Return to Reason: A Critique of Enlightenment Evidentialism and a Defense of Reason and Belief in GodWm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1990 M03 22 - 158 pages A penetrating critique of the Enlightenment assumption of evidentialism -- that belief in God requires the support of evidence or arguments to be rational. Garnering arguments from C. S. Lewis, Alvin Plantinga, Nicholas Wolterstorff, Thomas Reid, William James, and John Calvin, Clark asserts that this Enlightenment demand for evidence is itself both irrelevant and irrational |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 8 |
THE WAY OF ARGUMENT | 11 |
PROVING GODS EXISTENCE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS | 13 |
1 Introduction | 15 |
2 The Cosmological Argument | 17 |
3 The Argument from Design | 26 |
4 God and Probability | 34 |
5 The Nature of Proof | 41 |
THE WAY OF REASON | 93 |
THE IRRELEVANCE OF EVIDENTIALISM GOD HYPOTHESIS OR PERSON? | 95 |
1 Introduction | 97 |
The Ethics of Belief | 98 |
The Will to Believe | 102 |
On Obstinacy in Belief | 113 |
God and Other Minds | 118 |
6 Conclusion | 122 |
6 Evangelical Apologetics | 46 |
7 Conclusion | 53 |
GOD AND EVIL | 55 |
1 Evil and Design | 57 |
2 The Problem Stated | 62 |
3 Theodicy or Defense? | 63 |
4 Plantingas Free Will Defense | 68 |
5 Too Much Evil? | 77 |
6 Jobs Warning | 82 |
7 The Existential Problem of Evil | 85 |
8 Conclusion | 89 |
RETURN TO REASON THE IRRATIONALITY OF EVIDENTIALISM | 123 |
1 Introduction | 125 |
3 Faith and Foundationalism | 132 |
4 Foundationalism Founders | 136 |
5 Belief in God as Properly Basic | 139 |
6 Reid and Rationality | 143 |
7 A Defense of Belief in God as Properly Basic | 151 |
8 Fideism? | 154 |
The Rationality of My Grandmother | 157 |
Common terms and phrases
accept allowing evil Alvin Plantinga argues argument from design atheologian basis C. S. Lewis Charles chili claim classical foundationalism classical natural theology classical proof Clifford's Maxim Cliffordian commitment consider contends cosmological argument discussion divine Enlightenment evidence or arguments evidential support evidentialist objection example explain fact of evil faith Faith and Rationality fideist free creatures free will defense genuine option God's existence Hence human Hume hypothesis of theism irrational J. L. Mackie James James's justified logically impossible logically possible Mackie ment minds moral evil natural evil Nicholas Wolterstorff noetic faculties noetic structure nonbasic beliefs nontheist omnipotent one's beliefs passional decision phenomena philosopher possible worlds premises principle of sufficient problem of evil properly basic beliefs propositions prove question R&BG rationality of religious reason for allowing Reid reject religion religious belief sense sufficient evidence sufficient reason surely theist theistic proofs theodicy things tion transworld depravity true truth universe W. K. Clifford