237:, who became one of the most influential theologians in history and whose works laid the foundation for much of Western philosophy (as well as much of Western theology), espoused a more middle-of-the-road, moderate approach. He argued that philosophy and theology often complement each other while at the same time cautioning that philosophy should not always be used in theological discourse. Instead, he argued, one should make sure that a philosophical approach toward a particular issue was grounded in prior Christian commitments.
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178:, addressed to the Jews and Moors in Spain. Though written as if it were philosophical theology, was in fact, apologetics and not philosophical theology, as it was written by a Christian and not by a pagan. In Adler's view, few books on natural theology are sound works of philosophical theology because they are not written by pagans. An example of philosophical theology, according to Adler, is Aristotle's theology as found in his
516:; the latter, the human side. The human side obviously tends to look at it more empirically. The Scriptures call the Incarnation a mystery of godliness. It baffles human imagination, leading many to call it a divine mystery. Yet, philosophical theologians argue that it is also important to find a philosophical ground for asserting both the divinity and humanity of Christ.
201:, an influential early Christian theologian and apologist, believed that philosophy has little to do with theology, arguing that the use of philosophy often corrupted theology, leading to unorthodox beliefs that were not grounded in the early Christian tradition. He famously asked the question 'What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?'. (
174:. While the former is, according to him, theology done by non-Christian philosophers, the latter is done by those who are already Christians and are actually trying to find rational proofs for their faith. Adler thinks that the term "natural theology" is a misnomer and is actually apologetics, and cites as an example Thomas Aquinas'
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Contrary to Adler's view, Charles
Taliaferro and Chad Meister think that doing philosophical theology may not be restricted by whether the doer is an insider to faith or not, for anyone doing philosophical theology only tries to consider whether a theological doctrine can make philosophical sense or
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While philosophical theology can denote an approach to theology which is philosophical in nature, it can also denote a specific area of theology in which philosophical methods and terminology are used to analyze theological concepts. One task of philosophical theologians is to attempt to reconcile
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Many contemporary philosophers continue to write and argue from a
Christian perspective, with Christian concepts undergirding their philosophical work. In recent decades, some of the most well-known philosophers who have written from a Christian perspective are
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have tried to look at God as the Being who is not only the Source and Ground of all beings but also influenced by the people and processes of the world which he created and which he belongs—rejecting or at least amending the classical medieval doctrine of
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raises a number of philosophical questions, such as how the divine can incarnate as a human, how the eternal can enter the temporal, and how the divine and the human can be united in one yet remain distinct. Such questions led to earlier
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The disciplines of
Philosophy and Theology have often been connected, with theologians and philosophers interacting and debating similar and sometimes overlapping issues. Philosophy played a key role in the formation of Western theology.
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not. But, as Adler points it out, a pagan doing philosophical theology and coming to a theological conclusion has a different route than an insider using philosophy to examine or seek to understand his faith.
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as possessing the divine light of revelation and believed them to be true philosophers. Justin saw
Christianity as the True Philosophy and argued for Christianity using philosophical methods and terminology.
419:, rationally requiring that one give up the belief. Many other philosophers and theologians, however, disagree with this perspective and provide alternative views. Many other theologians have turned to
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certain aspects of
Christian doctrine with developments in philosophy. One question concerns how to prove the existence and nature of God. The knowledge of God is dealt with in the
523:, read the New Testament documents in mythic terms which needed to be stripped back so that the essential truths could be laid bare, a hermeneutical approach they called
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foundation for theology. There has also been a contrast made between
Christology from above and Christology from below. The former emphasizes the divine side of
527:. This included a clear distinction between the (in their view, unimportant) Jesus of history and the (all-important) Christ of faith (see also the
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that gives the truest meaning of revelation. Yet, one can't fail to see that cultural grids play an important role in the development of theology.
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can play an important role in how one answers such questions. There is, for instance, sometimes a clash between those who want to emphasize the
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387:) and argued that faith should be based strictly upon divine revelation. A popular approach in some circles is the approach of
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There are many different perspectives with philosophical theology on such questions. In modern times
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The relationship between theology and philosophy has been long-debated and discussed within the
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During the 18th, 19th centuries, and 20th centuries, many theologians reacted against the
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methods are used in developing or analyzing theological concepts. It therefore includes
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Other leaders, however, saw a closer relationship between philosophy and theology.
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symbolized the philosophical approach because of its role as a leading center of
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in attempts to analyze and reframe
Christian theology in contemporary contexts.
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Mortimer J. Adler, "A Philosopher's
Religious Faith," in Kelly J. Clark (ed),
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theology. Philosophical theology is also closely related to the
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For philosophy which comes from a Christian perspective, see
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foundation for theology and those who want to emphasize the
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60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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672:Wood, William (2022), Zalta, Edward N. (ed.),
616:(Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 205-207
344:Foundations of modern philosophical theology
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170:distinguishes philosophical theology from
734:. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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399:, who assert that belief in God might be
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678:The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
147:as well as philosophical treatments of
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383:turned away from philosophy (called
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69:"Philosophical theology"
375:intellectuals like the
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450:philosophy of religion
448:, usually a subset of
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421:continental philosophy
224:looked at people like
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133:Philosophical theology
25:Philosophy of religion
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546:Christian apologetics
465:Christian panentheism
429:postmodern philosophy
397:Nicholas Wolterstorff
176:Summa Contra Gentiles
581:Philosophical theism
556:Christian philosophy
500:, etc. Often, one's
259:Anselm of Canterbury
54:improve this article
21:Christian philosophy
425:analytic philosophy
195:Christian tradition
655:(Routledge, 2016)
561:Christian theology
362:Christian theology
318:William Lane Craig
314:Alasdair MacIntyre
298:Sadhu Sundar Singh
290:Fusion of Horizons
731:Knowledge and God
541:Analytic theology
525:demythologization
338:James K. A. Smith
334:Richard Swinburne
288:has shown in his
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391:, such as
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153:heterodox
139:in which
776:Theology
535:See also
506:rational
498:Docetism
490:Arianism
486:heresies
446:religion
230:Socrates
209:, while
149:orthodox
137:theology
411:or the
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385:fideism
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