Alternative Concepts of God: Essays on the Metaphysics of the Divine
Andrei Buckareff and Yujin Nagasawa
Abstract
The concept of God according to traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic theism minimally includes the following theses: (i) There is one God; (ii) God is an omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect agent; (iii) God is the creator ex nihilo of the universe and the sustainer of all that exists; and (iv) God is an immaterial substance that is ontologically distinct from the universe. Proponents of alternative concepts of God, such as pantheism, panentheism, religious anti-realism, developmental theism, and religious naturalism, exclude at least one of (i)–(iv). A number of prominent philosophers, ... More
The concept of God according to traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic theism minimally includes the following theses: (i) There is one God; (ii) God is an omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect agent; (iii) God is the creator ex nihilo of the universe and the sustainer of all that exists; and (iv) God is an immaterial substance that is ontologically distinct from the universe. Proponents of alternative concepts of God, such as pantheism, panentheism, religious anti-realism, developmental theism, and religious naturalism, exclude at least one of (i)–(iv). A number of prominent philosophers, theologians, and scientists have expressed sympathy with alternative concepts of the divine. However, voices raised in defense of these concepts tend not to be taken seriously in philosophy of religion. This book aims to shed light on alternative concepts of God and to thoroughly consider their merits and demerits.
Keywords:
pantheism,
panentheism,
classical theism,
alternative conceptions of God,
the divine
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2016 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198722250 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: March 2016 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198722250.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Andrei Buckareff, editor
Marist College, New York
Yujin Nagasawa, editor
University of Birmingham
More
Less
