The Case Against ChristianityIn this systematic philosophical critique of the major tenets of Christianity, Michael Martin examines the semantic and epistemological bases of religious claims and beliefs. Beginning with a comparison and evaluation of the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno-Chalcedonian Creed, and the Athanasian Creed, Martin discusses the principal theological, historical, and eschatological assumptions of Christianity. These include the historicity of Jesus, the Incarnation, the Second Coming, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, Salvation through faith in Jesus, and Jesus as a model of ethical behavior. Until now, an adequately convincing criticism of Christianity did not exist. Martin's use of historical evidence, textual analysis, and interpretations by philosophers and theologians provides the strongest case made to date against the rational justification of Christian doctrines. |
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User Review - Jack - GoodreadsWhile trying to fill a rarely explored niche in philosophy, there is too much pedantic, overly subtle, and somewhat boring technical analysis in this book to make it a very readable text, even for ... Read full review
Contents
The Basis of Christian Belief | 18 |
Christian Doctrines as Basic Beliefs | 27 |
The Historicity of Jesus | 36 |
Criticisms of the Wellsian Thesis | 59 |
Conclusion | 67 |
The Resurrection | 73 |
Habermass Defense of the Resurrection | 87 |
Conclusion | 96 |
Christian Ethics | 162 |
Evaluation of Jesus Ethics | 169 |
Conclusion | 191 |
Salvation by Faith | 197 |
Evaluation of the Doctrine | 203 |
Conclusion | 211 |
Other Possible Responses | 223 |
The Divine Command Theory | 229 |
The Virgin Birth and the Second Coming | 105 |
The Second Coming | 115 |
Conclusion | 121 |
The Conceptual Problems of the Incarnation | 127 |
A Modified Divine Command Theory | 241 |
Conclusion | 249 |
Conclusion | 262 |