Arguing about Gods

by Graham Oppy

In this book, Graham Oppy examines arguments for and against the existence of God. He shows that none of these arguments is powerful enough to change the minds of reasonable participants in debates on the question of the existence of God. His conclusion is supported by detailed analyses of the arguments as well as by the development of a theory about the purpose of arguments and the criteria that should be used in judging whether or not arguments are successful. Oppy discusses the work of a wide array of philosophers, including Anselm, Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Kant, Hume and, more recently, Plantinga, Dembski, White, Dawkins, Bergman, Gale and Pruss.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Atheism, Theology, Nonfiction, Metaphysics, Christianity

472 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2006

About the author

Graham Robert Oppy is an Australian philosopher whose main area of research is the philosophy of religion. He currently holds the posts of Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Research at Monash University and serves as CEO of the Australasian Association of Philosophy, Chief Editor of the Australasian Philosophical Review, Associate Editor of the Australasian Journal of Philosophy, and serves on the editorial boards of Philo, Philosopher's Compass, Religious Studies, and Sophia. He was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 2009. (Source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Avel Deleon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graham Oppy is a giant intellectual he has brought light to the philosophy of religion. He is an atheist and is considered the best of the best. I like to read atheistic literature but some of the books, I have read don't have enough substance. They either are clueless in scripture, or the deeply misunderstand the relationship between faith and reason. I have briefly read through the four horsemen; Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennet, and Sam Harris. Christopher Hitchens for personal reasons is my favorite of the four; Richard Dawkins argues like a sophomore in college, and I don't personally take his arguments seriously. If you want to know the best argument against the existence of God, read this book. The book is hard, and you must digest chapter by chapter. It's worth your time, the time invested will not go to waste. This work reminds of J. L. Mackie's, "Miracles Of Theism." He goes through the classical arguments of God. The ontological, the cosmological, the teleological argument, and other arguments. The philsophy of Religion is greatly indebted to his works and his rigorous history of the philosophy of religion. This man treats the arguments of Christians seriously and doesn't presuppose atheism in his premises a reasoning skill Christians should learn.

[Curby Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oppy is an atheist so I obviously disagree with him on pretty much everything. However this is a very good book to read if you want an overview of atheist arguments and critiques of Theistic ones. Oppy is fair not to straw man the other side. Unlike Dawkins, Hitchens, Dennett and Harris he actually takes the time to understand and interact with the other side. I wish more atheists would read Oppy rather than the dreck that is found on the internet skeptic sites.

However my main critique of Oppy is that in answering Theist arguments he seems to just throw up every possible objection in what appears to be an attempt to provide talking points for atheism. No surprise, but I didn't really find any of his objections to be powerful or even troublesome.

[Sebastian Montesinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. Graham Oppy is one of the top academics in the philosophy of religion, and this is his seminal work. He expertly dissects and criticizes all the major arguments for God's existence, ultimately concluding that none are successful. His analysis is top notch - he looks at the best formulations of these arguments from the most well educated and compelling theistic philosophers, and he frequently draws on disparate fields in philosophy to illustrate the controversial premises which underly these arguments. In particular, I found his critiques of Paley's watchmaker argument, the Kalam, and Pascal's wager to be specifically insightful and devastating. His chapter on the problem of evil is also very interesting - he objects to the 'skeptical theist' response to the evidential problem of evil by suggesting such a view would lead us into untenable moral skepticism, and develops a critique of the free will defense via the problem of heaven.

This is an essential book for those who are serious about the philosophy of religion and exploring the viability of theism - theists and nontheists can benefit from Oppy's analysis. That being said, this isn't a book I'd recommend to people with little familiarity in the philosophy of religion - the book is not written for a popular audience and I'd recommend familiarizing yourself with some work in the field and some of the arguments discussed before reading the book.

[Nathan Ormond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great expounding of contemporary atheism and theological views of natural theology. The book itself contains valuable insights into Oppy's thinking about the nature and purpose of arguments and holistic worldview comparison. My only criticism would be that in some places highly technical criticism is covered in a dense paragraph or so. That being said Oppy covers hundreds of responses to arguments so can, perhaps, be forgiven if some of his responses are a little short and expository.

[The Great Asπ e · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oppy is the Christian's favorite atheist and the most challenging opponent of theism. Oppy goes through many big names in history and addresses their arguments for and against the existence of God. Oppy continuously shows that none of the arguments on either side of the debate are all that convincing.

[David Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent thoughts from Oppy. He is very detailed and points out many flaws. In fact, perhaps too many. He makes his standard for accepting arguments as "good" so high that perhaps nobody could reach it. Difficult and repetitive reading but still recommended.

[Rangganur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bahasanya monoton sekali. Isinya kurang seru.