God: The Basics - Evil, Mystery and Religious Experience



Overview

We begin by looking at some classic arguments for the existence of God. We then turn to the best-known argument against the existence of God - the problem of evil. Various classic attempts to show how observed evils can be squared with God's existence are examined, including theodicies and sceptical theism.

We then consider religious experience and the thought that some people might reasonably believe in God even without any supporting argument or evidence. Can some people 'just know' God exists? Does the fact that religious belief can be explained naturalistically - perhaps by the cognitive science of religion - effectively explain away religious belief? We investigate the extent to which disagreement between religious believers should lead us to be sceptical about religious belief. The supposed clash between science and religion, and the threat posed by science to religion, is investigated.

Finally we look at the Wittgensteinian suggestion that atheist critics of religious belief fail to understand what it is they are criticising, because they fail to understand how religious language is used.

Programme details

Courses starts: 21 Jan 2026

Week 1: God, some arguments for theism

Week 2. Evil and theodicies

Week 3: The Evil God Challenge

Week 4: Sceptical Theism: mystery as a solution to the problem of evil

Week 5: Reasonable belief without argument

Week 6: Arguments from religious disagreement and naturalistic debunking arguments

Week 7: My X-Claim argument against religious belief

Week 8: Logical objections to theism

Week 9: Science and religion

Week 10: Wittgensteinian defences of religious belief

Digital Certification

Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) Points

Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. Please follow this link for more information on Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) points

Digital Certificate of Completion 

Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Please note students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.

Fees

Description Costs
Course fee (with no assessment) £300.00
Assessment and Accreditation fee £60.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Stephen Law

Stephen Law is a Departmental Lecturer in Philosophy and Director of the Certificate of Higher Education at OUDCE. His research focuses on the philosophy of mind, language, metaphysics and on philosophy of religion. He also writes many accessible online articles and edits the Royal Institute of Philosophy journal THINK: Philosophy for Everyone.

Course aims

  • To provide an overview of many of the arguments relating to how reasonable it is to believe in God.
  • To provide clear overviews of the main arguments for and against the existence of God, as well as the extent to which science poses a threat to religion, and the extent to which it's reasonable to trust religious experience.
  • To sharpen the analytic skills of students, particularly as applied to religious and theistic belief.
  • To appreciate the wide range of ways in which theistic and religious beliefs can be supported, defended, and undermined.

Teaching methods

Lectures with powerpoint slides and class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • be able to outline key arguments for and against the existence of God and demonstrate a good grasp of the issues surrounding the reliability of religious experience;
  • be familiar with and understand several key issues and arguments in the philosophy of religion;
  • have enhanced their analytic and argumentative skills, particularly as applied to supernatural claims;
  • have a much more rounded and developed understanding of the strengths and weakness of theistic and religious belief.

Assessment methods

One 1,500 word essay.

Formative assessment - students may also submit up to 500 word essay plan for approval and suggestions from the tutor.

Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation will submit coursework.

Application

To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment form for short courses | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

Students who do not register for assessment and credit during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Level and demands

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support