Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings

By Michael Peterson, William Hasker, Bruce Reichenbach, et al.

Book Overview

The second edition of this excellent anthology in the philosophy of religion examines both the basic classical and a host of contemporary issues. Assuming little or no familiarity with the religious concepts it addresses, it provides a well-balanced and accessible approach to the field. The seventy-one articles cover standard subjects--including religious experience, theistic arguments, the problem of evil, and miracles--as well as topics that have recently gained the attention of philosophers of religion, such as reformed epistemology, the philosophical analysis of theological doctrine, and the kalam theological argument. The collection also discusses topics often requested by instructors but seldom covered in competing texts, including religion and science, religious pluralism, process theism, and religious ethics.
An ideal teaching text, Philosophy of Religion, 2/e, is organized into thirteen thematic sections. Each section begins with a revised introduction and ends with updated suggestions for further reading. While it deals primarily with the Western tradition in the philosophy of religion, this second edition also adds readings representing continental, feminist, and Asian contributions to the field. New selections include essays by Sarah Coakley, the Dalai Lama, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Lao Tsu, Moses Maimonides, and the Upanishads. Philosophy of Religion, 2/e, functions well as a stand-alone textbook for courses in the philosophy of religion and is readily compatible for use as a primary source reader in conjunction with a secondary text. It is an ideal companion to the editors' textbook, Reason and Religious Belief, 2/e (OUP, 1997), as the two books share the same topical organization.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195135466
• ISBN13: 9780195135466
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 2.13 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.5" x 1.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Philosophy of Religion Book

This book out of the others I ordered came the fastest. The condition was brand new and I am very satisfied with this product. Would recommend to others.

Introductory Philosophy of Religion for everyone

This helpful introductory reader from Oxford University Press introduces students to basic issues and thinkers in traditional philosophy of religion. Although primarily analytic in style, the book includes feminist and continental thinkers, as well as a few entries from other-than-Western traditions such as Buddhism. Topics covered include the nature of religion; religious experience; the "arguments about God's existence;" faith and reason; religious language; religion and science; and religious diversity, among others. Thinkers range from such classical examples as Thomas Aquinas to William James in the modern period and Daniel Dennett as a contemporary example. The fourth edition includes extremely helpful introductory essays to each part, as well as an overview of philosophy of religion. I used this text in an introductory philosophy of religion class, most of whom had not encountered philosophy before. They engaged quite well with the material with some in-class discussion and coaching. One word of caution - don't try to teach the entire book in one quarter!

A student's review

This book was good as a text book for a class on Philosophy of Religion. It was insightful and had lots of good knowledge to add. I would not, however, say this is a light reading book if you are not looking to learn a great deal.

Great Job!

Hey there! I just wanted to say that you did a very good job sending me this book in a timely manner. Thank you! + Cody +

Excellent selection of readings

This is one of the best anthologies I've ever found on the issues discussed within Philosophy of Religion. It covers different readings from Saint Teresa of Jesus, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, up to William Alston, Blaise Pascal, Soren Kierkegaard, C. S. Lwis, John Hick, David Hume, William Rowe among many others. The book selects readings from the following subjects: Religious Experience, Faith and Reason, the attributes of God (the problems of his existence, his omnipotence, his omniscience and its relations with voluntary action, his timelessness, etc), theistic arguments (specially the ontological and cosmological arguments), the problem of evil, knowledge of God, religious language, miracles, among many others. Highly recommended.