On Being a Christian in the Academy
On Being a Christian in the Academy

Author: Andrew Sloane

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 307

ISBN-13: 1597527718

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Having identified crucial flaws in both classical foundationalism and cognitive relativism, Andrew Sloane expounds Wolterstorff's theory of rationality and his understanding of the devising and weighing of theories. The role of control beliefs in scholarship and the place of Christian beliefs in the practice of Christian scholarship are explored. The author then critically appraises Wolterstorff's view in dialogue with its rivals. He presents a defensible person-specific but nonrelativist criterion of theory choice and outlines an organic epistemological metaphor. The book concludes by exploring the implications of these findings for theological scholarship, in particular Old Testament exegesis. The author suggests that Wolterstorff's notion of scholarly practice explains the practice of scholarship and is to be commended to Christian scholars as a cogent and challenging method of devising and appraising theories.

Theology and the Future
Theology and the Future

Author: Trevor Cairney

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2014-07-31

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0567191931

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Theology was once 'queen of the sciences', the integrating centre of Christendom's conceptual universe. In our own time the very idea of systematic theology is frequently called into question, derided as an arcane and superstitious pseudo-discipline. Even within the church, it is commonly disregarded in favour of unreflective piety and pragmatism. At the same time, the southward shift in world Christianity's centre of gravity prompts crucial questions about the future form and content of theology. Within this context, Theology and the Future offers a case for the continuing viability of theology, exploring how it might adapt to changing circumstances, and discussing its implications for how we are to imagine and help shape our shared human future. Beginning with the question of God, this book explores what might be meant by 'the future of God', and what its implications are for Christian theology. Chapters follow on the location of theology (in global Christianity, the church and the academy) and on its sources and method. The second half of the book explores a wide variety of dimensions of the human future that theology might address and illuminate. The essays bring together a mix of specialist theologians and interdisciplinary thinkers to support the assertion that there can be no more critical endeavor to the future than understanding God and all things in relationship to him.

Faith and Philosophical Analysis
Faith and Philosophical Analysis

Author: Harriet A. Harris

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-08-22

Total Pages: 325

ISBN-13: 1351937308

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What tensions arise between philosophy of religion and theology? What strengths and weaknesses of analytical methods emerge in relation to strongly confessional philosophical theologies, or to Continental philosophies? Faith and Philosophical Analysis evaluates how well philosophy of religion serves in understanding religious faith. Figures who rarely share the space of the same book - leading exponents of analytic philosophy of religion and those who question its legacy - are drawn together in this book, with their disagreements harnessed to positive effect. Figures such as Richard Swinburne and Basil Mitchell reflect on their life-long projects from a perspective which has not previously been seen in print. A wide range of approaches found in contemporary philosophy of religion are explored, including: reformed epistemology, 'traditional' metaphysical theory building, feminist methodologies, Wittgensteinian approaches, and American pragmatism. Considering the trends in philosophy of religion as they are interacting across continents, looking particularly at philosophical influences in North America, Britain, and Continental Europe, this book will appeal to students, scholars and general readers with an interest in philosophy of religion, theology, or analytical philosophy.

On the Resurrection, Volume 2
On the Resurrection, Volume 2

Author: Gary Habermas

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2024-09-15

Total Pages: 732

ISBN-13: 1087778638

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While evidence for Christ’s resurrection abounds, there are still those who posit alternative explanations for the empty tomb. In On the Resurrection, Volume 2: Refutations, Gary Habermas offers detailed analyses and rebuttals of the alternate theories surrounding Jesus’s resurrection. Comprehensive in scope, On the Resurrection, Volume 2: Refutations addresses topics such as: Second-century texts that seem to challenge the resurrection Hume’s arguments against miracles The naturalism and skepticism of nineteenth-century German liberalism Alternative theories such as the disciples or others stealing the body, the “swoon” theory, hallucinations, and mythological understanding Habermas engages critically with the arguments and offers a comprehensive apologetic for the reality of Christ’s resurrection.

The Fame of C. S. Lewis
The Fame of C. S. Lewis

Author: Stephanie L. Derrick

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2018-05-31

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0192551515

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C. S. Lewis, long renowned for his children's books as well as his Christian apologetics, has been the subject of wide interest since he first stepped-up to the BBC's microphone during the Second World War. Until now, however, the reasons why this medievalist began writing books for a popular audience, and why these books have continued to be so popular, had not been fully explored. In fact Lewis, who once described himself as by nature an 'extreme anarchist', was a critical controversialist in his time-and not to everyone's liking. Yet, somehow, Lewis's books directed at children and middlebrow Christians have continued to resonate in the decades since his death in 1963. Stephanie L. Derrick considers why this is the case, and why it is more true in America than in Lewis's home-country of Britain. The story of C. S. Lewis's fame is one that takes us from his childhood in Edwardian Belfast, to the height of international conflict during the 1940s, to the rapid expansion of the paperback market, and on to readers' experiences in the 1980s and 1990s, and, finally, to London in November 2013, where Lewis was honoured with a stone in Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey. Derrick shows that, in fact, the author himself was only one actor among many shaping a multi-faceted image. The Fame of C. S. Lewis is the most comprehensive account of Lewis's popularity to date, drawing on a wealth of fresh material and with much to interest scholars and C. S. Lewis admirers alike.

Religion and Philosophy
Religion and Philosophy

Author: Martin Warner

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1992-04-24

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 9780521429511

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In this lively collection ten philosophers tackle the notoriously elusive issues raised by religious discourse in a series of linked debates. The debates focus on reason and faith; the logic of mysticism; the meaning of the word "God"; language, Biblical interpretation and worship; and religion and ethics. Through contemporary philosophical analysis it is possible to shed new light on the status and language of religion, and in many ways the contributors to Religion and Philosophy break new ground in this perennially controversial field.

Frozen Institutions
Frozen Institutions

Author: Bruce N. Kaye

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2022-07-26

Total Pages: 229

ISBN-13: 1666713481

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Thanks for the memories—well, maybe not. It has been hard work getting over the break up of the fifteen-hundred-year Anglican marriage of church and state—the so-called English Christendom. It is still a work in progress because the marriage left behind so many unconscious assumptions about power, institutions, and community relations. The first group of essays in this book challenges some of the frozen elements in church institutions, in particular habits of orthodoxy, catholicity, and canonical Scripture. They are framed in the context of the struggles of the Anglican Communion. The second set of essays refer to the Anglican Church of Australia and some attempts at de-frosting its institutions. These are lectures and papers given across Australia mostly during the author’s time as General Secretary of the Anglican Church of Australia. The last essay is an account of a current struggle over the blessing of a same-sex couple legally married under recently changed civil law. It illustrates the role of the constitution of the church in this dispute. The loose federation of dioceses in the constitution has generally enabled dioceses to live separately. The danger in this has been the specter of a church made up of diocesan silos rather than of engaged fellowship. However, the federal structure does not need to work that way. Indeed, in the present conflict situation this very looseness could be used to provide space for more respectful engagement. How this crisis is handled will be an early clue as to whether the church is up to it.

Immersed in the Life of God
Immersed in the Life of God

Author: Paul L. Gavrilyuk

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2008-11-03

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 0802863965

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In this volume honoring William J. Abraham, noted theologians, philosophers, and historians offer erudite analysis of various aspects of the faith Scripture, conversion, initiation, liturgy, confession, reconciliation, and more and explore how those elements can serve to effect healing in broken lives. Brilliantly highlighting the therapeutic function of the means of grace available in Christian tradition, Immersed in the Life of God opens a conversation concerning an important theme too often neglected in the church today. / Contributors: Frederick D. Aquino, Ellen T. Charry, Paul L. Gavrilyuk, Douglas M. Koskela, Sandra Menssen, R. R. Reno, Thomas D. Sullivan, Jason E. Vickers, Geoffrey Wainwright, Robert W. Wall and Jerry L. Wals.

C.S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil
C.S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil

Author: Jerry Root

Publisher: James Clarke & Company

Published: 2010-08-27

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 0227903005

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C.S. Lewis was concerned about an aspect of the problem of evil he called subjectivism: the tendency of one's perspective to move towards self-referentialism and utilitarianism. In C.S. Lewis and a Problem of Evil, Jerry Root provides a holistic reading of Lewis by walking the reader through all of Lewis's published work as he argues Lewis's case against subjectivism. Furthermore, the book reveals that Lewis consistently employed fiction to make his case, as virtually all of his villains are portrayed assubjectivists. Lewis's warnings are prophetic; this book is not merely an exposition of Lewis, it is also a timely investigation into the problem of evil.