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Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion Contemporary Debates in Philosophy Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion Contemporary Debates in Philosophy In teaching and research, philosophy makes progress through argumentation and debate. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy presents a forum for students and their teachers to follow and participate in the debates that animate philosophy today in the western world. Each volume presents pairs of opposing viewpoints on contested themes and topics in the central subfields of philosophy. Each volume is edited and introduced by an expert in the field, and also includes an index, bibliography, and suggestions for further reading. The opposing essays, commissioned especially for the volumes in the series, are thorough but accessible presentations of opposing points of view. 1. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion edited by Michael L. Peterson and Raymond J. VanArragon 2. Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Science edited by Christopher Hitchcock 3. Contemporary Debates in Epistemology edited by Matthias Steup and Ernest Sosa 4. Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics edited by Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman Forthcoming Contemporary Debates are in: Aesthetics edited by Matthew Kieran Cognitive Science edited by Robert Stainton Metaphysics edited by Ted Sider, Dean Zimmerman, and John Hawthorne Moral Theory edited by James Dreier Philosophy of Mind edited by Brian McLaughlin and Jonathan Cohen Social Philosophy edited by Laurence Thomas CONTEMPORARY DEBATES IN PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION Edited by Michael L. Peterson and Raymond J. VanArragon © 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd BLACKWELL PUBLISHING 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148‐5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of Michael L. Peterson and Raymond J. VanArragon to be identified as the Authors of the Editorial Material in this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988. 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, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Reprinted 2005 Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data Contemporary debates in the philosophy of religion / edited by Michael L. Peterson and Raymond J. VanArragon. p. cm.—(Contemporary debates in philosophy ; 1) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0‐631‐20042‐8 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 0‐631‐20043‐6 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Religion—Philosophy. 2. Christianity—Philosophy. I. Peterson, Michael L., 1950– II. VanArragon, Raymond J. III. Series. BL51.C63682 2003 210—c21 2003005122 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library. Set in 10/12½ pt Rotis serif by SNP Best‐set Typesetter Ltd, Hong Kong Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall The publisher’s policy is to use permanent paper from mills that operate a sustainable forestry policy, and which has been manufactured from pulp processed using acid‐free and elementary chlorine‐free practices. Furthermore, the publisher ensures that the text paper and cover board used have met acceptable environmental accreditation standards. For further information on Blackwell Publishing, visit our website: www.blackwellpublishing.com Contents Notes on Contributors viii Preface xi PART I ATTACKS ON RELIGIOUS BELIEF 1 1 Is Evil Evidence against Belief in God? 3 Evil Is Evidence against Theistic Belief William L. Rowe 3 Evil Does Not Make Atheism More Reasonable than Theism Daniel Howard-Snyder and Michael Bergmann 13 Reply to Howard-Snyder and Bergmann 25 Reply to Rowe 27 2 Does Divine Hiddenness Justify Atheism? 30 Divine Hiddenness Justifies Atheism J. L. Schellenberg 30 Divine Hiddenness Does Not Justify Atheism Paul K. Moser 42 Reply to Moser 54 Reply to Schellenberg 56 3 Does Science Discredit Religion? 59 Science Discredits Religion John Worrall 59 The Demise of Religion: Greatly Exaggerated Reports from the Science/Religion “Wars” Del Ratzsch 72 Reply to Ratzsch 87 Reply to Worrall 90 PART II ARGUMENTS FOR RELIGIOUS BELIEF 95 4 Is God’s Existence the Best Explanation of the Universe? 97 Explanation and the Cosmological Argument Bruce R. Reichenbach 97 Why Traditional Cosmological Arguments Don’t Work, and a Sketch of a New One that Does Richard M. Gale 114 Reply to Gale 130 Reply to Reichenbach 132 5 Does Religious Experience Justify Religious Belief? 135 Religious Experience Justifies Religious Belief William P. Alston 135 Contents Do Mystics See God? Evan Fales 145 Reply to Fales 158 Reply to Alston 161 6 Is It Rational for Christians to Believe in the Resurrection? 164 It Is Rational to Believe in the Resurrection Stephen T. Davis 164 It Is Not Rational to Believe in the Resurrection Michael Martin 174 Reply to Martin 184 Reply to Davis 186 PART III ISSUES WITHIN RELIGION 189 7 Can Only One Religion Be True? 191 How to Sink in Cognitive Quicksand: Nuancing Religious Pluralism Keith E. Yandell 191 It Is Not Reasonable to Believe that Only One Religion Is True Peter Byrne 201 Reply to Byrne 211 Reply to Yandell 215 8 Does God Take Risks in Governing the World? 218 God Takes Risks William Hasker 218 God Does Not Take Risks Paul Helm 228 Reply to Helm 238 Reply to Hasker 240 9 Does God Respond to Petitionary Prayer? 242 God Responds to Prayer Michael J. Murray 242 God Does Not Necessarily Respond to Prayer David Basinger 255 Reply to Basinger 264 Reply to Murray 266 10 Is Eternal Damnation Compatible with the Christian Concept of God? 268 Eternal Hell and the Christian Concept of God Jerry Walls 268 No Hell Thomas Talbott 278 vi Reply to Talbott 287 Reply to Walls 288 11 Is Morality Based on God’s Commands? 290 Divine Commands Are the Foundation of Morality Janine Marie Idziak 290 Ethics Is Based on Natural Law Craig A. Boyd and Raymond J. VanArragon 299 Reply to Boyd and VanArragon 310 Reply to Idziak 313 12 Should a Christian Be a Mind–Body Dualist? 315 Christians Should Affirm Mind–Body Dualism Dean W. Zimmerman 315 Contents Christians Should Reject Mind–Body Dualism Lynne Rudder Baker 327 Reply to Baker 338 Reply to Zimmerman 341 Index 344 vii Notes on Contributors William P. Alston is Professor Emeritus in the Philosophy Department at Syracuse University. He is well known for his work in philosophy of language, epistemology, and philosophy of religion. He has written several books, including Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience (1991). Lynne Rudder Baker is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts. Her areas of interest include metaphysics and philosophy of mind, and she is the author of Persons and Bodies: A Constitution View (2000). David Basinger is Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at Roberts Wesleyan College. He specializes in philosophy of religion and ethics and publishes regularly on issues relating to divine providence. Michael Bergmann is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University. He has published many articles in the areas of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of religion. Craig A. Boyd is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Greenville College. His areas of interest include ethics and medieval philosophy, and he has published professional articles in both areas. Peter Byrne is Professor of Ethics and the Philosophy of Religion at King’s College, University of London. He has published books in both ethics and philosophy of religion, including Prolegomena to Religious Pluralism: Reference and Realism in Religion (1995). Stephen T. Davis is Professor of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College. His interests include philosophy of religion and the history of philosophy. He is the author of Risen Indeed: Making Sense of the Resurrection (1993). Evan Fales is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Iowa. He does work in several areas, including epistemology and philosophy of science; he is author of A Defense of the Given (1996). Richard M. Gale is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh. He does work in metaphysics and has published widely in philosophy of religion, including the book On the Nature and Existence of God (1991). William Hasker is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Huntington College. His areas of research include metaphysics and philosophy of religion. Among other books, he is the author of God, Time, and Knowledge (1989). Paul Helm is the J. I. Packer Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Regent College. His primary area of interest is philosophy of religion, and he is author of several books, including The Providence of God (1994). Notes on Contributors Daniel Howard-Snyder is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Western Washington University. His interests include philosophy of religion and epistemology, and he is editor of The Evidential Argument from Evil (1996). Janine Marie Idziak is Professor of Philosophy at Loras College. Her interests include medieval philosophy and ethics. She is the editor of Questions on an Ethics of Divine Commands (1997). Michael Martin is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. He has done work in philosophy of religion and philosophy of social science and is author of The Case Against Christianity (1991). Paul K. Moser is Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University, Chicago. His specialties include epistemology and metaphilosophy. He is co-editor of Divine Hiddenness: New Essays (2002). Michael J. Murray is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Franklin and Marshall College. His interests include Leibniz and philosophy of religion, and he is editor of the book, Reason for the Hope Within (1999). Del Ratzsch is Professor of Philosophy at Calvin College. He specializes in philoso- phy of science of logic. Among other books, he has published Nature, Design, and Science (2001). Bruce R. Reichenbach is Professor of Philosophy at Augsburg College.
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