Love of a God of Love: Towards a Transformation of the Philosophy of Religion

by Hugo Strandberg

Overview

Traditionally, religious belief has in the philosophy of religion been understood along more or less epistemological lines. Love of a God of Love develops another understanding of belief, where the moral concept of love is central. In this context, what is distinctive about the concept of love is that it is both the "what" and the "how" of belief: for the one who loves a God of love, the concept of love characterizes both the content side and the act side of the belief. In that respect, this understanding of religious belief makes it possible to avoid certain formalist difficulties, arising when the "what" and the "how" of belief are sharply distinguished.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441182135
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/15/2011
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Dr. Hugo Strandberg is Lecturer in the

Department of Philosophy at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

His previous publications are Escaping My Responsibility: Investigations into the Nature of Morality

(Peter Lang, 2009) and The Possibility of Discussion: Relativism, Truth and
Criticism of Religious Beliefs (Ashgate, 2006).

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Formalism and negativism
2. The sources of theology
3. Phillips and the idea of a contemplative philosophy
4. Love of a God of love
5. Freedom and choice
6. Togetherness and community
7. The miraculous
8. Nature
9. The negative miracle
10. Arguing, thinking Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"Religious belief concerns a relation of love and this love is a love of a God of love. Through the theme of love Strandberg works out a philosophy of religion which does not understand religious belief hypothetically and evidentially. Faith is a relation and an existential endeavor primarily involving oneself. Strandberg is an original and serious thinker. His book presents an important alternative in the ongoing reflection upon what belief is and even more so, how to believe. I recommend this book to all those who appreciate perceptive and engaging thinking." --Catharina Stenqvist, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Lund University, Sweden

"Rejecting the 'formalist' distinction between the 'what' and the 'how' of believing, Hugo Strandberg offers a lucid and pathbreaking account of belief in God as love of a God of love. If, as Strandberg argues, the task of philosophy is to bring its audience into a new relationship with its subject matter--a relation of understanding, in which moral and religious demands cannot be evaded--it is a mark of his success that his study has the effect of rendering its subject not merely intelligible but compelling. Love of a God of Love is a major achievement of philosophical thinking." --Richard Amesbury, Associate Professor of Ethics, Claremont School of Theology, USA

"'When read as a thought-experiment, this book is provocative, even if not completely persuasive. Moreover, it offers a compelling defence of divine personalism that is worth taking seriously. Strandberg's ideas warrant consideration, and this book will yield a lively debate in the literature.'" --Choice Magazine

From the Publisher

'When read as a thought-experiment, this book is provocative, even if not completely persuasive. Moreover, it offers a compelling defence of divine personalism that is worth taking seriously. Strandberg's ideas warrant consideration, and this book will yield a lively debate in the literature.'

Choice Magazine

Rejecting the 'formalist' distinction between the 'what' and the 'how' of believing, Hugo Strandberg offers a lucid and pathbreaking account of belief in God as love of a God of love. If, as Strandberg argues, the task of philosophy is to bring its audience into a new relationship with its subject matter--a relation of understanding, in which moral and religious demands cannot be evaded--it is a mark of his success that his study has the effect of rendering its subject not merely intelligible but compelling. Love of a God of Love is a major achievement of philosophical thinking.

Richard Amesbury

Religious belief concerns a relation of love and this love is a love of a God of love. Through the theme of love Strandberg works out a philosophy of religion which does not understand religious belief hypothetically and evidentially. Faith is a relation and an existential endeavor primarily involving oneself. Strandberg is an original and serious thinker. His book presents an important alternative in the ongoing reflection upon what belief is and even more so, how to believe. I recommend this book to all those who appreciate perceptive and engaging thinking.

Catharina Stenqvist