His books are largely out of print, but I think a philosopher who tackles these topics very well is Mortimer Adler, in books such as 'Truth in Religion'. But even before getting to the truth about religion, it would be good to consider what a 'thought' is. (I am not sure how one would make the distinction between symbolic thoughts, and all the other sorts of thoughts.) I am skeptical that stone tools are indicators for symbolic thought, but precision on what a thought is, is sufficient to cause philosophical materialists difficulties. This is tackled by Mortimer Adler in works like 'Intellect: Mind over Matter'. Atheists frequently presume a philosophical materialism, without much understanding of its difficulties.
His books are largely out of print, but I think a philosopher who tackles these topics very well is Mortimer Adler, in books such as 'Truth in Religion'. But even before getting to the truth about religion, it would be good to consider what a 'thought' is. (I am not sure how one would make the distinction between symbolic thoughts, and all the other sorts of thoughts.) I am skeptical that stone tools are indicators for symbolic thought, but precision on what a thought is, is sufficient to cause philosophical materialists difficulties. This is tackled by Mortimer Adler in works like 'Intellect: Mind over Matter'. Atheists frequently presume a philosophical materialism, without much understanding of its difficulties.