Having launched our inaugural issue a year ago, we are very pleased to present our second issue. ... more Having launched our inaugural issue a year ago, we are very pleased to present our second issue. Like the first, this issue begins with the text of the annual Analytic Theology Lecture given at the American Academy of Religion. This year's lecture was given by Marilyn McCord Adams, an Episcopal priest and philosophical theologian who has-over the years-taught both in philosophy departments and theology faculties. In her "What's Wrong with the Ontotheological Error?" she focuses on perhaps the central critique of analytic theology. Her critique of the use of "ontotheological" as a bludgeon is historical, philosophical, and practical-theological. Her essay operates on the principle that lex orandi really is lex credendi. We also present two revised versions of papers given at the annual LOGOS conference in Analytic Theology at Notre Dame. These conferences have provided not just a meeting ground for discussion by persons employed as philosophers and those employed as theologians but have produced some great work in analytic theology, including those on this volume. John Keller's "Theological Anti-Realism" presents theological anti-realism in the context of broader forms of anti-realism, especially a general ontological anti-realism. Considering the logical, semantic, and politico-theological underpinnings of theological antirealism, Keller deftly explains why it is that analytic thinkers generally are not attracted to any kind of anti-realism and how that applies to theological anti-realism in particular. As the most detailed analysis of theological antirealism in print, it should be the jumping off point for all future discussion. William Wood's "Analytic Theology as a Way of Life" provides a positive case for analytic theology satisfying important practical desiderata for meaningful theology. According to Wood's notion of analytic theology, the characterization of it as sterile and merely abstractly academic is a misleading caricature. These two articles taken together provide strong challenge to a certain paradigm in theology that would deny analytic theology a seat at the table. This issue has three essays on Christology, a core area of theological research. Tim Pawl's "A Solution to the Fundamental Philosophical Problem of Christology" addresses, unsurprisingly, what Pawl takes to be the fundamental philosophical problem of Christology. That problem is saying how one and the same person, the Second Person of the Trinity, can be both God and man. Metasemantically, the problem is that there appear to be incompatible predicates applied to one person. Michael Gorman's "Christological Consistency and the Reduplicative Qua" addresses essentially this same problem. Both Pawl and Gorman propose innovative solutions drawing on analytic theology but both also take very seriously the creedal tradition (They take the central creeds of the church, and, indeed, all the Ecumenical councils recognized by both the Roman Catholic and Easter Orthodox churches, as strongly normative). Then, building on his previous work, Andrew Loke's "On the an-enhypostasia distinction and three-part concrete-nature Christology: The divine preconscious model," which clearly also takes the creedal tradition as normative,
As a contribution to discussions of the relationship between trinity and election, in this articl... more As a contribution to discussions of the relationship between trinity and election, in this article I explore the helpfulness of a return to ancient modal and metaphysical theological distinctions. At the forefront of trinity/election debates has been Bruce McCormack's controversial claim that election could be conceived as logically prior to, and the motivation for, God's being triune. Steering clear of questions about the right interpretation or trajectory of Karl Barth's theology, I attempt to identify the motivating theological convictions of this debate's interlocutors and find constructive options which maintain or address those convictions. One option I defend is the possibility that triunity is not logically prior to election.I begin with an analysis of three central theological convictions which seem to be at the heart of the trinity/election debates. They are: (1) a revelation axiom – that knowledge of God's nature is governed by the particular historica...
It is well known that in Reformed circles there is significant doubt about the extent of the role... more It is well known that in Reformed circles there is significant doubt about the extent of the role natural theology might play in warranting Christian belief. I argue that even if we accept the core theological reservations and philosophical commitments shared by the likes of Karl Barth and Reformed epistemologists, there remains room for the arguments of natural theology to serve a vital, positive function. I offer a proposal for how we might think about the co-ordination of multiple sources of warrant for Christian belief such that arguments function as catalysts to or extensions of the deliverances of faith.
Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the... more Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the topic of power
Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the... more Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the topic of power
impulse is that it prevents an easy concord-an all too quick and simple resolution that, for its ... more impulse is that it prevents an easy concord-an all too quick and simple resolution that, for its failure to trouble the heart of the matter, turns true enemies into false friends and invites them to tea.
... Kevin Diller St Mary's College, St Andrews KY16 9JU, UK [email protected] ... Humans... more ... Kevin Diller St Mary's College, St Andrews KY16 9JU, UK [email protected] ... Humans do not construct or even reverse engineer a knowledge of God, but the church receives the gift of knowing God, 'by listening to Jesus Christ and as obedience to Him'.9 'Faith grasps the ...
Heythrop Journal-a Quarterly Review of Philosophy and Theology, 2009
It is commonly held that Karl Barth emphatically rejected the usefulness of philosophy for theolo... more It is commonly held that Karl Barth emphatically rejected the usefulness of philosophy for theology. In this essay I explore the implications of Barth's theological epistemology for the relationship and proper boundaries between philosophy and theology, given its origin in Barth's theology of revelation. I seek to clarify Barth's position with respect to philosophy by distinguishing the contingency of its offence from any necessary incompatibility. Barth does not reject philosophy per se, but the way in which philosophy is typically conducted. This is made explicit through an analysis of Barth's censure of the uncritical acceptance in theology of modernist philosophical presuppositions. I nuance Barth's response to a collection of philosophical assumptions that are rarely distinguished in theological literature. Finally, I highlight a representative instance of Barth's reflections on philosophy in relationship to theology, to demonstrate that the criterion for evaluating the usefulness of philosophical assumptions and methods in the service of theology is the same criterion by which theology is itself evaluated.
Having launched our inaugural issue a year ago, we are very pleased to present our second issue. ... more Having launched our inaugural issue a year ago, we are very pleased to present our second issue. Like the first, this issue begins with the text of the annual Analytic Theology Lecture given at the American Academy of Religion. This year's lecture was given by Marilyn McCord Adams, an Episcopal priest and philosophical theologian who has-over the years-taught both in philosophy departments and theology faculties. In her "What's Wrong with the Ontotheological Error?" she focuses on perhaps the central critique of analytic theology. Her critique of the use of "ontotheological" as a bludgeon is historical, philosophical, and practical-theological. Her essay operates on the principle that lex orandi really is lex credendi. We also present two revised versions of papers given at the annual LOGOS conference in Analytic Theology at Notre Dame. These conferences have provided not just a meeting ground for discussion by persons employed as philosophers and those employed as theologians but have produced some great work in analytic theology, including those on this volume. John Keller's "Theological Anti-Realism" presents theological anti-realism in the context of broader forms of anti-realism, especially a general ontological anti-realism. Considering the logical, semantic, and politico-theological underpinnings of theological antirealism, Keller deftly explains why it is that analytic thinkers generally are not attracted to any kind of anti-realism and how that applies to theological anti-realism in particular. As the most detailed analysis of theological antirealism in print, it should be the jumping off point for all future discussion. William Wood's "Analytic Theology as a Way of Life" provides a positive case for analytic theology satisfying important practical desiderata for meaningful theology. According to Wood's notion of analytic theology, the characterization of it as sterile and merely abstractly academic is a misleading caricature. These two articles taken together provide strong challenge to a certain paradigm in theology that would deny analytic theology a seat at the table. This issue has three essays on Christology, a core area of theological research. Tim Pawl's "A Solution to the Fundamental Philosophical Problem of Christology" addresses, unsurprisingly, what Pawl takes to be the fundamental philosophical problem of Christology. That problem is saying how one and the same person, the Second Person of the Trinity, can be both God and man. Metasemantically, the problem is that there appear to be incompatible predicates applied to one person. Michael Gorman's "Christological Consistency and the Reduplicative Qua" addresses essentially this same problem. Both Pawl and Gorman propose innovative solutions drawing on analytic theology but both also take very seriously the creedal tradition (They take the central creeds of the church, and, indeed, all the Ecumenical councils recognized by both the Roman Catholic and Easter Orthodox churches, as strongly normative). Then, building on his previous work, Andrew Loke's "On the an-enhypostasia distinction and three-part concrete-nature Christology: The divine preconscious model," which clearly also takes the creedal tradition as normative,
As a contribution to discussions of the relationship between trinity and election, in this articl... more As a contribution to discussions of the relationship between trinity and election, in this article I explore the helpfulness of a return to ancient modal and metaphysical theological distinctions. At the forefront of trinity/election debates has been Bruce McCormack's controversial claim that election could be conceived as logically prior to, and the motivation for, God's being triune. Steering clear of questions about the right interpretation or trajectory of Karl Barth's theology, I attempt to identify the motivating theological convictions of this debate's interlocutors and find constructive options which maintain or address those convictions. One option I defend is the possibility that triunity is not logically prior to election.I begin with an analysis of three central theological convictions which seem to be at the heart of the trinity/election debates. They are: (1) a revelation axiom – that knowledge of God's nature is governed by the particular historica...
It is well known that in Reformed circles there is significant doubt about the extent of the role... more It is well known that in Reformed circles there is significant doubt about the extent of the role natural theology might play in warranting Christian belief. I argue that even if we accept the core theological reservations and philosophical commitments shared by the likes of Karl Barth and Reformed epistemologists, there remains room for the arguments of natural theology to serve a vital, positive function. I offer a proposal for how we might think about the co-ordination of multiple sources of warrant for Christian belief such that arguments function as catalysts to or extensions of the deliverances of faith.
Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the... more Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the topic of power
Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the... more Dr. Kevin Diller, Biblical Studies, Christian Education, and Philosophy Department, speaks on the topic of power
impulse is that it prevents an easy concord-an all too quick and simple resolution that, for its ... more impulse is that it prevents an easy concord-an all too quick and simple resolution that, for its failure to trouble the heart of the matter, turns true enemies into false friends and invites them to tea.
... Kevin Diller St Mary's College, St Andrews KY16 9JU, UK [email protected] ... Humans... more ... Kevin Diller St Mary's College, St Andrews KY16 9JU, UK [email protected] ... Humans do not construct or even reverse engineer a knowledge of God, but the church receives the gift of knowing God, 'by listening to Jesus Christ and as obedience to Him'.9 'Faith grasps the ...
Heythrop Journal-a Quarterly Review of Philosophy and Theology, 2009
It is commonly held that Karl Barth emphatically rejected the usefulness of philosophy for theolo... more It is commonly held that Karl Barth emphatically rejected the usefulness of philosophy for theology. In this essay I explore the implications of Barth's theological epistemology for the relationship and proper boundaries between philosophy and theology, given its origin in Barth's theology of revelation. I seek to clarify Barth's position with respect to philosophy by distinguishing the contingency of its offence from any necessary incompatibility. Barth does not reject philosophy per se, but the way in which philosophy is typically conducted. This is made explicit through an analysis of Barth's censure of the uncritical acceptance in theology of modernist philosophical presuppositions. I nuance Barth's response to a collection of philosophical assumptions that are rarely distinguished in theological literature. Finally, I highlight a representative instance of Barth's reflections on philosophy in relationship to theology, to demonstrate that the criterion for evaluating the usefulness of philosophical assumptions and methods in the service of theology is the same criterion by which theology is itself evaluated.
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