Christian philosophy

[Jon_]

Largely. But there are still the Bahnsens and van Tils of the world who think they understand logic at a more fundamental level than everyone else.

I can't speak as much for Bahnsen, but Van Til was an irrationalist. His theology clearly implies this. He even wrote that "all teaching of Scripture is apparently contradictory." If his philosophical axiom is contradictory, then just how valid are his deductions going to be? Van Til had an amazing aptitude for hamstringing his own arguments with ridiculous neo-orthodox assertions such as this one.

Soli Deo Gloria

Jon

 

[elman]

Theology and philosophy are distinct. Theology is necessarily connected to and accepts the faith tradition it seeks to expound on. This is the case whether the theology is Buddhist, Muslim or Christian. Philosophy is the rational pursuit of truth. It admits no other assumptions. It is therefore a more fundamental mode of inquiry.

Natural theology is scholasticism. It is the product of the Christian Medieval Tradition specifically concerned with marrying Aristotelian thought to Christian cosmology. Its most famous thinker was St. Thomas.

I think some theology is a rational pursuit of truth and is not tied to assumptions promoted by a particular faith tradition.

 

[Orontes]

I think some theology is a rational pursuit of truth and is not tied to assumptions promoted by a particular faith tradition.

You'll need to explain what you mean. What would be an example? Theology by the very label assumes the existence of a metaphysical being. Why would a secular approach do this?

 

[Verv]

What happened to christian philosophy? Did it die with the Renaissance?I'm especially thinking about epistemology.

I feel that a lot of it died because it would all be rehashing the same ideas; Solomon said hundreds of years before Christ that there is nothing new under the sun, and that is true.

If I were to write my own Christian philosophies, it would hardly be original; people would say "So you are reading a book that basically rehashes what Soren Kierkegaard said about life, what John Locke said about the politics of God, and what St. Augustine said about the character of the Church, and what Pico Della Mirandola said about humans as worth?'"

It would be more productive for them to merely read the originals, and not the copy-cats.

It would be pure repetition of these men's ideas, with small variations and merely an updated perspective.

 

[isleof]

What happened to christian philosophy? Did it die with the Renaissance?I'm especially thinking about epistemology.

I happen to think it is alive and well.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

What happened to christian philosophy? Did it die with the Renaissance?I'm especially thinking about epistemology.

Actually, Christian philosophy is alive and well. It's just that there have never been a whole lot of men and women who qualify as professional philosophers and are Christians at the same time. Philosophy is primarily the realm of atheists and agnostics, or other.

There are academic Christian philosophy organizations, as well as academic literature.

One book you might be interested in is God and the Philosophers, which entails a collection of personal essays from various Christian Philosophers. The book is edited by Tom Morris (another Christian Philosopher.)

 

[dumpsterdiver45]

I just think that as soon as a philosophy embraces concepts theological enough to qualify it as Christian, it ceases being a philosophy and becomes wholly theological.

I'm finding this to be true also, though I would say philosophy from a Christian standpoint becomes primarily theological, not necessarily wholly.