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Richard Swinburne...over the past thirty years or so, has fashioned the most sophisticated and highly developed natural theology the world has so far seen. (Alvin Plantinga, Times Literary Supplement )
W.D. Hudson, Religious Studies
`The trilogy ... is, beyond all doubt, one of the most, if not the most, impressive single achievement in the philosophy of religion during the past decade.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Coherence of Theism by Richard Swinburne, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1977, 320 ff
A Christian philosophy of God
By Howard Jones
Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford specializing in the philosophy of religion. He was the Nolloth Professor of the Christian Religion at the University from 1985. This is the first book in a trilogy devoted to arguing a case in favour of belief in God; a revised edition was published in 1993. The other books in the trilogy are The Existence of God and Faith and Reason.
The Coherence of Theism is set out in three parts. Part I is on Religious Language and in the first two chapters deals with what the term `coherence' means. The author then goes on to explain how other terms are used in a theological context. Part II argues the case for A Contingent God, that is, a God or `personal ground of being' whose qualities of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience and whose role as the source of moral obligation and creator of the universe are arrived at coherently by induction through observation of the natural world. Swinburne counters here some of the atheistic, or perhaps I should say philosophically agnostic, arguments of David Hume and Anthony Flew. Part III gives us an alternative argument for A Necessary God - that it is not by chance that there happens to be `something rather than nothing'. That is to say, the coming into existence of humankind and of the rest of the universe was not just a chance event but was in some sense directed or preordained; and that the existence of such a necessary God presupposes the qualities outlined in Part II.
This is a book of impeccable scholarship and carefully detailed argument. It is difficult therefore for me to give any further meaningful detail in a short review such as this. Perhaps, to give potential readers more idea of the overall style and content, it will suffice for me to repeat what Robert Merrihew Adams said of the book in his review for the Wiley-Blackwell philosophical journal Noûs: `Swinburne treats every subject with philosophical rigor and an expositional clarity that makes his work accessible to any educated reader'. This is not an easy read but the book is academically challenging and stimulating for anyone who is agnostic about the God of western theology and who is prepared to meet the challenge of philosophical argument.
Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, U.K.; and The World as Spirit, published by Fairhill Publishing, Whitland, West Wales, 2011.
The Existence of God
Faith and Reason
A Christian philosophy of God
By Howard Jones
Swinburne is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford specializing in the philosophy of religion. He was the Nolloth Professor of the Christian Religion at the University from 1985. This is the first book in a trilogy devoted to arguing a case in favour of belief in God; a revised edition was published in 1993. The other books in the trilogy are The Existence of God and Faith and Reason.
The Coherence of Theism is set out in three parts. Part I is on Religious Language and in the first two chapters deals with what the term `coherence' means. The author then goes on to explain how other terms are used in a theological context. Part II argues the case for A Contingent God, that is, a God or `personal ground of being' whose qualities of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience and whose role as the source of moral obligation and creator of the universe are arrived at coherently by induction through observation of the natural world. Swinburne counters here some of the atheistic, or perhaps I should say philosophically agnostic, arguments of David Hume and Anthony Flew. Part III gives us an alternative argument for A Necessary God - that it is not by chance that there happens to be `something rather than nothing'. That is to say, the coming into existence of humankind and of the rest of the universe was not just a chance event but was in some sense directed or preordained; and that the existence of such a necessary God presupposes the qualities outlined in Part II.
This is a book of impeccable scholarship and carefully detailed argument. It is difficult therefore for me to give any further meaningful detail in a short review such as this. Perhaps, to give potential readers more idea of the overall style and content, it will suffice for me to repeat what Robert Merrihew Adams said of the book in his review for the Wiley-Blackwell philosophical journal Noûs: `Swinburne treats every subject with philosophical rigor and an expositional clarity that makes his work accessible to any educated reader'. This is not an easy read but the book is academically challenging and stimulating for anyone who is agnostic about the God of western theology and who is prepared to meet the challenge of philosophical argument.
Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, U.K.; and The World as Spirit, published by Fairhill Publishing, Whitland, West Wales, 2011.
The Existence of God
Faith and Reason
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Superb!
26 Aug 2007
Format:Paperback
Richard Swinburne came highly recommended to me. Yet, after reading this book, I can say that he has greatly exceeded my expectations. I found Swinburne's argumentation to be clear, concise, and in many cases interesting. But not easy. There were several parts of his book which I had to read, and re-read, in order to fully understand his line of thought, which I expected.
Swinburne's task is to discover whether or not Theism is coherent. He concludes that it (probably) is. He doesn't argue that it's true per say merely that the Theist can not be charged with holding incoherent views. The book is split into three separate sections. In the first, Swinburne goes about defining what it means for something to be `coherent' and `incoherent.' He argues that a statement is incoherent if it entails a self-contradictory statement. He also argues that the easiest way to find a statement to be coherent is if that statement entails another statement which is coherent. He spends the rest of section 1 describing religious language--i.e. whether language describing God is used equivocally, univocally, or analogously. Throughout the book Swinburne maintains that we can describe God using words (such as "love" and "good") in their `mundane' senses without (always) appealing to analogy.
In section 2, Swinburne argues for a `contingent' god. He looks at eight different characteristics that Theists have typically used to describe God--an omnipresent spirit, free and creator of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, a source of moral obligation, eternal, and immutable. He goes through each and argues first, that such notions are in fact coherent, and second such notions can be successfully defended against critiques. The bulk of the book takes up this portion. Perhaps what I found most interesting was how he indicated how several of these characteristics (for example, omnipotent and omniscient) entailed other characteristics (omnipresent spirit).
In the final section, Swinburne argues for the notion of a necessary being. He first lists different criteria for something to be necessary. Then he sees how these criteria apply to God's existence, and God's possession of these characteristics. He concludes that in order for a Theist to express what he normally expresses when saying that "God exists" the Theist must use some terms in a slightly analogous way. And since, it's not clear which terms are being analogously, and to what degree the question of coherence cannot (ultimately) be removed from the question of whether or not Theism is true. All in all, I highly recommend Swinburne's book as a fascinating read and a great defense of the coherency of theism.
This book is the first of his trilogy, the next book being "The Existence of God" and concluding with "Faith and Reason."
Swinburne's task is to discover whether or not Theism is coherent. He concludes that it (probably) is. He doesn't argue that it's true per say merely that the Theist can not be charged with holding incoherent views. The book is split into three separate sections. In the first, Swinburne goes about defining what it means for something to be `coherent' and `incoherent.' He argues that a statement is incoherent if it entails a self-contradictory statement. He also argues that the easiest way to find a statement to be coherent is if that statement entails another statement which is coherent. He spends the rest of section 1 describing religious language--i.e. whether language describing God is used equivocally, univocally, or analogously. Throughout the book Swinburne maintains that we can describe God using words (such as "love" and "good") in their `mundane' senses without (always) appealing to analogy.
In section 2, Swinburne argues for a `contingent' god. He looks at eight different characteristics that Theists have typically used to describe God--an omnipresent spirit, free and creator of the universe, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, a source of moral obligation, eternal, and immutable. He goes through each and argues first, that such notions are in fact coherent, and second such notions can be successfully defended against critiques. The bulk of the book takes up this portion. Perhaps what I found most interesting was how he indicated how several of these characteristics (for example, omnipotent and omniscient) entailed other characteristics (omnipresent spirit).
In the final section, Swinburne argues for the notion of a necessary being. He first lists different criteria for something to be necessary. Then he sees how these criteria apply to God's existence, and God's possession of these characteristics. He concludes that in order for a Theist to express what he normally expresses when saying that "God exists" the Theist must use some terms in a slightly analogous way. And since, it's not clear which terms are being analogously, and to what degree the question of coherence cannot (ultimately) be removed from the question of whether or not Theism is true. All in all, I highly recommend Swinburne's book as a fascinating read and a great defense of the coherency of theism.
This book is the first of his trilogy, the next book being "The Existence of God" and concluding with "Faith and Reason."
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Stupendous
1 April 2010
Format:Paperback
Swinburne's The Coherence of Theism is the first in his trilogy on philosophy of religion, although it easily stands alone. He begins by questioning what it means for a statement to be coherent, concluding that it is a matter of its not containing or entailing a contradiction. He then argues that creedal statements, or professions of religious beliefs, are candidates for coherence in the same way other propositions are; the proposition "God is omnipotent" is the same type of statement as "helicase unzips DNA during replication" or "there are no rabbits in Bermuda."
Swinburne next argues that it is coherent to suppose that there exists a God who has all of the attributes ascribed to him by traditional theology. He deals with common (and some uncommon) objections to the divine attributes and concludes that it is indeed a coherent proposition that a perfectly free, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, perfectly good, eternal, and necessary being exists.
The Coherence of Theism is a landmark study in philosophy of religion and deserves far more attention than it has received. This book will be of interest to anyone studying philosophy, theology, or atheology. Swinburne's writing style is clear and direct, and his willingness to deal with lengthy and complicated objections is admirable.
Swinburne next argues that it is coherent to suppose that there exists a God who has all of the attributes ascribed to him by traditional theology. He deals with common (and some uncommon) objections to the divine attributes and concludes that it is indeed a coherent proposition that a perfectly free, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, perfectly good, eternal, and necessary being exists.
The Coherence of Theism is a landmark study in philosophy of religion and deserves far more attention than it has received. This book will be of interest to anyone studying philosophy, theology, or atheology. Swinburne's writing style is clear and direct, and his willingness to deal with lengthy and complicated objections is admirable.
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Tremendous! Philosophers will read this eventually!
12 Jun 2001
Format:Paperback
Swinburne's book is essential reading. I originally bought the book to see how he deviates away from the Thomistic doctrines of Analogy. I was very glad to see that his tough minded philosophical explications of God-Talk are defensible without much fallback to analogy(or from what he says). From my perspective, Swinburne is tops in the Philosophy of Religion.
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