both intellectual autonomy and divine transcendence. The book will be of interest to students and scholars in philosophy, religious studies and theology with an interest in Kant, the development of modern theology or the debate over 'modernity' and its proper definition.

Ambitious, controversial and absorbing, God and the Universe tackles the highly-charged issue of God's relevance in the light of new scientific thinking on cosmology. Engaging with poststructuralism, ethics, mathematics, and philosophy through the ages, this persuasively argued book re-invigorates religious debate for the new millennium.

Medieval attempts to capture a glimpse of heaven range from the ethereal to the mundane, utilizing media as diverse as maps, cathedrals, songs, treatises, poems, visions and sewer systems. Heaven was at once the goal of the individual Christian life and the end of the cosmic plan. It was, simply stated, perfection. But interpretations varied from the traditional to the dangerously unique as artists and authors, theologians and visionaries struggled to define that perfection. Depending on the source, heaven's attributes vary from height to depth, darkness to light, silence to symphony; the souls within it from activity to passivity, experience to essence, participation to distant admiration. Questions addressed in this anthology include: Are erotic and spiritual love mutually exclusive? Does the soul's happiness depend on the resurrection of the body? What will be the nature of the transfigured body? Will it retain its gender? Will it have senses? Will it know desire? How can desire and fulfillment exist together? Can the human soul ever know God?
Contributors to this volume examine well-known and previously unexplored texts and artefacts from historical and art historical, theological, philosophical, and literary perspectives, to complement and challenge more general surveys of the history of heaven, and above all to illuminate the richness and variety of medieval Christian ideas on heaven.

God, Man and the Church is a penetrating examination of the human relationship - both as an individual and in society - with God. For Solovyev, personal religion can only be satisfied in social religion. Private prayer finds its fulfilment in the Church's liturgy, and the Church is the highest expression of humanity's religious aspirations. Here Solovyev's mystical understanding of the Church provides the basis for a fundamental analysis of the idea of the state from a Christian viewpoint. During the years after its first publication in Russian in 1885, God, Man and the Church rapidly established a reputation as a seminal work of Russian theology. Donald Attwater's translation, first published in 1937 and which made the work available in the English language for the first time, has become a classic in its own right.

This in-depth study of Thomas Aquinas' Quaestio de attributis (In I Sent., d. 2, q. 1, a. 3) binds together the findings of previous research on the unique history of this text by reconstructing the historical circumstances surrounding its composition, shows that the Quaestio contains Aquinas' final answer to the dispute on the divine attributes, and thoroughly examines his interpretation of Maimonides' position on the issue of the knowledge of God by analysing this and other texts related to it chronologically and doctrinally. The examination of the Quaestio reveals the background of Thomas Aquinas' renewed interest in Maimonides' position on the issue and brings to light elements of Aquinas' interpretation that are absent from his earlier references to Maimonides. Attributis to other Thomistic works with explicit references to Maimonides enables a reconstruction of his comprehensive approach to Maimonides' teaching on the possibility and extent of the knowledge of God in the Guide of the Perplexed and highlights the place of Maimonides' philosophical teachings in Thomas' own thought in issues like Being as the proper name of God, the multiplicity of the divine names, the beatific vision in the afterlife, the causes that prevent the instruction of the multitude in divine matters and the role of faith and prophecy in the acquisition of the true knowledge of God in this life. The last chapter examines the reasons behind Aquinas' silencing of Maimonides' name when introducing his Five Ways for the knowledge of the existence of God, in spite of the evident relation between these and Maimonides' Four Speculations. the Quaestio de attributis with an English translation and the critical edition of several chapters of the 13th Century Latin translation of the Guide of the Perplexed known as Dux neutrorum.

The need to position Christianity in relation to other religions, most notably Judaism and Islam, has brought about a renewed interest in the theme of creation, which has been off the theological agenda for much of the 20th century. Environmentalists, biologists, feminists and process theologians have all registered concerns, from their different perspectives, about the way in which the traditional doctrine of creation characterizes the relationship between the cosmos and its creator. Furthermore, the hoilism of the New Age and its resonance with eastern patterns of thought seems to offer something radically different from the Judaeo-Christian understanding of the creation. It is in the light of these concerns that the author argues for the doctrine of creation as a distinctively Christian article of faith. By recognizing at the same time that criticisms which have been made of its traditional formulations must be properly acknowledged and accommodated, the author is able to use the insights from secular disciples to construct a theology of creation which is "responsible". This book represents not only an introduction to a neglected aspect of Christian doctrine, but also an example

'A mere metaphor', 'only symbolic', 'just a myth' - these tell tale phrases reveal how figurative language has been cheapened and devalued in our modern and postmodern culture. In God and the Creative Imagination, Paul Avis argues the contrary: we see that actually, metaphor, symbol and myth, are the key to a real knowledge of God and the sacred. Avis examines what he calls an alternative tradition, stemming from the Romantic poets Blake, Wordsworth and Keats and drawing on the thought of Cleridge and Newman, and experience in both modern philosophy and science.
God and the Creative Imagination intriguingly draws on a number of non-theological disciplines, from literature to philosophy of science, to show us that God is appropriately likened to an artist or poet and that the greatest truths are expressed in an imaginative form.
Anyone wishing to further their understanding of God, belief and the imagination will find this an inspiring work.

This title was first published in 2000. Hope in Barth's Eschatology presents a critical investigation and survey of Karl Barth's writings, particularly his Church Dogmatics IV.3, in order to locate the character and nature of 'hope' within Barth's eschatology. Arguing that Barth, with his form of hope that refuses to shy away from the dark themes of the 'tragic vision', could be seen to undermine certain tragic sensibilities necessary for a healthy account of hope, John McDowell locates Barth within the context of larger traditions of theological thinking, and influential accounts of Christian hope, examining the work of Steiner, MacKinnon, Pannenberg, Rahner, Moltmanm and others. Addressing the relative neglect that Barth commentators have paid to eschatological themes, McDowell maintains that to miss what Barth is doing in his eschatology, is to seriously misunderstand Barth's broader theological sense. This book offers a significant contribution to the ongoing task of understanding Barth's theology whilst developing a way of reading hope and eschatology that, ultimately, places some critical questions at Barth's door.

'A mere metaphor', 'only symbolic', 'just a myth' - these tell tale phrases reveal how figurative language has been cheapened and devalued in our modern and postmodern culture. In God and the Creative Imagination, Paul Avis argues the contrary: we see that actually, metaphor, symbol and myth, are the key to a real knowledge of God and the sacred. Avis examines what he calls an alternative tradition, stemming from the Romantic poets Blake, Wordsworth and Keats and drawing on the thought of Cleridge and Newman, and experience in both modern philosophy and science.
God and the Creative Imagination intriguingly draws on a number of non-theological disciplines, from literature to philosophy of science, to show us that God is appropriately likened to an artist or poet and that the greatest truths are expressed in an imaginative form.
Anyone wishing to further their understanding of God, belief and the imagination will find this an inspiring work.

Arguing for a new direction in postmodern theological thinking, away from the liberalism and nihilism of those who name themselves postmodern theologians, the book collects together for the first time important examples of the work of continental critical theorists relevant to the study of theology or religious studies. Each essay or excerpt is selected, edited and introduced by a leading exponent of that person's work, an exponent who is also a leading figure in contemporary theological debate. The Postmodern God introduces students and researchers to contemporary thought and how it could affect tomorrow's theology. In addition, the Reader offers examples of the work currently being done in theology and ethics which engages with contemporary critical theory. The material in this section treats some of the major themes of this new critical theology - the reappraisal of liturgy, theologies of the city, feminism and religious discourse, postmodern ethics, radical hermeneutics and theology beyond metaphysics.

The doctrine of the Trinity has recently been rescued from relative obscurity in Christian theology, but its profound implications have not yet been fully realized. In "These Three are One," David Cunningham articulates a Trinitarian perspective that challenges a wide range of modern assumptions about God and the created order.

Cunningham seeks to rehabilitate the Augustinian tradition of locating the "triune marks" left upon the world by its Creator. He explores ancient rhetoric, communication theory, and literature - as well as more traditional theological sources - in order to illuminate not only the Christian doctrine of God, but also its radical critique of contemporary culture.

According to Cunningham, Trinitarian theology challenges many of our most cherished practices, including our craving for violence, our neglect of children, and our misguided quest for homogeneity. His book confounds the popular notion that the doctrine of the Trinity is esoteric and irrelevant; on the contrary, it shows it to be at the very heart of Christian life and thought.

From the early Christian era and throughout the Middle Ages, theologians exerted considerable effort to achieve a synthesis bringing together Greek cosmology and the Creation story in Genesis. In the construction of the medieval Empyrean, the dwelling place of the Blessed, Aristotle's philosophy proved of critical importance. From the Renaissance on, largely in revolt against Aristotle, humanist Bible critics, Protestant reformers and astronomers set themselves to challenge the medieval synthesis. especially effective in the ensuing dismantlement, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, was the pagan concept of an infinite universe, resuscitated from Antiquity by the Italian philosophers Bruno and Patrizi. Indirectly inspired by the latter, the doctrines of the French pre-Enlightment thinkers Descartes and Gassendi spread throughout Latin Catholic Europe in spite of considerable resistance. By the middle of the 18th century the Roman ecclesiastical authorities were brought to acknowledge an end to the medieval cosmos, allowing catholics to teach the theory of heliocentrism.

The Concept of the Goddess explores the function and nature of goddesses and their cults in many cultures, including:
* Celtic
* Roman
* Norse
* Caucasian
* Japanese traditions.
The contributors explore the reasons for the existence of so many goddesses in the mythology of patriarchal societies and show that goddesses have also assumed more masculine roles, with war, hunting and sovereignty being equally important aspects of their cults.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415144213 EB:0203456386