Is There a God? [Paperback]

Richard Swinburne (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 19, 1997

Is There a God? offers a powerful response to modern doubts about the existence of God. It may seem today that the answers to all fundamental questions lie in the province of science, and that the scientific advances of the twentieth century leave little room for God. Cosmologists have rolled back their theories to the moment of the Big Bang; the discovery of DNA reveals the key to life; the theory of evolution explains the development of life--and with each new discovery or development, it seems that we are closer to a complete understanding of how things are. For many people, this gives strength to the belief that God is not needed to explain the universe; that religious belief is not based on reason; and that the existence of God is, intellectually, a lost cause.
Richard Swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion today, argues that on the contrary, science provides good grounds for belief in God. Why is there a universe at all? Why is there any life on Earth? How is it that discoverable scientific laws operate in the universe? Swinburne uses these methods of scientific reasoning to argue that the best answers to these questions are given by the existence of God. The picture of the universe that science gives us is completed by God. Powerful, modern, and accessible, Is There a God? is must reading for anyone interested in an intelligent and approachable defence of the existence of God.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

This condensation and popularization of the positive case for the existence of God put forward in Swinburne's 1979 book, The Existence of God, is an argument from the orderliness of the universe, maintaining that theism accounts for that orderliness more simply and more completely than humanism or materialism. Historically, arguments for the existence of God tend toward "preaching to the choir." This one is no exception. The choir will find it compelling, but others--while admiring the system and orderliness of the book--are not likely to be convinced. Steve Schroeder --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

`Is There a God? is an honest, decently unspectacular presentation of one version of the case - Swinburne calls it theism - for the existence of God.' Scotland on Sunday

`If you are looking for a book which will help you to see that there is more than what you daily observe with your senses, this is a good book to read.' The Tablet

`Many lay people may be gratified to discover that the kind of intellectual reasoning which they are accustomed in their working life is here applied to the question of belief in God.' The Expository Times

`Readable and logical ... It is up to date ... It is not dogmatic.' Methodist Recorder

`The book is ... an immensely rewarding one for those who are prepared to give it the close attention which it both requires and deserves ... Swinburne is accepting the challenge to make his case on the more difficult side. He suceeds brilliantly, and we can indeed be grateful to him for that ... a worthy counterbalance to the views of such as Dawkins and Hawking. It is much to be hoped that it receives as much attention.' The Door

`He argues his case very well both in this book and in others ... if you are looking for a book which will help you to see that there is more than what you daily observe with your senses, this is a good book to read.' The Tablet

`The answer to the question ... is, of course, an emphatic 'yes'. We could expect no less from the Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion in Oxford. But it is the route he follows in order to arrive at that answer which gives this important book its interest for the thoughtful reader ... immensely rewarding ... for those who are prepared to give it the close attention which it both requires and deserves ... This book, in fact, is a worthy counterbalance to the views of such as Dawkins and Hawking. It is much to be hoped that it receives as much attention.' The Door

`To date ... few philosophers, still less philosophers of religion, have pursued this path. Richard Swinburne ... is therefore to be applauded for attempting to make good this deficit.' Church Times

`For those unfamiliar with the kinds of issues examined by philosophers of religion, and the methods that they employ, Is There a God? may ... serve as a useful introduction to this area.' Church Times

`Richard Swinburne ... has produced this impressive shortened version of his magisterial study The existence of God ... Swinburne shows us what the logic of probability can achieve, as he pursues his argument with relentless clarity.' The Reader

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198235453
• ISBN-13: 978-0198235453
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,258,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good intro to Swinburne, October 12, 1999

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Is There a God? (Paperback)

I understand why Swinburne closes this volume with some "dissatisfaction," because it is a very brief distillation and summary of his much more detailed work elsewhere and it does, as he readily admits, invite any number of critical replies he does not have room to address. Nevertheless this volume is a good introduction to his thought.

Be warned: the God of Swinburne's "natural theology" does not quite have all the attributes one expects in the God of traditional theism. His God is not, for example, "eternal" (in the sense "outside of time altogether," though he is "everlasting"), nor (therefore) does He have full foreknowledge of what His creatures will do, nor is He sovereign over moral law.

Swinburne's basic idea is that although no particular argument clinches the case for God, several arguments together render His existence altogether more likely than not. And, according to Swinburne, He provides an explanation for scientific law in the sense that His existence explains why there are such laws at all.

In this work, written as a popular reply to Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking, Swinburne boils down his arguments to the bare minimum and aims to present them readably to a popular audience. He does it well, though the interested reader is referred to his other work for details.

He is probably at his least convincing in dealing with theodicy and the problem of evil. But other reviewers have already commented on that, so I'll say no more about it here.

All in all, if you are looking for an introduction to Swinburne's thought, this book is an excellent choice.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh and original contribution to the debate, November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Is There a God? (Paperback)

Swinburne takes the moldy old "primal mover" argument for the existence of God and brilliantly revitalizes it to such an extent that it is nearly unrecognizable. I am an atheist-an open-minded one. If the arguments for God's existence ever become compelling again, I will change camps. This book was so fresh and original that it deserves a second read-which I am doing. I cannot say that I am convinced but I am very intrigued by Swinburne's argument. It is difficult to summarize his long and subtle argument here. Any attempt to do so would do it injustice so keep that in mind. He suggests that God-a simple non-material being-is the best explanation for the totality of the information that we have about the universe and that no other theory explains the universe as simply or completely as the existence of God does. In other words, using the old principle of "Occam's Razor" (the principle that "the simplest (not more complex) solution is often the correct one") God, rather than seeming a holdover from dark, superstitious times, is a very efficient and elegant solution to the reason why the universe exists at all. You will have to read the book to appreciate this in all its interesting details. And it is interesting and very thought provoking. At the very least, it is a very clever and subtle restating of a very old argument. That alone is enough reason to buy this book if you are interested in these issues. At the most, he may be onto something. A second reading is necessary. One complaint: Swinburne tries to simplify his larger volume for this edition. He writes like a typical academic-which means that his prose is often leaden and dry. It appears that he has shortened his work without necessarily making it more elegant in its presentation. I thought of many examples and illustrations he offered which were not as helpful as he must have thought they might be. If you can dig your way through his flat writing style and have some background in this area, this is a must read book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A condensed version of "The Existence of God", January 25, 2001

By 

TSENG Bruce (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Is There a God? (Paperback)

Swinburne is widely acclaimed as one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion nowadays (others along the same ranking include Alvin Plantinga, William Alston, etc). Anyone who is seriously discussing about theistic arguments may disagree with him but he/she cannot ignore Swinburne, whose contribution in the area is significant. His arguments are somewhat original. His analytical style of writing might seem dry to some readers, but bear in mind, he has been writing for professional analytical philosophers for the past 25 years or so. In this book, he tried to present his arguments to the general public in a more readable manner.

In his earlier work, "The Existence of God", he spent one-third of the book discussing about his methodology (about inductive arguments, what does it mean when we say we explain something, the probability approach, etc). But in this condensed version, he focused more on the arguments - but only a selection of them (brief discussion with only the susbtance presented). And of course, due to limited space, he could not give detailed reply to every single rebuttal against his arguments. It would therefore appear (wrongly) to some that his arguments did not conclusively "prove" the existence of God (in the normal/scientific sense of the word). It is for this reason that Swinburne expressed some dissatisfaction after completing the book. However, in my opinion, one could have a glance of Swinburne's contribution in the whole discussion of Theistic arguments by reading this book. It presents his general approach and some important substance of his arguments. For those who need a bit more detailed arguments, they must refer to the more complicated version, "The Existence of God" published in 1979.

Contrary to some reviews above, it would be fairer to compare Mackie's "The Miracle of Theism" with "The Existence of God" rather than "Is there a God", simply because "Is there a God" is not on the same level of discussion.

To me, this is surely Swinburne's most approachable book. Anyone who is interested in some first-class theistic arguments should begin by reading "Is there a God". I started reading "The Existence of God" first and was greatly troubled by the technical stuff. Now I can appreciate more of it after reading "Is there a God". Buy this book first and then read "The Existence of God" later (when you come to have a good grasp of the materials presented in this book). I am sure you won't be disappointed. Highly recommended.