The philosophy of religion is an intrinsic part of the richness of western philosophy. This Oxford Reader displays in historical perspective some of the rich dialogue between religion and philosophy over two millennia, beginning with Greek reflections about God and the gods, and ending with twentieth-century debate about faith in a world which tends to reserve its reverence for science. Paul Helm takes as a case study the question of whether the world is eternal, or whether it was created out of nothing, and follows this theme from Plato, through medieval thought, to modern scientific speculation about the beginnings of the universe. The Reader also includes discussion of many other fundamental issues raised by the juxtaposition of faith and reason and, including arguments for and against the existence of God, the relation between religion and ethics, the contrast between reason and revelation as sources of knowledge, and the implications of religious belief for freedom of the will.

• I. THE CLASSICAL BACKGROUND (12 EXTRACTS)
• II. THE INTERACTION OF JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY AND THE CLASSICAL WORLD (14 EXTRACTS)
• III. THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD (14 EXTRACTS)
• IV. RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION (13 EXTRACTS)
• V. THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES (14 EXTRACTS)
• VI. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY (13 EXTRACTS)
• VII. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: FAITH AND HARD SCIENCE (9 EXTRACTS)
• VIII: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: FAITH, REALISM, AND PLURALISM (15 EXTRACTS)
• IX: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: REASON AND BELIEF IN GOD (12 EXTRACTS).