Contemporary Philosophy of Religion

Charles Taliaferro is Professor of Philosophy at St. Olaf College. He is author of Consciousness and the Mind of God (1994), and co-editor of A Companion to Philosophy of Religion (Blackwell 1997) and Philosophy of Religion: An Anthology (Blackwell 2002).

"Taliafero’s work is a major contribution. It shows mastery of the field, the capacity to think creatively within it, and and usual ability to write clear and engaging prose. This book will quickly become an indispensable teaching tool." Paul J. Griffiths, University of Chicago"Taliafero’s book combines a staggering breadth of research with a careful attention to organization and development the result is an extremely helpful map of the conceptual landscape in contemporary philosophy of religion." Patricia Sayre, Saint Mary’s College "Taliafero has written a lively, engaging introduction to contemporary philosophy of religion. It combines current ‘front-burner’ issues with a solid background of traditional themes, and incorporates welcome attention to non-Western religious traditions." William Hasker, Huntington College "Taliafero provides and open-minded and stimulating introduction which will encourage readers to form their own views about some of the deepest issues confronting human beings." Roger Trigg, University of Warwick "While he places at the center of the book the philosophical articulation of theism and theistic themes, author Taliafero develops these themes in conversation with four other living world religion, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, an Buddhism, and with various atheistic or agnostic challenges to them. This is first-rate book and will be useful in the classroom." Michael Beaty, Baylor University

• Acknowledgments xIntroduction 11 Religious Beliefs 142 Religious Practices and Pictures of Reality 363 Divine Power 614 Materialism, Positivism and God 835 Divine Intelligence and the Structure of the Cosmos 1066 The Transcendence of the Sacred 1437 God, Values, and Pluralism 1898 Evidence, Experience, and God 2469 The Problem of Evil and the Prospects of Good 29910 Theism and Naturalism350Bibliography 394Index 421