God and Meaning: New Essays

Description

Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest among analytic philosophers in the topic of life's meaning. What is striking about this surge of work is that nearly all of it is by naturalists theorizing from non-theistic starting points. This book answers the need for a theistic philosophical perspective on the meaning of life. Bringing together some of the leading thinkers in analytic philosophy of religion and theology, God and Meaning touches on important issues in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of religion, and biblical theology that intersect with life's meaning. In particular: What does the question "What is the meaning of life?" mean? How can we know if life has meaning and what that meaning is? Might God enhance life's meaningfulness in some ways but detract from it in others? Is the most meaningful life one of perfect happiness? What is the relationship between eternity and life's meaning? How does the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes illumine the topic? Should we hope that a kind of transcendent meaning exists? Presenting a state-of-the-art assessment of current philosophical positions on these and many other questions, God and Meaning is an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of the philosophy of religion.

Stewart Goetz is the Ross Frederick Wicks Distinguished Professor in Philosophy and Religion at Ursinus College, USA. His previous books include The Soul Hypothesis (co-edited with Mark Baker, 2011), A Brief History of the Soul (co-authored with Charles Taliaferro, 2011), The Purpose of Life: A Theistic Perspective (2012), The Routledge Companion to Theism (co-edited with Charles Taliaferro and Victoria Harrison, 2012), and A Philosophical Walking Tour with C. S. Lewis (2015). He is the Series Editor of Bloomsbury Studies in Philosophy and Religion. Joshua W. Seachris is Program Director at the Center for Philosophy of Religion and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, USA. He is the editor of Exploring the Meaning of Life: An Anthology and Guide (2013), and has authored articles on a range of topics, including the problem of evil, Confucius and virtue, the meaning of life, and death.

... [A] notable range of considerations and responses, from how God could (or would) make life meaningful to the roles of perfectionism and hedonism ... [T]hese essays succeed in providing a bridge between philosophy and religious studies. * CHOICE * This is a lively and highly illuminating book. The editors have done an excellent job of collecting a fascinating set of essays developing theistic approaches to the meaning of life. The papers are rigorous and insightful. In considering the theistic side of things, this is a valuable contribution to the relatively recent literature in the meaning of life by analytical philosophers. Highly recommended! * John M. Fischer, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of California, Riverside, USA * This collection is a vitally important contribution to the upswing of interest amongst Anglo-American philosophers on the topic of life's meaning. As the editors correctly note, most of this recent work has denied that God (or a soul) is necessary for meaning in life. This text serves as a first-rate counterbalance, the most deep and revealing collection of supernaturalist, and particularly Christian, philosophical approaches to meaningfulness yet compiled. It includes a stellar line up of contributors addressing several new topics and often advancing fresh perspectives. * Thaddeus Metz, Distinguished Professor and Research Professor of Philosophy, University of Johannesburg, South Africa *