The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion WILLIAM J. WAINWRIGHT, Editor OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS the oxford handbook of PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION OXFORD HANDBOOKS IN PHILOSOPHY PAUL K. MOSER, general editor Series Advisory Board ROBERT AUDI University of Nebraska MARTHA NUSSBAUM University of Chicago ALVIN PLANTINGA University of Notre Dame ERNEST SOSA Brown University the oxford handbook of PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Edited by WILLIAM J. WAINWRIGHT 1 2005 1 Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi Sa˜o Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Copyright ᭧ 2005 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Oxford handbook of philosophy of religion / edited by William J. Wainwright. p. cm.—(Oxford handbooks in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-19-513809-0 1. Religion—Philosophy. I. Wainwright, William J. II. Series. BL51.O94 2004 210—dc22 2004043890 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper TO MIMI, REBECCA, SARAH, CHANTAL, AND NICHOLAS This page intentionally left blank Contents Contributors, ix Introduction, 3 William J. Wainwright Part I Problems 1. Divine Power, Goodness, and Knowledge, 15 William L. Rowe 2. Divine Sovereignty and Aseity, 35 William E. Mann 3. Nontheistic Conceptions of the Divine, 59 Paul J. Griffiths 4. The Ontological Argument, 80 Brian Leftow 5. Cosmological and Design Arguments, 116 Alexander R. Pruss and Richard M. Gale 6. Mysticism and Religious Experience, 138 Jerome I. Gellman 7. Pascal’s Wagers and James’s Will to Believe, 168 Jeffrey Jordan 8. The Problem of Evil, 188 Peter van Inwagen viii contents 9. Religious Language, 220 William P. Alston 10. Religious Epistemology, 245 Nicholas Wolterstorff 11. God, Science, and Naturalism, 272 Paul Draper 12. Miracles, 304 George I. Mavrodes 13. Faith and Revelation, 323 C. Stephen Evans 14. Morality and Religion, 344 Linda Zagzebski 15. Death and the Afterlife, 366 Lynne Rudder Baker 16. Religious Diversity: Familiar Problems, Novel Opportunities, 392 Philip L. Quinn Part II Approaches 17. Analytic Philosophy of Religion, 421 William Hasker 18. Wittgensteinianism: Logic, Reality, and God, 447 D. Z. Phillips 19. Continental Philosophy of Religion, 472 Merold Westphal 20. Feminism and Analytic Philosophy of Religion, 494 Sarah Coakley Index, 527 Contributors william p. alston Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Syracuse University. lynne rudder baker Professor of Philosophy, University of Massachusetts– Amherst. sarah coakley Edward Mallinckrodt Professor of Divinity, Divinity School, Harvard University. paul draper Professor of Philosophy, Florida International University. c. stephen evans University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University. richard m. gale Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh. jerome i. gellman Professor of Philosophy, Ben Gurion University of the Negev. paul j. griffiths Schmitt Professor of Catholic Studies, University of Illinois– Chicago. william hasker Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Huntington College. jeffrey jordan Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Delaware. brian leftow Nolloth Professor of Philosophy of the Christian Religion, University of Oxford. william e. mann Marsh Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, University of Vermont. george i. mavrodes Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Michigan. [...]... history and nature of the philosophical approach to the philosophy of religion that they are discussing (the analytic, say, or feminist) In being critical, the chapters carefully assess the views presented on their topics or the strengths and alleged weakness of their approach to the philosophy of religion Readers will thus see not only what the prominent views and approaches in philosophy of religion are... pervades their work They were thus appealing models for contemporary philosophers of religion with similar commitments A second feature of contemporary analytic philosophy of religion is the wide array of topics it addresses The first fifteen years or so of the period in question were dominated by discussions of issues traditionally central to the philosophy of religion: Is the concept of God coherent? Are there... from each other One can only hope that this trend increases in the future The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion is divided into two parts Part 1 covers the most frequently discussed problems in the field Part 2 consists of essays assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the four currently most influential ways of doing philosophy of religion; each is by a well-known practitioner of the way... Professor of the Philosophy of Religion, Claremont Graduate University and Rush Rhees Research Professor, University of Wales– Swansea alexander r pruss sity philip l quinn Dame Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown Univer- John A O’Brien Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre william l rowe Professor of Philosophy, Purdue University peter van inwagen John Cardinal O’Hara Professor of Philosophy, ... have tried to show that theism can cast light on problems in other areas of philosophy that it can give a better account of the logical features of natural laws, for example, or of the nature of introduction 7 numbers, sets, and other mathematical objects, or of the apparent objectivity of moral claims.2 (On the last, see chapter 14.) A third characteristic of recent philosophy of religion is its turn... although the evidence for the truth of the Christian religion is ambiguous, it is sufficient to convince those who seek God or “have the living faith in their hearts.” Reflection on the work of predecessors like these suggests two things The first is that the aim of philosophical theology is not, primarily, to convince nonbelievers of the truth of religious claims but, rather, self-understanding: to enable the. .. the philosophy of religion that ignores them can be complete Second, although the analytic approach dominates the practice of philosophy of religion in English-speaking countries and is beginning to make significant inroads on the continent, there are other historically important and potentially illuminating ways of doing philosophy of religion It is therefore important that a general reference work of. .. Continental philosophers of religion, on the other hand, are often (although not always) trained and housed in departments of religion or theology Their interests, too, are different Analytic philosophers of religion have tended to focus on God or the religious object and on the rational credentials of claims about it Continental philosophy of religion has tended to focus on religion and the human subject;... of Notre Dame william j wainwright Distinguished Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee merold westphal sity Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Fordham Univer- nicholas wolterstorff Noah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology Emeritus, Yale Divinity School linda zagzebski Kingfisher College Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, University of Oklahoma the. .. Schleiermacher and others turned to religious feelings (a sense of absolute dependence or of the unity of all things in the infinite) to justify religion to its “cultured despisers.” But although Schleiermacher thought that the heart and not the head is religion s primary source, the aim of his argument was still apologetic Yet philosophy of religion can have other purposes Theistic proofs, for example, . The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Religion WILLIAM J. WAINWRIGHT, Editor OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS the oxford handbook of PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION OXFORD HANDBOOKS IN PHILOSOPHY PAUL. Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Delaware. brian leftow Nolloth Professor of Philosophy of the Christian Religion, University of Oxford. william e. mann Marsh Professor of Intellectual. Chair of the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, University of Oklahoma. the oxford handbook of PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION This page intentionally left blank INTRODUCTION william j. wainwright The