The Existence of God
by Richard Swinburne
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Book Summary Information
Author: Richard SwinburneEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-06-03
ISBN: 0199271682
Number of pages: 376
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Book Reviews of The Existence of God
Book Review: A Rigorous Defense of Christian Theism
Summary: 5 Stars
Beginning with a discussion of Bayes' Probability Theorem, inductive reasoning, and the nature and justification of explanation, Swinburne goes on to posit the intrinsic probability of theism as being the explanation for life, the universe, and everything. He does this by distinguishing between scientific and personal explanations and finding no satisfactory scientific explanation for the universe. He then applies Ockham's Razor to the personal explanations, and finds the God of Judaism, Christianity,and Islam to be the most intrisically probable personal explanation.
From the beginning of intrinsic probability, Swinburne then considers and assesses the values of various arguments to theism. He dismisses some out of hand, such as Pascal's Wager and the argument from morality, and assigns weight to the other arguments. He finds good cosmological and teleological arguments, as well as good arguments from consciousness and providence. He then addresses the strongest argument against theism: the Problem of Evil, and concludes the study with arguments from history, miracles, and religious experience. The balance of probability is that it is somewhat more likely that God exists than otherwise.
Swinburne's dismissal of morality as a good argument to the existence of God is somewhat out of tune with his endorsement of the beauty of the universe as a good argument to the existence of God. Morality, understood as spiritual beauty, is at least as good (or bad) an argument to God as physical beauty.
Swinburne's argument against the Problem of Evil is probably the weakest portion of the book. Spiritual evil is easily handled. If you're going to give humans free choice, then some of them are going to choose evil. But the argument that natural evil (in the form of earthquakes, etc.) is necessary so that humans can display their good character is, to say the least, weak. A better explanation seems to be that a universe of good without evil is a logical impossibility (like a square circle or a four-sided triangle), and that even an omnipotent God cannot create a logical impossibility.
The Appendices speak to the Trinity, the argument to design, and Plantinga's critique of evolution. The validity of the doctrine of the Trinity should not be judged solely on Swinburne's abbreviated explanation. He wrote a complete book on the subject, "The Christian God," which should be consulted before dismissing the arguments he makes here. Having said that, his short discussion of the Trinity is not as intellectually satisfying as other portions of the book, and it sounds very much like the position of Michael Servetus, who got himself burned at the stake for voicing similar views during the Reformation.
Swinburne's analysis of Plantinga's critique of evolution is interesting. Plantinga seemingly argues that evolution is impossible without the directing hand of God, a position similar to Bergson's position in "Creative Evolution." (Bergson argued for an "elan vital" rather than God as the creative force behind evolution). Plantinga thus argues that this necessity for God disproves evolution. Swinburne turns Plantinga's argument around and argues that the fact of evolution is proof of God's existence.
This book is not an easy read, but if you're interested in a rigorous philosophical justification of Christian theism, it's worth reading.
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