Garrett J. DeWeese - Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
ivpress.com

Second edition 2021 by Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland
First edition 2005 by Garrett J. DeWeese and J. P. Moreland

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We are delighted and honored that InterVarsity Press asked us to develop a revised and expanded edition of our book Philosophy Made Slightly Less Difficult. Since the publication of the first edition in 2005, we have received encouraging feedback about how useful the book has been at the college and seminary level. But just as or even more exciting has been how God has used the book to introduce a general audience to important concepts and distinctions in philosophy. We have both walked with the Lord for over fifty years, and during those decades, our hearts have been directed toward evangelism, discipleship, church planting, and the growth and maturation of the body of Christ. We have focused our energies on equipping, training, empowering, and emboldening believers toward these ends. And we have long recognized that developing a biblically based and philosophically informed Christian worldview is absolutely critical for the church, especially in our chaotic and secularized culture. Philosophy has always been of supreme help in developing a Christian worldview and teaching believers why they believe what they believe.

In addition to minor corrections, we have added material to several chapters and have included two new chapters: one on aesthetics, another on philosophy of religion. And we add our thanks to our editors at IVP, Dr. David McNutt and Ms. Rebecca Carhart. Thus, we offer this exciting updated and revised edition in the hopes that it will increase the impact for Christ that began with our first edition.

We have attempted to write a readable book that provides a useful discussion of basic philosophical distinctions relevant for doing theology and for constructing and defending a Christian worldview. Many have helped us in this undertaking. We wish to thank our dear colleagues in the Talbot philosophy departmentWilliam Lane Craig, David Horner, and Scott Raefor the deep friendship, vibrant Christian testimonies, and philosophical stimulation they regularly provide. We are grateful to our graduate assistants Brian Pinkston, Scott Sevier, and Gary Osmundsen for serving us so cheerfully and skillfully in preparing this book. We are grateful to Biola University for providing a faculty development grant to help fund our research and writing. J. P. Moreland is thankful to the Eidos Christian Center for providing him similar resources. As always, Jim Hoover has done an excellent job as editor for InterVarsity Press, and we are grateful to him for his hard work. Our wives, Barbara DeWeese and Hope Moreland, simply give us what we need to carry on. It is hard to conceive of this books coming into being without their love and commitment to the cause of Christ. Finally, we are grateful to each other. We have been friends for thirty years now, and it is a joy to write a book together. Of course, any mistakes in the book are due to my coauthor (a vicious circle indeed).

We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization. We must have passionindeed hearts on fire for the things of God. But that passion must resist with intensity the anti-intellectual spirit of the world.

I just dont understand you. How can anyone with your education, who reads as much as you, believe the things you believe? How can you possibly believe in God, a kindly grandfather in the sky, when you see the suffering in the world caused by AIDS and tsunamis and famines and wars? You understand a lot about modern sciencehow can you deny evolution and believe there is anything more to the real you than your body and your brain? You must know that miraclesviolations of the laws of natureare impossible. How can you believe that spooky things like angels and demons are real? And your claims to know absolute truthdont get me started! Given everything we know about all the different religions and cultures in the world, how can you be so arrogant to believe that any one religion or morality is true and not merely a useful, culturally constructed fiction?

Versions of these challenges to Christian faith are replayed repeatedly, day after day; doubtless, you have encountered them in some form. And if you have thought about the challenges much, you have thought philosophically. For the nature of the challenges is not really scientific or theological or anthropological, but philosophical.

Indeed, your philosophical thinking probably started long ago. At some time you asked yourself whether something was real or what was real. You asked what you know or how you know something. And you asked what was the right thing to do in some situation or how you should live your life. These questions lie at the heart of philosophy.

So what is philosophy? Philosophy is thinking critically about questions that matter.