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Coherence of Theism

Richard Swinburne, Oxford University. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993, Revised Edition, softbound, 328 pages.

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This book investigates what it means, and whether it is coherent, to say that there is a God. The author concludes that, despite philosophical objections, the claims which religious believers make about God are generally coherent; and that although some important claims are coherent only if the words by which they are expressed are being used in stretched or analogical senses, this is in fact the way in which theologians have usually claimed they are being used. This revised edition includes various minor corrections and clarifications.

Contents: Part 1 Religious language

- conditions for coherence (1)

- conditions for coherence (2)

- the words of theology (1)

- words with old and new senses

- the words of theology (2)

- medieval and modern accounts

- attitude theories

Part 2 A contingent God

- an omnipresent spirit

- free and creator of the universe

- omnipotent

- omniscient

- perfectly good and a source of moral obligation

- eternal and immutable

Part 3 A necessary God

- kinds of necessity

- a necessary being

- holy and worthy of worship

"Swinburne's revised edition is indeed a pleasure.... It is also good to see that [the] Clarendon Press have produced a relatively cheap paperback, for which students will certainly be grateful."--Heythrop Journal

"The philosophy of religion has a long history covering a diverse range of theistic concerns. However, most contemporary philosophers are concerned with the issue of whether theism can have a rational justification. Our recommendations reflect these current concerns.

Richard Swinburne addresses the central theistic claim that God exists. Whether this belief is true, or whether we can know it to be true, is not the principal concern of his The Coherence of Theism. Instead Swinburne questions the coherence of the statement. Some may feel this is philosophical nit-picking, but a proposition has to be coherent to stand any chance of being true.

So what are the basic conditions for any proposition to be coherent? At the very least it must be meaningful and grammatical. Given the brevity of the theistic claim at hand the issue of coherence doesn't seem to present much of a problem. However, this is really an issue about the properties we associate with God, like benevolence, omnipotence, and wisdom. The question then becomes, are they coherent concepts and do they form a coherent set? Swinburne argues that these qualities are coherent on both counts as long as we attribute the ordinary meanings to these terms.

Review Excerpt:

Swinburne concludes that there is a rational justification for the belief that God exists, but only as a contingent being. This is not likely to convince everyone. Theists and atheists could both take him to task, as we shall see." -- Lyn May and Steve Deery

Title: Coherence of Theism

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