Reviews for Introducing Philosophy of Religion

The average rating for Introducing Philosophy of Religion based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-04-15 00:00:00 Betty Lucas This book was a great introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. It covered the main points that would be expected, mostly the three arguments for God (Cosmological, Teleological, and Ontological), the problem of evil, as well as much more. In his description of the three arguments, Meister definitely displayed no bias - he offered objections, counter objections and counter-counter objections to each proof, leaving it open to the reader to delve deeper. In fact, he was so unbiased that he even offers a cosmological argument for atheism. Naturally, he did the same thing for the problem of evil, though he admits that it, at least in one form, is no longer seen as a valid argument against God, because of the free will defense. On top of this, he also added a lot more to the book, such as talking about different kinds of religious diversity (religious pluralism, religious inclusive, etc), and what constitutes the divine in different traditions, as well as the different concepts of "self" and the afterlife. He also added chapters on the interaction between science and religion, as well as reason and faith, offering arguments for both sides and how we can reconcile or see these things interacting. Perhaps among my favorite parts of this book, however, were all the direct quotes that Meister gave to help elucidate some topics. He took these quotes from some of the most influential philosophers of religion, and used them to elaborate on what he was saying, making the arguments clearer. Furthermore, he made use of extensive footnotes to writings, as well as a massive "Further Reading" section at the end of each chapter that included not only books/articles (on both the argument and its opposition), but also websites and other material, along with discussion questions. And, if Meister believed the concept was still too confusing, he was also willing to add his own examples to make it clearer. The one objection I see people having with this book is that Meister is a Christian and that he focuses heavily on Western religions. However, he explains this in the introduction. Basically, because of the history of the discipline, that is what most has been written about. He says focusing on those traditions, which he is most well-acquainted with and which the most research has been done on, makes the book easier to read (especially for a Western reader, who would be familiar with them as well). I agree with this decision, and I don't think the book suffered, as he did incorporate other traditions when he was able (for example, the final chapter on the self and afterlife discussed both Buddhism and certain schools of Hinduism). Some also argue that Meister's Christian background creates a bias, but I disagree with this and believe he has presented everything of a typical introductory course to the philosophy of religion (mainly the three arguments for God, as well as the problem of evil) in a non-biased manner, offering objections in a non-condescending manner, and giving the reader more sources to pursue the arguments and objections. Overall, I would say this is a must read for anyone who is interested in the philosophy of religion. It is a great book that makes extensive use of the original authors and includes citations for their writing, allowing the user to pursue any subject of interest in much more depth.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-06-24 00:00:00 David Wilson A fairly basic introduction to the philosophy of religion. It is not very challenging intellectually and doesn't go very deep into the issues. I've read better books on this subject, but if you are coming to the topic as a novice, you'll learn some useful facts.