Does God Matter?

<p><em>Does God Matter?</em> features eleven original essays written by prominent philosophers of religion that address this very important, yet surprisingly neglected, question. One natural way to approach this question is to seek to understand what difference God’s existence would—or does—make to the value of the world and the well-being of its inhabitants. The first essay sets the stage for the discussion of this topic. The three essays in Section I defend versions of <i>pro-theism</i>: the view that God’s existence would -- or does -- make things better than they would otherwise be. The four essays in Section II defend <i>anti-theism</i>: the view that God’s existence would, or does, make things worse than they would otherwise be. The three essays in Section III consider the interplay between the existential and axiological debates concerning the existence of God. This book presents important research on a growing topic in philosophy of religion that will also be of keen interest to scholars working in other areas of philosophy (such as metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory), and in other disciplines (such as religious studies and analytic theology).</p> <p>1. Invitation to the Axiology of Theism <i>Klaas J. Kraay</i></p><p><b>Part I: Arguments for Pro-Theism</b></p><p>2. God and Intrinsic Value <i>Scott A. Davison</i></p><p>3. Axiology: Theism Versus Widely Accepted Monotheisms <i>Michael Tooley</i></p><p>4. An Agreeable Answer to a Pro-Theism/Anti-Theism Question <i>T.J. Mawson</i></p><p><b>Part II: Arguments for Anti-Theism</b></p><p>5. If There is a Hole, it is Not God-Shaped <i>Guy Kahane</i></p><p>6. The Problem of Magic <em>Stephen Maitzen</em></p><p>7. The Absurdity of Life in a Christian Universe as a Reason to Prefer that God Not Exist <em>Erik J. Wielenberg</em></p><p>8. Recasting Anti-Theism <i>Toby Betenson</i></p><p><strong>Part III: Connections between the Existential and Axiological Debates</strong></p><p>9. Triple Transcendence, the Value of God’s Existence, and a New Route to Atheism <em>J.L. Schellenberg</em></p><p>10. Arguments from Evil and Evidence for Pro-Theism <em>Myron A. Penner and Benjamin H. Arbour</em></p><p>11. Plantinga’s Defence and His Theodicy are Incompatible <i>Richard B. Davis and W. Paul Franks</i></p>