God and the Laws of Nature: Atheistic, Agnostic, Naturalistic, Deistic, Pantheistic, Panentheistic, and Theistic Interpretations. A Guide for Theology - Paperback

by Bernard J. Verkamp (Author)

In recent centuries, and within the context of an ever-increasing interest in the relation of science and religion, there has been an ongoing debate between atheists, agnostics, religious naturalists, deists, pantheists, panentheists, and theists about the existence, character, and function of the laws of nature, and their relation, if any, to a divine lawgiver. Any students of science, philosophy, and theology, will no doubt want to sooner or later engage themselves in that debate. It is the assumption of this book, however, that before trying to conclude which of the various interpretations makes the most sense, such students will first need to have a clear understanding of what exactly the respective interpretations are actually saying. And that is what this book means to provide in Parts I and II, namely introductory descriptions of the respective interpretations. Objections raised against one or another of them will, for the most part, be introduced only in the final chapter of Part III.