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A case for the existence of God / Dean L. Overman ; foreword by Robert Kaita ; afterword by Armand Nicholi.

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: Lanham, Md. : Rowman & Littlefield, 2010, ©2009.Edition: 1st pbk. edDescription: 1 online resource (xxxii, 229 pages)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780742565531
  • 074256553X
  • 0742563138
  • 9780742563131
  • 074256312X
  • 9780742563124
Subject(s): Additional physical formats: Print version:: Case for the existence of God.DDC classification:
  • 212/.1 22
LOC classification:
  • BL240.3 .O93 2010eb
Other classification:
  • online - EBSCO
Online resources:
Contents:
The question of God's existence : the radical contingency of the universe points toward a necessary being -- Many generations of philosophers have made the mistake of assuming Hume and Kant's objections disposed of the cosmological argument -- A universe with an infinite past would still require a necessary being to sustain its existence -- Because the universe (or multiverse) had a beginning, it is contingent and has a cause for its coming into existence -- The philosophy of nature set forth in this book emphasizes the intelligibility of the universe noted in Einstein's statement : "the most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible." A significant issue in examining the "something" that exists is : why is it intelligible? -- Evolution is not dispositive of the question of why there is something rather than nothing and why the universe is rational and intelligible -- The mystery of information challenges a strict materialism -- The existence of God gives an absolute that is consistent with the real existence of right and wrong -- Evidential force of religious experience : if God is a person, God can be known to only a very limited extent by abstract reasoning and is more fully known by personal acquaintance in an I-Thou relationship with the Wholly Other -- Recorded experiences of encounters with the divine bear witness to a way of knowing that includes Kierkegaard's Kendskab, Buber's I-Thou, Otto's Wholly other, and Marcel's Mystery -- These nine witnesses testify to another way of knowing that is compatible with the empirical and the metaphysical rational ways of knowing, but is beyond the describable and requires personal participation, commitment, and personal transformation -- Concluding reflections and summary : theism requires a leap of faith, but it is a leap into the light, not into the dark; theism explains more than atheism, which also requires a leap of faith.
Summary: "Some of the brightest scientific minds of our time have made incredible insights into the earliest origins of the universe but have failed to ultimately discover why there is something rather than nothing--why we exist. In 'A Case for the Existence of God', Dean L. Overman examines the latest theories about the origins of the universe and explains why even the most sophisticated science can only take us so far. Ultimately, we must make a leap of faith to under the world, and Overman argues that a leap into theism provides the most satisfying conclusions."--Page 4 of cover
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - EBSCO (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (ebsco)336851

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-215) and index.

"Some of the brightest scientific minds of our time have made incredible insights into the earliest origins of the universe but have failed to ultimately discover why there is something rather than nothing--why we exist. In 'A Case for the Existence of God', Dean L. Overman examines the latest theories about the origins of the universe and explains why even the most sophisticated science can only take us so far. Ultimately, we must make a leap of faith to under the world, and Overman argues that a leap into theism provides the most satisfying conclusions."--Page 4 of cover

Print version record.

The question of God's existence : the radical contingency of the universe points toward a necessary being -- Many generations of philosophers have made the mistake of assuming Hume and Kant's objections disposed of the cosmological argument -- A universe with an infinite past would still require a necessary being to sustain its existence -- Because the universe (or multiverse) had a beginning, it is contingent and has a cause for its coming into existence -- The philosophy of nature set forth in this book emphasizes the intelligibility of the universe noted in Einstein's statement : "the most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible." A significant issue in examining the "something" that exists is : why is it intelligible? -- Evolution is not dispositive of the question of why there is something rather than nothing and why the universe is rational and intelligible -- The mystery of information challenges a strict materialism -- The existence of God gives an absolute that is consistent with the real existence of right and wrong -- Evidential force of religious experience : if God is a person, God can be known to only a very limited extent by abstract reasoning and is more fully known by personal acquaintance in an I-Thou relationship with the Wholly Other -- Recorded experiences of encounters with the divine bear witness to a way of knowing that includes Kierkegaard's Kendskab, Buber's I-Thou, Otto's Wholly other, and Marcel's Mystery -- These nine witnesses testify to another way of knowing that is compatible with the empirical and the metaphysical rational ways of knowing, but is beyond the describable and requires personal participation, commitment, and personal transformation -- Concluding reflections and summary : theism requires a leap of faith, but it is a leap into the light, not into the dark; theism explains more than atheism, which also requires a leap of faith.