DESCRIPTION
Alvin Plantinga, called by
Time magazine "America's leading orthodox Protestant philosopher of God," has had a profound impact on the philosophical discipline. This book gathers in one place Plantinga's most important work in the philosophy of religion generally and his contribution to the resurgence in Christian philosophy in particular.
Organized into four sections — "Natural Theology and Atheology," "Reformed Epistemology," "Divine Nature and Attributes," "Christian Philosophy" — these thirteen essays and book excerpts reflect the areas of thought in which Plantinga has made his greatest contributions. The book also includes an afterword by Plantinga himself, instructions for accessing Plantinga's work on the internet, and more.
REVIEWS
Choice
"For anyone unfamiliar with the influential work of Alvin Plantinga, this book will help to make up an unfortunate deficit."
New Oxford Review
"Plantinga clearly remains an outstanding resource for Christian philosophers in the academy today. The Analytic Theist offers an excellent introductory anthology of his writings, with a large cross section of representative material, as well as some lesser known but valuable essays. . . Plantinga is an 'analytic' philosopher, intensely focused on close analysis of logical arguments, so some selections will prove quite challenging. Yet one certainly need not be an 'analytic' philosopher or even a professional in philosophy to benefit from the book."
Journal of Religion
"This is a useful single volume of Plantinga selections which will no doubt be used in classes in philosophy of religion for years to come. But much more than a useful reader, The Analytic Theist reveals the mind of a creative, powerful thinker who stimulates our own thinking. Read and get your own list of projects to work on, things to read, and questions to explore."
Eleonore Stump
— Saint Louis University
"Alvin Plantinga has had a great influence on contemporary philosophy of religion. More than anyone else in the last thirty years he has shaped the questions asked in the field, and the answers he has proposed have been at the center of everyone's discussion of the questions. He has managed to combine philosophical rigor and precision with great richness and depth, so that his work is both creative and powerful. Philosophy of religion will bear the imprint of his thought for a long time to come. This volume helpfully brings together in one place some of the most important of his writings. It is a very welcome aid for philosophers of religion and their students."
C. Stephen Evans
— Baylor University
"No Christian philosopher has had a bigger influence on the intellectual scene than Alvin Plantinga. James Sennett has here collected some of Plantinga's best-known essays as well as some that appeared in obscure places. Some of the essays are accessible to a beginner; some are challenging even for professionals. All are important and deserve to be read and pondered. Here are some of the seminal texts for the much-discussed revival of Christian philosophy that has occurred in the last two decades."
Merold Westphal
— Fordham University
"Long overdue and therefore most welcome, this collection of essays and excerpts (many of them already classics) gives a comprehensive overview of Alvin Plantinga's seminal work as a Christian philosopher of religion. The convenience of having so much under one roof and the opportunity to explore the interfacing of the different dimensions of Plantinga's work make this an ideal volume for classroom use."
William J. Abraham
— Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University
"Alvin Plantinga is one of those rare philosophers who is a truly great philosopher. This volume gives the beginning student immediate access to some of his best work. It provides the mature scholar with a body of material that will be pondered at leisure with immense intellectual and spiritual profit."