procedures, the accessibility of the spirit worlds, the verbalarts, and the role of healing in the shamanism of Siberia,northern Europe, native North and Meso-America, and theHmong of both Laos and the North American diaspora. Inaddition to the usual topics generally covered in treatmentsof shamanism, including music, apparel, and ritual accou-trements, DuBois gives a succinct treatment of the use ofentheogens, and provides outstanding treatments of sha-manic revitalizations and neoshamanism.

Frederick M. SmithUniversity of Iowa

Psychology of ReligionMIRACLES: GOD, SCIENCE, AND PSYCHOLOGY INTHE PARANORMAL. Edited by J. Harold Ellens. West-port, CT: Praeger, 2008. Three volumes.Pp. 46 + 934. $300.

J. H. Ellens has produced another set of edited volumesin psychology of religion—this time on the subject ofmiracles. Volume 1 deals with “religious and spiritualevents,” and largely consists of, but is not limited to, discus-sions of miracles in the Bible. Volume 2 deals with “medicaland therapeutic events,” and deals with religion and sciencemore broadly, incorporating discussions of neuropsychol-ogy, psychoneuroimmunology, and crowd psychology.Volume 2 also goes beyond the scope of volume 1 by devot-ing explicit attention to such topics as Kongo religioushistory. Volume 3 deals with “parapsychological perspec-tives,” addressing paranormal events such as salvific tran-scendental visitors and mystical experiences achieved bymeans of techniques such as prayer and entheogenic experi-ments. One can observe a movement among the volumesfrom the historical analysis of miracles (volume 1) to con-temporary scientific discussions of miracles (volume 2) todiscussions that push the boundaries of science (volume 3).This series in Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality inti-mates Praeger’s commitment to the field of psychology ofreligion, a commitment for which they—especially D. Car-valko, S. Staszak-Silva, and J. H. Ellens—should be praised.One critique of the volumes might be that they are heavilyskewed toward the Judeo-Christian tradition, and onewonders how more contributions in comparative religionmight have enriched the project. Highly recommended.

Nathan CarlinUniversity of Texas Medical School Houston

Ritual, Cult, WorshipTHEORIZING RITUALS: ISSUES, TOPICS,APPROACHES, CONCEPTS. Edited by Jens Kreinath,Jan Snoek, and Michael Stausberg. Leiden, The Netherlands:Brill, 2006. Pp. xxv + 777. $264.00.

This important and useful collection of 35 articles withan introduction by the editors and epilogue on the use of

several very good indexes that follow it is a successfulattempt to summarize the field of ritual studies. Thearticles locate ritual in different discursive fields (myth,psyche, and society, among others), as well as according totheoretical approach (action, aesthetics, cognition, commu-nication, ethology, gender, performance, praxis, relational-ity, and semiotics), and paradigmatic concept (agency,complexity, deference, dynamics, efficacy, embodiment,emotion, framing, language, media, participation, reflexity,rhetorics, transmission, and virtuality). Many of these con-cepts are not easily referenced without the articles them-selves, but all told the book is a summation of ritualtheorizing over the last half century, especially the last 25years. As such, there is a marked tendency to view thetopic in terms of performativity, semiotics, and the nuancesof ritual sequencing. Furthermore, the articles uniformlybetray a sensitivity to emic perspectives. Every scholar ofritual studies must now study this volume carefully,looking particularly at the well designed indexes on namesof scholars and subjects discussed. Brill is now producingmany important books on ritual studies, which, in spite oftheir high prices, must find places in contemporaryresearch libraries.

Frederick M. SmithUniversity of Iowa

Philosophy of ReligionENCOUNTERING THE SECULAR: PHILOSOPHICALENDEAVORS IN RELIGION AND CULTURE. By J.Heath Atchley. Studies in Religion and Culture. Charlottes-ville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2009. Pp. x + 181.Cloth, $49.50; paper, $19.50.

In this brief philosophical work, Atchley’s aim is to“encounter”—not simply to meet—the secular. He takes anallusive and somewhat unusual path: for example, he advo-cates for a philosophy that arises from outside philosophy.Further, his approach examines the meanings embeddedwithin cultural products (typically a film or novel) instead ofconcentrating on theory alone. He aims to show how religionand the secular interpenetrate, challenge, and ground eachother. He does not offer a definition of what is meant byreligion or the secular, stating that such definitions are nothis goal. The force of the work, then, is its presentation ofconcepts that Atchley argues “destabilize” any confidencewe have in the strict separation of sacred and secular.Atchley devotes a chapter to each concept: confrontation,silence, mourning, presence, enlightenment, disturbance,practice, and event. Atchley’s work is Tillichian in spirit;Emerson and Nietzsche also ground his thinking. While attimes the concept of the secular seems lacking in depth,Atchley’s reflection on culture is thoughtful. Thanks to itslively writing style, this book would be useful for classes ofadvanced undergraduates and graduate students. At thesame time, scholars engaged in studying secularity, religion

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and culture, and film studies would all appreciate its styleand insight.

Forrest ClingermanOhio Northern University

C.S. LEWIS AND THE SEARCH FOR RATIONALRELIGION: REVISED AND UPDATED. By John Bever-sluis. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2007. Pp. 346. Paper,$21.98.

Beversluis offers a valuable critique of Lewis’s Christianapologetics, concluding that Lewis failed to establish a ratio-nal basis for orthodox Christianity. Lewis advanced threearguments favoring belief in God: 1) “the Argument fromDesire,” 2) “the Moral Argument,” and 3) “the Argument fromReason.” After concluding that these are irreparably flawed,Beversluis inquires into a number of related issues: Lewis’sviews of Jesus, treatment of nonbelievers, and considerationof the problem of evil. He ultimately contends that Lewis’sability to impress is due to his “rhetorical virtuosity” ratherthan unimpeachable logic. Scholars will benefit from Bever-sluis’s razor-sharp identification of Lewisian arguments’weak points, even if they finally disagree with some or all ofhis detailed counterarguments. Among Beversluis’s mostfragile assertions is his insistence that Lewis “redefined”certain terminology to the point where it was meaningless.Lewis’s critical linguistic movements can be understoodrather to have clarified—not “qualified”—the conceptualconstellation indexed by words like “good” and “love.” Bev-ersluis’s declaration that Lewis embraced “an ad hoc andself-debasing” theological position following the death of hiswife is similarly problematic. Thinkers rooted in traditionsvaluing the imbrication of personal experience with religiousknowledge, such as feminist and/or liberation theologies,may find this a methodological judgment of questionableobjective validity. These and comparable issues do notcombine however to comprise an excuse for ignoring Bever-sluis’s incisive and carefully reasoned reading of Lewis.

Chase Laurelle KnowlesClaremont Graduate University

THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION: A CRITICALINTRODUCTION. By Beverley Clack and Brian R. Clack.Cambridge: Polity Press, 2008. Pp. ix + 190. N.p.

The siblings Clack have updated an earlier version oftheir introduction to philosophy of religion. An extremelyaccessible narrative for newcomers to the field, the book alsoprovides a critical review for the more advanced. Students inother fields of religious studies will benefit from their analy-sis and ethical discussion regarding the post 9-11 climate inwhich we reside. The Clacks aim primarily to re-validate thestudy of philosophy and religion in a world where secular-ization was assumed to reign. They critique the general secu-larization thesis of the late nineties, during which the firstversion of the book was written, as false. George W. Bush’slanguage during the beginning of the Iraq War in 2002 cer-tainly challenged it. Additionally, notes found in lead

hijacker Mohamed Atta’s luggage after September 11th ledus to conclude religion was a primary motivator in the ter-rorism against Americans. These facts locate the sweeping,broad overview offered in this text concretely in our hostile,globalizing world. Certainly, one may critique the Clacks foroverly compact treatments of various philosophical and reli-gious terms (e.g., defining the term evil in a mere paragraph;treating religious language, feminism, and Don Cupitt’swork in one chapter). However, I applaud their efforts. Thereis no lack of cohesion among the immense content covered,and the theological discussion of 9-11 successfully con-vinces one that the field of philosophy of religion remainsimportant.

Michele Anne FinazzoClaremont Graduate University

IN DEFENSE OF KANT’S RELIGION. By Chris L.Firestone and Nathan Jacobs. Indiana Series in the Philoso-phy of Religion. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,2008. Pp. xvi + 279. Cloth, $65.00; paper, $24.95.

Kant’s Religion Within the Bounds of Mere Reason isneglected as secondary to Kant’s works of critical philoso-phy. Yet its importance for philosophical theology is unde-niable. Firestone and Jacobs rightly contend that this neglectstems from the difficulties of interpreting Kant’s book. Thusthe purpose of Firestone and Jacobs’ book is twofold. Part 1describes the various interpretations of Religion: “tradi-tional” interpretations argue that religion and theology findlittle use in Kant’s critical philosophy, while “affirmative”interpreters seek to justify a Kantian philosophical theologyby moving beyond the first Critique and toward works likeReligion. Firestone and Jacobs show the difficulties of earlierexpositions by further classifying their differences. Since nointerpretation has overcome satisfactorily the problems thatKant’s work raises, part 2 offers a new reading. After achapter explaining the basis for this new reading, four chap-ters provide a detailed analysis of Religion using the authors’insights. The foundation of the authors’ reading is multifac-eted, based on how Kant argues for human cognition of God,the organization of Religion in relation to what Kant calls his“two experiments” for the work, and the importance of moraldisposition for Kant. The authors also show that Kant’s reli-ance on a number of earlier sources—from Aristotle to Scotusto Lessing—assist in overcoming potential inconsistencies.As a book that contributes to philosophy of religion andphilosophical theology, the first part has great value as asurvey of the scholarship on Kant’s Religion, while the laterchapters present a novel interpretation that will be debatedin relation to Kant’s critical philosophy.

Forrest ClingermanOhio Northern University

IS GOODNESS WITHOUT GOD GOOD ENOUGH? ADEBATE ON FAITH, SECULARISM, AND ETHICS.Edited by Robert K. Garcia and Nathan L. King. Lanham, MD:Rowman and Littlefield, 2009. Pp. vii + 220. Paper, $24.95.

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This collection initially arose out of a debate betweenW. L. Craig and P. Kurtz on the question presented in itstitle. The editors secured contributions from seven otherprominent scholars (four theists and three nontheists) whoboth comment on issues raised in the Craig/Kurtz debateand offer their own original responses to the topic ques-tion. To round out the discussion, Craig and Kurtz offerconcluding responses both to each other and to the othercontributors. The Craig/Kurtz debate, while interesting, isbeset by the ambiguity in its topic question. Contributor M.C. Murphy puts his finger on the problem when he saysthat the question “Is goodness without God good enough?”bears far too many possible meanings to ensure that thedebaters come into argumentative contact with oneanother. Whereas Craig interprets the question as one ofmoral ontology (e.g., Can objective moral value exist in aGod-less world?), Kurtz takes the question as one of moralmotivation or behavior (e.g., Can one behave morallywithout belief in God?). While the anticipated clash of intel-lect against intellect never really takes place, the upshot isthat a nice variety of well-reasoned moral arguments arehere articulated. Recommended for anyone interested inissues of God and morality.

Michael A. CantrellUniversity of Arkansas at Little Rock

VIOLENCE TO ETERNITY: DEATH AND THE DIS-PLACEMENT OF BEAUTY, VOL. 2. By Grace M.Jantzen. Edited by Jeremy Carrette and Morny Joy. NewYork: Routledge, 2009. Pp. xi + 250. Cloth, $120.00; paper,$37.95

To subvert the persistent violence within the Judaic-Christian tradition, Jantzen embraces counter-narratives ofnatality, beauty, and flourishing found within the tradition.In part 1, Jantzen lays some philosophical groundwork byshowing the possibilities of creativity and desire withoutviolence developed through critical discussions with severalphilosophers, including Derrida, Levinas, Girard, and Fou-cault. In part 2, Jantzen explores the narrative of the HebrewBible as a response of the post-exilic Israelites to the need fora national and ethnic founding myth after the Babylonianconquest and subsequent deportations. Monotheism and thecovenant in the Hebrew Bible justify gender-specific vio-lence (exclusion of women), internal violence (life-takingritual sacrifice), and external violence (holy wars). However,Jantzen finds in the same Bible secondary but noticeablenarratives of divine acts of beauty, flourishing, and fecun-dity, with which the narratives justifying violence can besubverted. In part 3, she contends that Western Christiani-ty’s focus on salvation instead of flourishing continued toanimate violence. Using Julian of Norwich, Jantzen reconfig-ures desire not as the cause of violence but as the basis offlourishing. Though her claim that a theology of flourishingcan replace theology of salvation is not altogether persua-sive, worth considering are her delineation of the violence

deeply embedded in the Judaic-Christian tradition and herwell-justified criticism of theology of salvation.

Hochul KwakClaremont Graduate University

THE IMPROBABILITY OF GOD. Edited by MichaelMartin and Ricki Monnier. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books,2006. Pp. 432. $32.98.

Martin and Monnier have produced a wide-ranging yetdeep collection of recent work that argues against the exist-ence of God. Most of the pieces are quite recent, with 28 ofthe 32 pieces having been published since 1990. The book isa companion piece to their earlier collection, The Impossibil-ity of God. Whereas the earlier collection presented argu-ments that God’s existence is logically impossible, thepresent volume presents arguments that God’s existence isunlikely. Cosmological, teleological, inductive evil, and non-belief (more commonly known as the problem of divine hid-denness) arguments are presented. Without fail the editorsselected the most prominent work for each argument. Thework of Q. Smith, W. Rowe, and J. L. Schellenberg is espe-cially well-represented. The editors were also wise to includetwo unjustly neglected pieces by W. Salmon. The one flaw ofthe collection is that several “reply” articles are reprintedwithout the articles to which they are replies. Although onemay suppose this was done to preserve an atheistic tenorthroughout, this leads to some confusion for readers notalready familiar with the articles. In addition, the readerwould be better able to assess the force of the arguments hadthese articles been included. Nevertheless, the scholar willfind this work to be a very useful reference. The collectionwould also be excellent for an upper-level undergraduatephilosophy of religion course or a graduate seminar, pro-vided it were supplemented with the relevant articles men-tioned earlier.

Joshua ThurowMount Marty College

PRAEAMBULA FIDEI: THOMISM AND THE GODOF THE PHILOSOPHERS. By Ralph McInerny. Washing-ton, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2006.Pp. ix + 313. $34.95.

McInerny’s book should be of interest not only toThomists (and quite possibly to Aristotelians) in particular,but also to theologians and philosophers of religion ingeneral who are interested in a clear and well-arguedaccount of the relationships that belief, knowledge, and reli-gious faith have with one another with respect to truthsabout God. McInerny provides this account in part I in hisexplanation of the preambles of faith. In part II he gives agenealogy of philosophy and theology that led to a misun-derstanding of these preambles by twentieth-centuryThomists, notably Gilson and De Lubac, over and against aproper understanding of the preambles by those McInernycalls traditional Thomists, notably Cajetan. Part III consistslargely of a reading and interpretation of Aristotle’s

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Metaphysics as a whole, giving the proper context to Aristo-tle’s discussion of God in Book 12 of the Metaphysics—acontext which, McInerny argues, corrects misunderstand-ings both of Aristotle himself and of Thomas’s use of Aristo-tle’s works. McInerny’s book is a valuable resource 1) forphilosophers and theologians alike interested in religiousepistemology, and 2) as an incisive, evaluative commentaryon the most influential Thomists of the twentieth century onthe topic of the relationship between Thomas and Aristotle.

Lewis PearsonBaylor University

INTRODUCING PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. ByChad Meister. London: Routledge, 2009. Pp. xi + 241. Cloth,$110.00; paper, $30.95.

Meister’s book is designed for those who want tobecome familiar with the main issues in contemporary phi-losophy of religion. In ten chapters it presents the centralsubjects in the area such as the concept of religion, religiousdiversity and pluralism, the nature of the ultimate reality,arguments on the existence of God, epistemology of religiousbelief, religious experience, and the afterlife. The work givesa very good idea of the background of the current debate onthese topics, and is well balanced concerning the more con-troversial matters, trying to be more of a stimulus for autono-mous thinking than an apology for a specific stance. Anotherimportant positive feature of the book is that its analysis isnot restricted to monotheism. Rather, it takes into consider-ation eastern religions as well as the naturalistic/atheisticperspective. It comes with many didactical resources: apartfrom a clear and well founded exposition of the topics, eachchapter presents a summary, questions for review and dis-cussion, a reading list for further inquiries into the issues,and a very useful suggestion of websites related to the chap-ter’s theme. There is also a helpful glossary and a detailedindex. Meister’s book so well fulfils its aim of introducing usto the basic problems in the area, we might even say that thetime has come to stop writing such books for a while, anddedicate our philosophical talent instead to more specificquestions.

Agnaldo C. PortgalUniversity of Brasilia

RATIONALITY AND THE GOOD: CRITICAL ESSAYSON THE ETHICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY OF ROBERTAUDI. Edited by Mark Timmons, John Greco and Alfred R.Mele. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. xvi + 270.Hardcover, $99.00; paper, $35.00.

This book is a collection of invited papers that wereoriginally presented at a conference on Audi’s work at theUniversity of Notre Dame. Part I contains six essays byprominent thinkers who respond to various aspects of Audi’smoral theory, and especially to his 2004 book, The Good inthe Right. Audi is the leading contemporary proponent ofmoral intuitionism, and Hugh J. McCann’s “conativist” cor-rection to Audi’s “cognitivist” intuitionism is an especially

intriguing contribution to this part of the book. Part II con-tains four essays on Audi’s foundationalist epistemology, hisunusual combination of an internalist view of justificationand externalist view of knowledge, his conception of ratio-nality, and his notion of religious “nondoxastic faith”; part IIIincludes three essays under the topic of “Intention, Self-Deception, and Reasons for Action.” In part IV, Audiresponds to his critics in three separate essays correspond-ing to parts I, II and III. Ethicists and epistemologists will nodoubt find particular essays of interest, but only those phi-losophers who are directly engaged with Audi’s work arelikely to benefit from this entire collection of very high-quality contributions.

Michael A. CantrellBaylor University

HUME ON GOD. By Timothy S. Yoder. Continuum Studiesin British Philosophy. London: Continuum InternationalPublishing Group, 2008. Pp. xi + 172. N.p.

Yoder defends what he takes to be a novel thesis: Humeas theist. He shows first that Flew’s atheist and Gaskin’sattenuated deist interpretations of Hume concede too little.He then studies both irony and English deism to show thatHume’s pro-deity passages fit neither. Instead, Yoder identi-fies Hume as a theist, albeit a qualified one. Though thestudies are well done, Yoder’s argument remains unpersua-sive. The chief difficulty is his unwillingness to engage hisopponents. Neither Flew nor Gaskin is explicated clearly orcharitably. As a result, his chief argument misses its mark.Gaskin explicitly avoids lumping Hume with English deists,instead providing a stipulative definition of “attenuateddeism,” that is, bare assent to the minimal deity of the argu-ment from design, an intelligent creator vaguely analogousto man (Hume’s Philosophy of Religion, 223). The attenuationcomes from paring off any reference to morality. ThoughYoder claims his version of Hume’s “true religion” differsfrom this, he fails to tell us how. He claims the novelty of hisaccount lies in its establishment of Hume as an “amoraltheist.” However, this thesis seems fully compatible with awell-defended movement in Hume scholarship. In the end,Yoder contributes some valuable components, particularlyhis discussions of Hume’s false/vulgar religion, backgroundin English deism, and his in-depth consideration of Hume’suse of irony. He simply fails to bring them into a sustainedwhole.

C. M. LorkowskiPurdue University

TheologyTHE IDENTITY OF ANGLICANISM: ESSENTIALSOF ANGLICAN ECCLESIOLOGY. By Paul Avis. London:T&T Clark, 2007. Pp. xii + 201. $33.95.

Avis’s book begins with an inquiry into the commonassertion that the Anglican Church has no distinctive

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