Abstract
There are two kinds of anti-theistic or, more broadly, naturalistic argument. The negative kind seeks to show that a religious interpretation of the universe is otiose because all the phenomena known to us, including religion itself, can be adequately described and explained without it. The positive kind goes beyond this, seeking to show that there is an aspect of the universe that is actually incompatible with a theistic, or a religious, world-view.
I had no need of that hypothesis. (Laplace)
The only excuse for God is that he does not exist. (Stendhal)
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© 1989 John Hick
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Hick, J. (1989). The Naturalistic Option. In: An Interpretation of Religion. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230371286_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230371286_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-39489-2
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-37128-6
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