Dr. Michael L. Peterson
Professor of Philosophy of Religion
Expertise:
- Philosophy of Religion
- The Problem of Evil and Suffering
- Theistic and Atheistic Arguments on the Existence of God
- Philosophy and Christian Theism
- Philosophy of Science
- Science and Religion Relationship
- C.S. Lewis (philosophical and theological themes)
Education:
- B.A. Asbury University, 1972 (cum laude)
- M.A. University of Kentucky, 1974 (summa cum laude)
- Ph.D. State University of New York at Buffalo, 1976 (summa cum laude)
- D.H.L. Trinity Western University, 2010 (honoris causa)
Dr. Michael L. Peterson is Professor of Philosophy of Religion. He has written or been senior author in a number of books: Reason and Religious Belief (Oxford University Press); God and Evil: An Introduction to the Issues (HarperCollins/Westview); With All Your Mind: A Christian Philosophy of Education (University of Notre Dame Press); Evil and the Christian God (Baker Books); and Philosophy of Education: Issues and Options (InterVarsity Press). He has edited Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings (Oxford); Contemporary Debates in Philosophy of Religion (Blackwell of Oxford); and The Problem of Evil: Selected Readings (Notre Dame). He is General Editor of the Blackwell scholarly monograph series “Exploring Philosophy of Religion,” which currently contains five books. He is working on three books: Christian Theism and the Problem of Evil (forthcoming Wiley-Blackwell Publishers); Christian Theism and Atheism Engage Evolution: Michael Peterson and Michael Ruse in Debate (invited by Oxford University Press); and The Philosophy of C. S. Lewis. Both of Dr. Peterson’s current Oxford books are long-time leading textbooks which are going into fifth editions.
Dr. Peterson has contributed chapters to many reference books and scholarly works, including The Oxford Handbook of Religious Diversity: Contemporary Challenges, Global Responses; The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology; Blackwell Companion to Philosophy of Religion; The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy; C. S. Lewis as Philosopher: Truth, Goodness, and Beauty; The Continuing Relevance of Wesleyan Theology: Essays in Honor of Laurence W. Wood; Philosophy and the Christian Worldview: Analysis, Assessment, and Development; Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint; Handbook on Science and Religion; and The History of Evil (6 volumes); The Oxford Handbook of Atheism.
Dr. Peterson has received both research grants and programmatic grants from various major foundations: Lilly Endowment, Pew Charitable Trust, the John Templeton Foundation, and the Institute for Advanced Christian Scholarship. Dr. Peterson launched and continues as the Managing Editor of the prestigious scholarly journal Faith and Philosophy, published at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has lectured widely and conducted a large number of seminars and workshops on topics in his areas of expertise.