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Must-read articles on the existence of God

One thing I am constantly reminded of when browsing the internet studying people's opinions on the existence of God - from the opinions of experts in the philosophy of religion to internet bloggers - is that a lack of understanding of the concepts of 'God', 'theism' etc. as well as the arguments for and against the existence of God is widespread. Amongst religious theists, there seems, generally, to be a disinterest in the study of rational debates on the existence of God. Reasons for this vary from general disinterest ('Philosophical arguments have nothing to do with my personal beliefs.') to hostility to rational argument on the issue ('You just have to believe what the Bible says. Everything else is secondary - the opinions of men, not the word of God.'). This is in strong contrast to the high-quality work done by serious religious scholars, such as William Lane Craig, Richard Swinburne, Robin Collins, Brian Davies and many others. On the other hand, amongst non-theistic (and anti-theistic) people misinformation about theistic arguments is widespread. Atheist writers such as Richard Dawkins, Jerry Coyne, Lawrence Krauss, etc. have encouraged a shallow, pseudo-intellectual approach to 'engaging with' theists that includes: (1) not bothering to do any in-depth study of the views and arguments of theistic scholars, (2) dismissing, rather than engaging with, criticisms of their own views, (3) frequently misrepresenting theistic arguments (as a consequence of the ignorance of theistic scholarship). Again, serious atheist/agnostic scholars do exist, e.g. Graham Oppy, Michael Martin, Anthony Kenny, as well as the late J. Howard Sobel and J. L. Mackie.

Below I have listed a series of articles, all available on the internet, that elaborate on many of the significant issues related to the existence of God, including definitions of the philosophy of religion, discussions of the concepts of 'God' and its various meanings and overviews and defenses of some of the main arguments for the existence of God.

If most theists took the time to study these articles, they would not only be able to defend their beliefs, but would probably understand their beliefs better. If 'pop atheist' types like Dawkins, Krauss etc. actually bothered to study (which means read and understand; not just skim and dismiss), then they would not make the elementary philosophical/theological errors they so frequently make.

 

General articles on the nature of theism and philosophy of religion:

1. Chad Meister's essay 'Philosophy of Religion' from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

2. Brian Morely's essay 'Western Concepts of God' from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

3. William Wainwright's essay 'Monotheism' from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

4. Brian Davies 'Concepts of God', Chapter 1 from his Introduction to Philosophy of Religion, 3rd Edition.

5. A.E. Taylor's 'Theism', in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 12, pp. 261-287.

The discipline of argument for the existence of God is called 'natural theology'. There is no such thing as 'natural atheology', although some people do erroneously call the systematic criticism of theistic arguments by that name. Arguments for the existence of God are usually grouped into several categories. These include: ontological arguments, cosmological arguments, moral arguments, teleological (or design) arguments, existentialist arguments, arguments from consciousness, arguments from reason, arguments from miracles, and arguments from religious experience. In my view the most important are cosmological, teleological and moral arguments, although arguments from reason and consciousness are both deserving of serious consideration. Below is a list of articles discussing cosmological, moral and teleological arguments. If a person can understand and debate these arguments intelligently, then s/he is well on his/her way to a serious discussion of the existence of God.

 

Articles on arguments for the existence of God:

5. James Brent's essay 'Natural Theology' from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Overview of the discipline of natural theology, briefly discussing different types of theistic arguments.)

6. Bruce Reichenbach's essay 'Cosmological Arguments' from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Lengthy overview of the cosmological argument.)

7. Richard Taylor's introductory discussion of the cosmological argument in his book Metaphysics, 4th Edition.

8. William Lane Craig's essay 'The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe', Truth: A Journal of Modern Thought 3 (1991): 85-96. (Excellent introductory discussion of the kalam argument.)

9. William Lane Craig's 'The Ultimate Question of Origins: God and the Beginning of the Universe', Astrophysics and Space Science 269-270 (1999): 723-740.

10. William Lane Craig's 'In Defense of the Kalam Cosmological Argument', from ReasonableFaith.org.

11. Alexander R. Pruss' essay 'The Leibnizian Cosmological Argument' in W. L. Craig and J. P. Moreland (eds.), Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Blackwell, 2009): 24-100. (Highly technical. Not really suitable for beginners in the philosophy of religion, but an excellent discussion.)

12. W. David Beck's essay 'A Thomistic Cosmological Argument' in Francis J. Beckwith, William Lane Craig & J.P. Moreland (eds.), To Everyone an Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview (Intervarsity Press, 2004): 95-107.  

13. Edward Feser's blogpost 'Straw men and terracotta armies'.

14. Edward Feser's blogpost 'So you think you understand the cosmological argument?'

15. Kenneth Einar Himma's essay 'Design Arguments for the Existence of God' from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

16. Del Ratzcsh's essay 'Teleological Arguments for God's Existence' from Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

17. Robin Collins' essay 'The Fine-Tuning Design Argument' in Michael J. Murray (ed.), Reason for the Hope Within (William B. Eerdman's, 1999).

18. Robin Collins' essay 'God, Design and Fine-Tuning' in Raymond Martin & Christopher Bernard (eds.), God Matters: Readings in the Philosophy of Religion (Longman Press, 2002).

19. Peter Bryne's essay 'Moral Arguments for the Existence of God' from Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

20. C. Stephen Evans' essay 'Moral Arguments for the Existence of God' from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

The main rational (as opposed to emotional or cultural) reasons people have for disbelieving in God are (1) a belief in metaphysical naturalism and (2) the problem of evil/suffering. Others may list the incompatibility of Darwinism with theism as a reason, but this is really a part of accepting metaphysical naturalism as one's worldview. Of course, theistic arguments are, in effect, critiques of naturalism, insofar as they challenge naturalism's adherence to a 'nature-only' metaphysics. A few articles discussing naturalism/materialism and the problem of evil are listed below, as well as an overview of theistic critiques of atheism by William Lane Craig. I should say that naturalism, materialism, physicalism, reductionism and other 'isms' associated with atheism are distinct ideas, which - though similar - differ slightly in their content. Nevertheless, they are often treated interchangeably by both atheists and theists when discussing the validity of theism vs. naturalism and many criticisms of materialism also apply to naturalism.

Articles in favour of a naturalistic/atheistic worldview:

21. Jon Jacobs' essay 'Naturalism' from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

22. Paul Draper's essay 'Natural Selection and the Problem of Evil' from infidels.org.

23. Michael Tooley's essay 'The Problem of Evil' from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

24. Nick Trakakis' essay 'The Evidential Problem of Evil' from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

25. Daniel Dennett's 'Atheism and Evolution' in Michael Martin (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Atheism (Cambridge University Press, 2007): 135-148.

26. D. Gene Witmer's essay "Naturalism and Physicalism" in Robert Barnard and Neil Manson (eds.), The Bloomsbury Companion to Metaphysics, Bloomsbury Publishing (formerly Continuum), 2012.

27. Alex Rosenberg's essay 'The Disenchanted Naturalist's Guide to Reality'. 

28. Peter Millican's essay 'The Devil's Advocate' Cogito 3 (1989): 193-207.

Articles against naturalism/materialism or responding to the argument from evil:

29. William Lane Craig, 'Theistic Critiques of Atheism' in Michael Martin (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Atheism (Cambridge University Press, 2007): 69-85.

30. Robert C. Koons' 'Epistemological Objections to Materialism' in Robert C. Koons & George Bealer (eds.), The Waning of Materialism (Oxford University Press, 2009): 281-306.

31. Edward Feser's essay 'Scientia ad absurdum: A Review of The Atheist's Guide to Reality by Alex Rosenberg' from First Things.

32. Edward Feser's blogpost 'Rosenberg on Naturalism'.

33. Stewart Goetz's essay 'The Argument from Evil' in William Lane Craig & J.P. Moreland (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Blackwell, 2009): 449-497. (Comprehensive but highly technical discussion.)

 

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