The Impossibility of God

Most people, believers and nonbelievers alike, are unfamiliar with the variety and force of arguments for the impossibility of God. Yet over recent years a growing number of scholars have been formulating and developing a series of increasingly powerful arguments that the concept of God, as variously understood by the world's major religions and leading theologians, is contradictory in many ways, and therefore God does not and cannot exist.
This unique anthology brings together for the first time most of the important arguments for the impossibility of God that have been published. The collection includes papers and book selections by J. L. Mackie, Quentin Smith, Theodore Drange, Michael Martin, and many other distinguished scholars. The editors provide a general introduction and brief summaries of the arguments to help the reader grasp the crucial issues involved. Both students and teachers of philosophy and the philosophy of religion will find this anthology to be an indispensable resource.

Participants in The Disproof Atheism Society, an independent network founded in 1994, have contributed 33 previously published papers and book selections that present and defend arguments for the nonexistence of God. Their disproofs are definitional, deductive evil, doctrinal, multiple-attribute, and single-attribute. There is no index. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Library Journal

All first published from 1770 to 2000, these essays present logical arguments for the nonexistence of God. Martin (philosophy, emeritus, Boston Univ.) and Monnier (director, Disproof Atheism Society) bring these essays together for the first time, organizing them into five sections. Each section gets a brief but helpful introduction, and each author's contribution and arguments are briefly summarized. In regard to disproving the existence of God, reprinted articles hardly present new materials. Theologians over the centuries have devised many theories for proving the existence of God, from Pascal's wager theory (by betting on God's existence, at least there is a chance of winning; by not betting, one is sure to lose) to the ontological argument that states that a being greater than God cannot exist and therefore God exists. Theories such as these are given radical critique in this book, and theistic propositions are shown to be illogical, contradictory, and impossible. Mathematical and philosophical logic dominate the work, giving reason the upper hand over myth and superstition. One major flaw is a lack of a list of the numerous contributors and their backgrounds. Nevertheless, theologians need to pay attention to these arguments since such a logical challenge is directed precisely at their work. Highly recommended for all libraries.-James A. Overbeck, Atlanta-Fulton P.L. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.