Philosophy and Religion

Surprising as it might have seemed not so long ago, in recent times religion has once again become a focus of lively debate. The exchanges between those for and against religion have, however, often thrown up heat, rather than light. As an attempted corrective, The Royal Institute of Philosophy asked a number of distinguished philosophers who are interested in religion to contribute to its annual lecture series for 20082009. This volume contains essays based on the lectures. The topics covered include natural theology, for and against, miracles, the debates about Darwinism, spirituality, sacrifice and the sacred, the Incarnation and religion and pluralism. Vigorously argued as they are, these essays will undoubtedly take the debates forward in a constructive way. Contents
Introduction Anthony OHear
1. God as the simplest explanation of the Universe Richard Swinburne
2. Explaining the fine tuning of the Universe to us and the fine tuning of us to the Universe T. J. Mawson
3. What can God explain? Gerard J. Hughes
4. One step toward God Brian Leftow
5. What do religious believers believe? Richard Norman
6. With and without absurdity: Moore, magic and McTaggarts cat Peter Cave
7. Twenty questions about Humes Of Miracles Peter Millican
8. Darwinism, purpose and meaning Mary Midgley
9. Christianity and the errors of our time: Simone Weil on atheism and idolatry Mario Von Der Ruhr
10. Spirituality for the godless Michael McGhee
11. Living in the light of religious ideals Clare Carlisle
12. Sacrifice, transcendence and making sacred Douglas Hedley
13. The incarnation: divine embodiment and the divided mind Robin Le Poidevin
14. Religious tolerance, diversity, and pluralism Peter Byrne.

Author/Editor Details
Edited by: Anthony OHear, Royal Institute of Philosophy, London