When confronted by horrendous evil, even the most pious believer may question not only life's worth but also God's power and goodness. A distinguished philosopher and a practicing minister, Marilyn McCord Adams has written a highly original work on a fundamental dilemma of Christian thought—how to reconcile faith in God with the evils that afflict human beings. Adams argues that much of the discussion in analytic philosophy of religion over the last forty years has offered too narrow an understanding of the problem. The ground rules accepted for the discussion have usually led philosophers to avert their gaze from the worst—horrendous—evils and their devastating impact on human lives. They have agreed to debate the issue on the basis of religion-neutral values, and have focused on morals, an approach that—Adams claims—is inadequate for formulating and solving the problem of horrendous evils. She emphasizes instead the fruitfulness of other evaluative categories such as purity and defilement, honor and shame, and aesthetics. If redirected, philosophical reflection on evil can, Adams's book demonstrates, provide a valuable approach not only to theories of God and evil but also to pastoral care.

Believing Philosophy introduces Christians to philosophy and the tools it provides believers, helping them understand, articulate, and defend their faith in an age of unbelief. Philosophy has been a part of Christianity since its earliest days, and theistic philosophy predates Christianity by thousands of years. But Christians today often don't realize or are skeptical of all that philosophy can offer them. In Part 1, author Dolores G. Morris explains why Christians should read and study philosophy. She begins with a historical overview of Christian philosophy from the church fathers to contemporary philosophers and then introduces the basic resources of philosophical reasoning: the role and aim of reason, distinctions between truth and reason and provability, and learning to read like a philosopher. These chapters address three foundational questions: What is philosophy? Why should a Christian study philosophy? How should a Christian study philosophy? In Part 2, Morris introduces students to philosophical arguments and questions relevant to Christians. She presents arguments by three key branches of philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, and practical philosophy. Building on concepts introduced in Part 1, she explains what philosophical arguments are and how they ought to be evaluated from a philosophical and Christian perspective. The following chapters examine specific questions most pressing for Christians today: The problem of evil Rationality and faith Free will Skeptical theism The moral argument for the existence of God Reformed epistemology Each chapter introduces the problem, explains Christian responses, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each response, and leaves the final verdict to the reader. Finally, each chapter concludes with a list of recommended further readings.

This book aims to reinvigorate discussions of moral arguments for God's existence. To open this debate, Baggett and Walls argue that God's love and moral goodness are perfect, without defect, necessary, and recognizable. After integrating insights from the literature of both moral apologetics and theistic ethics, they defend theistic ethics against a variety of objections and, in so doing, bolster the case for the moral argument for God's existence. It is the intention of the authors to see this aspect of natural theology resume its rightful place of prominence, by showing how a worldview predicated on the God of both classical theism and historical Christian orthodoxy has more than adequate resources to answer the Euthyphro Dilemma, speak to the problem of evil, illumine natural law, and highlight the moral significance of the incarnation and resurrection of Christ. Ultimately, the authors argue, there is principled reason to believe that morality itself provides excellent reasons to look for a transcendent source of its authority and reality, and a source that is more than an abstract principle.

Does belief in God yield the best understanding of value? Can we provide transcendental support for key moral concepts? Does evolutionary theory undermine or support religious moralities? Is divine forgiveness unjust? Can a wholly good God understand evil? Should philosophy of religion proceed in a faith-neutral way? Public and academic concerns regarding religion and morality are proliferating as people wonder about the possibility of moral reassurance, and the ability of religion to provide it, and about the future of religion and the relation between religious faiths. This book addresses current thinking on such matters, with particular focus on the relationship between moral values and doctrines of the divine. Leading scholars in the field test the scope of philosophy of religion, and engage with the possibilities and difficulties of attempting trans-faith philosophy. Chapters also relate to a number of cross-disciplinary contemporary debates: on evolution and ethics; politics, justice and forgiveness; and the relation between reason and emotions. Another set of chapters tests the coherence of Anselmian theism and concepts of an Omni-God in relation to divine knowledge and goodness. This book will be of interest to scholars and undergraduates in philosophy of religion, as well as moral philosophers, philosophers of science, theologians, and those working in theology and science.

Thomas Aquinas is one of the most important figures in the history of philosophy and philosophical theology. Relying on a deep understanding of Aristotle, Aquinas developed a metaphysical framework that is comprehensive, detailed, and flexible. Within that framework, he formulated a range of strikingly original and carefully explicated views in areas including natural theology, philosophy of mind, philosophical psychology, and ethics. In this book, Christopher Hughes focuses on Aquinas’s thought from an analytic philosophical perspective. After an overview of Aquinas’s life and works, Hughes discusses Aquinas’s metaphysics, including his conception of substance, matter, and form, and his account of essence and existence; and his theory of the nature of human beings, including his critique of a substance dualism that Aquinas attributes to Plato, but is usually associated with Descartes. In the final chapters, Hughes discusses Aquinas’s account of the existence and nature of God, and his treatment of the problem of evil, as well as his ideas about the relation of goodness to being, choice, and happiness. Aquinas on Being, Goodness, and God is essential reading for students and scholars of Aquinas, and anyone interested in philosophy of religion or the history of medieval philosophy.

"Morality and religion: intimately wed, violently opposed, or something else? Discussion of this issue appears in pop culture, the academy, and the media - often generating radically opposed views. At one end of the spectrum are those who think that unless God exists, ethics is unfounded and the moral life is unmotivated. At the other end are those who think that religious belief is unnecessary for - and even a threat to - ethical knowledge and the moral life." "This volume provides an accessible, charitable discussion that represents a range of views along this spectrum. The book begins with a lively debate between Paul Kurtz and William Lane Craig on the question, Is goodness without God good enough? Kurtz defends the affirmative position and Craig the negative. Following the debate are new essays by prominent scholars. These essays comment on the debate and advance the broader discussion of religion and morality. The book closes with final responses from Kurtz and Craig."--BOOK JACKET.

Paul K. Moser proposes a new approach to inquiry about God, including a new discipline of the ethics for such inquiry.

Within the Christian theological tradition there has always been a variety of perspectives on hell, usually distinguished according to their views about the duration of hell’s torments for the damned. Traditionalists maintain that the suffering of the damned is everlasting. Universalists claim that eventually every person is redeemed and arrives in heaven. And conditional immortalists, also known as “conditionalists” or “annihilationists,” reject both the concept of eternal torment as well as universal salvation, instead claiming that after a finite period of suffering the damned are annihilated. Conditionalism has enjoyed somewhat of a revival in scholarly circles in recent years, buoyed by the influential biblical defense of the view by Edward Fudge. However, there has yet to appear a book-length philosophical defense of conditionalism . . . until now. In Hell and Divine Goodness, James Spiegel assesses the three major alternative theories of hell, arriving at the conclusion that the conditionalist view is, all things considered, the most defensible position on the issue.

God and Cosmos provides a four-fold moral argument for God's existence that is cumulative, abductive, and teleological. The four relevant moral realities that theism and Christianity best explain are: intrinsic human value and moral duties; moral knowledge; radical moral transformation of human persons; and a rapprochement between morality and rationality.