Philosophy of Religion: The Basics

Philosophy of Religion: The Basics offers a concise introduction to philosophy of religion, which condenses discussions and concepts of the subject to their succinct essence, providing a truly accessible entry into the subject. The book captures the reader’s attention and imagination with its unique clarity and conversational tone. The text has been organized to lead the reader logically from topic to topic, explaining how subjects connect and point to one another. A wide range of issues within the philosophy of religion is addressed, beginning with the nature and functions of religion, then moving to different conceptions of the nature of God, including atheistic concepts. Conceptual analysis and the nature of argumentation are foremost concerns throughout the book. Arguments are presented both for and against the existence of God and are developed against one another to ensure a good balance between pro and con arguments; no position goes unsupported or uncriticized. Additional chapters shed light on issues including life after death, miracles, God and morality, divine attributes and dilemmas, human language and talk about God, religious experience, and faith and rationality.

Preface for Teachers xi Acknowledgements xii Introduction 1 1 What Is Religion? 6 1.1 Creed 6 1.2 Code 7 1.3 Cult 8 1.4 Community 9 1.5 Toward a Definition of Religion 11 1.6 Ze, Zer, Mer 13 2 Six Conceptions of God 17 2.1 Experiential Sources of Concepts of God 17 2.2 Six Conceptions of God 21 2.3 Religious Naturalism 21 2.4 Pantheism 23 2.5 Panentheism (Process Theism) 25 2.6 Deism 28 2.7 Classical Biblical Theism is based on divine revelation 29 2.8 Classical Philosophical Theism 31 3 Divine Attributes and Dilemmas 34 3.1 What Is a Dilemma? 39 3.2 Ways to Respond to a Dilemma 40 3.3 Divine Attribute Dilemmas 41 3.4 Proposed Solutions to the Preceding Dilemmas 45 3.4.1 Unsurpassability 45 3.4.2 Omnipotence 46 3.4.3 Are Omnipotence and Omnibenevolence Incompatible? 47 3.4.4 Immutability and Personhood 48 3.4.5 Divine Omniscience and Human Freedom 49 3.5 Open Theism 53 4 Human Language and Talk about God 57 5 Arguments about the Existence of God 72 6 The Ontological Argument 77 6.1 Is Anselm’s Argument Decisive? 82 6.2 A Version of Duns Scotus’ Ontological Argument 83 7 The Cosmological Arguments 88 7.1 The First Three of “The Five Ways” of Thomas Aquinas 89 7.2 Paul Edwards’ Infinite Regress Argument against the Cosmological Argument 92 7.2.1 Two Criticisms of Edwards 93 7.3 The Oscillatory Theory 93 7.3.1 Criticism of the Oscillatory Theory 94 7.4 The Kalam Cosmological Argument 95 8 The Teleological or Design Arguments 101 8.1 The Anthropic Principle 108 8.2 The Multiverse 109 9 God and Morality 118 9.1 Two Arguments from Morality for Belief in the Existence of God 118 9.2 The Relation of Morality to God 119 9.2.1 The Divine Command Theory 119 9.2.2 Theocentric Ethics 120 9.2.3 Natural Law Ethics 121 10 Religious Experience and Belief in God 128 10.1 The Principle of Credulity and the Rationality of Belief in God 128 10.2 Religious Experience as Evidence for the Existence of God 132 10.3 Toward a Cumulative Argument for God 134 11 Arguments against Belief in the Existence of God 137 11.1 Evidentialism and the Burden of Proof 137 11.2 Conceptual Arguments: Analysis of the Concept of God 138 11.2.1 The Argument from Meaninglessness 138 11.2.2 The Arguments from Incoherence and Self–Contradiction 138 11.3 Arguments from Science 139 11.3.1 The Natural Sciences: The Adequacy of Science 139 11.3.2 Criticisms of Naturalism 141 11.3.3 The Social Sciences: Religion and Emotion 142 11.4 The Problem of Divine Hiddenness 145 11.5 The Problem of Many Religions 147 12 The Problem of Evil 152 12.1 G.W. Leibniz (1646–1716) 153 12.2 The Logical Argument from Evil: Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) 153 12.3 The Evidential Argument from Evil: Edward Madden, Peter Hare, William Rowe 153 12.3.1 Criticisms of Arguments from Evil against the Existence of God 154 12.4 Charles Hartshorne’s Panentheist or Process Theodicy 156 13 God and Life after Death 164 13.1 Cessationism 165 13.2 Immortalism 167 13.3 Resurrectionism 170 13.4 Personal Identity and Continuity 173 14 Miracles, Revelation, and Prayer 179 14.1 Miracles 179 14.2 Revelation 182 14.3 Prayer 183 15 Rationality without Evidence 185 15.1 Pascal’s Wager 185 15.2 Evidentialism vs. the Right to Believe 187 15.3 Fideism 188 15.3.1 Faith as Action or Leap 188 15.3.2 Faith as Passion or Gift 189 15.4 Agathism, Agatheism, and Religious Hope 190 Glossary 194 Biographical Notes 203 Index 209

Richard E. Creel taught Philosophy and Religion at Ithaca College, New York, for 30 years, during which time he served as Chair of his Department and President of the New York State Philosophical Association. Creel published numerous articles in philosophy journals and three books: Thinking Philosophically: An Introduction to Critical Reflection and Rational Dialogue (Blackwell, 2001), Divine Impassibility: An Essay in Philosophical Theology (1986), and Religion & Doubt: Toward a Faith of Your Own (1991, 1st edition 1977). After retirement, Creel was designated an Emeritus Professor for outstanding contributions.