The Rationality of Theism

The Rationality of Theismis 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.

List of contributors

ix

Introduction

1

(14)

PAUL COPAN AND PAUL K. MOSER

The explanatory power of theism

2

(2)

Should theistic belief be psychoanalyzed?

4

(2)

Natural revelation and theistic arguments

6

(4)

Overview

10

(2)

Conclusion

12

(3)

PART I Foundational considerations

15

(76)

1 Religious language and verificationism

17

(18)

WILLIAM P. ALSTON

The criterion, its history, and the most coherent form of the theory

17

(5)

An examination of the verifiability criterion's application to talk about God

22

(3)

Various construals of God-talk

25

(1)

The verifiability criterion and its problems

26

(2)

The chief argument against the verifiability criterion

28

(4)

Conclusion

32

(3)

2 Faith and foundationalism

35

(20)

DAVID K. CLARK

Believing without evidence

35

(2)

Different projects in epistemology

37

(1)

Foundationalism and its alternative

38

(3)

Refining belief-foundationalism

41

(2)

Evidentialism as a universal principle

43

(1)

Knowing God by faith

44

(2)

The power o f background knowledge

46

(1)

A limited role for an evidentialist principle

47

(2)

Strategies for genuine knowledge

49

(3)

Conclusion

52

(3)

3 Cognitive inspiration and knowledge of God

55

(17)

PAUL K. MOSER

Death and life

55

(1)

God and human expectations

56

(2)

Divine expectations and love's judgment

58

(3)

God's spirit in humans

61

(3)

Spirit, will, and knowledge

64

(2)

Knowing God's reality

66

(3)

Conclusion

69

(3)

4 Science and theism: concord, not conflict

72

(19)

ROBERT C. KOONS

What is science?

72

(2)

The positivist myth of the uniqueness of science

74

(3)

The materialist myth of the unity of science

77

(5)

The dependency of science upon theism

82

(4)

Conclusion

86

(5)

PART II Arguments for God's existence

91

(146)

5 The ontological argument

93

(19)

STEPHEN T. DAMS

Introduction

93

(1)

The Anselmian ontological argument

94

(3)

Criticisms of Anselm 's ontological argument

97

(8)

Plantinga’s modal ontological argument

105

(5)

Conclusion

110

(2)

6 The cosmological argument

112

(20)

WILLIAM LANE CRAIG

Introduction

112

(2)

The Leibnizian cosmological argument

114

(2)

The Thomist cosmological argument

116

(1)

The kalam cosmological argument

116

(16)

7 The teleological argument

132

(17)

ROBIN COLLINS

Introduction and historical background

132

(2)

The evidence of fine-tuning

134

(2)

The argument formulated

136

(4)

Objections to the argument

140

(2)

The many-worlds hypothesis

142

(2)

Conclusion

144

(5)

8 The moral argument

149

(26)

PAUL COPAN

Introduction

149

(1)

Moral values as properly basic

150

(2)

An unnatural fit: non-theism and objective moral values

152

(1)

Three considerations for a theory s explanatory superiority

153

(12)

The Euthyphro argument: dilemma or red herring?

165

(2)

Conclusion

167

(8)

9 The evidential value of religious experience

175

(29)

R. DOUGLAS GEIVETT

The emerging interest in religious experience

175

(1)

Is there an argument from religious experience?

176

(2)

Plan of this chapter

178

(1)

The perils of definition and classification

178

(2)

The standard argument for the existence of God

180

(6)

Objections to the standard argument

186

(6)

Three additional objections

192

(4)

A revised conception

196

(8)

10 The argument from consciousness

204

(17)

J. P. MORELAND

Preliminary points

204

(2)

The argument from consciousness

206

(4)

The naturalistic worldview

210

(2)

Alternatives to AC

212

(5)

Conclusion

217

(4)

11 Theism, miracles, and the modern mind

221

(16)

FRANCIS J. BECK WITH

Introduction

221

(2)

The argument from the impossibility of eliminating naturalism

223

(4)

The argument from a miracles improbability

227

(5)

Conclusion

232

(5)

PART III Potential defeaters for theism

237

(41)

12 The possibility of God: the coherence of theism

239

(20)

CHARLES TALIAFERRO

Divine incorporeality

240

(8)

The coherence of the divine attributes

248

(4)

Naturalistic coherence and theistic coherence

252

(3)

Conclusion

255

(4)

13 God and evil

259

(19)

GREGORY E. GANSSLE

Introduction

259

(1)

The charge of contradiction

260

(1)

The evidential problem of evil

261

(13)

Conclusion

274

(4)

Bibliography

278

(6)

Name index

284

(5)

Subject index

289

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The Rationality of Theism

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Table of Contents

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