In the christian god, richard swinburne examines basic metaphysical categories1. Revised edition of the best short philosophical book about 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. This edition is a shorter version of the existence of god, 1979. 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. Revised edition 2010 paperback, 144 pages i have not used this edition. Richard swinburne is formerly nolloth professor of the philosophy of the christian. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 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. This new, updated edition of richard swinburnes popular introductory book is there a god.
The existence of god paperback richard swinburne oxford. There is a straightforward reason why the two passages are not in tension, but recognition of this reason raises a problem for swinburnes argument in the. Algernon charles swinburne5 april 1837 10 april 1909 algernon charles swinburne was an english poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. 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. Swinburne has not written an apology on behalf of the christian god, but an apology for a god of his own rational making. He presents a new, stronger argument why theism does and materialism does not provide a very simple ultimate explanation of the world. Richard swinburne presents a substantially rewritten and updated edition of his most celebrated book. Most ebook central ebooks allow an unlimited number of concurrent users.
This new, updated edition of richard swinburne s popular introductory book is there a god. This new book is designed for a wider audience than professional philosophers. Oxford university press, paperback edition 1997 144 pages. Find and use ebooks help library swinburne university. 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. E may be a large phenomenon, such as the existence of the universe, or something a lot smaller, such as our own individual religious experiences. The project gutenberg ebook of poems and ballads, by. Cosmologists have rolled back their theories to the moment of the big bang, the discovery of dna reveals the key. Apr 14, 2015 197 videos play all big questions about god closer to truth core topic closer to truth richard swinburne how does personal identity persist through time. 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. The existence of god by richard swinburne, 1991 online. His philosophical contributions are primarily in the philosophy of religion and.
Swinburne presents a powerful and approachable case for the existence of god. 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 swinburnes earlier book is there a god. In this paper i present the problem for swinburne s argument. 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. In the coherence of theism richard swinburne writes that a person cannot be omniscient and perfectly free.
Compared to swinburnes earlier book is there a god. 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. My answer is that to suppose that there is a god explains why there is a physical universe at all. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the. In order to address the validity of the evidential approach championed by the new apologists, i will scrutinize the arguments presented in his book. Accessible to readers with no previous training in philosophy or religious studies. 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. 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. This book is a short and nontechnical presentation of the cumulative argument for the existence of god. Evidence for god why believe that there is a god at all.
Professor richard swinburne university of oxford speaks at the philosophy society lecture series, 10th march 2016. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as poems and ballads, and contributed to the famous eleventh edition of the encyclop. In it, he employs the tools of modern confirmation theory to develop a sustained argument for theism. Swinburne views himself as part of the long tradition of christian evidentialism that seeks to give rational reasons for belief in god. Publications, richard swinburne university of oxford. Algernon charles swinburne 5 april 1837 10 april 1909 was an english poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. Mar 30, 2017 professor richard swinburne university of oxford speaks at the philosophy society lecture series, 10th march 2016. This book is based on the authors wilde lectures delivered in the university of oxford in 19767.
He bases this on the part of h s that says that god is just one person, not many, and that. 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. Kindle ebooks can be read on any device with the free kindle app. Only when that task is done does he turn to an analysis of divine properties, the divine nature, and the christian doctrines of the trinity and incarnation. David hall is a painter and freelance writer on philosophical and religious subjects.
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. Editions for is there a god 0198235453 paperback published in 1997, 019958043x paperback published in 2010, 0198235445 hardcover published in 1996. Swinburne uses scientific reasoning to argue that the best answers to these questions are given by the existence of god. Ebook collection ebscohost includes ebooks on most subjects, including science and social science, design, psychology, education, health, engineering and computer science view and read. Cosmologists have rolled back their theories to the moment of the big bang, the discovery of dna reveals the key to life, the. The existence of god richard swinburne why believe that there is a god at all. Reflects swinburne s latest thinking, and responds to current research. His main conclusion is that theism provides the simplest and most coherent theory to explain facts. Using the methods of scientific reasoning, swinburne rigorously argues that science, far from replacing god, provides good grounds for belief in god. Article pdf available in the expository times 12410. 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. Reading the work, one may feel as though they are in a conversation with swinburne himself, which means it feels like one is in the presence of one of the most important christian theologian. 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. The picture of the universe that science gives us iscompleted by god.
But if one brute fact is preferable to many, then theism still wins the explanatory sweepstakes. Swinburne, in the space of 125 pages, manages to sum up many of his books in easy to comprehend, interesting, and thoughtful bits of. Weidemann et al, the philosophy of richard swinburne, ontosverlag, frankfurt, 2008. Given this he now argues that h s is very simple and thus intrinsically probable. Professor swinburne uses the methods of scientific reasoning to argue that the best answers to these questions are given by the existence of god. 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 richard swinburne university of oxford. If you are prompted to check out the ebook, do so before. That is, it could be argued that the probability that there is a god is greater than 12. 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 picture of the universe that science gives us is completed by god. A major new edition of a classic in the philosophy of religion. My answer is that to suppose that there is a god explains why there is a world at all. This consists of a lecture by me 148 above, papers by members of the philosophy faculty of the university of munster critical of various aspects of my philosophy, and my answers to these criticisms, 150 above. 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. In virtue of his omnipotence and perfect goodness, god must be a trinity, live a human life in order to share our suffering, and found a church which would enable him to tell all humans about this. The project gutenberg ebook of poems and ballads, by algernon. In the existence of god swinburne writes that god is a person who is omniscient and perfectly free. Swinburne gives a rigorous and penetrating analysis of the most important arguments for theism. This updated edition features a new, stronger argument as to why theism doesand materialism does notprovide a very simple ultimate explanation of.
Richard swinburne, is there a god richard swinburne, was jesus god. An analysis of richard swinburnes the existence of god. He is an emeritus professor of philosophy at the university of oxford. Richard swinburnes argument to the simplicity of god via the. The existence of god kindle edition by swinburne, richard. Richard swinburnes argument to the simplicity of god via. Richard swinburne is a fellow of the british academy. In order to address the validity of the evidential approach championed by the new apologists, i will scrutinize the arguments presented in. 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. Features new sections on how the existence of god explains the universe, drawing on ideas from physics about multiple universes. At the print to pdf popup, select the required number of pages and click continue.
Reading the work, one may feel as though they are in a conversation with swinburne himself, which means it feels like one is in the presence of one of the most important christian theologianphilosophers of our era. No other work has made a more powerful case for the probability of the existence of god. Compared to swinburne s earlier book is there a god. In this compelling new edition, richard swinburne, one of the most distinguished philosophers of religion today, argues that contrary to the claims of richard. For many people, this gives strength to the belief that god is not needed to explain the universe. 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. And he 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. In my chapter 3 outline swinburne argued in point a. Hence the occurrence of e is reason for supposing that there is 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. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at.
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