A New Theist Response to the New Atheists

In response to the intellectual movement of New Atheism, this volume articulates a "New Theist" response that has at its core a desire to engage in productive and depolarizing dialogue. To ensure this book is of interest to atheists and theists alike, a team of experts in the field of philosophy of religion offer an assessment of the strongest New Atheist arguments. The chapters address the most pertinent questions about God, including politics and morality, and each essay shows how a reflective theist might deal with points raised by the New Atheists. This volume is a serious academic engagement with the questions asked by New Atheism. As such, it will be of significant interest to scholars working in the philosophy of religion and theology, as well as those engaged in religious studies generally.

List of contributors Introduction Joshua Rasmussen and Kevin Vallier Part I: God and Reason 1 Paradoxes of Infinity and the First Cause Alexander R. Pruss 2 An Argument for a Supreme Foundation Joshua Rasmussen 3 God and Moral Knowledge Philip Swenson and Dustin Crummet 4 Taking a New Perspective on Suffering and Death Chris Tweedt 5 Is the God Hypothesis Improbable? A Response to Dawkins Logan Paul Gage 6 The Nature and Rationality of Faith Liz Jackson Part II: God and Morality 7 Deiform Morality Thomas M. Ward 8 Are We Better Off Without Religion? The Harms (and Benefits) of Religious Belief Christian B. Miller 9 A License to Sin? Spiritual Practices and Moral Licensing Jennifer Zamzow 10 Another Dimension of the Moral Argument: The Voice of Jesus and the Historical Fruits of the Christian Faith Paul Copan and Thom Wolf 11 Moral Strangers as Co-Laborers in the Fields of Justice Rico Vitz 12 Reflections on a Secular Foundation for Religious Liberty Hunter Baker Part III: God and Theology 13 A Bloody Death that Saves the World? Making Sense of Christ’s Cross Jordan Wessling 14 The Fate of the ‘Good Person’ Kevin Kinghorn Index

Joshua Rasmussen is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Azusa Pacific University, USA. He works primarily on topics in metaphysics, with a focus on basic categories of reality and minds. He is author of Defending the Correspondence Theory of Truth (2014), Necessary Existence (2018), and How Reason Can Lead to God (2019). Kevin Vallier is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University, USA. His interests lie primarily in political philosophy, ethics, philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE), and the philosophy of religion. He is the author of Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation (2014), Must Politics Be War? Restoring Our Trust in the Open Society (2019) and A Liberal Democratic Peace: Creating Trust in Polarized Times (2020).