Atheism Explained

There are many books explaining atheism and arguing for it.
Most of them fall into one of two types . The first type takes for
granted a lot of technical language in philosophy of religion and
soon loses the ordinary reader. The second type is usually personal
in tone , seething with moral indignation against atrocities committed
in the name of God, unsystematic in approach, and occasionally
betraying ignorance of j ust what theists have believed.
Several books of both types are really excellent in their way, but
I'm trying something different. I explain atheism by giving an outline
of the strongest arguments for and against the existence of
God. My aim is to provide an accurate account of these argu
ments, on both sides, in plain English .
Following a Christian upbringing, I became an atheist by the
age of thirteen . For a few years, it seemed axiomatic that I ought
to do my bit to help convert the world to atheism. Then I became
more interested in social and political questions .

Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion

This is the first book in Blackwell’s “Contemporary Debates” textbook series. It is
designed to feature some of the most important current controversies in the philosophy
of religion. In the Western philosophical tradition, theism – the belief that an
omnipotent, omniscient, wholly good God exists – has been the focus of much philosophical
debate and discussion. Although not a living religion itself, theism forms a
significant conceptual component of three living religions: Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam. Moreover, beliefs within living religions – particularly beliefs of the historic
Christian faith – have also occupied the attention of philosophers of religion. So, in
staking out the territory for this book, we selected some issues related to classical
theism and some related to Christian faith in particular. Most Anglo-American philosophy is oriented toward the rigorous analysis of ideas, arguments, and positions – and this orientation certainly flourishes in the
philosophical treatment of religion. Since the analytic

Atheism and Theism ( A Debate )

 The original invitation to engage in a debate about atheism and theism
was appealing. Although our principal areas of philosophical activity lie
outwith philosophy of religion per se, we are each deeply engaged by issues
in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind which bear directly on such
questions as whether regularity and intelligibility have or need an explanation;
and if they need one, what the form of this might be. Beyond that, we are
each personally engaged by such questions as whether the fact that there
is anything at all indicates a supernatural cause, and whether intimations of
apparent meaning in human experience signify some objectively  transcendent point or purpose. As well as speaking and writing about such issues within professional
philosophical contexts, we have also reflected upon them in non-academic
fora, believing them to be among the most important questions for human
beings to try to answer. Although professional philosophers may be well

Belief in God - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion

Two people have been more influential than any others in the development of
my thought on these topics. The first is John Kenyon, my undergraduate tutor
in Philosophy. The second is Richard Swinburne, my graduate supervisor.
Later in life, I have had the privilege and pleasure of knowing each of them as
colleagues and friends and neither has ever failed to improve my thinking in
my conversations with them. The questions to which this book addresses itself
were first put to me in a philosophically rigorous way by John; and he was the
first to guide me to care about trying to answer them in a similar fashion.
Anybody who is familiar with the work of Richard will recognize his influence
on almost every page of this book: on starting points, we are often in complete
agreement; on conclusions, less so. But in both their cases my debt is of course
not for the conclusions that I reach but for the questions that I ask and the
method by which I seek to answer them. If progress in Philosophy is marked
not so much by an accumulation of answers as by the improvement of one’s
questions, then these two have helped me most in what progress I have been
able to make.

Evolution and Religious Creation Myths

 America is becoming more and more isolated fromthe rest of the world. This
statement is true enough politically and ideologically, with the faulty intelligence
used to justify the 2003 war in Iraq, now known worldwide, and the
increased influence of religious thinking in the conduct of government affairs,
starting at the presidential level with George W. Bush. There is fear that
our nation’s separation of church and state is now threatened, considering
further that some politicians are using an anti-evolutionary, creationist
stance to sway their constituencies. But for a scientist, it is not just politics
that is of the essence. For a person practicing and teaching science, there is
now serious concern that the traditional division between science and religion
is coming to an end among a growing portion of the American public,
which is further promoting our international isolation. And scientific isolation
from the rest of the world is a frightening, dangerous prospect.