A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion

I love to use 1-volume encyclopedias like this to grab onto a quick introductory nugget of information about a topic. As such, I have found profit from this work by Anthony Thiselton. He pens  300+ explanations and biographies of key terms and people in the very specific field of “Philosophy of Religion”.

This book is a tool. If you read systematically through specialized encyclopedias like this, especially in fields of study that you normally do not travel, then you will gain a broad knowledge of a multitude of ideas.

Here is a sampling of entries:

“Arguments for the existence of God” (2.5 pages)

“John Hick” (2 pages)

“Nagarjuna” (1 page… and don’t try to tell me you already know who Nagarjuna is)

“Post-mortal existence of the self” (3.5 pages)

“time” (1 page)

“Zen philosophy (1/2 page)

Of course, the strength of any book is whether the author actually knows the subject matter and whether they are proficient with the pen in explaining this material. Thiselton displays great quantities of both.

I recommend this work for students and pastors interested in being better equipped in the world of religious ideas, apologetics, and philosophy.