Preface General Introduction Advice on Reading PART I. PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF Introduction 1. Faith and Reason in Harmony, Thomas Aquinas 2. The Ethics of Belief, W.K. Clifford 3. The Presumption of Atheism, Antony Flew 4. Religious Belief as 'Properly Basic', Alvin Plantinga 5. Evidence and Religious Belief, Norman Kretzmann 6. Grammar and Religious Belief, D.Z. Phillips 7. The Groundlessness of Religious Belief, Norman Malcolm Questions for Discussion Advice on Further Reading PART II. THE PROBLEM OF GOD-TALK Introduction 8. How Believers Find God-Talk Puzzling, Augustine of Hippo 9. God-Talk is Evidently Nonsense, A.J. Ayer 10. God-Talk is Not Evidently Nonsense, Richard Swinburne 11. 'Death by a Thousand Qualifications', Antony Flew 12. One Way of Understanding God-Talk, Thomas Aquinas Questions for Discussion Advice on Reading PART III. ARGUMENTS FOR GOD'S EXISTENCE Introduction Advice on Reading Cosmological Arguments Introduction 13. A Concise Cosmological Argument from the Eleventh Century, Anselm of Canterbury 14. A Thirteenth Century Cosmological Argument, Thomas Aquinas 15. A Fourteenth-Century Cosmological Argument, John Duns Scotus 16. A Seventeenth-Century Cosmological Argument, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz 17. A Modern Cosmological Argument, Herbert McCabe 18. Objections to Cosmological Arguments, Paul Edwards 19. More Objections to Cosmological Arguments, J.L. Mackie 20. Why is a Cause Always Necessary?, David Hume 21. 'Whatever Has a Beginning of Existence Must Have a Cause', G.E.M. Anscombe 22. Can there be an Endless Regress of Causes?, James A. Sadowsky Questions for Discussion Advice on Further Reading 23. Design ArgumentsIntroduction, Thomas Aquinas Introduction 29. Anselm Argues That God Cannot Be Thought Not To Exist, Anselm of Canterbury 30. Gaunilo Argues that Anselm is Wrong, Gaunilo of Marmoutiers 31. Anselm Replies to Gaunilo, Anselm of Canterbury 32. Descartes Defends An Ontological Argument, Rene Descartes 33. Descartes Replies to Critics, Pierre Gassendi, Johannes Caterus, Rene Descartes 34. A Classic Repudiation of Ontological Arguments, Immanuel Kant 35. A Contemporary Defence of Ontological Arguments, Alvin Plantinga Questions for Discussion Advice on Reading God and Human Experience Introduction 36. Why 'Knowing God by Experience' is a Notion Open to Question, C.B. Martin 37. Can We Know God by Experience?, Peter Donovan 38. Why Should There Not Be Experience of God?, William P. Alston Questions for Discussion Advice on Reading PART IV. WHAT IS GOD? Introduction Advice on Further Reading Omnipotent Introduction 39. A Modern Discussion of Divine Omnipotence, Thomas V. Morris 40. Why Think of God as Omnipotent?, Thomas Aquinas 41. Miracles and Laws of Nature, Richard Swinburne 42. Why We Should Disbelieve in Miracles, David Hume Questions for Discussion Advice on Reading Knowing Introduction 43. Why Ascribe Knowledge to God?, Thomas Aquinas 44. Omniscience and Human Freedom: a Classic Discussion, Boethius 45. Problems for the Notion of Divine Omniscience, Nelson Pike Questions for Discussion Advice on Further Reading Eternal Introduction 46. Why Call God 'Eternal'?, Thomas Aquinas 47. God is 'Everlasting', not 'Eternal', Nicholas Wolterstorff 48. A Modern Defence of Divine Eternity, Eleonore Stump and Norman Kretzmann 49. A Different Modern Defence of Divine Eternity. Paul Helm Questions for Discussion Advice on Reading Simple Introduction 50. A Classic Defence of Divine Simplicity, Thomas Aquinas 51. Problems with Divine Simplicity, Thomas V. Morris 52. A Modern Defence of Divine Simplicity, Brian Davies Questions for Discussion Advice on Further Reading Part V. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL Introduction 53. Evil Shows that there is no God, J.L. Mackie 54. What is Evil?, Augustine of Hippo 55. Evil Does Not Show That There Is No God, Richard Swinburne 56. God, Evil, and Divine Responsibility, Herbert McCabe 57. God and Human Freedom, Thomas Aquinas Questions for Discussion Advice on Reading Part VI. MORALITY AND RELIGION Introduction 58. God as a 'Postulate' of Sound Moral Thinking, Immanuel Kant 59. Why Morality Implies the Existence of God, H.P. Owen 60. Moral Thinking as Awareness of God, Illtyd Trethowan 61. Morality does not Imply the Existence of God, Kai Nielsen Questions for Discussion Advice on Further Reading Part VII. PEOPLE AND LIFE AFTER DEATH Introduction 62. Philosophy and Life After Death: The Questions and the Options, Stephen T. Davis 63. Life After Death: An Ancient Greek View, Plato 64. Belief in Life After Death Comes from Emotion, not Reason, Bertrand Russell 65. What Must be True of Me If I Survive My Death?, Peter Geach Questions for Discussion Advice on Further Reading Index

Brian Davies

`A well-chosen selction of readings which include precisely the main topics essential for a constructive course in philosophy of religion. A well-balanced selection.' Professor A C Thiselton, University of Nottingham