Spring 2005/Pasadena
PH833/533
Murphy
PH833/533: SOURCES OF MODERN ATHEISM. Nancey Murphy.
DESCRIPTION:
- This is a doctoral seminar for PhD and ThM students, open to a
limited number of advanced MA and MDiv students. While the United
States is one of the most religious of Western countries, those with the
highest levels of education are most likely to be atheists or agnostics. This
seminar will investigate intellectual sources of atheism in the modern Western
world, in science, philosophy, and theology.
RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY:
- This course should be useful for apologetic purposes, insofar as it
acquaints students with the intellectual developments that have called
religious belief into question.
COURSE FORMAT:
- The first session will be an introductory lecture. The remainder
of the course will be devoted to discussion of assigned readings. The class
will meet weekly for a three-hour session.
REQUIRED READING:
- Funkenstein, Amos. Theology and the Scientific Imagination.
Princeton, 1986
- Gaskin, J. C. A. Varieties of Unbelief. Macmillan, 1989.
- Hume, David. Writings on Religion. Open Court, 1992
- Popkin, Richard. The History of Skepticism. Expanded and revised
edition. Oxford, 2003
- Schleiermacher, Friedrich. On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured
Despisers. Trans. John Oman. Westminster/John Knox, 1994.
- Turner, James. Without God, Without Creed. Johns Hopkins, 1985.
- Westphal, Merold. Suspicion and Faith. Eerdmans, 1993.
- Zeitlin, Irving. The Religious Experience. Prentice Hall,
2003
ASSIGNMENTS:
- Careful reading of assignments, regular attendance, class
participation. One 20-30 page paper as per CATS requirements (15-20 pp. for
500-level); topics to be chosen in consultation with the professor. In
addition, students will be assigned to prepare and lead class
discussions.
PREREQUISITES:
- Permission of instructor required for master's students (3.5 GPA
and previous course in philosophy).
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM:
- Elective for master's students. (May fulfill MDiv core requirement
in philosophy [PHIL] for students with undergraduate major in
philosophy.)
FINAL EXAMINATION:
- None.