Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198834106.003.0018
W. Hasker
In this chapter, William Hasker responds to the challenges to Christian philosophy offered by the other chapters in this section. Graham Oppy argues that the widely acclaimed surge in Christian philosophy is more a myth than a reality. Paul Moser thinks that, insofar as there has been something of a surge, the philosophy produced falls short of being properly Christian. John Schellenberg’s view is even more ominous: the result of the surge is something that is not really philosophy at all. Aaron Simmons accepts that a surge has occurred: he worries that it may lead to both exclusivism and triumphalism among the philosophers involved in it. It is argued here that, while the criticisms have some merit, the project of Christian philosophy can be vindicated against them and remains a viable and promising enterprise.
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198834106.003.0012
T. Dougherty
Extending the model of Alvin Plantinga’s “Advice to Christian Philosophers,” in this chapter, Trent Dougherty offers his own “advice” to those working in the emerging field of analytic theology. Through a series of specific suggestions regarding the best practices of analytic theology, Dougherty describes some of the Christian’s community-specific projects that stand in need of attention, and then issues a call to Christians—of all stations of academic rank—to attend to these problems. Partly an exercise in “practical theology” itself, this chapter seeks to be sensitive to the real-world problems connected to how students of analytic theology find themselves situated.
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Alvin Plantinga’s “Advice to Christian Philosophers” begins with a triumphalist narrative that forms the backdrop for the advice to Christian philosophers. In this chapter Graham Oppy argues (a) that the triumphalist narrative is over-egged, and (b) that what is of value in the advice applies to all philosophers, Christian or otherwise. Oppy’s critique of the triumphalist narrative is based on demographic and other data that suggests that while (a) we have no reason to think that there is a higher percentage of Christians in academic philosophy now than there was in the late 1940s (and, indeed, we may even have good reason to think that there is a lower percentage of Christians in academic philosophy now than there was in the late 1940s), (b) we do have reason to think that there is a larger absolute number of Christians in academic philosophy now than there was in the late 1940s.
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198834106.003.0009
N. DeRoo
In this chapter, Neal DeRoo argues that the primary task of Christian philosophy is discerning the “spirit” of the age and not merely offering rational defenses of theism. It begins by articulating the notion of “spirit” (drawn from the later Husserl) that is at work in this chapter. Then it articulates a philosophical anthropology that makes clear how such “spirit” is pre-theoretically operative as a dynamic, religious force in all human action. Next, it argues that discerning, articulating, and clarifying the nature of this “spirit” as it functions in a particular culture or community is the task of Christian philosophy. It ends by showing how diagnosing these spirits of the age is not only an intellectual project, but enables the Christian philosopher to provide a concrete service to the broader Christian community.
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198834106.003.0011
M. Sullivan
In this chapter, Meghan Sullivan reflects on difficulties we face in teaching the problem of evil. She describes two approaches to the epistemology of theism—one which insists that answers to challenges be as neutral as possible and one which insists that we are rationally justified in appealing to particular faith commitments when answering challenges. After defending the latter approach from some objections, she argues that taking this approach seriously motivates a more confessional approach to teaching the problem of evil (and other, non-religious philosophical puzzles as well).
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198834106.003.0004
Kyla Ebels-Duggan
In this chapter, Kyla Ebels-Duggan considers how Christian philosophers should decide which questions are worth asking. She provides an interpretation and defense of Alvin Plantinga’s claim that Christian philosophers should strive for autonomy, and then argues that this rules out some ways of settling on our questions. Ebels-Duggan then suggests that the questions in which Christian philosophers should take an interest are those arising from or continuous with a distinctively Christian way of life. Along the way she argues that the power of the distinctive tools of philosophy is importantly limited: reasoning alone cannot settle either which questions we should ask or which commitments we should take on.
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198834106.003.0005
M. Westphal
In this chapter, Merold Westphal suggests that Christian philosophers pay more attention to their other audience, the Church, that they reflect on ways in which their situation is similar to that of feminist philosophers, and that they seek to transcend not only the foundationalism and evidentialism of modernity, but also to go beyond its monological concept of reason to a dialogical concept. Finally, and at greater length, Westphal suggests that Christian philosophers abandon the widespread assumption that the coin of their realm is propositions, assuming too easily that we have already transcended Plato’s cave when we start our work and speak a language that is no natural language. The bearing of this issue on the realism/anti-realism issue and on the relation of metaphysics to both politics and spirituality is explored.
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780198834106.003.0013
J. Simmons
In this chapter, J. Aaron Simmons argues that philosophers who are Christians now find themselves in a situation where continuing to engage in Christian philosophy, in the technical sense as laid out by Plantinga, is likely to be a problematic strategy on three fronts. Philosophically, it is problematic because it can close down potential lines of inquiry that might profitably be pursued and, thereby, lead to a problematic professional insularity. Theologically, it is problematic because it can lead to theological triumphalism and arrogance that cut against the humility and invitation found in the example of Christ. And socially, it is problematic because it can foster extremism at the level of one’s justificatory appeals. Simmons concludes by suggesting that Merold Westphal offers an approach to Christian philosophy that is well suited to the contemporary situation.
{"title":"The Strategies of Christian Philosophy","authors":"J. Simmons","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780198834106.003.0013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780198834106.003.0013","url":null,"abstract":"In this chapter, J. Aaron Simmons argues that philosophers who are Christians now find themselves in a situation where continuing to engage in Christian philosophy, in the technical sense as laid out by Plantinga, is likely to be a problematic strategy on three fronts. Philosophically, it is problematic because it can close down potential lines of inquiry that might profitably be pursued and, thereby, lead to a problematic professional insularity. Theologically, it is problematic because it can lead to theological triumphalism and arrogance that cut against the humility and invitation found in the example of Christ. And socially, it is problematic because it can foster extremism at the level of one’s justificatory appeals. Simmons concludes by suggesting that Merold Westphal offers an approach to Christian philosophy that is well suited to the contemporary situation.","PeriodicalId":266212,"journal":{"name":"Christian Philosophy","volume":"55 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-12-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116202077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198834106.003.0014
P. Moser
What is distinctive about Christian philosophy? The history of Christian philosophy does not offer a consensus answer, and much of this history fails to offer a definite answer. One result is a widespread lack of understanding of what this Christian discipline consists of. In this chapter, Paul K. Moser contends that genuine Christian philosophy is Christ-shaped in putting the person of the crucified Christ at its center. Moser draws from the personalism of the apostle Paul regarding divine wisdom to clarify what is distinctive in Christian philosophy. He characterizes the relevant evidence for God in Christ crucified as scandalous power in its being contrary to human expectations. He also finds that the evidence is fragmentary relative to an adequate “worldview,” because it fails to answer many pressing questions, including many questions about unjust suffering. Moser names “resurrectionitis” as part of the problem: that is, an emphasis on the divine power of resurrection to the relative neglect of Christ crucified.
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Pub Date : 2018-12-14DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198834106.003.0017
P. Ochs
For this Jewish philosopher, the turn to Christian philosophy, stimulated by Alvin Plantinga and others, was a welcome event, challenging the hegemonic modern model of rationality. Twenty years later, Peter Ochs remains hopeful about the turn to Christian philosophy, but is also disappointed. He is hopeful because this turn has encouraged turns to other scripturally grounded traditions of rationality as well, including Jewish philosophy. He is also disappointed because the largest sub-society of Christian philosophers has tended to uphold the hegemony of the modern model of logic: practicing and promoting types of two-valued, propositional logic as the standard model of rationality even when applied to subjects toward which Christianity has privileged access. While his appreciation for the turn to Christian philosophy is stronger than his disappointments, he focuses here on the disappointments alone, so that, with limited space, he can address them more fully.
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