Posts Tagged ‘Philosophy’

The Unforgivable Sin of Philosophy?

A standard, albeit potted, way of characterizing the dominant modes of thought for ancient, modern, and postmodern intellectuals is in terms of the relationship between being and knowing. The concept of “being” has to do with metaphysics: what kinds of things exist and how do they relate? The concept of “knowing” has to do with epistemology: what can we know and how can we know it? For the ancient thinker, as the story goes, issues of being were primary and knowing secondary. In the modern era, this relationship was reversed: knowing determines being and not vice-versa. With the so-called postmodern era—an era I think has largely passed—neither being nor knowing are primary: rather our shared use of language determines what we can know, which in turn determines what there is.

Why Theology Needs Philosophy: A Case Study

In his book Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension, D. A. Carson argues that Scripture unmistakably demonstrates both divine sovereignty and human responsibility.[1] For any theology that is to be faithful to Scripture, divine sovereignty and human responsibility must be upheld. Moreover, it must be upheld without denying other key tenants of biblical orthodoxy such as divine goodness, omnipotence, and omniscience.

Would Jesus cleanse the temple of Philosophy?

In his introduction to Jesus and Philosophy, Paul Moser asks, “How, then, is Jesus relevant to philosophy as a discipline?”[1] This is a great question. Possible answers include “not at all,” “insignificantly” or “significantly” relevant.

Wittgenstein’s Poker and the Purpose of Philosophy

I just finished reading an excellent book, Wittgenstein’s Poker by David Edmonds and John Eidinow. It is a fascinating story about a ten-minute (yes, a ten-minute!!) argument between two of the 20^th century’s greatest philosophers: Ludwig Wittengstein and Karl Popper.

Traditional Theology, Apologetics, and the Gospel: Or “Should we be traditional theologians?”

In an interesting article by the philosopher Scott Shalkowski, he asks, “How much stock should we invest in traditional theology?”[1] I think the answer to this question has interesting implications related to apologetics, the gospel, and the nature of theology.

Philosophy and its Contribution to Religion

What is the relationship between philosophy and religion? Does logic stand over and above revelation as its final judge and arbiter? Or is it the other way around—revelation is supreme, and reason serves as a minister?

There cannot be just one true religion, can there?

Earlier, I did a series of post on defeater beliefs to Christianity and I want to add to that series and consider again a common objection to Christianity: “Christianity cannot be the one true religion!” or (as it is commonly suggested), “all religions lead to God.” The suggestion is that no one religion has a monopoly on the truth AND if you say that one (that is, Christianity) does, you are intellectually deficient (at best) and quite possibly morally deficient as well. Let’s consider if this charge can hold up under scrutiny.

The Gadfly and the Unexamined Life

In an earlier post, I claimed that we are all philosophers—there is not choice in the matter—the only choice is whether we are good or bad philosophers. In this post, I want to consider the cost of being good philosophers (that is, lovers of wisdom and passionate, relentless pursuers of the good, the true, and the beautiful) in this broken world. What might that cost be? If Socrates is our guide, it is being misunderstood, unjustly accused, and perhaps (gulp), a bit of hemlock.

We are all philosophers

None of us has a choice in the matter: we are all philosophers. Each of us, whether we admit it or not, have formed beliefs about God, our world, and the self.