The Great Perhaps

God as a Question

Burton F. Porter

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2015
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781442247222
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Philosophy History & Theory

God created man in his own image; but did man perhaps return the compliment? The question of God's existence has been a pivotal issue for every civilization. Those with faith in God want assurance that their belief is justified, and atheists want confirmation that God is nowhere to be found. When we reflect on religion, we want to know the reasons for belief in God, or whether belief is only a comforting delusion. In an age of science, will religion persist or will it be edged out of our consciousness and become a historical curiosity?

Burton Porter approaches the notion of God in an open, yet critical way, examining the argumentation used by centuries of human society to support or reject the existence of God. With minimum assumptions and maximum objectivity, Porter debates whether the religious view does, in fact, diagram reality. He examines the roles that God and religion have played in the ethics, art, and actions of many diverse cultures to conclude that, at the very least, the consideration of the existence of a higher power is fundamental to us all.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Introduction
• When Religion First Trembled into Expression
• National Religions of the Ancients
• The Nature of the Western God
• An Array of Alternative Beliefs
• Classic Arguments for God’s Existence—and Their Critiques
• The Evidence of Common Sense
• If God Is Good, Why Do People Suffer?
• Other Proposed Explanations
• How Can Religious Claims Be Established?
• Famous Challenges to Faith
• The Stormy Relations between Science and Religion
• How Religion Relates to Society
• Immortality: A Diversity of Beliefs
• Religion Today—Its Multiple Forms
• Glossary
• Selected Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author