November 2013

In Defence of Wonder is a set of  lively and provocative essays. Polymath Raymond Tallis (http://www.raymondtallis.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Tallis) exposes woolly thinking and pulls the rug from beneath a wide range of commentators whether scientist, theologian, philosopher, or pundit. He takes to task much of contemporary science and philosophy, arguing that they are guilty of taking us down every narrowing […]

The problem of the ultimate causes of evil, especially human strife and suffering, has agitated people’s minds from the beginning of history. The problem was particularly acute for the Christian tradition, with its faith in an all-loving and all-powerful God. A whole branch of theology, ‘theodicy’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy), developed to deal with this problem. Good recommendations

John Leslie Mackie (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._L._Mackie) gives a carefully considered account of the arguments for and against the existence of God. His view is that, in the light of these arguments, it is a miracle that theism persists. The book has two main parts. In the first we get a discussion of the traditional arguments for the existence

Why is belief so hard to shake? Despite our best attempts to embrace rational thought and reject superstition, we often find ourselves appealing to unseen forces that guide our destiny, wondering who might be watching us as we go about our lives, and imagining what might come after death. In this lively and masterfully argued