Exploring the Philosophy of Religion (5th Edition) [Paperback]

David Stewart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0130195197 | ISBN-13: 978-0130195197 | Publication Date: July 19, 2000 | Edition: 5

Exploring the Philosophy of Religion organizes 28 readings around 7 major themes, beginning with religious experience then transitioning to the relationship of religion to life, to human destiny, and then to the thorny issues of arguments for God's existence and the problem of evil. The concluding two sections analyze the relationship between faith and reason, and the nature of religious language. The text offers a rich, yet approachable, introduction to philosophy of religion for the beginning student that is distinguished by the following special features: *Introductions that help prepare students for meaningful discussion of the readings *Appealing mixture of classical and contemporary authors from Plato, Descartes, Kant, Paley, and Kierkegaard to contemporary thinkers such as John Hick, Richard Taylor, David Ray Griffin, and Paul Ricoeur.* Consideration of issues from both Western and Eastern perspectives *Discussion of process thought, often omitted from introductory texts New to this edition are readings on religious pluralism by John Hick, a compelling analysis of God's female nature by Rosemary Ruether, and such classic readings as Paul Tillich on faith as ultimate concern, Kant's moral argument for God's existence, John Stuart Mill's analysis of the limits of natural theology, and the contrast in ancient Greek thought between Plato and Epicurus on death and human destiny and its difference from the early Christian view. The book couples clear and understandable analysis with important primary-source readings on topics that have a permanent place in the philosophy of religion. Also of Interest Fundamentals of Philosophy, 5th edition by David Stewart and H. Gene Blocker An accessible reader/text for beginning students of philosophy that offers a broad scope and diversity of classic and contemporary selections with introductions that present difficult issues in an understandable manner.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This text/anthology presents substantial selections from primary source material -- yet is accessible for those new to philosophical studies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

The text offers a rich, yet approachable, introduction to philosophy of religion for the beginning student that is distinguished by the following special features:

• Introductions that help prepare students for meaningful discussion of the readings
• Appealing mixture of classical and contemporary authors from Plato, Descartes, Kant, Paley, and Kierkegaard to contemporary thinkers such as John Hick, Richard Taylor, David Ray Griffin, and Paul Ricoeur.
• Consideration of issues from both Western and Eastern perspectives
• Discussion of process thought, often omitted from introductory texts

New to this edition are readings on religious pluralism by John Hick, a compelling analysis of God's female nature by Rosemary Ruether, and such classic readings as Paul Tillich on faith as ultimate concern, Kant's moral argument for God's existence, John Stuart Mill's analysis of the limits of natural theology, and the contrast in ancient Greek thought between Plato and Epicurus on death and human destiny and its difference from the early Christian view.

The book couples clear and understandable analysis with important primary-source readings on topics that have a permanent place in the philosophy of religion.

Also of Interest

Fundamentals of Philosophy, 5th edition by David Stewart and H. Gene Blocker
An accessible reader/text for beginning students of philosophy that offers a broad scope and diversity of classic and contemporary selections with introductions that present difficult issues in an understandable manner.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 354 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 5 edition (July 19, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130195197
• ISBN-13: 978-0130195197
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,512,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understand the Dynamics behind Religious Beliefs and Thought, August 8, 2000

By 

Mitch Anderson (Richmond, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring the Philosophy of Religion (Paperback)

This is an incredible work that will introduce the reader with such topics as defining "Religious Experience," "Arguments for the Existence of God," "Faith and Reason," "The Problem of Evil," "Death and Human Destiny," and much more. This book is laid out nicely to present various perspectives and opposing viewpoints. The "textbook" approach presents readings from notable thinkers such as William James, Rene Descartes, Anthony Flew, John Stewart Mill, Paul Tillich, and many others. It includes discussion questions that will challenge the reader to think about the material that is presented. As this work is written in the layman's language, I think that it will guide readers to EXPLORE the philosophy of religion, and that it will serve as a handbook to prepare arguments for beliefs and disposition.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great teaching text, June 20, 2006

By 

jay vincent "jv" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exploring the Philosophy of Religion (6th Edition) (Paperback)

I received the Sixth Edition of EXPLORING THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION in the mail. Most of such "complimentary copies" of various textbooks are hardly worth reading, but this book is a delightful exception. All of the major themes are covered in excellent detail.
Stewart includes sections on mysticism, theodicy, evil, morality, theistic arguments, faith vs. reason,
religious language, the soul, and the will to believe. Adequate coverage of feminist themes and Asian thought is appreciated, especially in a fairly short volume. I would recommend this
book as a core text in philosophy of religion courses, using Whitehead-RELIGION IN THE MAKING and Bergson-TWO SOURCES as supplemental readings. The Stewart text could also be used as a supplemental text for intro. to phil. and ethics courses.
My only criticism is inadequate length-- the professor using this text as the sole text for a course would need to provide plenty of lecture material from outside sources or from her own research. I do not believe that this work could support a whole 15-week semester by itself.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hate It or Love It, May 15, 2011

By 

LiquidRaptor - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Exploring the Philosophy of Religion (6th Edition) (Paperback)

Read EPR if you LOVE philosophy. Otherwise, this probably will be irrelevant and boring especially for a gen-ed course. Topics include ultimate reality, concepts about God, the afterlife, source of evil, supernatural elements, and the human being. The author is complicated and does not explain himself plainly either. His references are also complex. But to best understand him, skim over a chapter then read it again. Also, purchase the book used. However, the book can provide insight on something, so it's not entirely meaningless.