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George H. Smith – ATHEISM: The Case Against God1
ATHEISM:
The Case Against God
George H. Smith
VERSION 1.1 (JAN 2003) – Proofed and Formatted by <Bibliophile>.
 
George H. Smith – ATHEISM: The Case Against God2
Contents
Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................4
 
Part One - Atheism And God.............................................................................................................................................6
 
I - The Scope of Atheism..............................................................................................................................................7
 
1. - The Myths of Atheism.......................................................................................................................................7
 
2. - The Meaning of Atheism....................................................................................................................................9
 
3. - Agnosticism.....................................................................................................................................................10
 
4. - The Varieties of Atheism.................................................................................................................................12
 
5. - Jacques Maritain and the Slander of Atheism..................................................................................................15
 
6. - What Atheism Is Not........................................................................................................................................16
 
7. - The Significance of Atheism............................................................................................................................18
 
8. - Theism on the Defense.....................................................................................................................................19
 
II - The Concept of God..............................................................................................................................................21
 
1. - The Meaning of “God”.....................................................................................................................................21
 
2. - Atheism and the Concept of God.....................................................................................................................26
 
III - The God of Christianity.......................................................................................................................................30
 
1. - An Escape from Agnosticism...........................................................................................................................30
 
2. - Knowing the Christian God..............................................................................................................................32
 
3. - God and Intelligibility......................................................................................................................................37
 
4. - God, Being and Existence................................................................................................................................38
 
5. - The Powers of God...........................................................................................................................................42
 
6. - God and Goodness...........................................................................................................................................45
 
7. - The Collapse Into Agnosticism........................................................................................................................51
 
Part Two - Reason, Faith And Revelation........................................................................................................................54
 
IV - Reason Versus Faith............................................................................................................................................55
 
1. - Clarifying the Issue..........................................................................................................................................55
 
2. - The Attack on Reason......................................................................................................................................57
 
3. - The Nature of the Conflict...............................................................................................................................58
 
4. - Rejoinders and Arguments...............................................................................................................................62
 
5. - The Dilemma of Faith......................................................................................................................................70
 
V - The Skepticism of Faith........................................................................................................................................71
 
1. - Spheres of Influence.........................................................................................................................................71
 
2. - Universal Skepticism.......................................................................................................................................74
 
3. - The Contextual Nature of Knowledge..............................................................................................................76
 
4. - Skepticism and the Primacy of Faith................................................................................................................79
 
5. - Skepticism and Sense Perception.....................................................................................................................83
 
VI - The Varieties of Faith..........................................................................................................................................91
 
1. - The Bible, Faith and Misology.........................................................................................................................91
 
2. - Faith as Authoritative Trust..............................................................................................................................94
 
3. - Voluntarist Theories of Faith.........................................................................................................................100
 
4. - The End of Faith.............................................................................................................................................104
 
VII. - Revelation........................................................................................................................................................106
 
1 - The Bible.........................................................................................................................................................106
 
2 - Miracles...........................................................................................................................................................115
 
Part Three - The Arguments For God............................................................................................................................121
 
VIII. - Natural Theology...........................................................................................................................................122
 
1 - The Final Appeal.............................................................................................................................................122
 
2 - The Conditions of Proof..................................................................................................................................123
 
3 - “God” as an Explanatory Concept...................................................................................................................125
 
 
George H. Smith – ATHEISM: The Case Against God3
IX. - The Cosmological Arguments..........................................................................................................................130
 
1 - The First Cause Argument..............................................................................................................................130
 
2 - The Sustaining First Cause..............................................................................................................................134
 
3 - The Contingency Argument............................................................................................................................137
 
4 - The Entropy Argument...................................................................................................................................139
 
X. - The Design Arguments......................................................................................................................................142
 
1 - The Teleological Argument............................................................................................................................142
 
2 - The Analogical Argument...............................................................................................................................144
 
3 - The Argument from Life.................................................................................................................................148
 
Part Four - God - The Practical Consequences..............................................................................................................151
 
XI. - Ethics, Rationality, and Religion......................................................................................................................152
 
1 - Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................152
 
2 - The Science of Ethics......................................................................................................................................154
 
3 - Normative Ethics and Meta-ethics..................................................................................................................159
 
4 - Rational Morality............................................................................................................................................160
 
XII. - The Sins of Christianity...................................................................................................................................163
 
1 - Religious Morality..........................................................................................................................................163
 
2 - The Conflicting Virtues...................................................................................................................................167
 
3 - The Ethics of Jesus..........................................................................................................................................171
 
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