How can a person talk about God? More importantly, how can people of different faiths even begin to have dialogue about the nature of God? In this volume, a variety of Christian and Muslim scholars address this issue. Their focus is on the attributes of omnipotence and omniscience, as well as justice and mercy, and the simplicity and divine action of God. The 12 contributors address the question of how these attributes can be considered in our time. And, importantly, they ask how, if at all, there can be any mutual learning and understanding regarding these topics. Part One addresses God's omnipotence and omniscience, in four chapters, each written by professors of philosophy or philosophy of religion. The chapters all clearly approach these matters using a philosophical lens. Omnipotence and omniscience seem to require such a lens to describe these aspects of God. In the second chapter, the efficacy of petitionary prayer is considered. The writer concludes that, in this regard, God, who commands us to pray, is affected by our prayers and does act in the world. Therefore, God is not impassable and immutable. The third chapter asks if God knows what time it is! The fourth discusses the meaning of knowledge in classical Shi-i theology. Part Two speaks about God's justice and mercy. It contains three chapters. In the first, the perspectives of two famous philosophers, Paul Ricoeur and Friedrich Schleiermacher, on the topic of evil are considered. Following this inquiry, from the book of Job, the matters of human suffering and divine goodness are addressed. The chapter is concluded with a discussion of a possible theodicy of protest. Part Three is the lengthiest section, addressing divine simplicity and action. The first chapter speaks against the philosophers' words about divine simplicity. Next, divine simplicity and action are discussed further. Following those arguments, the reality of God's self-disclosure is considered, and then further discussion of God's simplicity. The chapter, and the book, ends with discussing divine attributes as a subject of comparative theology. A conclusion to the book follows, in which von Stosch sums up the book's contents. This book will be especially of interest to philosophers and all who approach the attributes of God from a philosophical lens. It will also be of value to those who are interested in Christian–Muslim dialogue. The book contains a useful introduction and conclusion (which is part of the final chapter), an extensive bibliography with available webpages and a detailed list of contributors.
Doreen M. McFarlane (Wed,) studied this question.