God, Religion and Reality

by Stephen R.L. Clark, David Bentley Hart (Introduction)

In this engaging study Professor Clark sets out to show that there are good philosophical reasons for theism, and Christian theism in particular. He travels the breadth of our intellectual engagement with the world, from ethics to scientific knowledge, and his journey is vigorously argued, fresh, lively and readable. He explores the assumptions which underpin our philosophical and everyday thinking alike, examines the construction of the arguments used to support them, and tests the sturdiness and the makeup of their props and foundations.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Theology

198 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read C.S. Lewis turned philosopher, this is the man and this is THE book. Clark is a very intelligent, careful writer. This means that people who can't read anything higher than C.S. Lewis won't be able to get a lot of this and probably won't enjoy it, but for those who are more academically inclined and want a great modern guy who is challenging, you probably couldn't ask for a better resource than Clark and this book gives some of the most powerful aspects of his work.

My favorite chapters in this book were Necessity and Unity, Having the Mind of God, and The Last Things. The first of these offers a careful defense of classical theism arguments, particularly the Neoplatonic idea there really can only be one cause for everything else and that whatever that one thing is must be like mind. In the second chapter he fills out this a bit by pointing to Lewis' argument about how if our beliefs are just atoms bouncing around as the result of time and chance, then we have no reason to believe they are true beliefs. It is literally incredible that mind could be produced by non-mind. That's particularly helpful for me and as I read more Clark I hope that he talks about this more often. It has powerful apologetic cash value. Everyone should have the ideas here down cold, particularly if they are ever compelled by the problem of evil.

The last chapter is not really about eschatology but about "first things." I really am finding that Clark is very balanced in presenting the good of classical thought without the more stoic and inhuman aspects. In this chapter he points to how God is the ultimate thing without removing all the secondary things.

[Zachary Mays · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. An intellectually (and spiritually) stimulating read. A book to come back to again and again.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would not praise this book as highly as David Bentley Hart does in the introduction, but I can understand why he does it - it is a book for those that are more into the topics of this book because it is a difficult read that needs some background knowledge. For me, it feels often that Stephen R. L. Clark is talking around the topic more than he is addressing the topic head-on, and this wibe may come from the use of sources - because they are not the most mainstream - namely a lot of Chesterton, Berkeley, Spinoza, Orwell, Plotinus and more... I don't know those too well, but when Augustine is chosen more in a book about God and Reality than Aquinas, then it's not the most "mainstream" one(or rather, a book that takes the normal route through this kind of material). It's not that it's bad, its just different and thus a better book for those already familiar with the topic, so that they can get another kind of look on it all. Clark himself seems humble and can, in the end, say things like "If theism is correct" rather than concluding that it is, and I like this approach. There are many places in the book where I can follow well, and that gives great insights to people like me, but through much difficulties, I find this book more of a miss than a hit.

[Johan Erlandsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit difficult at times byt still a really good read. I feel I have to read this when I'm smarter.