Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality

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Oxford University Press, Apr 20, 2011 - Religion - 304 pages
This book aims to reinvigorate discussions of moral arguments for God's existence. To open this debate, Baggett and Walls argue that God's love and moral goodness are perfect, without defect, necessary, and recognizable. After integrating insights from the literature of both moral apologetics and theistic ethics, they defend theistic ethics against a variety of objections and, in so doing, bolster the case for the moral argument for God's existence. It is the intention of the authors to see this aspect of natural theology resume its rightful place of prominence, by showing how a worldview predicated on the God of both classical theism and historical Christian orthodoxy has more than adequate resources to answer the Euthyphro Dilemma, speak to the problem of evil, illumine natural law, and highlight the moral significance of the incarnation and resurrection of Christ. Ultimately, the authors argue, there is principled reason to believe that morality itself provides excellent reasons to look for a transcendent source of its authority and reality, and a source that is more than an abstract principle.
 

Contents

Foreword by Thomas V Morris
Moral Apologia
The Euthyphro Dilemma
Naming the Whirlwind
A Reformed Tradition Not Quite Right
God and Goodness
Divine Command Theory
Abhorrent Commands
The Problem of Evil
Knowing Gods Will
Ethics and Eternity
Conclusion
Answering the Extended Arbitrariness Objection
Outrageous Evil and the Hope of Healing
Notes
Index

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About the author (2011)

David Baggett is professor of philosophy at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His books include C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness and Beauty; Did the Resurrection Happen?: A Conversation with Gary Habermas and Antony Flew; Tennis and Philosophy: What the Racket is All About; and Sherlock Holmes and Philosophy. Jerry L. Walls recently served as a Research Fellow in The Center for Philosophy of Religion at Notre Dame, and is currently a visiting scholar there. Among his books are Hell: The Logic of Damnation, Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy, and Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. He is also the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology.

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