Part 3: Philosophy of Religion

In the human quest to understand the world and our place in it, the religious impulse is on full display. We instinctively postulate a sacred order to the world in order to find meaning, purpose, and value. We seek a divine source of solace from the ravages of this world. We find hope too, by believing in an afterlife: eternal life in the presence of God and loved ones. Given the prevalence of religion within all cultures throughout human history, it is not unreasonable to think that humans are inherently religious. Christianity, of course, confirms this religious impulse. The most fundamental fact about reality is spiritual. God, a spiritual being, is the causal source of all distinct reality. This means humans can understand themselves, as John Calvin famously put it, only in first understanding God. Philosophy of religion is the area of philosophy where ultimate questions of a religious nature are explored.

Chief among these questions is the question of God’s existence and nature. Does God exist? If so, what is God like? Can we know God? Does God want us to know him? Can we show others that God exists? Can we know God apart from arguments? Has God revealed himself to his creation? In chapter 12 we explore the question of God’s existence by examining three of the four classic arguments for God: the ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments (the moral argument will be examined in chap. 16).

While we think that the arguments for God are sound, it is also important to consider the most powerful objections to the rationality of belief in God. If God exists and is all-good, all-powerful, and all-knowing, then how is it that there is evil? Moreover, much of the pain and suffering we find in the world seems utterly pointless. Does the horrific nature and amount of apparently pointless evil give us reason to doubt God’s existence? If God is perfectly loving, wouldn’t he make himself more obvious? How is it that, as far as we can tell, there are instances of reasonable nonbelief? These questions and others like them surface what are known as the problems of evil and of divine hiddenness. In establishing the case for the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Christian God, it is important to address the questions raised from the realities of evil and of divine silence. These topics will be explored in chapter 13.

Once God’s existence and nature are established, there are issues regarding how God interacts with the world. This family of questions, to be explored in chapter 14, centers on the question of divine intervention in the world. How is divine creation and sustenance to be understood? Does God interact in any meaningful way with the world? Does he respond to our prayers? Does God heal us? Are such miracles possible? Does God’s providential care for the world extend to every detail? If so, does a high view of divine control rule out significant human freedom? Relatedly, does God’s foreknowledge rule out significant human freedom? How is it even possible to know future contingent acts, even for God?

Most religious stories carry a belief in some kind of afterlife, whether it is a heaven or hell, a state of nonbeing, a state of bliss or nirvana, or some combination of these views. Questions about the possibility of an afterlife hinge on whether human beings can survive the death of the body. Are there good reasons to believe in a soul? How, going by the Christian story, do we make sense of the claim that our souls are reunited with our bodies at the resurrection? These questions are explored in chapter 15.

The philosophy of religion is a rich and fertile field of study, integrating insights from metaphysics, ethics, logic, and epistemology, as well as from science and theology. Additional areas of exploration in the philosophy of religion not directly addressed in this section include the question of religious experience, religious disagreement and diversity, the topic of nontheistic religions, and more fine-grained discussions regarding the divine attributes and other key Christian doctrines, such as the incarnation and the Trinity.