Product Description

Richard Swinburne presents a substantially rewritten and updated edition of his most celebrated book. No other work has made a more powerful case for the probability of the existence of God. Swinburne gives a rigorous and penetrating analysis of the most important arguments for theism: the cosmological argument; arguments from the existence of laws of nature and the 'fine-tuning' of the universe; from the occurrence of consciousness and moral awareness; and from miracles and religious experience. He claims that while none of these arguments are deductively valid, they do give inductive support to theism and that, even when the argument from evil is weighed against them, taken together they offer good grounds to support the probability that there is a God. The overall structure of the discussion and its conclusion have been retained for this new edition, but much has been changed in order to strengthen the argumentation and to take account of Swinburne's subsequent work on the nature of consciousness and the problem of evil, and of the latest philosophical and scientific writing, especially in respect of the laws of nature and the argument from fine-tuning. This is now the definitive version of a classic in the philosophy of religion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #223707 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 376 pages

Review
Richard Swinburne...over the past thirty years or so, has fashioned the most sophisticated and highly developed natural theology the world has so far seen. (Alvin Plantinga, Times Literary Supplement )

...if you want Swinburne's latest thoughts, and his response to some recent developments, here they are. (R.L. Sturch, The Journal of Theological Studies )

Customer Reviews

Essential reading and novel arguments
If you have an interest in the philosophy of religion then this may be considered required reading. It defends the position of the Christian theist and aims to justify a belief in God. This is done via novel, inductive reformulations of other arguments. Unfortunately, the arguments are not water-tight, and should not be taken as conclusive proof of God's existence. Overall, a comprehensive account of the state of play in modern, Christian theodicy.