1st Edition

Does God Matter? Essays on the Axiological Consequences of Theism

Edited By Klaas Kraay Copyright 2018
    236 Pages
    by Routledge

    236 Pages
    by Routledge

    Does God Matter? features eleven original essays written by prominent philosophers of religion that address this very important, yet surprisingly neglected, question. One natural way to approach this question is to seek to understand what difference God’s existence would—or does—make to the value of the world and the well-being of its inhabitants. The first essay sets the stage for the discussion of this topic. The three essays in Section I defend versions of pro-theism: the view that God’s existence would -- or does -- make things better than they would otherwise be. The four essays in Section II defend anti-theism: the view that God’s existence would, or does, make things worse than they would otherwise be. The three essays in Section III consider the interplay between the existential and axiological debates concerning the existence of God. This book presents important research on a growing topic in philosophy of religion that will also be of keen interest to scholars working in other areas of philosophy (such as metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory), and in other disciplines (such as religious studies and analytic theology).

    1. Invitation to the Axiology of Theism  Klaas J. Kraay

    Part I: Arguments for Pro-Theism

    2. God and Intrinsic Value  Scott A. Davison

    3. Axiology: Theism Versus Widely Accepted Monotheisms  Michael Tooley

    4. An Agreeable Answer to a Pro-Theism/Anti-Theism Question  T.J. Mawson

    Part II: Arguments for Anti-Theism

    5. If There is a Hole, it is Not God-Shaped  Guy Kahane

    6. The Problem of Magic  Stephen Maitzen

    7. The Absurdity of Life in a Christian Universe as a Reason to Prefer that God Not Exist  Erik J. Wielenberg

    8. Recasting Anti-Theism  Toby Betenson

    Part III: Connections between the Existential and Axiological Debates

    9. Triple Transcendence, the Value of God’s Existence, and a New Route to Atheism  J.L. Schellenberg

    10. Arguments from Evil and Evidence for Pro-Theism  Myron A. Penner and Benjamin H. Arbour

    11. Plantinga’s Defence and His Theodicy are Incompatible  Richard B. Davis and W. Paul Franks

    Biography

    Klaas Kraay is Professor of Philosophy at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. He is the editor of God and the Multiverse: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Perspectives (Routledge 2015).

    "The collection of essays in this volume make a major contribution to a much-neglected issue in philosophical theology—the issue of the value of God's existence. It is of course a central question, but largely unexplored in the literature. The range of associated issues in the theory of value, metaethics, modal metaphysics, conceptions of God, and rational choice will interest a wide audience of scholars."Michael J. Almeida, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA