|
 Building
a home philosophy library
Lyn
May and Steve Deery
The
twenty-first in a series of articles advising on how to build your
own home philosophy library.
No.
21 J. L. Mackie, The Miracle of Theism
You
might think that most people would be happy to let theist philosophers
of religion like Swinburne and Plantinga have their modest result
- that belief in God is not contrary to reason. But this is philosophy
we're talking about. The Miracle of Theism represents the
other side of the fence. Mackie, an avowed atheist, argues that,
on a balance of probabilities, it is more rational not to believe
in God.
This
is a comprehensive book considering everything from traditional
arguments for the existence of God to a sociological explanation
for religion. Mackie systematically argues against all the typical
arguments put forward for the existence of God. He also considers
the contributions of contemporary philosophers to the debate, including
Swinburne and Plantinga. In the end he concludes that none of the
arguments considered provide a good reason for believing in God.
Nor
do we need belief in God to ground morality. Mackie argues that
religious texts cannot provide a satisfactory foundation to morality
as they are frequently at odds with our moral views, or they have
nothing relevant to say about issues that concern us.
The
strength of The Miracle of Theism is that it evaluates theistic
beliefs in the widest possible sense. Basic philosophical principles
are applied to each aspect of belief and this leads to a well-rounded
conclusion.
What
can you hope to gain from reading these books? Well, there is always
confusion, but this comes with the territory. However, these books
are important as they illustrate the limits of rationality in deciding
between the competing claims of atheism or theism. Each of the author's
arguments follows from a prior commitment on this issue. Given the
range of theories on offer the reader is likely to find a justification
for their beliefs. But a conversion seems to require something more.
The
Miracle of Theism by J. L. Mackie (Clarendon) £15/$25
A
new book will be featured early October 2002.
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