Impossibility of God

by Michael Martin (Editor), Ricki Monnier (Editor)

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.

Genres: Religion, Philosophy, Atheism, Nonfiction

425 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[John Conneely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compendium of papers written by various authors. It is co-edited by Michael Martin who many consider to be the foremost contemporary atheist philosopher. The thrust of many of the chapters is that not only does a god NOT exist, but due to various internal contradictions inherent in the concept, a god CANNOT exist.

It's dense reading, best taken one chapter at a time. This will allow the reader to contemplate and thoroughly digest the arguments presented.

[David Melbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always dismayed when I read or hear that 'science' has been, and is still unable, to prove the non-existence of God. This collection of papers, most of which are from the last century (the exception is the appendix inclusion of d'Holbach's Of The Confused and Contradictory Ideas of Theology from 1770) and most all of them use the scientific method to disprove the existence of God. I am glad that I found and read this book and I recommend it to anyone who doubts the existence of God

[Pedro Bonilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent disproofs of various aspects of western philosophers god. It is a little hard to read in some places but overall accessible. Read this with any systematic theology.

[Steven Lupton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good actually! Not quite The God Delusion by Dawkins or Holy Unbelievable by Dixon but still a great read.

[Marchenoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pleins d'arguments déductifs qui sont en général, très, très douteux.
Le point fort du livre est qu'on découvre pleins d'arguments, Martin est l'athée ayant la connaissance la plus large de la production académique naturaliste en philosophie de la religion, et nous en fait part via ce livre.