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Title: Is There a God? by Richard Swinburne ISBN: 0-19-823544-5 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: April, 1996 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $70.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.21 (14 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A brief case for theism
Comment: In "Is There a God?" Swinburne seeks to provide a less sophisticated version of the case for theism which appears in his classic "The Existence of God" (1979). While accomplishing his task with great brevity, I concur with the previous reviewer that this book may not be accessible to the lay audience. Swinburne's arguments are characteristically erudite and will require considerable attention on the part of readers.
Although this book may not acheive its intended success in the mass market, I consider it an excellent introduction to Swinburne's work. From that standpoint, "Is There a God?" may be used as a primer to his more substantial scholarly writings.
In this present title, Swinburne's first ("God"), third ("The Simplicity of God") and sixth ("Why God Allows Evil") chapters are particularly noteworthy. His two-page epilogue summarizes with great clarity one's responsibilities should theism be true.
--David A. Frenz
Rating: 3
Summary: Uneven Book of Natural Theology
Comment: Swiburne writes clearly and his arguments for God's existence are interesting and suggestive. In the end, though, they come down to the notion that God is the "simplest" explanation for things we observe in the natural world. It was never clear how postulating the existence of something unlike anything else in experience could be a "simple" explanation of the world. Maybe it's "simpler" just to take the existence of the world as an unexplained fact, a mystery. The discussion of why God allows pain and suffering is the weakest part of the book and is almost a parody of traditional theodicy. At one point in his discussion of animal suffering, Swinburne argues that forest fires aren't necessarily bad for animals because they give them an opportunity to escape danger, which he regards as a "significant intentional act." Since "significant intentional acts" are goods things, it follows that forest fires could be good for animals. This sounds like a joke but Swinburne was serious. The reader wondering why God allows suffering would be better advised to read the book of Job.
Rating: 1
Summary: Disappointing defense of theism
Comment: I enjoy reading both sides of the theism premise (Does God exist?) and seeing that Swinburne is often mentioned in these debates, I gave this book a try. I was disappointed for several reasons. First, although his approach is certainly superior to the rantings of C. S. Lewis, his tone is not very different. It is very clear that he wishes to reach the conclusion that God does indeed exist and from the very start skews his arguments in that direction. For example, he dismisses the requirement that a scientific theory should not only explain observations made to date but also point the way to new experiments that will yield different KINDS of observations, such as Maxwell's equations leading to the prediction of radio waves. He says it doesn't matter if you make some of the observations after you develop the theory or if you make all the observations first. This misses the point of the prediction requirement of theories and also evades the issue that a theory of God predicts nothing (at least Swinburne has not put forth any examples of predicted observations). Swinburne hinges his case on the simplicity of postulating God. Yet he states, "...God's own existence is the only thing whose's existence God's action does not explain. For that there is no explanation." So much for simplicity. He also uses circular reasoning that essentially boils down to God must be all knowing and all powerful or else how could we postulate a being that can create and maintain the universe and everything in it. Why do we need to postulate a personal explanation for the universe? Because its simple, says Swinburne. After reading the first three chapters, I skipped to the chapter on Why God allows evil. This contained the usual discussion of free will, proposing that evil is required to make our moral decisions meaningful. The discussion on suffering in animals was embarrasingly bad. Swinburne also believes that moral laws, like logic, precede God. God is just following the rules, but follows them exceedingly well. I saw nothing in this short book to warrant going deeper into Swinburne's philosophy covered in his longer books.
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Title: Reason for the Hope Within by Michael J. Murray, Alvin Plantinga ISBN: 0802844375 Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. Pub. Date: December, 1998 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: God?: A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist (Point/Counterpoint Series (Oxford, England).) by William Lane Craig, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ISBN: 0195165993 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: August, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Existence of God by Richard. Swinburne ISBN: 0198239637 Publisher: Clarendon Pr Pub. Date: May, 1991 List Price(USD): $41.95 |
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Title: The Rationality of Theism by Paul K. Moser, Paul Copan ISBN: 0415263328 Publisher: Routledge Pub. Date: 01 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
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Title: Jesus' Resurrection: Fact or Figment?: A Debate Between William Lane Craig and Gerd Ludemann by William Lane Craig, Ronald Tacelli, Paul Copan, Gerd Ludemann ISBN: 0830815694 Publisher: Intervarsity Press Pub. Date: December, 2000 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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