In his two first-rate books, Consciousness and the Existence of God: A Theistic Argument and The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism, J. P. Moreland argues that our existence as conscious beings presents insurmountable problems for naturalism and evidence for theism. In this review, I summarize Moreland’s treatment of three issues in scientific theory acceptance, which he claims are relevant to determining which world­view, theism or naturalism, is better able to explain the existence of conscious mental entities. I then raise some questions about their supposed relevance and conclude with some thoughts about the simplicity and immateriality of the soul.

There is much to appreciate in Samuel Fleischacker’s Divine Teaching and the Way of the World: A Defense of Revealed Religion. In the tradition of Tolstoy, Fleischacker argues that secular philosophy does not have the resources to provide for a meaningful life; a life of meaning is to be found principally through revealed religion. In the end, however, his concept of revelation seems very thin, ruling out even the intelligibility of experiencing God. We critically assess his atrophied concept of revelation and his views on historical truth, science, and theism.