An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology

Faith Seeking Understanding

Stephen T. Davis,Eric T. Yang

• Publisher: Zondervan Academic
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780310104094
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

An accessible introduction to Christian philosophical theology

Philosophical or analytic theology seeks to employ philosophical tools while studying topics in Christian theology and examining the logical consistency or intelligibility of some of the key doctrines of the Christian faith. In this accessible primer, An Introduction to Christian Philosophical Theology, authors Stephen T. Davis and Eric T. Yang first explain the scope, relevance, and value of philosophical theology and then applies its conceptual tools to examine each of the core Christian doctrines:

• Revelation and Scripture
• The Trinity
• The Incarnation
• Redemption and the atonement,
• Resurrection and life after death

The final chapter briefly addresses some additional theological issues including petitionary prayer, eschatology, and original sin.

Designed for beginning students and non-specialists this guide provides the ideal entry point for not only understanding what philosophical theology is but also for how it can provide valuable insights for how we think about the core doctrines of the Christian faith.

1

PHILOSOPHICAL
THEOLOGY
What Is It? Why Do We Need It?

This book is about philosophical theology. We intend to explain what it is and why it is a valuable endeavor. But before doing that, we first need to clarify some terms. We will look first at theology, then philosophy, and finally philosophical theology.

WHAT IS THEOLOGY?

Theology can be characterized as the attempt to think clearly and methodically about the doctrines that Christians believe were revealed to us by God. Many of those doctrines are obviously essential to Christianity. They include beliefs about God, Christ, the world, human beings, the future, and many other things. Theology is an attempt to clarify and explain what those doctrines are. We would argue that theology is something every Christian practices, but there are also many recognized theologians in the church, both past and present. Obviously, Christians do not always agree on doctrine; theology is often argumentative. But we would also claim that there are certain core beliefs that are essential to Christianity and that all Christians should hold.¹ We will discuss several of these core beliefs.

There are many branches of theology. Systematic theology attempts to say what Christian doctrines are and how they hang together to form a coherent whole. Biblical theology endeavors to clarify and explain the beliefs, practices, and concepts taught in the Bible. Historical theology investigates and explains the work of past theologians and the teachings of the classic creeds. Natural theology is the attempt to prove particular Christian beliefs by the use of human reason alone, apart from special revelation, such as the existence of God or God’s attributes. Moral theology seeks to express biblical and Christian teachings about what is right and wrong, about what duties and obligations there are—both for individuals and societies. Pastoral theology applies Christian teaching to the practical tasks of helping people live, especially in their everyday experiences, which includes dealing with suffering. Apologetics is the task of defending Christian beliefs, both by presenting arguments in favor of them and by defending them against criticisms.²

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHY?

Philosophers notoriously disagree about how to define the word philosophy (although, interestingly, there is broad agreement on who the great philosophers were and what problems philosophers discuss). As we understand it, philosophy involves the attempt to answer ultimate questions. An ultimate question is a question that (1) people are deeply interested in and desperately long to answer, and that (2) cannot be answered by the methods of science. The question “Was Julius Caesar right-handed or left-handed?” is not a philosophical question because nobody is deeply interested in it. It is hard to imagine anybody spending three hours thinking hard about it. The question “Is there life on Mars?” is a question that people are very much interested in answering, but it can be answered by science, and no doubt one day will be. So this question is not a philosophical question either.

Well, then, what are some ultimate questions? Here are a few:

• Will I live on after I die?

• What makes me the same person over time?

• What is knowledge, and how does it differ from other cognitive states like belief or opinion?

• Can I know I am not dreaming or in a computer simulation?

• What is the meaning of life?

• Who is living the good life?

• What makes an action right or wrong?

• Does God exist?

• Can my actions be both free and determined?

These are questions that keep reappearing in the history of human thought (and keep some people up at night!), and they do not seem to be answerable by the methods of science. We cannot conduct an experiment, crunch numbers, or take a poll to find the answers. They are, then, ultimate questions.

Philosophy seems to some people to be vague, speculative, and irrelevant to real life. But it should not be so. Philosophy tries to help people in a concrete way: it tries to answer questions like these that fascinate many of us. Philosophy is not just for professional philosophers. Anyone who asks an ultimate question is a philosopher. We encounter philosophical questions in unexpected places—not just in the classroom but also in the marketplace, not just in dusty textbooks but also in movies, songs, novels, and poems.

Philosophy can be both fascinating and frustrating. The fascination emerges from the intrinsically interesting questions it considers. The frustration emerges from the fact that philosophical investigations do not always yield clear or easy answers. Often the end result of philosophical inquiry is more questions. This was the case for the Greek philosopher Socrates, and it made his interlocutors quite upset! Even if we cannot satisfactorily answer every philosophical question, we think progress is made when the questions we care about are further clarified, when certain positions are ruled out, and when we get a better handle on what approach or which method would be useful in addressing certain questions.

The limitation of philosophical inquiry is not necessarily a defect—and why there is such an intellectual limitation is even a philosophical question. But we think that recognition of such limitations can produce intellectual humility, and we believe that the practice of philosophy can help inculcate other intellectual virtues as well, such as open-mindedness, intellectual autonomy, intellectual carefulness, and the like. So even if you do not walk away with answers to some of the ultimate questions, practicing philosophy or engaging in philosophical inquiry can help you become a more intellectually virtuous person.

That said, we do think that we can answer some ultimate questions, even if we aren’t certain of our answers or even if disagreement with other philosophers remains. We even think that we have found some answers to some of the ultimate questions, though we recognize our fallibility, which is why we want to continue engaging in discussion. Being certain about anything is hard, and so philosophers typically welcome objections and criticisms to their views and arguments, since being shown where we went wrong would be an intellectual improvement. The goal of argumentation, as we see it, is not to be combative; rather, it is a way of offering reasons for one’s views or of raising concerns with various attempts to answer ultimate questions.

PHILOSOPHY AND
CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

Before we move on to explaining what philosophical theology is, we should ask what the relationship is between philosophy and Christian theology. This is a complicated question. On the one hand, it is clear that there are similarities between the two. Many of the questions asked by philosophers are similar to those that theologians attempt to answer: Does God exist? What will happen to me when I die? What is the meaning of life? Also, philosophers and theologians share certain methodological preferences: both strive for connected, systematic thinking. Moreover, both disciplines are to an extent backward-looking disciplines. Both philosophers and theologians carefully study the works of previous practitioners. In fact, much of the impetus for their work is provided by the study of the past.

But there are also important differences. The most important one is that Christian theology is based on the assumption that certain propositions are to be accepted because they are revealed truths. In theology, that is, certain claims can be and commonly are accepted on authority, for example, because the Bible says so. Thus, in the pages of Christian theological works, it is quite common to find biblical references appended to arguments, references that are obviously designed to lend credence and authority to the points being made. Typical philosophers, on the other hand, require arguments, reasons, or evidence in order for some point to be acceptable. They will rarely, if ever, appeal to an authority as a reason for accepting a view. Instead, they will typically appeal to the reason or argument given for that view.

Because of this difference, some people think that philosophy and theology are enemies. Many philosophers have apparently believed this, and so have some great figures in Christian theology, from Tertullian to Karl Barth. Some even think that the apostle Paul asserted passionately that philosophy and the Christian gospel are at odds with each other: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8). Paul’s words can easily be misinterpreted. Of course many philosophies are inimical to Christian faith, but we believe that philosophy itself—the search for answers to ultimate questions—is neutral. Some philosophers attack religion and some defend it, but philosophy itself is neither an enemy nor a friend of Christian faith.

The brief passage from Colossians should not be taken as a condemnation by Paul of all philosophy. Paul’s speech at Athens recorded in Acts 17 shows how he could appreciate and even utilize the current philosophy of his day. He even appears to have quoted Stoic philosophers and poets! What Paul was criticizing were the fantastic and mythological speculations that were being perpetrated among the Colossian Christians. In effect, he was saying, “Do not allow yourselves to be deluded by empty, superstitious thought masquerading as wisdom or philosophy.”

And following 1 Corinthians 1:17–25 and 2:1–14 (which you should read right now!), we agree that (1) Christian faith does not rest on philosophical wisdom but on revealed truth; (2) the truth revealed to the eyes of Christians can seem foolish to nonbelievers; (3) no rational system devised by humans, no matter how eloquently it is expressed, has the power to save souls; and (4) the true wisdom concerning God is attained not by reasoning but by faith.

But we do not hold that reasoning is divorced from faith. Although reasoning does not exhaust faith, we believe that it is a vital element in faith. Moreover, as Thomas Aquinas argued, philosophy can do some things for faith. It can help to systematically order the propositions that are accepted on faith. And it can help defend them against criticisms. Accordingly, philosophy can helpfully relate to both systematic theology and apologetics.

Not all Christians see themselves as philosophers, although, as we stated above, all Christians are philosophers to the extent that they ask ultimate questions. But some believers should try to systematize and defend the faith. Indeed, some Christians must do philosophy. For philosophically inclined persons who are also Christians, doing philosophy may be a spiritual necessity because they are incapable of believing unless their rational scruples allow it. This does not mean that the faith of such people is merely intellectual—cold, theoretical, and dispassionate. Philosophically inclined believers can be deeply and passionately committed to the faith.

WHAT IS PHILOSOPHICAL
THEOLOGY?

Philosophical theology attempts to use the methodologies and conceptual resources of philosophers and apply them to theological issues. Now, there are certainly some theologians who approach theological issues philosophically, and we deeply admire them. But not all theologians approach theological issues armed with the assumptions, conceptual resources, or the methodologies of philosophy. Indeed, some recent and contemporary theologians have been quite resistant to philosophy and its tools.

The crucial point is that philosophical theologians, unlike those who are doing philosophy of religion, are prepared to accept the truth of crucial Christian beliefs at the outset. Some of these truths are often argued for, of course, but they are also sometimes taken as assumed premises in arguments. Philosophical theologians bring their faith commitments with them. Thus, Norman Kretzmann summarizes the discipline as follows:

Philosophical theology shares the methods of natural theology broadly conceived—i.e., analysis and argumentation of all sorts acceptable in philosophy and the sciences—but it lifts natural theology’s restrictions on premises. In particular, philosophical theology accepts as premises doctrinal propositions that are not also initially acceptable to observation and reason. From a philosophical point of view, it takes up such premises as assumptions . . . [it is] engaged in such reasoning, tests the coherence of doctrinal propositions, develops their implications, attempts explanations of them, discovers their connections with other doctrinal propositions, and so on, with no pretense at offeri...