God Theory Volume 15 Preliminary Version (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Analytic Theology
With characteristic flair, John Thatamanil once said that if theologians are like chickens in the coop of a particular religion, then philosophers are free-range. If so, the contributors to this volume are by editorial choice wild: they have left not only the pens of particular religions but also that of classical theism which has regulated philosophical thought about God for millennia; in some cases, they have stepped out of the farm of theism (personal ultimacy) into the realm of non-theistic ultimacy and beyond. The result of their collective explorations are nine alternative ways to think about God or ultimacy-three pantheistic (roughly, the view that God and the world are identical, often called 'the One'), two panentheistic (roughly, the view that though the world is God, God is more than the world), and four that resist familiar categorization-as well as six critical reflections on these alternatives. The volume's significance is captured well in the words on its back cover that it is "the first contemporary edited collection featuring the work of analytic philosophers of religion covering such a wide range of alternative concepts of God," provided an "only" is inserted before "analytic": other edited volumes that present alternatives to classical theism, such as Hartshorne & Reese (1953), Neville (2001), or Diller & Kasher (2013), hail from multiple disciplinary perspectives. 1 It is a milestone that analytic philosophy of religion is now ready to approach this topic in a sustained collective treatment, and by top scholars in the field at that. One reason to read this book, then, is that it is groundbreaking. A deeper reason is that the volume accomplishes two important goals the editors set for it in their introduction-(a) to "extend the range" of metaphysical options about the divine beyond classical theism (2, 17), vital to those of us convinced that a classical God cannot exist and on a hunt for a God worth the name that can, and (b) to "open the door" to discussion of criteria of adequacy for concepts of God which aim to sort concepts that are genuinely of God from those that aren't (6). Here I will sketch the nine notions that realize (a), adding as we go some comparisons and commentary especially about the problem of evil and the problem of unity (how can the many be 1
2016
With characteristic flair, John Thatamanil once said that if theologians are like chickens in the coop of a particular religion, then philosophers are free-range. If so, the contributors to this volume are by editorial choice wild: they have left not only the pens of particular religions but also that of classical theism which has regulated philosophical thought about God for millennia; in some cases, they have stepped out of the farm of theism (personal ultimacy) into the realm of non-theistic ultimacy and beyond. The result of their collective explorations are nine alternative ways to think about God or ultimacy-three pantheistic (roughly, the view that God and the world are identical, often called 'the One'), two panentheistic (roughly, the view that though the world is God, God is more than the world), and four that resist familiar categorization-as well as six critical reflections on these alternatives. The volume's significance is captured well in the words on its back cover that it is "the first contemporary edited collection featuring the work of analytic philosophers of religion covering such a wide range of alternative concepts of God," provided an "only" is inserted before "analytic": other edited volumes that present alternatives to classical theism, such as Hartshorne & Reese (1953), Neville (2001), or Diller & Kasher (2013), hail from multiple disciplinary perspectives. 1 It is a milestone that analytic philosophy of religion is now ready to approach this topic in a sustained collective treatment, and by top scholars in the field at that. One reason to read this book, then, is that it is groundbreaking. A deeper reason is that the volume accomplishes two important goals the editors set for it in their introduction-(a) to "extend the range" of metaphysical options about the divine beyond classical theism (2, 17), vital to those of us convinced that a classical God cannot exist and on a hunt for a God worth the name that can, and (b) to "open the door" to discussion of criteria of adequacy for concepts of God which aim to sort concepts that are genuinely of God from those that aren't (6). Here I will sketch the nine notions that realize (a), adding as we go some comparisons and commentary especially about the problem of evil and the problem of unity (how can the many be 1
Concepts of God and Models of the God-world relation
Philosophy Compass, 2017
There is a variety of concepts of the divine in the eastern and western theological and philosophical traditions. There is, however, not enough reflection on the logic behind concepts of God and their justification. I clarify some necessary and sufficient conditions any attempt to explicate a concept of God has to take into account. I argue that each concept of God is a cypher for a particular worldview and distinguishes three types of justification frequently used to bestow content on particular concepts of God: philosophical, theological, and scientific. I turn to four fundamental models of the God-world relation and argue that the most promising concept of God is panentheistic, on which the universe is essentially divine but is not exhaustive of the divine being.
God the Father Almighty: a contemporary exploration of the divine attributes
Choice Reviews Online, 1998
In this book Millard Erickson tackles some of the most difficult and key issues in philosophical clarity and explanatory legerdemain. He presents a well-constructed coverage of the topics discussed and a surprisingly methodical explanation of some difficult concepts, views, and terms. While Erickson does tend to rely heavily upon the leaders in the field-the likes of Alvin Plantinga, Thomas V. Morris, Norman Kretzmann, William Hasker, Richard Swinburne, and a long list of others, he does weigh and evaluate the various texts of these individuals with fairness in light of his goal: to lay out a comprehensive idea of God that is amenable to the criticallyminded contemporary evangelical systematic or philosophical theologian. Much of the work that needs to be done for the advanced undergraduate or graduate student is to translate and understand the leading literature in the field of contemporary analytic philosophy of religion. Erickson has done a good job at providing such a translation and understanding.
2021
The Doctrine of God is an introductory textbook aiming to provide a clear and concise introduction to the doctrine of God by addressing some big questions concerning divine attributes and the God-world relationship in mainly recent Christian theology. More precisely the book provides an issue-focused presentation on selected contemporary perspectives. The book in its coverage is however not limited only to recent Christian debates, but frequently features also philosophical and historical voices which complement the debates. The book is therefore not a book in historical theology, or philosophical theology, but rather a book in systematic theology proper covering the contemporary debates relating to major questions surrounding the doctrine of God. Since the book is framed as an introductory textbook its readership is assumed to be mostly students of theology. Given the level of the presented material, its dense and detailed nature will primary be most beneficial to graduate level (p...