H.C. professor contributes to new reader

HUNTINGTON, IN -- Dr. William Hasker, distinguished professor of philosophy at Huntington College , is co-editor of the new Oxford University Press release, "Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings." Hasker collaborated on the book with Michael Peterson, Bruce Reichenbach, and David Basinger.

The chapters in this new volume parallel those in their 1991 Oxford release, Reason and Religious Belief, a textbook for introductory courses in the philosophy of religion that is widely used in colleges and universities throughout the country. The new book of readings is a companion volume for the 1991 textbook, although it can be used independently.

"I think it is a collection of very usable essays for introductory students," said Hasker. The contents of the textbook were "carefully selected to cover a wide range of topics."

Dr. Hasker contributed several chapters to the new reader. Chapter Two, "Faith and Reason," includes works by Thomas Aquinas, Blaise Pascal, and William Abraham, among others. Chapter Three, "The Divine Attributes," features the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.N. Findlay. Chapter Six, "Knowing God Without Arguments," contains the works of Alvin Plantiga, Jay M. Van Hook, and Hasker's colleague David Basinger.

Dr. Hasker is a nationally known expert in the philosophy of religion. In Reason and Religious Belief he wrote "...the relationship between faith and reason has seldom been tranquil or peaceful; rather, conflict and controversy appear at every turn. In fact, quite a few people, many of them serious religious thinkers, have said things which suggest that faith and reason are not compatible at all 3/4 that their relationship is, and must be, one of mutual rejection and hostility." Hasker disagrees, arguing that we must "use our rational capabilities, to the greatest extent possible, in assessing religious beliefs."

Dr. Hasker's other published works include Metaphysics: Constructing a Worldview (InterVarsity, 1983); God, Time, and Knowledge (Cornell, 1989); and many related articles. He also co-authored The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Conception of God (InterVarsity 1994), which was named one of the best books of 1994 by Christianity Today magazine.

Dr. Hasker has contributed articles to the Encyclopedia of Philosophy Supplement and the forthcoming Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. He is currently at work on a book on the philosophy of mind which will challenge the current materialist consensus in that field.

Dr. Hasker received his B.A. from Wheaton College in 1956 in biblical studies. He attended the Fuller Theological Seminary, and received his B.D. from Berkeley Baptist Divinity School. He earned his Ph.D. in theology and philosophy of religion in 1961 from The University of Edinburgh.