Swinburne, British philosophy professor and the author of books on religious belief, the philosophy of mind and epistemology, explains the point of this book: to show that God conforms to specifically Christian definitions of God and that Christian doctrines and theology are true. By comparison with the author’s earlier Is There a God?
this book focuses particularly on the foundational Christian doctrine that Jesus was (and is) God. Swinburne uses the Nicene Creed as a road map, but the defining paradigm is God’s love, particularly how God’s love for us characterizes God and necessitates Jesus. Despite the sophistication of his argument, Swinburne depends on a sympathetic audience predisposed to his conclusions. For example, not everyone will agree that we exist in a state of original sinfulness from which we can only be reconciled to God by “offering a perfect human life which might well... end in a death by execution.” Although regular use of boldface words and phrases help direct readers through Swinburne’s reasoning, many will find the academic language of philosophy daunting. (Nov.)
