In recent debates concerning the existence, or non-existence, of God, the New Atheists have become an increasingly prominent voice. In response to this intellectual movement, this volume articulates for the first time a "New Theist" response that has at its core a desire to engage in productive and depolarizing dialogue.
To ensure this book is of interest to atheists and theists alike, a team of experts in the field of philosophy of religion offer an expert assessment of the toughest New Atheist arguments. The chapters deal with some of the most pertinent questions about God, including politics and morality, and each essay shows how a reflective theist might deal with points raised by the New Atheists.
This volume is a serious scholarly engagement with the questions asked by New Atheism. As such, it will be if significant interest to scholars of the Philosophy of Religion and Theology, as well as those studying Religious Studies more generally.
|
|
|
ix | |
| Introduction |
|
1 | (6) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
7 | (86) |
|
1 Paradoxes of infinity and the first cause |
|
|
9 | (12) |
|
|
|
2 An argument for a supreme foundation |
|
|
21 | (12) |
|
|
|
3 God and moral knowledge |
|
|
33 | (14) |
|
|
|
|
|
4 Taking a new perspective on suffering and death |
|
|
47 | (12) |
|
|
|
5 Is the God Hypothesis improbable? A response to Dawkins |
|
|
59 | (18) |
|
|
|
6 The nature and rationality of faith |
|
|
77 | (16) |
|
|
|
|
|
93 | (86) |
|
|
|
95 | (8) |
|
|
|
8 Are we better off without religion? The harms (and benefits) of religious belief |
|
|
103 | (16) |
|
|
|
9 A license to sin? Spiritual practices and moral licensing |
|
|
119 | (12) |
|
|
|
10 Another dimension of the moral argument: the voice of Jesus and the historical fruits of the Christian faith |
|
|
131 | (22) |
|
|
|
|
|
11 Moral strangers as co-laborers in the fields of justice |
|
|
153 | (15) |
|
|
|
12 Reflections on a secular foundation for religious liberty |
|
|
168 | (11) |
|
|
|
PART III God and theology |
|
|
179 | (35) |
|
13 A bloody death that saves the world? Making sense of Christ's cross |
|
|
181 | (18) |
|
|
|
14 The fate of the "good person" |
|
|
199 | (15) |
|
|
| Index |
|
214 | |
Joshua Rasmussen is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Azusa Pacific University, USA. He works primarily on topics in metaphysics, with a focus on basic categories of reality and minds. He is author of Defending the Correspondence Theory of Truth (2014), Necessary Existence (2018), and How Reason Can Lead to God (2019).
Kevin Vallier is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University, USA. His interests lie primarily in political philosophy, ethics, philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE), and the philosophy of religion. He is the author of Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation (2014), Must Politics Be War? Restoring Our Trust in the Open Society (2019) and A Liberal Democratic Peace: Creating Trust in Polarized Times (2020).
More info about Taylor & Francis e-books