The existence of god kindle edition by richard swinburne. The orderliness of the universe and the existence of human beings already provides some reason for believing that there is a god as argued in richard swinburne s earlier book is there a god. It forms part of a trilogy which began with the coherence of theism clarendon press, 1977, reissued in paperback, 1986 and was completed by faith and reason clarendon press, 1981, reissued inpaperback, 1983, but it does not in any way presuppose knowledge of the earlier work. Compared to swinburne s earlier book is there a god. My answer is that to suppose that there is a god explains why there is a physical universe at all. Richard swinburne boston collaborative encyclopedia of. It is surely wrong to torture children for fun whether or not there is a god. Swinburne acknowledges that god cannot do what is logically impossible and the future which doesnt exist isnt there to know, people who insist that god must know what isnt there to know, are like those who insist that god must be able to make a rock heavy then he can lift and make himself both exist and not exist at the same time. Richard swinburne is a fellow of the british academy. David hall is a painter and freelance writer on philosophical and religious subjects. Over the last 50 years swinburne has been an influential proponent of philosophical arguments for the existence of god. Richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion of our day, argues that on the contrary. This book is a short and nontechnical presentation of the cumulative argument for the existence of god. This new, updated edition of richard swinburne s popular introductory book is there a god.
Although h excludes god as swinburne defines god, it also excludes other god hypotheses, such as there is no yahweh. This book assesses the worth of arguments for and against the existence of god. But if one brute fact is preferable to many, then theism still wins the explanatory sweepstakes. In this compelling new edition, richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion today, argues that contrary to the claims of richard dawkins and others, science actually provides good grounds for belief in god. Swinburne s explanation of the universe 1998 quentin smith. Or, as noted philosopher of science and religion richard swinburne puts forth, can the very same criteria which scientists use to reach theories about everything from dna to the big bang be used to argue for the existence of god. Swinburne presents a powerful and approachable case for the existence of god.
The argumentation in this book is complicated and i would not recommend it as the first book to read if you are looking to understand some of the intellectual arguments for god. Richard swinburnes argument to the simplicity of god via the. And swinburne also now examines the idea of the possible existence of many other universes, and its relevance to his arguments from the finetuning of our universe to the existence of god. The project gutenberg ebook of poems and ballads, by algernon. You can also see where he is going to, and there is something almost.
Professor swinburne uses the methods of scientific reasoning to argue that the best answers to these questions are given by the existence of god. In order to address the validity of the evidential approach championed by the new apologists, i will scrutinize the arguments presented in his book. I shall argue that the existence and actions of god make no difference to the fact that there are moral truths, but that they make a great difference to what those moral truths are. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading was jesus god. In particular, he shows that there is strong philosophical support for the belief that jesus, while remaining god, acquired a human nature and lived on earth for thirty years as a human being. Books by richard swinburne author of is there a god. Free will defense swinburne says that human free will is an enormous good, so much so that a universe where humans have free will is better than one where they dont, even if their exercise of freedom brings about much evil. There is a straightforward reason why the two passages are not in tension, but recognition of this reason raises a problem for swinburne s argument in the existence of god the conclusion of which is that god likely exists. Swinburne departs from the received tradition of natural theology by denying that god is a necessary being, so on his view gods existence is itself a brute fact. Richard swinburne presents a substantially rewritten and updat.
Richard swinburne has 34 books on goodreads with 4002 ratings. How is it that discoverable scientific laws operate in the universe. Richard swinburnes most popular book is is there a god. In my next work it should be superfluous to say that there is no touch of dramatic impersonation or imaginary emotion. Richard dawkins dismisses swinburnes is there a god. He was nolloth professor of the philosophy of the christian religion at the university of oxford from 1985 to 2002 and is currently emeritus nolloth professor of the philosophy of the christian religion. Why god allows evil richard swinburne richard swinburne is the nolloth professor of philosophy of the christian religion at the univeristy of oxford. Evidence confirms makes more probable an explanatory hypothesis in so far as 1 given the hypothesis the evidence is to be expected, that is the hypothesis makes the evidence probable, 2 the evidence is not otherwise to be expected, 3 the hypothesis is simple, and 4 it fits with background knowledge i. 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.
In this pivotal volume of his tetralogy, richard swinburne builds a rigorous metaphysical system for describing the world, and applies this to assessing the worth of the christian tenets of the trinity and the incarnation. It is a virtue of clear writing that you can see what is wrong with a book as well as what is right. Simple responses to 20 common arguments for the existence of god provides simple, easytounderstand counterpoints to the most popular arguments made for the existence of god. He is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the university of oxford. In this paper i present the problem for swinburne s argument. The picture of the universethat science gives us is completed by god. This book, at least to me, reads more like a straightforward book of conservative christian apologetics than one written by a renowned philosopher of religion. Find and use ebooks help library swinburne university. The existence of god by richard swinburne, 1991 online. As such, it is a much condensed form of his arguments, which leaves many of his points hanging undeveloped. Customers who bought this item also bought these ebooks. Swinburne has not written an apology on behalf of the christian god, but an apology for a god of his own rational making. When swinburne makes his a priori arguments for belief in the trinity, he begins on firm ground, though one wonders if such arguments could be made if one does not previously know through revelation that there is a trinity. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read.
An explanatory hypothesis is probable insofar as it leads us to expect many otherwise inexplicable events to be explained, is simple, and fits in with background knowledge this is knowledge. Review by richard dawkins, for the sunday times1, of richard swinburne. If an infinite number of universes, did god create all of them. Editions for is there a god 0198235453 paperback published in 1997, 019958043x paperback published in 2010, 0198235445 hardcover published in 1996. Swinburne, the justification of theism truth journal, leadership university website, 2002, and the brief biography of richard swinburne prepared for the origin of the laws of nature and the existence of god panel discussion sponsored by the john templeton foundation, respectively. The collected poetical works of algernon charles swinburnevol. Richard swinburne did god create multiple universes.
Ebook collection ebscohost includes ebooks on most subjects, including science and social science, design, psychology, education, health, engineering and computer science view and read. The christian god 9780198235125 by richard swinburne. Revised edition of the best short philosophical book about god. To swinburne s credit, he largely avoids christian doctrine and argues at a more fundamental level for the existence of god. Jan 07, 2010 professor swinburne uses the methods of scientific reasoning to argue that the best answers to these questions are given by the existence of god.
Hes written a number of books, commended by many deeply committed christians. Evidence for god why believe that there is a god at all. Swinburne argues compellingly that the existence of the universe, its lawgoverned nature and finetuning, human consciousness and moral awareness, and evidence of miracles and religious experience, all taken together and despite the occurrence of pain and suffering, make it likely that there is a god. The existence of god by richard swinburne librarything. An analysis of richard swinburnes the existence of god. The picture of the universe that science gives us iscompleted by god. If there are multiple universes, did god create each of them. Swinburne gives a rigorous and penetrating analysis of the most important arguments for theism. Richard swinburne in this compelling new edition, richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion today, argues that contrary to the claims of richard dawkins and others, science actually provides good grounds for belief in god. My answer is that to suppose that there is a god explains why there is a world at all.
Richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers. Richard swinburne presents a substantially rewritten and updated edition of his most celebrated book. He does not add the caveat as i have defined god, however, and this is a critical qualification because he soon discusses h as the hypothesis that there is no god. In the grey beginning of years in the twilight of things that beganthe word of the earth in the ears of the world was it god was it manthe word of the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Richard swinburne and gods timelessness catholic culture. Theism the thesis that there is such a person as god, and this person is the creator. This new, updated edition of richard swinburnes popular introductory book is there a. The existence of god by richard swinburne goodreads. In this compelling new edition, richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion today, argues that contrary to the claims of richard. As the battle rages over religion and rationality, richard swinburne probes the key doctrines about jesusthat he was god incarnate, atoned for our sins, and rose from the deadand argues that each has a strong and defensible logical underpinning. No other work has made a more powerful case for the probability of the existence of god. This book is based on the authors wilde lectures delivered in the university of oxford in 19767. Swinburne now claims that it is probable that the main christian doctrines about the nature of god and his actions in the world are true.
His philosophical contributions are primarily in the philosophy of religion and philosophy of science. For many people, this gives strength to the belief that god is not needed to explain the universe. What is it for there to be a god, and what reason is there for supposing him to be the traditional christian god. Moral evil is the unavoidable byproduct of gods gift of free will. Professor richard swinburne university of oxford speaks at the philosophy society lecture series, 10th march 2016. Richard swinburne argues compellingly that if there is a god, then the main doctrines which the christian church teaches about god are very probably true. The existence of god richard swinburne why believe that there is a god at all. Review by richard dawkins, for the sunday times1 of. He has done important work in metaphysics, epistemology and the philosophy of religion. Swinburne states and so, if there is a god, any experience that seems to be of god, will be genuine will be of god. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion of our day, argues that on the contrary, science provides good grounds for belief in god. His main conclusion is that theism provides the simplest and most coherent theory to explain facts. Unfortunately, it is an often richard swinburne, the emeritus nolloth professor of the philosophy of religion at oxford and one of the foremost philosophers of our time, is my elvis.
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