Nonbelief & Evil: Two Arguments for the Nonexistence of God
Drange (philosophy, West Virginia Univ.) mounts a focused attack on belief in the existence of God based on the careful delineation of two arguments. Part 1 of the book sets forth the definitions of terms basic to the arguments that follow. The eight chapters of Part 2 are devoted entirely to refuting "The God of Evangelical Christianity," while in Part 3 only a chapter a piece is allotted to orthodox Judaism, liberal Christianity, and broad theistic belief. Drange sets out to refute the seven defenses against the Argument from Evil and the five defenses against the Argument from Nonbelief; his "overall aim is to show that each of the 12 defenses [of belief in God] is refuted by at least one good objection." Drange's goal is to provide material of interest to a "dichotomy of readers": evangelical Christians vs. everyone else and professional philosophers vs. lay readers. Within limits, he is successful. The arguments are clear and accessible but rigorous enough to interest scholars. Recommended for philosophy of religion collections.AEugene O. Bowser, Univ. of Northern Colorado, GreeleyCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.