Meaning and Mystery: What It Means To Believe in God [Paperback]

Meaning and Mystery offers a challenge to the way Philosophy has traditionally approached the issue of belief in God as a theoretical problem, proposing instead a form of reflection more appropriate to the practical nature of the issue.

• Makes use of abundant illustrative material, from both literature, such as Les Mis?rables, Edwin Abotts Flatland, Yann Martels Life of Pi and Leo Tolstoys A Confession, and popular culture, such as advertisements, the television series Joan of Arcadia and the film Stranger Than Fiction
• Uses imaginative scenarios to offer explanations of central concepts
• Incorporates theories on human thought and behavior in exploring the formation of religious belief
• Written in a style that is accessible to readers with little background knowledge of philosophy

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: Does Anyone Actually Believe in God?

1 Life-Orienting Stories.

2 God of the Philosophers.

3 Reasons for Believing in God.

4 Resistance and Receptivity.

5 Belief As a Practical Issue.

6 Anthropomorphism and Mystery.

7 Naturalistic Stories.

8 Theistic and Naturalistic Morality.

9 Meaning and the Limits of Meaning.

10 Conviction, Doubt, and Humility.

Suggestions for Further Reading.

Index.

With these minor criticisms in mind, Holley's work should be commended for its unique and provocative approach of defending religious belief in the age of modernity which, at the same time, defends naturalism and atheism. He has revealed to us that one need not be legitimlª