Reason and Religion: Essays in Philosophical Theology

This collection of seventeen essays represents Anthony Kenny's sustained philosophical engagement with central questions in natural theology and religious epistemology. Written over two decades and unified by rigorous analytical method, the volume examines classical arguments for God's existence, the coherence of divine attributes, and the rationality of religious belief. Kenny approaches these perennial questions with the tools of contemporary analytic philosophy while maintaining deep familiarity with medieval scholastic tradition, particularly Aquinas.

The essays divide into three principal areas. First, Kenny scrutinizes traditional theistic proofs, including ontological, cosmological, and teleological arguments. His analysis of Anselm's ontological argument exemplifies his method: careful logical reconstruction followed by identification of critical ambiguities or unwarranted premises. Similarly, his treatment of Aquinas's Five Ways demonstrates both scholarly precision in interpreting medieval texts and philosophical acuity in exposing their logical vulnerabilities. Second, several essays examine divine attributes, particularly omniscience, omnipotence, and divine simplicity. Kenny argues that classical formulations of these attributes generate insurmountable paradoxes when subjected to logical analysis. His discussion of omniscience and human freedom proves especially influential, showing how traditional conceptions of divine foreknowledge conflict with libertarian free will.

Third, Kenny addresses broader questions about faith, reason, and religious language. He critiques both fideistic rejection of rational assessment and crude evidentialism that reduces religious belief to scientific hypothesis. Instead, he develops a nuanced position acknowledging the complexity of religious commitment while insisting that belief claims remain subject to rational evaluation. His essay on Wittgensteinian approaches to religious language carefully distinguishes between legitimate insights about the distinctiveness of religious discourse and illegitimate attempts to insulate religious claims from critical scrutiny.

Throughout, Kenny exhibits remarkable philosophical clarity and intellectual honesty. Unlike many philosophers of religion, he avoids partisan pleading, subjecting both theistic and atheistic arguments to equally rigorous analysis. His work demonstrates how analytical philosophy can illuminate traditional theological questions without reductionism. While ultimately skeptical about rational proofs for God's existence and the coherence of classical theism, Kenny respects the philosophical sophistication of the tradition he critiques. This collection remains essential reading for understanding how late twentieth-century analytic philosophy transformed natural theology debates.