Hume on God Irony, Deism and Genuine Theism

"Yoder argues that Hume is not a complete skeptic regarding religion, but instead affirms a "true religion" of "genuine theism" in continuity with his defense of mitigated skepticism. Yoder's study is especially valuable for his response to the tendency to dismiss certain passages in Hume's writings as ironic. Instead, Yoder develops a set of hermeneutical principles for deciding when Hume is using irony, and concludes that Hume's positive statements concerning the existence of a deity are not ironic. Yoder's interpretation of Hume's writings on religion will remain an important contribution to the literature." - Dr Claudia Schmidt, Marquette University, USA