Alvin Plantinga
Belief in God can be rational without proof, and evil does not make it incoherent.
Life
American philosopher born in 1932, for many years professor at the University of Notre Dame. He renewed the philosophy of religion: his free will defense answers the problem of evil, and his Reformed epistemology holds that belief in God can be rational without proof.
Main works
A study of the rationality of belief in God, compared with our belief in other minds.
A theory of possible worlds, with the modal ontological argument and the free will defense.
A short presentation of the free will defense.
Belief in God can be warranted without proof.
Positions
click a row to see the evidenceHe is a leading Christian theist who defends the rationality of belief in God.
Plantinga, God and Other Minds (1967)
He argues that materialism about humans is false and defends the soul as a distinct substance.
Plantinga, "Against Materialism", Faith and Philosophy (2006)
His Free Will Defense relies on libertarian freedom: God could not guarantee free creatures always choose well.
Plantinga, God, Freedom, and Evil (1974)
Belief in God can be properly basic, needing no proof, though he also values arguments and evidence.
Plantinga, Warranted Christian Belief (2000)