God and the Ethics of Belief New Essays in Philosophy of Religion [Paperback]

These essays offer a sampling of the best current work in philosophy of religion.This collection of essays offers a sampling of the best current work in philosophy of religion. Topics include the relationship between God and the natural laws; the possibility of bodily resurrection; the role of appeal to mystery in religious life; and the social-political aspects of religious faith and practice.This collection of essays offers a sampling of the best current work in philosophy of religion. Topics include the relationship between God and the natural laws; the possibility of bodily resurrection; the role of appeal to mystery in religious life; and the social-political aspects of religious faith and practice.Philosophy of religion in the Anglo-American tradition experienced a 'rebirth' following the 1955 publication of New Essays in Philosophical Theology (eds. Antony Flew and Alisdair MacIntyre). Fifty years later, this volume of essays offers a sampling of the best work in what is now a very active field, written by some of its most prominent members. A substantial introduction sketches the developments of the last half-century, while also describing the 'ethics of belief' debate in epistemology and showing how it connects to explicitly religious concerns and to the topics of the individual contributions. These topics include: the relationship between God and the natural laws; the metaphysics of bodily resurrection; the role of appeal to 'mystery' in the religious life; the justification of both theistic belief generally and more specific doctrinal beliefs; and the social-political aspects of religious faith and practice.Introduction Andrew Chignell and Andrew Dole; 1. Can God break the laws? Alvin Plantinga; 2. Sleeping Beauty and the afterlife Linda Zagzebski; 3. Free will, evil and divine providence Derk Pereboom; 4. Two cheers for mystery! William Alston; 5. The probability of the resurrection Richard Swinburne; 6. Is God an unnecessary hypothesis? Peter van Inlƒ.