Introduction

The central theme of this book is that it''s not enough to invoke omnipotence and omniscience as answers to the questions of God’s ability to create and causally affect the world (i.e., perform miracles) and human beings (i.e., to cause mystical experiences) and, conversely, God’s ability to perceive, or otherwise know about the world. Rather, it is incumbent upon theists to explain just how a personal, immaterial being such as God could cause mundane events, could institute (and sometimes circumvent) laws of nature, could be causally affected by the world (as in perception), and the like. That requires examining current thinking (which is diverse) about the very nature of causation, laws of nature, and agency, all of which Fales endeavors to do in this study.