"The Project of Natural Theology" in The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (Blackwell: 2009), p. 12.
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In contemporary particle physics, objects without mass are posited with primitive charges or spins, which are presumed to be the basic foundations for explaining more complex events. Positing a basic power, terrestrial or divine, is not, ipso facto, explanatorily empty. ... In the sciences, we may well claim that with respect to any explanation, further questions can be asked of it, but this is not the same thing as claiming that science does not or cannot posit basic powers and accounts that are not themselves explained by further powers or scientific accounts. If the sciences can allow that subatomic particles have basic powers, it is hard to see how we can rule out that intentional agents have basic powers.
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I study the bible, with bits of Christian origins and early Christianity thrown in. I’m also an atheist, both in the sense of not-believing-there-is-a-God, and believing-there-is-no-God. I’m fascinated by all kinds of things, from typography to chess, from conlangs to competitive swimming, from creative cartography to the mathematics of music. This is my bible and religion blog. I have been studying the bible for 20 years now. I’m particularly interested in New Testament criticism, although I have a soft spot for non-canonical Christian literature and try to dabble and keep up with the broad movements in Hebrew Bible scholarship and early church history." ~ Ian
Keith Ward (Crossroad Publishing: October 2005), 224 pages.
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Anglican philosopher-theologian Keith Ward, recently retired professor
of divinity at Oxford, has published a book called What the Bible
Really Teaches (about Crucifixion, Resurrection, Salvation, the Second
Coming, and Eternal Life) that is a charitable but firm rebuke to
fundamentalist readings of the Bible. Ward considers himself a
"born-again" Christian, but says that fundamentalist interpretations of
Scripture fail on the Bible's own terms. In Chapter 1, "Fundamentalism and the Bible," Ward investigates the
nature of the Bible and argues that it's incompatible with the doctrine
of verbal inerrancy as that is usually understood. He points out that
the Bible itself nowhere claims to be inerrant, or that all its stories
must be read literally. He contrasts that nature of the Christian Bible
with that of the Koran; the latter purports to be a word-for-word
dictation from God, while the former is a collection of writings from
varied periods and viewpoints that represent a response to God's
self-revelation. Ward's argument is that the Bible doesn't even purport
to be the kind of word-for-word dictation from God that fundamentalists
tend to treat it as. ~ Reviewed by Lee McCracken at Amazon.com
Craig A. Boyd (Brazos Press: November 2007), 272 pages.
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Boyd presents an insightful account of natural law ethics, the view that ethical principles derive from the requirements of human nature. A prime obstacle to the acceptance of this type of ethics is that it transgresses the fact-value dichotomy. Boyd responds in detail to this objection, as well as to G.E. Moore's criticism of ethical naturalism. Although he defends natural law, Boyd holds that the classical version of that view as advanced by Thomas Aquinas cannot be accepted. It is based, he writes, on outdated biology, and attention to modern evolutionary theory results in a natural law position less universalistic in its claims than the classical doctrine. Boyd further criticizes other attempts to use evolutionary biology in ethics, as expressed in Larry Arnhart's Darwinian Natural Right: The Biological Ethics of Human Nature and the writings of E.O. Wilson. Natural law, Boyd argues, needs to be supplemented with virtue ethics. He also compares natural law to divine command ethics and addresses postmodernist and relativist criticisms. Boyd discusses an unusually wide range of material, and his challenging book is recommended for philosophy collections. ~ Product Description
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Most recent texts in moral philosophy have either concentrated on practical moral issues or else, if theoretical, have tended toward one-sided presentations of recent, fashionable views. Discussions of applied ethics cannot go very far without revealing underlying philosophical assumptions about how deeper, more general issues are treated. Similarly, recent approaches to ethics are difficult to understand without a knowledge of the context of the historical views against which these approaches are reacting. The Nature of Moral Thinking will satisfy the intellectually curious student, providing a solid and fair discussion of the classical philosophical questions about our moral thinking, surveying the main types of meta-ethical and normative ethical theories, while not excluding the more recent discussions of moral realism, of anti-realism, and of virtue morality. Francis Snare demonstrates that glib intellectualistic thinking about morality, especially in regard to relativism andsubjectivism, is seriously flawed. He also focuses attention on the question of whether particular theories of the origins of morality (for example, those of Nietzsche and Marx) undermine morality. All students and teachers of ethics and philosophy will find this book one of the most complete and detailed introductory-level surveys of the foundations of ethics with emphasis on the problems of the subjectivity, the relativity, and the origins of morality. ~ Product Description
Gregory A. Boyd, Edward K. Boyd (FaithWorks: March 25, 2004), 192 pages.
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Edward Boyd's agnosticism rested "not ... too much on any positive position ... but rather on a host of negative ones" about Christianity. In an attempt to address these negative issues, his son Greg, a professor of theology, asked his father, a strong-willed, highly intelligent, and stubborn 70-year-old, to enter into a correspondence in which "all of their cards would be laid on the table." Greg would give his father the opportunity to raise all his objections to the veracity of Christianity, and Greg would "answer these objections as well as give positive grounds for holding to the Christian faith." Three years and more than 30 letters later, Letters from a Skeptic was published and Edward Boyd came to accept Christ. During his journey, he and his son hash through such topics as why the world is so full of suffering; why an all-powerful God needs prayer; how you can believe in someone who rose from the dead; and how another man's death can pardon others. Despite their brutal honesty, both men exhibit respect and love toward one another as they address these volatile subjects.
James W. Sire (Intervarsity: May 1, 2004), 252 pages.
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When The Universe Next Door was first introduced nearly thirty years
ago, it set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to
worldviews. In concise, easily understood prose, James W. Sire
explained the basics of theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism,
existentialism, Eastern monism and the new consciousness. The second
edition was updated and expanded to include sections on Marxism and
secular humanism, as well as a completely reworked chapter on what is
now widely known as New Age philosophy rather than new consciousness.
And the third edition offered further updating and revisions, including
a thoroughly revised chapter on New Age philosophy and, perhaps most
importantly, a new chapter on postmodernism. Now the fourth edition
refines the definition of worldview itself, incorporating Sire's
thinking and teaching during the past decade.
The Universe Next Door has been translated into several languages and
has been used as a text at over one hundred colleges and universities
in courses ranging from apologetics and world religions to history and
English literature. With the publication of the fourth edition, this
book will continue to aid students, teachers and anyone who wants to
understand the variety of worldviews that compete with Christianity for
the allegiance of our minds and hearts. ~ Product Description
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From Richard's Website: Richard Carrier is a nationally-renowned author and speaker. As a professional historian, published philosopher, and prominent defender of the American freethought movement, Dr. Carrier has appeared across the country and on national television defending sound historical methods and the ethical worldview of secular naturalism. He holds a Ph.D. from Columbia University in ancient history, specializing in the intellectual history of Greece and Rome, particularly ancient philosophy, religion, and science, with emphasis on the origins of Christianity and the use and progress of science under the Roman empire. He is best known as the author of Sense and Goodness without God and a major contributor to The Empty Tomb, as well as writer and editor-in-chief (now emeritus) for the Secular Web, and for his copious work in history and philosophy online and in print.