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Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God: The Plantinga Project
Thirty years ago, Alvin Plantinga gave a lecture called "Two Dozen (or so) Theistic Arguments," which served as an underground inspiration for two generations of scholars and students. In it, he proposed a number of novel and creative arguments for the existence of God which have yet to receive the attention they deserve. In Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God, each of Plantinga's original suggestions, many of which he only briefly sketched, is developed in detail by a wide variety of accomplished scholars. The authors look to metaphysics, epistemology, semantics, ethics, aesthetics, and beyond, finding evidence for God in almost every dimension of reality. Those arguments new to natural theology are more fully developed, and well-known arguments are given new life. Not only does this collection present ground-breaking research, but it lays the foundations for research projects for years to come.
496 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 7, 2018
36 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Jerry L. Walls
33 books33 followersJerry L. Walls (PhD, University of Notre Dame), a world-class expert on the afterlife and a sought-after speaker, has written for Christianity Today, First Things, and Christian Century. He has appeared on NPR’s Talk of the Nation and in the documentary film Hellbound? Walls, professor of philosophy and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas, is the coauthor of Why I Am Not a Calvinist and the Christianity Today Book Award Winner Good God: The Theistic Foundations of Morality. He has authored or edited a dozen books, including a trilogy on the afterlife—Hell: The Logic of Damnation, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation, and Heaven: The Logic of Eternal Joy—and is a senior speaking fellow for the Morris Institute for Human Values.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 23, 2023
A wonderful collection of arguments for the existence of God! Some of the arguments are accessible for the average person while others aren’t. Cumulatively, I think these arguments are extremely powerful. My favorite argument in the book was the argument from positive epistemic status!
Other arguments that I loved were the argument from beauty, the naïve teleological argument, and the argument from consciousness!
I wasn’t a massive fan of the formulation of the argument from contingency here, admittedly. It wasn’t explained in a way that I think I could present to a layperson. I believe it can be formulated in a much better way.
Other arguments that I loved were the argument from beauty, the naïve teleological argument, and the argument from consciousness!
I wasn’t a massive fan of the formulation of the argument from contingency here, admittedly. It wasn’t explained in a way that I think I could present to a layperson. I believe it can be formulated in a much better way.
October 17, 2020
Excellent book! However, chapters F and K were far too technical for the readers for whom book was intended. By technical, I reference the use of advanced mathematical logic symbols. Even having had training in philosophy and logic, the symbols were over my head to the point that it was likened to reading some alien language. Other than that, the book is a solid read.
May 10, 2024
Lots of interesting arguments. Many were unconvincing but they were all interesting.
April 1, 2025
Dessverre alt for mange avanserte gudsargumenter til å få skikkelig utbytte. Noen av kapitlene var interessante, som f.eks. det moralske argumentet og skjønnhetsargumentet. Boken er nok best som referanselitteratur.
December 26, 2020
Any one interested in Apologetics should take an interest in this work. Scholars from all different fields take the task of applying Plantinga's Reformed Epistemology to work out arguments in three different (perhaps four) types of arguments being the Ontological, Epistemological, and Moral arguments. From the Ontological arguments, I found Joshua Rasmussen's argument the most intriguing with starting with an Atheistic Ontological argument for existence and turning in on its head towards a Theistic Ontological argument. Many of the arguments in the Epistemological section seemed similar, and shared much in common with John Frame's Transcendental Argument for God. I enjoyed the Moral Argument section but felt like another argument could be added with Plantinga's Free Will defence (also how Plantinga would square his Free Will defense with O Felix Culpa). Outside of these three main sections, Todd Buras' argument from miracles was extremely helpful. Some of these essays require an understanding in Philosophy (especially in the theory of Model Logic) and Physics. Overall, this collection of essays is an intellectual challenge and a helpful collection for anyone interested in Apologetics.
November 22, 2022
This collection of essays for the sake of 'The Plantinga Project' (to honor eminent Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga) really is a special piece of work.
As a sort of festschrift for Dr. Plantinga, and as a developmental snapshot on the state of natural theology in general, 'Two Dozen (or So) Arguments for God' is a must-read for anyone interested in either of those subjects: to see the multitudinous directions the work of a great mind will be carried off in after his time, and... well, that kind of sums up both of the ideas together.
The range of topics and perspectives of the volume a little bewildering for someone who is only barely beyond a 'casual' consumer of philosophical content, and some of the subject matter flatly went right over my head. I can't fault the book for my own ignorance, but I can't comment on that stuff as much as I might want.
Overall, TD(os)AfG is at minimum a great starting place for those who are serious about looking deeper into natural theology. You can't deny it has one of the widest ranges of arguments offered in any similar book, going well beyond the usual theistic arguments typically seen in pop level apologetics volumes. Most of these arguments won't be your cocktail napkin, elevator-pitch-for-God's-existence kind of thing, but almost all of them will get you thinking. Each essay has a separate bibliography which is almost worth the price of the book alone. If these arguments merely whet your appetite, I would wager the caliber of references provided will be able to satisfy the most ravenous of the philosophers out there.
Some of it was a slog to read through for a less-than-formally train philosopher, but in the end I'm very glad that it exposed me to so many different categories and topics, many of which I wouldn't have thought about connecting to God's existence. You get the usual suspects, like first cause, teleological, and moral arguments, but you also have more exotic topics touched on, like love, counterfactuals, consciousness, beauty, play, intuition, and even quantum mechanics.
As a sort of festschrift for Dr. Plantinga, and as a developmental snapshot on the state of natural theology in general, 'Two Dozen (or So) Arguments for God' is a must-read for anyone interested in either of those subjects: to see the multitudinous directions the work of a great mind will be carried off in after his time, and... well, that kind of sums up both of the ideas together.
The range of topics and perspectives of the volume a little bewildering for someone who is only barely beyond a 'casual' consumer of philosophical content, and some of the subject matter flatly went right over my head. I can't fault the book for my own ignorance, but I can't comment on that stuff as much as I might want.
Overall, TD(os)AfG is at minimum a great starting place for those who are serious about looking deeper into natural theology. You can't deny it has one of the widest ranges of arguments offered in any similar book, going well beyond the usual theistic arguments typically seen in pop level apologetics volumes. Most of these arguments won't be your cocktail napkin, elevator-pitch-for-God's-existence kind of thing, but almost all of them will get you thinking. Each essay has a separate bibliography which is almost worth the price of the book alone. If these arguments merely whet your appetite, I would wager the caliber of references provided will be able to satisfy the most ravenous of the philosophers out there.
Some of it was a slog to read through for a less-than-formally train philosopher, but in the end I'm very glad that it exposed me to so many different categories and topics, many of which I wouldn't have thought about connecting to God's existence. You get the usual suspects, like first cause, teleological, and moral arguments, but you also have more exotic topics touched on, like love, counterfactuals, consciousness, beauty, play, intuition, and even quantum mechanics.
June 8, 2025
A Good addition for those wanting to know some of the best theistic philosophy of religion has to offer. Most of the arguments are weak, though.
February 25, 2021
Valuable reading for investigation of philosophy
If you are not familiar with Alvin Plantinga's reformed epistemology or any of his writings you will find this a slow read. Since the two dozen plus arguments are built around his seminal work in which he proposed these two dozen plus arguments for the existence of God, it may be hard to appreciate them. These can be read in "God and Other Minds", in "Knowledge and Christina Belief" and some other works.
Concerning this work, each of the contributors brings the best of these 24 arguments, plus 3 as a bonus, to the table for discussion. They are clear, for the most part, and constructive. I read the book for a post graduate course at HBU and with extensive class discussion gathered helpful knowledge on the arguments.
Two chapters were much too technical for me, but that is not a reflection on the style of writing as much as the topics. If read carefully you will discover very convincing arguments for the existence of God. No doubt!
Done with this work. More thoughts:
1. Take your time working through these. Discuss the arguments with other students of the Scriptures and of apologetics.
2. Select a few of the more plausible arguments and try to synthesize them. It will help you grasp a better undestanding.
3. Dont´give up on the book! You will find good arguments to share wtih your atheist and skeptical friends!
DR
If you are not familiar with Alvin Plantinga's reformed epistemology or any of his writings you will find this a slow read. Since the two dozen plus arguments are built around his seminal work in which he proposed these two dozen plus arguments for the existence of God, it may be hard to appreciate them. These can be read in "God and Other Minds", in "Knowledge and Christina Belief" and some other works.
Concerning this work, each of the contributors brings the best of these 24 arguments, plus 3 as a bonus, to the table for discussion. They are clear, for the most part, and constructive. I read the book for a post graduate course at HBU and with extensive class discussion gathered helpful knowledge on the arguments.
Two chapters were much too technical for me, but that is not a reflection on the style of writing as much as the topics. If read carefully you will discover very convincing arguments for the existence of God. No doubt!
Done with this work. More thoughts:
1. Take your time working through these. Discuss the arguments with other students of the Scriptures and of apologetics.
2. Select a few of the more plausible arguments and try to synthesize them. It will help you grasp a better undestanding.
3. Dont´give up on the book! You will find good arguments to share wtih your atheist and skeptical friends!
DR
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews