Natural Theology Was Under Deep Debate

The subject of the book, author’s purpose and intended audience: The history of Christian thought in the modern era was a quest of today’s Christian. Faith in a multi-denominational society decreases a sense of belonging. Since the Enlightenment some

As Christians we often believe certain things simply because it’s what our parents and the people around us believe. We often go about our Christian walk without ever giving thought or reason to why we believe what we do. The world of Christian Theology is a place where Christians can find answer to the ‘what and why’ of Christianity. If we are able to begin comprehending Christian Theology and the rudimental knowledge of it, then we can take it with us into more in depth books and discussions about theology, know the importance of it and how vital it is for Christians

The story of Creation found in Genesis 1-3 has captured the attention of countless Christian theologians throughout the ages. Despite the fact that the text of these chapters are quite short, it has proved itself to be a fertile ground from which many of the central tenets of Christian doctrine have sprouted. This fruitful text has also spurred a variety of differing interpretations of the Creation and Fall. Augustine of Hippo and Lady Julian of Norwich are two theologians who interpreted Genesis 1-3 in vastly different ways. The aim of this paper is to make a thematically organized comparison of Julian of Norwich’s interpretation (which is mostly apparent within her short parable on the Lord and the Servant, Revelations of Divine Love) with Augustine’s influential interpretation of Genesis 1-3.

The meaning of theology is simple; it is the study of God and religious belief. The definition is plain to see but it’s important to go beyond what is already known. On a deeper level, what is the meaning of theology in respect to a religious community and to a person trying to find themselves in God? How is everyone involved in doing theology all the time? In this paper, there will be an in depth analysis on what theology is, why it is important, and how people are engaged in theology all the time.

ABSTRACT: The dispute between fideists and rationalists seems intractable since those who argue for faith alone claim that they are offended by the use of reason in religion. The advocates of reason claim that they are equally offended by the appeal to faith. This dispute may be resolved by showing that those who rely on faith may be seen as engaging in an experiment of living, so they can become part of a rational experiment without having to alter their practice; in contrast, those who use reason to justify religion can be seen as addressing a spiritual need. From an evangelical point of view, it would be wrong to disparage the mathematician’s use of the mathematical proof of God’s existence (such

Scientific Naturalism and Christianity are possibly the two most contradictory worldviews that are in our culture today. They are also the two most difficult to understand by one another. There is very little about these two worldviews that they have in common. They are a vast amount of ideas and beliefs held by adherents of each that are different. In order for these two worldviews to successfully co-exist in society, it is important to understand, accept, and learn from each one.

Prior to the twentieth century, theologians limited their discussion of Christ to the views set forth in their respective denominational or confessional traditions.” But, doubt that Christ in tradition was different from the actual Christ created a shift from metaphysical to historical Christology. This sparked the search for the historical Jesus in which two approaches, “Christology from Above” and “Christology from Below arose.

The first section of the book is about “theological foundations”, as its title notes. Among all of the elements discussed in this section – all of which are valid and important, an

Chapter four describes the theistic alternatives for naturalism. Bush mainly discusses the Process theology and Open Theism. These views are clearly in disagreement with the traditional position held by Christians. Process theology, that presents God as the source of fundamental structures of reality (55), hangs on a lot of scientific arguments and looks like a “mystical science” (58) more than a theistic worldview. The author poses that Open Theism, which affirms that God is fallible, is contradictory.

“…nothing in the theory or practice of religion-not ritual, not prayer, not metaphysical belief, not moral commitment- necessitates a commitment to traditional theism. In other words, one may be religious while rejecting supernaturalism.” (Cahn) Throughout Religion Reconsidered by Stephen M. Cahn, the philosophy behind naturalism is examined. Cahn describes naturalism as a religion devoid of supernaturalism, and states.

Within the works of both Abraham Heschel and Paul Tillich, there is a main focus on what faith is and what the components of faith are. The books Man Is Not Alone: A Philosophy of Religion and Dynamics of Faith, written by Heschel and Tillich respectively, both share a common ideology about the faith expressed by man in relation to the divine. However, there are a few points of contention within their beliefs that cause the reader to realize that though they may seem to have the same thoughts about faith at a cursory glance, they are not completely the same. These deviations emphasize the difference in their development of faith, and how their fundamental views of the divine are the cause of this variance. By bringing attention to these differences,

In the early years of Karl Barth, he stressed the distance that had been created between the sinful humanity and the holy God. In addition, Barth advocated for the absolute opposition between God and humanity, saying “the most we can do is become an empty room, a

Known as the father of modern liberal theology, Friedrich Schleiermacher was a German theologian, philosopher and biblical scholar who focused his attention on the nature of religious experience from the viewpoint of the individual and human nature itself (Mariña 3). Influenced by German Romanticism, Schleiermacher attempted to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional Protestant Christianity (Crouter 261). By doing so, he abandoned the pietistic Moravian theology that had failed to satisfy his increasing doubts and he adopted the rational spirit of Christian Wolff and Johann Salomo Semler. He then became acquainted with the techniques of historical criticism of the New Testament and of Johann Augustus Eberhard, from whom he acquired a love of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. As a result, he began applying ideas from the Greek philosophers to a reconstruction of Immanuel Kant’s system (Mariña 3). On this basis, this essay articulate Friedrich Schleiermacher’s understanding of religion and its relationship to Christianity as described in Speech I: Defense and Speech II: The Nature of Religion of his work On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. The essay will explore Schleiermacher’s rejection of various views of religion held by the despisers, explain his identification of the true religion with feeling and describe his view of the relationship between religion and Christianity.

We continue our study of the history of God by looking at His attributes from a number of different viewpoints. We will first examine the view of Classical Theism, then the view of Freewill Theism, and finally that of Open Theism. We begin by defining Classical Theism, also called traditional theism or Augustinian theism.

The fields of philosophy and theology are often grounds of debate. While some hold these two to be relevant and dependent on each other, others find them to be completely independent of each other. In John D. Caputo’s work, Philosophy and Theology, he expresses his view of these fields as companions. Caputo states, “Think of philosophers and theologians as fellow sailors on [the] ocean,” depicting his view of the interdependence of these two fields (Caputo 69). Through his illustration we can find the influence philosophy and theology can have on each other in facilitating our toleration of such a mysterious future and world.