Theism or Atheism: The Eternal Debate

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the time of the thinkers of ancient Greece, the question of what can be said about the existence and nature of God has been debated by many philosophers and theologians. In Theism and Atheism: The Eternal Debate, F.F. Centore presents a broad analysis of the major positions that address the question and the thinkers who have contributed to the debate.

This is an admirably lucid and thorough examination of the history of natural theology. Covering the material in a thematic rather than in a strictly chronological way, Centore draws out the key positions on topics such as the relationship of science and religion, the problem of evil, Naturalistic and Supernaturalistic theism and the dispute between essence and existence. The proponents of the various positions are considered alongside their most explicit critics.

Important thinkers dealt with in this work include Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Descartes, Pascal, Kant, Hume, Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud and Darwin. The diversity of exploration also goes beyond the Judeo-Christian tradition to look at Hinduism, Buddhism, Stoicism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism and Classical Paganism.

This work, however, is much more than a survey of the major historical arguments and rebuttals concerning God's existence and nature. Overall, it is a work by a well-established Catholic philosopher who concludes that God's existence and nature are indeed compatible with modern science, human freedom and the existence of evil in the world.

Contents: Preface
The reach of reason: Religion and science
Some non-arguments
Style vs. content
The crutch theory
Cultural relativism
The problem of evil: The three positions on evil
Agnosticism
Atheism
Naive atheism: evil without God
Sophisticated atheism: neither evil nor God
Traditional theism: both evil and God
Naturalistic theism: Naturalistic theism in general
Hinduism
Buddhism
Stoicism
Epicureanism
Supernaturalistic theism: Supernaturalistic theism in general
Polytheism
Zoroastrianism
Manichaeism
Confucianism
Paganism
Non-traditional monotheism: Deism
The as-if approach to God: The as-if approach in general
Pascal's wager
Critique of Pascal by Voltaire
Kant's internal moral sanction
James wills to believe
But does it work?
The for-real approach to God: The apriori method
The for-real approach in general: Anselm of Canterbury
The for-real approach continued: The aposteriori internal
Experience method: Augustine and self-fulfillment
Boethius and self-fulfillment
René Descartes the mathematician
Georg Hegel's idea of being
Critique of Hegel by Schopenhauer
The personalism of John Henry Newman
The for-real approach continued: The aposteriori external experience
Method based on essence
Natural theology from 1400-1800
The orderly world of Newton and Paley
The anthropic principle
Critique of design by Hume
Critique of Paley by Darwin
Whitehead's compromise
The for-real approach continued: The aposteriori external experience
Method based on existence
Aquinas the angelic doctor
Aquinas' troubled times
Aquinas' unique philosophy
The God of Abraham, Isacc, and Jacob
If God loves me, why do I suffer?
Index.

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