This important new volume is a combined anthology and guide intended for use as a textbook in courses on the philosophy of religion. It aims to bring to the student the very best current work on important topics in the field. The anthology is comprised of six sections, each of which opens with a substantive introductory essay followed by a selection of influential writings by prominent philosophers of religion: -- Religious Epistemology deals with the rationality of theism and theistic beliefs. -- Existence of God presents the cosmological, teleological, axiological, noological, and ontological arguments for the existence of God. -- Coherence of Theism covers the divine attributes of necessity, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, and goodness. -- Problem of Evil treats both the internal and external challenge posed by evil to theistic belief. -- Soul and Immortality explores the substantiality and immateriality of the soul and implications for life after the death of the body. -- Christian Theology handles problems posed by the Trinity, incarnation, atonement, damnation, and prayer. Philosophy of Religion provides an ideal resource for studying the central questions raised by religious belief.

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

Excellent, but...:

...way too advanced for an undergrad like me. This book is an excellent resource for intelligent Christians. Don't get me wrong, I eventually get what is being discussed in the essays, it just takes me a long time.
I don't really understand what the criticism of the earlier reviewer was with regard to Dr. Craig's opinions concerning morality. Dr. Craig has successfully defended his beliefs on morality against his foremost opponents. (I don't know how you can argue for an objective and non-arbitrary... more info

Craig is the leading apologist of our time:

William Lane Craig does a masterful job in his section on Natural Theology. He presents a cumulative case for God's existence by including Alvin Plantinga's modal version of the Ontological Argument. ( Although some philosophers have corectly pointed out that his argument is really Cosmological in nature because it presupposes that something exists. One can only know that a poissible world exists on the background knowledge of an actual world.) Plantinga believes that if it is even possible that a maxamally... more info

A Contemporary Philosophy of Religion Text:

If you are looking for an historical 'readings' text for topics in the philosophy of religion, then this book is not for you. However, if you are looking for writings about certain philosophy of religion (or contemporary 'readings') topics then go no further. Craig has assemble some first rate analytical thinkers of the 20th century to cover a wide gamut of topics in the arena of the philosophy of religion.
However, any reader should keep in mind that this is not an historical text of the issues of the... more info

good for advanced Christian students & atheistic profs:

As the other reviewer mentioned, this text is quite "one sided." The editors are intentional in this move however: they say they would have liked a "pro"-theism and a "con"-theism article(s) for each section, but they only wanted the BEST articles as well, so the "con" articles--those critical of arguments for theism--had to go.
While this might be a bad thing, it could be useful for an instructor who is an agnostic or atheist since using this book could be a way to avoid students accusing the instructor... more info

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