Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today

Hans Kung

Wipf and Stock Publishers, Sep 22, 2006 - Religion - 864 pages

Does God exist? Who is God? And can we ultimately trust in any reality? These questions have been among the greatest subjects of human speculation since history began, but not until modern times has the reality of God been so strongly called into doubt. In this monumental study, written for men and women of all faiths (and of none), Hans Kung, the most renowned and controversial theologian in the world today, first traces the rise of modern atheism in the works of such great thinkers as Descartes, Pascal, Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche and Freud, and them demonstrates--brilliantly and in terms that make sense to us today--why a "yes" to God remains a more reasonable and responsible belief than its alternative, nihilism.

Contents

• A REASON OR FAITH?: 1
• The fundamental certainty of reason: 11
• Neither freethinking nor Augustinism: 19
• 4 Shattered unity: 26
• Conclusive proof of God?: 34
• Faith as the basis of reason: 59
• Augustinian heritage: 65
• Iansenism: 74
• Tracks of atheism: 81
• Against rationalism for rationality: 93
• Theses on modern rationality: 115
• Relationship of theology to natural science: 121
• B NEW UNDERSTANDING OF GOD: 127
• z Atheism?: 137
• God in history: 144
• System in history: 150
• The new philosophy of religion: 156
• Secular and historical God: 162
• God in coming to be: 169
• Alfred North Whitehead: 176
• Secularity of God: 184
• Goda projection of man? Ludwig Feuerbach: 191
• Critique of F euerbach: 204
• Critique of the critique 2 10: 210
• Godwa consolation serving vested interests? Karl Marx: 217
• z Critique of Marx: 241
• Future Without religion?: 247
• Christianity and Marxism z 56: 256
• Godan infantile illusion? Sigmund Freud: 262
• Critique of Freud 2 88: 288
• The disputed origins of religion: 294
• Critique of the critique: 307
• The importance of religion for lung Fromm Frankl: 316
• Theses on atheism: 323
• Against a theological Withdrawal strategy 33: 330
• Atheism to be taken seriously: 337
• NIHILISMCONSEQUENCE OF ATHEISM 241: 343
• The counterreligion 269: 369
• The most abysmal thought: 376
• Overcoming morality 284: 384
• Was Nietzsche a nihilist?: 391
• Conquest of nihilism?: 398
• What nonChristians can learn: 410
• Reality in doubt: 419
• E YES TO REALITYALTERNATIVE TO NIHILISM: 425
• Reaction to reality: 432
• The fundamental alternative: 438
• Concretion: 453
• Explication: 461
• F YES TO GODALTERNATIVE TO ATHEISM: 479
• The other dimension 1: 489
• Silence before God? i: 497
• Theological discussions: 509
• Controversy on natural theology: 518
• Karl Barth again: 525
• Selfcritique of reason: 537
• God exists: 552
• God as hypothesis: 561
• Ground support and goal of human existence: 567
• Belief in God rationally justified: 573
• G YES TO THE CHRISTIAN GOD: 585
• z The two main types of religious experience: 603
• Truth through practical decision?: 609
• The God of Iesus Christ: 667
• God through Iesus Christ: 677
• The Christian aspect of the Christian: 688
• God in the Spirit: 696
• Notes: 703
• Index of Names: 797
• Index: 813

About the author

Hans Kung is the author of many books including Eternal LIfe?, Global Responsibility, and Credo: The Apostles' Creed Explained for Today. He is currently Professor Emeritus of Ecumenical Theology at the University of Tubingen and President of the Global Ethic Foundation in Germany and Switzerland. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Does God Exist?: An Answer for Today
• Author: Hans Kung
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2006
• ISBN: 1597528013, 9781597528016
• Length: 864 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Christian Church / General; Religion / Christian Theology / General; Religion / Christianity / Denominations