The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology [Hardcover]

William Lane Craig (Editor), J. P. Moreland (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1405176571 | ISBN-13: 978-1405176576 | Edition: 1

With the help of in-depth essays from some of the world's leading philosophers, The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology explores the nature and existence of God through human reason and evidence from the natural world.

• Provides in-depth and cutting-edge treatment of natural theology's main arguments
• Includes contributions from first-rate philosophers well known for their work on the relevant topics
• Updates relevant arguments in light of the most current, state-of-the-art philosophical and scientific discussions
• Stands in useful contrast and opposition to the arguments of the 'new atheists'

Editorial Reviews

Review

"They give a good look into the condition of the field, and bring to the forefront presuppositions shaping contemporary inquiry." (Reviews in Religion & Theology, 2011)

"If natural theology is overdue for a comeback, this work will help it on its way, and, for skeptical readers, there is much here to go on thinking about for months to come (making it a good catalyst for intelligent debate)." (Reference Reviews, February 2010)

"All of these essays show sophistication and deserve wide attention. Common objections to the theistic arguments are considered and logical proofs are helpfully provided when appropriate." (Religious Studies Review, June 2010)

"Laudable and timely." (Church Times, January 2010)

Review

"The Companion contains papers on a rich diversity of topics that are representative of the new natural theology that emerged in the 1970s with books by Alvin Plantinga, William Craig and others. The rapidly evolving lines of thought are increasingly influential in the field of philosophy and the essays in this collection are "cutting edge" works, such as the very recent formulation of a new version of the ontological argument for God's existence by Robert Maydole. The high quality of the essays make this book required reading for philosophers of religion and its diverse topics will interest thinkers in many fields."
–Quentin Smith, Western Michigan University

"This collection is a major contribution to the intellectual discussion of classical theism. Its philosophically sophisticated essays provide essential background reading for all those engaged in serious debate about the rationality of belief in God today."
–John F. Haught, Georgetown University

"I used to think natural theology was a dead area and not worthy of mourning. The scholarship represented by this volume has convinced me I was wrong. The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology aptly demonstrates why natural theology has become an exciting scholarly area again. These essays combine cutting-edge philosophy with recent scientific advancements to provide a thorough, timely resource balancing confidence and humility, rigour and readability."
–Justin L. Barrett, University of Oxford

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 704 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (June 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1405176571
• ISBN-13: 978-1405176576
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 1.7 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,026,029 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Defense of Theism at the Scholarly Level, June 4, 2009

By 

Praetor Drew (United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Hardcover)

This book features some of the top theistic philosophers of religion in the world delivering a defense of the existence of God. This book is extremely thorough, answering every possible objection along the way.

Be warned, this book assumes you have an understanding of the vocabulary and methodology of analytic philosophy. The ontological argument assumes that you, the reader, understand propositional calculus. This book is not for the layman.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth, March 24, 2011

By 

CBRASDAS - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Hardcover)

This is a fantastic book. But is it the "greatest defense of theism" ever assembled? No. Why? Because it is (in general) not defensive; rather, this would fall under the category of "offensive" apologetics. In general, this book attempts to prove God through Kalam, ontological, etc. But to say that this is a defense of theism simply shows the other reviewer's misunderstanding of philosophy. A defense of theism is when atheists attempt, through logic, to disprove God, and the theist "defends" theism by showing that the atheist's proofs are false (this is where theism is at its strongest). Disproving an argument FOR God does not disprove God. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

And when a reviewer writes that they will be "dismantling" the arguments shown here, simply disregard this. The philosophers and theologians who write essays in this book are top notch; atheist philosophers have a hard enough time trying to rebut them, and a 3rd year civil engineer student is attempting to? He is simply preaching to the choir (ironically, an atheist choir). I have witnessed quite a few layman try to disprove the Kalam, or the Modal, etc., only to use faulty logic or completely misunderstand the arguments. Christopher Hitchens admitted to being beat by William Lane Craig in a debate, and renowned atheist philosopher Walter Sinnot-Armstrong admitted to the coherency of theism during another Craig debate, and yet the average layman believes he has a chance??? Go look on Reasonablefaith.org to read all the poor attempts at outsmarting Craig.

My main point is this: Do not obsess. I went through a time when I was rampantly reading apologetics, and then I would turn around to read atheistic literature. I did this because I was constantly in a state of, "But what if Craig/Plantinga/Moreland/etc. is wrong?? Look at all the atheists today! Surely they can't ALL be wrong!" This line of thinking is natural, though can be very detrimental. Even the great Socrates recognizes the problem here: "I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing. And that is that I know nothing." We cannot know the answer to every question or every objection. Do not constantly worry about atheists attempting to disprove God, for this leads no where. Eventually you will have to make a choice, and stick with it without having to worry about possible objections.

Oh, and order this for your library! That's an easy way to get it (and without cost!).

Note: This book is definitely advanced. If you would describe yourself as "the layman," this book is not for you. I immerse myself in apologetics, but there is quite a bit that I don't understand. You need a thorough education in certain aspects in order to understand EVERY argument from top to bottom. Nonetheless, it is a joy to read.

90 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The single greatest defense of theism ever assembled, May 16, 2009

By 

Luke A. Muehlhauser "Luke" (Cambridge, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Hardcover)

As an atheist, I recognize this as the single greatest defense of theism ever assembled. Craig and Moreland basically made a list of the most compelling contemporary arguments for the existence of God, tracked down their foremost living defenders, and gave them 50-100 pages to make their case. The result is awe-inspiring, even for the atheist.

I do not expect the book to succeed in demonstrating theism, but it might take a full decade for me to fully analyze its meaty arguments and come to some conclusions.

Even if Earth's universities are emptied of theists by the year 2400, we may look then look back and see 'The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology' as the high-point in the philosophical defense of theism. So I give this book 5 stars not because it convinced me that a magical super-being spoke the universe into existence and revealed himself to ancient, ignorant people through the virgin birth of a man-god who did party tricks, got killed, then rose from the dead and flew off into the sky. No, I give this book 5 stars because it's the best defense of such a myth that can possibly be mustered.

High points include Craig & Sinclair's new deployment of the Kalam Cosmological Argument and McGrew & McGrew's astounding Bayesian defense of the historicity of the resurrection of Jesus.

Also, readers may be surprised to learn that the modal ontological argument has progressed a great deal since Plantinga. To my knowledge, atheists have yet to show what might be wrong with Robert Maydole's latest ontological argument, printed within.

Because I hold this book in such high esteem, I will be writing hundreds of pages in response to its arguments, starting with Craig's kalam argument and Linville's moral argument. You can track my progress at CommonSenseAtheism.com.

'The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology' is a tour-de-force of analytic philosophy. If the world is just, it will shape the theistic side of the debate over the existence of God for at least a decade. In my opinion, it has no equal among atheistic literature - yet.