Overview
Is He Out There? is an interdisciplinary examination of the Christian reaction to Dawkinss The God Delusion. That reaction has offered a wide range of counter-arguments, among them: that Dawkinss demonstration of how God almost certainly doesnt exist addresses an out-dated conception of God; that science and religion are not conflictual as Dawkins contends and indeed may well be converging upon an understanding of how God acts in the universe; that Dawkinss denigration of the Bible depends on an overly literal reading; and that Dawkins assumes a narrative of progress in which human beings take the place of God in controlling the course of history. Is He Out There? responds to these arguments in the context of current scientific understanding, biblical criticism and philosophy. Paul Laffan demonstrates how the desire to meet the challenge posed by Dawkinss viewpoint has led to the perversion of scientific theories and accepted positions in other important fields of inquiry. It suggests that Christianity is wedded to a God who is the cause of the universe a classical conception of cause that is anachronistic; that denying the Bible was read for most of the Christian era as offering a literal account of divine creation is a significant misrepresentation of doctrinal history; and that a complete dismissal of progress requires the dismissal of scientific achievement. The author considers the extent to which attractive, secular values like tolerance and freedom of opinion are Christian in source and whether moral systems require God to underwrite them. The wide-ranging nature of Is He Out There? not only provides a review of the state of contemporary Christian apology but is a measured address of the arguments put forward in The God Delusion and indeed of the substantive commentary on Dawkinss thesis.
Full Product Details
Author: Paul Laffan
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Imprint: Liverpool University Press
Weight: 0.444kg
ISBN: 9781789761627
ISBN 10: 178976162
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 01 December 2022
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Author Information
Paul Laffan teaches Writing and Literature at the City Literary Institute, London. He studied Philosophy, Theology and English at Oxford and also holds a PhD in English from Florida State University. He is the author of The Fabricated Christ: Confronting What We Know about Jesus and the Gospels (Lexington/Fortress Academic, 2019).
