The Death of Classical Theism and the Subsequent Rise of Atheism

Shane Himes

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2025
• Print ISBN:
  9798385238316
  9798385238323
• eBook ISBN:
  9798385238330
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Philosophical Metaphysics

Modernity has seen the rise of atheism and a rejection of classical theism. In this book, Shane Himes argues that the two realities are largely dependent on one another. Many modern Christian apologists are not fond of classical doctrines such as divine simplicity and impassibility, and thus they happily reject these ideas. The ramifications of doing so, however, have not been fully appreciated, especially as they relate to Christian arguments for God's existence. Himes gives an overview of the arguments for God's existence by examining the work of both scholars who reject classical theism and those who embrace it. An analysis of these arguments demonstrates that modern models of God make his existence a mere possibility as opposed to a logical necessity. As such, the arguments given by these scholars leave them susceptible to atheist critiques, given that they do not answer the question of why anything exists. Without classical theism, God becomes one possible answer as to why our particular universe exists the way that it does; but apparently this has not been convincing to many, as atheism has seen an unprecedented rise in the last two centuries. Paradoxically, if Christianity is to become dominant once again in academia and Western societies more generally, a recovery of classical depictions of God as the ground of all being is paramount.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: A New Theism
• Chapter 2: Classical Pushback Against Theistic Personalism
• Chapter 3: Theistic Personalism and the Existence of God
• Chapter 4: Classical Theism and the Existence of God
• Chapter 5: Theistic Personalism and the Problem of Evil
• Chapter 6: Classical Theism and the Problem of Evil
• Chapter 7: Analyzing the Differences Between the Paradigms
• Chapter 8: A Classical God in a Modern World
• Chapter 9: The Problem of Evil and Monism
• Chapter 10: Winning and Losing
• Closing Remarks
• Bibliography