PART 2
PART 2
4 Some Reasons to Believe that There Is No God, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong 81
5 Theism Undefeated, William Lane Craig 107
6 Atheism Undaunted, Walter Sinnott-Armstrong 129
Index
151
vii
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The question of whether or not God exists has been debated vigorously for millennia. It’s easy to see why so many people remain intensely interested in this issue. According to traditional believers, human existence finds its ultimate fulfillment only in relation to God.
Moreover, in the minds of many, eternal life hangs in the balance.
The effects of belief or disbelief in God can also be dramatic in this world. Beliefs about God often influence positions on important and controversial issues, such as sexual behavior, abortion, medical research using stem cells, and, of course, prayer in public schools and government support for religious schools and charities. Many decisions in daily life—not just on Sunday—also depend on belief or disbelief in God. Social action has often been motivated by belief in God.
Friendships, communities, and political alliances frequently form or break down because of common or conflicting beliefs about God. We all need to decide where we stand on the issue of God’s existence.
Despite the antiquity of this question, new aspects of this debate have arisen recently, partly because of developments in science and philosophy. Big Bang cosmology is the best-known example, but each year brings new results of research into the origins of life and of our universe. Novel philosophical theories of causation, knowledge, and morality also bear on the arguments for and against the existence of God. Ongoing psychological research and the quest for the historical Jesus by biblical scholars also introduce relevant considerations.
That is why these debates must be renewed continually.
Unfortunately, many debates about God overlook such recent developments and degenerate into simplistic rhetoric or mutual misunderstanding. Other discussions of God’s existence become so technical that only experts can follow them. Neither of these extremes ix