Peter S Williams - A Faithful Guide to Philosophy: A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom

A Faithful Guide to Philosophy

Peter Williams has provided an invaluable text for Christians who wish to engage with philosophy. This isnt the usual abstract overview, but rather provides the reader with a human experience where their commitment to Christ is nurtured and their needs as a learner are embraced whilst also achieving academic rigour. Every Christian student of philosophy ought to have this book both on their desk and at their bedside.

Dr Trevor Cooling, Professor of Christian Education at Canterbury Christ Church University and co-editor of the Journal of Education and Christian Belief

A Faithful Guide to Philosophy is faithful, not only in the sense of being reliable, but also in the sense of being infused with a Christian world and life view. It is encouraging to see that this text is centered in natural theology and the philosophy of mind, for these are two areas of vital importance to the Christian faith, for which we must contend vigorously in our increasingly secular society. Williams focus is well chosen and his arguments interesting and persuasive.

Dr William Lane Craig, Research Professor of Philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology

Peter S. Williams is a sure-footed guide to philosophy in general, and philosophy of religion in particular. He picks his way through knotty arguments with exemplary clarity lightened by a dry sense of humour. Although he is open about his own Christian commitment, he is equally rigorous in his assessment of arguments for theism as he is with arguments against. The addition of detailed bibliographies including YouTube videos and Web resources make this book a sure-fire winner for students and for Christian ministers and laypeople alike.

Dr Daniel J. Hill, Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Liverpool University

This is an excellent book for introduction to the study of philosophy from the perspective of the Christian faith... The writer models the love of wisdom he recommends by his open, engaging and balanced approach, and shows abilities as both a thinker and communicator. His discussion with the New Atheists throughout the book makes it engaging and up to date. Both teachers and students will also appreciate the resource list after each chapter, pointing to a lot of high quality video, audio and written material... The book clearly shows the importance of philosophy for Christians, and the relevance of the Christian faith to philosophy.

Bjrn Hinderaker, Assistant Professor at Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Norway

This book is a highly accessible, stimulating introduction to logic, the nature of argument and philosophy written from a Christian perspective by an author who understands his subject and knows how to communicate it at the right level. This book, which is a delight to read and is full of useful references to books, articles, websites and other media, has the potential to de-mystify philosophy for a generation of young people and provide an excellent resource to enable them to articulate their faith in God with renewed confidence in a way that demonstrates its reasonableness against all New Atheist claims to the contrary.

Professor John C. Lennox, Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College, Oxford

A Faithful Guide to Philosophy is an extremely well-researched book that is tightly argued, excellent in topic selection, deep in coverage yet readable in style. Williams had done a masterful job of producing a book that is now a must read for Christians who want to explore the intellectual underpinnings of their faith. I highly recommend this delightful volume.

Dr J.P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Biola University in La Mirada, California and author of Love Your God With All Your Mind

Peter S. Williams has a real gift of clarity and communication. He makes the complex accessible and interesting, without distorting the issues.

Stefan Gustavsson, Director of Credo Academy, Stockholm

A Faithful Guide to Philosophy

A Christian Introduction to the Love of Wisdom

Peter S. Williams

Copyright 2013 Peter S. Williams

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First published 2013 by Paternoster

Paternoster is an imprint of Authentic Media Limited

52 Presley Way, Crownhill, Milton Keynes, MK8 0ES.

www.authenticmedia.co.uk

The right of Peter S. Williams to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying. In the UK such licences are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 610 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-84227-811-6

978-1-78078-310-9 (e-book)

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. Used by permission of

Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, a member of the

Hachette Livre UK Group. All rights reserved.

Other versions cited:

Authorised Version (AV)

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

English Standard Version (ESV)

Gods Word Translation (GW)

Interlinear GreekEnglish New Testament (Baker, 2007)

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New International Version 2011 (NIV)

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Cover Design by David McNeill (www.revocreative.co.uk)

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd., Croydon, CR0 4YY

This book is dedicated to the Christian scholars who first illuminated the path of philosophy for me (especially William Lane Craig, Michael Durrant, Norman L. Geisler, C.S. Lewis, J.P. Moreland, H.P. Owen, Richard Swinburne and Keith Ward) and to my goddaughter, Abigail Rebecca Price (b. 2011), in the hope that some day shell be blessed to explore a little of the same path:

Open your ears, and hear the words of wise people,

and set your mind on the knowledge I give you.

It is pleasant if you keep them in mind

so that they will be on the tip of your tongue,

so that your trust may be in the L ORD .

Today I have made them known to you, especially to you

(Proverbs 22:1719 GW ).

Contents

The pursuit of wisdom especially joins man to God in friendship.

Thomas Aquinas

This book offers a faithful guide to philosophy both in the sense that I seek to represent my subject accurately or a supposedly neutral review of other philosophers ideas. Rather, I offer attentive readers a good grounding in philosophical method and a range of philosophical topics of particular relevance to the Christian worldview. Above all, I hope readers will fall in love with philosophy and more in love with the Divine Subject who is the Ultimate Object of the quest upon which we are about to embark.

I invite an inquisitorial attitude from readers:

Questioning means that your mind is hungry. If your body isnt hungry, you wont eat, and if you dont eat, you wont grow. If your mind is not hungry if you dont have wonder and the desire to know then you wont ask questions, and if you dont ask questions, you wont find truth and that means that your mind and soul and spirit wont grow. Truth is your minds food.