Evidence and Religious Belief

Kelly James Clark editor Raymond J VanArragon editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:28th Jul '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Evidence and Religious Belief cover

A fundamental question in philosophy of religion is whether religious belief must be based on evidence in order to be properly held. In recent years two prominent positions on this issue have been staked out: evidentialism, which claims that proper religious belief requires evidence; and Reformed epistemology, which claims that it does not. Evidence and Religious Belief contains eleven chapters by prominent philosophers which push the discussion in new directions. The volume has three parts. The first part explores the demand for evidence: some chapters object to it while others seek to restate it or find space for compromise between Reformed epistemology and evidentialism. The second part explores ways in which beliefs are related to evidence; that is, ways in which the evidence for or against religious belief that is available to a person can depend on that person's background beliefs and other circumstances. The third part contains chapters that discuss actual evidence for and against religious belief. Evidence for belief in God includes the so-called common consent of the human race and the way that such belief makes sense of the moral life; evidence against it includes profound puzzles about divine freedom which suggest that it is impossible for a being to be morally perfect.

Elegance of argumentation gives this volume an interest beyond its presumptive chief audienc? * those who wish to track the progress of Plantinga-influenced inquiries into belief and evidence.J. Churchill, CHOICE *

ISBN: 9780199603718

Dimensions: 240mm x 166mm x 20mm

Weight: 496g

226 pages