Does God exist?

by A.E. Taylor

An essay arguing that it is unbelief, not belief that is unreasonable

The author's purpose in writing this essay was to converse with his contemporaries on matters which vitally concerned both them and himself. He also wished to satisfy himself on the reasonableness of the faith that was in him. While he is convinced that there can be no vital religion apart from revelation in the proper sense of the word, his appeal has been made throughout to reason, independently of special revelation, on the ground that no man can be expected to accept anything as a communication from God until he feels reasonably satisfied that there is a God to make the communication.

The momentous issues and questions discussed in this essay are as relevant today as they were when published in 1945.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Alfred Edward Taylor was a British idealist philosopher. He was born in 1869, the son of a Wesleyan minister. Among many distinguished appointments, he held the chair of Moral Philosophy at Edinburgh from 1924 to 1941. His main interests were Platonic philosophy and the theology of Christianity, and his contributions in both these fields have been of far-reaching importance. "Does God Exist?" was his last considerable work on the philosophy of religion before his death in 1945.

Reviews

[L.S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was really hard to read: sometimes too philosophical, with long elaborated phrases and an older English (for example "today" is written as "to-day"). The book was written in 1945. But I learned a few new ideeas and made some valuable notes. I was also suprised to find out that the author ueses concepts like "intelligent design" and "prospectiv adaptation".

[Dane Balia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and such a long time too, yet all the points and arguments stand the test of today.