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Since September 11, 2001, the fragility of tolerance has become a source of acute anxiety in scholarly reflection on religion--as shown by some of the contributions to the Summer 2003 [...]

In this response to the papers on Jonathan Edwards's ethical thought by Stephen A. Wilson, Gerald R. McDermott, William C. Spohn, and Roland A. Delattre, I comment on their efforts to show that ideas drawn from Edwards can be successfully appropriated for use in contemporary ethics. I conclude that the four authors build a strong cumulative case for the view that some elements of Edwards's thought can serve as resources for our ethical reflections. But I also argue for a deflationary view of how much of Edwards we will find it feasible to take on board when we engage in the task of working out a religious ethics we might accept. KEY WORDS: Edwards, Jonathan, ethics

Arguments against religious intolerance offered by Pierre Bayle and Immanuel Kant are cited in relation to contemporary epistemological views concerning religious diversity. Topics include William Alston and others on the negative epistemic implications of religious diversity, Pierre Bayle in defense of religious toleration (1685), and Kant on conscience and inquisitors.

By MARILYN MCCORD ADAMS. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 1999. Pp. xiv, 220. This book is based on work on God and evil that Marilyn McCord Adams did over [...]

Keith Yandell's argument that there is experiential evidence for the existence of God, as presented in 'The Epistemology of Religious Experience,' is discussed. Topics include Yandell's views on introspection and the self, Jain and Buddhist claims about the self, and the status of Yandell's argument.

A rational response to religious diversity would involve revising traditions toward a more Kantian understanding, with thinner theologies and thicker phenomenologies. John Hick's Kantian interpretation of religious diversity suggests that the different traditions have different conceptions of a single ultimate reality. William P. Alston argues that engaging in Christian mystical practice is rational because it is a socially established doxastic practice that is not evidently unreliable. The existence of other equally well established practices weakens the support for any one practice, but revising rather than abandoning the practice seems more rational.

Brian Leftow offers an account of Boethian eternity as atemporal duration, which he terms 'quasi-temporal eternality' (QTE). He describes QTE as an extension without proper parts, indivisible and containing points ordered as earlier and later. However, these attributes are mutually inconsistent, especially the first and last. In addition, if QTE contains earlier and later points it must be a temporal duration, not an atemporal one. Leftow's account could be improved by dropping the claim that eternity is partless, which would require demonstrating that the proper parts of eternal duration, such as eternal instants and intervals, are possible.

Augustus and Emily Carr Black are standing on the Gerrard Street bridge which crosses the Don River. From the sidewalk, they can see the older section of the Don Jail [...]

As the publication by Cornell University Press in 1989 of collections of his essays in both epistemology and philosophy of religion indicates, William P. Alston has made distinguished contributions to [...]

The book 'Finite and Infinite Goods' by Robert Merrihew Adams is discussed, with a focus on the divine command account of obligation. Topics include Adams's formulation and defense of divine command morality.

Byline: Philip L. Quinn (1) Author Affiliation: (1) University of Notre Dame, USA Article History: Registration Date: 03/10/2004

Byline: Philip L. Quinn (1) Author Affiliation: (1) University of Notre Dame, USA Article History: Registration Date: 30/09/2004

Byline: Philip L. Quinn (1) Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, 46556, Notre Dame, IN, USA Article History: Registration Date: 02/03/2005

Byline: Philip L. Quinn (1) Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, 46556, Notre Dame, IN, France Article History: Registration Date: 01/03/2005

Contributions in Philosophy, 76. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000. xviii + 198 pp. Cloth, $65.00--This book devotes a chapter to each of four theories. The first three are versions of absolute [...]

In this paper, I argue by example for the possibility of genuine dilemmas internal to Christian ethics. My example is the life of Sebastian Rodrigues, who is the protagonist of Shusaku Endo's moving novel Silence. The first part of the paper is devoted to retelling Endo's story, highlighting salient ethical and religious features of the life of Rodrigues. The latter half of the paper argues for an interpretation of the story according to which Rodrigues confronts a real conflict between the obligation to love God with total devotion and the obligation to love one's neighbor as oneself. I conclude with the suggestion that the outcome of this conflict is not ultimately tragic because it serves providentially to move Rodrigues closer to Christ in suffering love.