Approaching Philosophy of Religion: An Introduction to Key Thinkers, Concepts, Methods and Debates

by Anthony C. Thiselton

Overview

Encountering philosophy of religion for the first time, we are like explorers arriving on an uncharted coastline. There are inviting bays and beaches, but rocky reefs and pounding surf as well. And what tribes may inhabit the land is anyone's guess.But our cautious intrigue turns to confidence as Anthony Thiselton greets us as a native informant. Cheerfully imparting insider knowledge, mapping the major landmarks, and outlining the main figures and issues in its tribal debates, he teaches us the basics for gaining cultural fluency on these foreign shores.Approaching Philosophy of Religion is divided into three parts:Part I (Approaches) provides descriptions of the main entrance ramps to studying the subject, with lively case histories, working examples, and assessments of their lasting value.Part II (Concepts and Issues) gives us brief introductions to the origins and development of ideas, and highlights their significance in the work of major thinkers.Part III (Key Terms) supplies concise explanations of all the words and phrases that readers need to know in order to engage the subject.For students and anyone else reading and engaging philosophy of religion for the first time, Approaching Philosophy of Religion is the essential companion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780830887316
Publisher:	IVP Academic
Publication date:	01/16/2018
Sold by:	Bookwire
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Anthony C. Thiselton is emeritus professor of Christian theology in the University of Nottingham, England, and a fellow of the British Academy. He has published twenty-five books spanning the fields of hermeneutics, New Testament studies, systematic theology, and philosophy of religion.

Anthony C. Thiselton is emeritus professor of Christian theology in the University of Nottingham, England, and a fellow of the British Academy. He has published twenty-five books spanning the fields of hermeneutics, New Testament studies, systematic theology, and philosophy of religion.

Anthony C. Thiselton is professor of Christian theology at the University of Nottingham. He is known internationally for his work on hermeneutics. More recently he has published 1 Corinthians: A Shorter Exegetical and Pastoral Commentary and Hermeneutics of Doctrine.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Abbreviations x

Chronology xi

Introduction: Landmarks in philosophy of religion 1

1 The ancient world 1

2 From the medieval to the early modern era 13

3 From Hegel to the present day 22

Part 1 Approaches 29

1 Analytic philosophy 31

2 Continental philosophy 41

3 Empiricism and rationalism 57

4 Existentialism 62

5 Feminist philosophy 69

6 Personalism 74

7 Phenomenology 78

8 Pragmatism 84

Part 2 Concepts and issues 89

Animals 91

Cosmological argument 94

Design argument 97

Divine action 100

Evolution 102

Faith 104

Free will 108

Gender 111

God, attributes of 115

God, existence of 119

Good and evil 124

Humanity 129

Life after death 135

Miracles 139

Morality 143

Ontological argument 148

Religious experience 150

Religious knowledge 153

Religious language 156

Revelation 162

Part 3 Key terms 167

Aesthetics 169

Agnosticism 169

Alienation 169

Aristotelianism 169

Aseity 170

Atheism 170

Causality 171

Contingency 171

Creationism 171

Critical realism 172

Deconstruction 172

Deism 172

Determinism 172

Dialectic 173

Dualism 173

Enlightenment the 174

Epistemology 174

Essence 174

Eternity 174

Ethics 175

Evolution 175

Existence 175

Fideism 176

Foundationalism 176

Hermeneutics 176

Humanism 177

Idealism 177

Immutability 177

Impassability 178

Linguistic analysis 178

Logic 178

Materialism 179

Metaphor 179

Metaphysics 179

Mind 180

Modernism 180

Monism 180

Monotheism 181

Mysticism 181

Myth 181

Naturalism 182

Natural theology 182

Necessity 182

Neoplatonism 183

Nihilism 183

Nominalism 183

Omnipotence 184

Omnipresence 184

Omniscience 184

Ontology 185

Panentheism 185

Pantheism 185

Perfection 186

Perspectivalism 186

Platonism 187

Pluralism 187

Positivism 187

Postmodernism 188

Process thought 188

Reductionism 188

Realism 189

Relativism 189

Scepticism 189

Scholasticism 190

Scientism 190

Self 190

Semiotics 191

Simplicity 191

Solipsism 191

Soul 191

Spirit 192

Substance 192

Teleology 193

Theism 193

Theodicy 193

Theology 194

Transcendence 194

Truth 194

Underdetermination 195

Utopia 195

Select bibliography 196

Index of authors 211

Index of subjects 217

What People are Saying About This

Paul Copan

"Anthony Thiselton has written a fine companion to his earlier A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion. In this particular volume, his treatment of seminal philosophy of religion topics reveals a remarkable breadth and depth of scholarship, and presents these topics incisively and accessibly. An excellent resource!"

Editorial Reviews

"Anthony Thiselton has written a fine companion to his earlier A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion. In this particular volume, his treatment of seminal philosophy of religion topics reveals a remarkable breadth and depth of scholarship, and presents these topics incisively and accessibly. An excellent resource!"

Paul Copan

"Anthony Thiselton has written a fine companion to his earlier A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion. In this particular volume, his treatment of seminal philosophy of religion topics reveals a remarkable breadth and depth of scholarship, and presents these topics incisively and accessibly. An excellent resource!"

--Paul Copan, professor, Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University, author of A Little Book for New Philosophers and An Introduction to Biblical Ethics

From the Publisher