The concept of God according to traditional Judeo-Christian-Islamic theism minimally includes the following theses: (i) There is one God; (ii) God is an omniscient, omnipotent, and morally perfect agent; (iii) God is the creator ex nihilo of the universe and the sustainer of all that exists; and (iv) God is an immaterial substance that is ontologically distinct from the universe. Proponents of alternative concepts of God, such as pantheism, panentheism, religious anti-realism, developmental theism, and religious naturalism, exclude at least one of these claims. A number of prominent philosophers and scientists have expressed sympathy with alternative concepts of the divine. However, voices raised in defense of these concepts tend not to be taken seriously in contemporary analytic philosophy of religion. This volume aims to shed light on alternative concepts of God and to thoroughly consider their merits and demerits. The contributors are leading analytic philosophers of religion, including critics of these views as well as sympathizers. This is the first contemporary edited collection featuring the work of analytic philosophers of religion covering such a wide range of alternative concepts of God.

About the Author
Andrei A. Buckareff is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the Cognitive Science Program at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. His research focuses on metaphysical and epistemological issues in philosophy of action, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion. His work has been published in the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, International Journal for the Philosophy of Religion, Philosophia, Philosophical Studies, Religious Studies, Theoria, and elsewhere. Yujin Nagasawa is Professor of Philosophy and Co-Director of the John Hick Centre for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of God and Phenomenal Consciousness and The Existence of God. He has published numerous articles in such journals as Mind, the Philosophical Quarterly, Synthese, the American Philosophical Quarterly, Religious Studies and Faith and Philosophy. He won the Philosophical Quarterly Essay Prize in 2007, the Templeton Award for Theological Promise in 2008, and the Excellence in Philosophy of Religion Prize in 2011.

Reviews
this collection successfully clarifies the advantages and disadvantages of some of the most significant alternative concepts of God over the traditional theistic concept. It opens up a way for some concepts of God from Eastern religions or mystical interpretations of Western religions to come under discussion in contemporary analytic philosophy of religion that is currently under the dominance of the traditional Abrahamic (or, more precisely, Christian) conception of God. The collection is highly recommended to everybody interested in philosophy of religion. All the articles are worth reading * Mohammad Saleh Zarepour, Philosophy in Review *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198722250
Author Andrei Buckareff
Format Hardback
Page Count 310
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 241mm * 161mm * 24mm