Philosophy and Biblical Interpretation: A Study in Nineteenth-Century Conflict

by Peter Addinall

Overview

This study explores the nature of the conflict between science and religion. It shows through a detailed examination of this conflict as it was manifested in nineteenth century Britain that it is a fallacy that religion and science can co-exist in mutual harmony, since the legacy of their conflict in the past century has been inherited by this century, greatly to the detriment of religious belief. It is the author's contention that a return to the essentials of Kant's critical philosophy would lay bare the profound differences between religious and scientific approaches to the world, and the nature of the choice people can make between them. In his effort to demarcate the outlines of a genuine Biblical theology (and to articulate the proper procedures for producing one) the author casts light on important questions of Biblical interpretation, and demands a radical reassessment of the meaning of science for society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521404235
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/26/1991
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; 1. The general picture; 2. David Hume; 3. William Paley; 4. Biblical conservatism; 5. Conservative Natural Theology: Paley's design argument; 6. Conservative Natural Theology: Thomas Chalmers; 7. Liberal Natural Theology; 8. The later nineteenth century; 9. Immanuel Kant; 10. Critical philosophy and the Bible; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Zealous Kantians and disillusioned Anglo-American philosophers should find inspiration in this rigorous attempt to present a Continental response—in which conflict is not avoided—to the ongoing doubts about biblical literature." The Journal of Religion

"This is scholarship at its best: thorough, selective, intelligently critical, and highly readable." Theological Studies

"This book is valuable for the details it brings to light from nineteenth-century British biblical and religious debates, and to sound once again the call for creative theology which replies effectively to the questions posed by new knowledge." Walter J. Wilkins, Church History

From the Publisher