Basil Mitchell (1917–2011)

If you picked up Basil Mitchell’s book, The Justification of Religious Belief (1973), you might think that you stumbled upon a book about the Reformation. Mitchell, however, presented a small book about whether one can discuss or not discuss the existence of God. Since this book was more about the argument and less about the content, this book falls under the rubric of philosophy of religion than apologetics. After the author showed the traditional pro and con arguments deficient for today, he presented the problems and the new ideas as one of worldview, especially theism. For Mitchell, to justify religious belief, dogmatic or apologetic theology must stand aside to systemic understanding presented by Christian theism. For all interested in the debate between atheism and theism or science and faith, this book will help sharpen the dialogue.… (altro)