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Kant's Theoretical Conception Of
KANT’S THEORETICAL CONCEPTION OF GOD Yaron Noam Hoffer Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, September 2017 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee _________________________________________ Allen W. Wood, Ph.D. (Chair) _________________________________________ Sandra L. Shapshay, Ph.D. _________________________________________ Timothy O'Connor, Ph.D. _________________________________________ Michel Chaouli, Ph.D 15 September, 2017 ii Copyright © 2017 Yaron Noam Hoffer iii To Mor, who let me make her ends mine and made my ends hers iv Acknowledgments God has never been an important part of my life, growing up in a secular environment. Ironically, only through Kant, the ‘all-destroyer’ of rational theology and champion of enlightenment, I developed an interest in God. I was drawn to Kant’s philosophy since the beginning of my undergraduate studies, thinking that he got something right in many topics, or at least introduced fruitful ways of dealing with them. Early in my Graduate studies I was struck by Kant’s moral argument justifying belief in God’s existence. While I can’t say I was convinced, it somehow resonated with my cautious but inextricable optimism. My appreciation for this argument led me to have a closer look at Kant’s discussion of rational theology and especially his pre-critical writings. From there it was a short step to rediscover early modern metaphysics in general and embark upon the current project. This journey could not have been completed without the intellectual, emotional, and material support I was very fortunate to receive from my teachers, colleagues, friends, and family. -
Stewart, the GREATER GOOD DEFENSE: an ESSAY on the RATIONALITY of FAITH
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Asbury Theological Seminary Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 13 Issue 2 Article 12 4-1-1996 Stewart, THE GREATER GOOD DEFENSE: AN ESSAY ON THE RATIONALITY OF FAITH Jane Mary Trau Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Trau, Jane Mary (1996) "Stewart, THE GREATER GOOD DEFENSE: AN ESSAY ON THE RATIONALITY OF FAITH," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 13 : Iss. 2 , Article 12. Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol13/iss2/12 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. BOOK REVIEWS 293 but they did have the concept of the natural powers of things. So an event which we might describe as transgressing a law of nature they might describe as exceeding the natural powers of the creatures involved. 9. In his fullest example of how a reported miracle might be assessed (on p. 161), he makes use of a pattern of supposed miracles. (The example is contained in the offset material above in the text.) 10. In his example on p. 161, Houston speaks of "well-attested reports" and "reports of some weight." Moreover, part of his reason for discounting miracle reports in other religions is the poor quality of their attestation (204-205). -
Southwestern Journal of Theology 59.1
CONCERNING HUMANITY Southwestern Journal of Theology EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paige Patterson, President and Professor of Theology MANAGING EDITOR W. Madison Grace II, Assistant Professor of Baptist History and Theology and Director of the Oxford Study Program BOOK REVIEW EDITOR Joshua E. Williams, Associate Professor of Old Testament EDITORIAL BOARD Keith E. Eitel, Professor of Missions and World Christianity, Dean of the Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions, and Director of the World Missions Center Mark A. Howell, Senior Pastor, Hunters Glen Baptist Church, Plano, Texas Evan Lenow, Associate Professor of Ethics, Bobby L., Janis Eklund Chair of Stewardship, and Director of the Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement Miles S. Mullin II, Vice President for Academic Administration and Professor of Religious History, Hannibal-LaGrange University Steven W. Smith, Vice President of Student Services and Professor of Communication Jerry Vines, Jerry Vines Ministries Malcolm B. Yarnell III, Research Professor of Systematic Theology EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Cole L. Peck The Southwestern Journal of Theology is indexed in the ATLA Religion Database, the Southern Baptist Periodical Index, and the Christian Periodical Index. Southwestern Journal of Theology invites English-language submissions of original research in biblical studies, historical theology, systematic theology, ethics, philosophy of religion, homiletics, pastoral ministry, evangelism, missiology, and related fields. Articles submitted for consideration should be neither published nor under review for publication elsewhere. The recommended length of articles is between 4000 and 8000 words. For information on editorial and stylistic requirements, please contact the journal’s Editorial Assistant at journal@ swbts.edu. Articles should be sent to the Managing Editor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, P.O. -
Process Theology 1 Process Theology
Process theology 1 Process theology Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947) and further developed by Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000). While there are process theologies that are similar, but unrelated to the work of Whitehead (such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin) the term is generally applied to the Whiteheadian/Hartshornean school. Process theology is unrelated to the Process Church. History The original ideas of process thought are found in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Various theological and philosophical aspects have been expanded and developed by Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000), John B. Cobb, Jr., and David Ray Griffin. A characteristic of process theology each of these thinkers shared was a rejection of metaphysics that privilege "being" over "becoming," particularly those of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. Hartshorne was deeply influenced by French philosopher Jules Lequier and by Swiss philosopher Charles Secrétan who were probably the first ones to claim that in God liberty of becoming is above his substantiality. Process theology soon influenced a number of Jewish theologians including Rabbis Max Kadushin, Milton Steinberg and Levi A. Olan, Harry Slominsky and, to a lesser degree, Abraham Joshua Heschel. Today some rabbis who advocate some form of process theology include Bradley Shavit Artson, Lawrence A. Englander, William E. Kaufman, Harold Kushner, Anton Laytner, Michael Lerner, Gilbert S. Rosenthal, Lawrence Troster, Donald B. Rossoff, Burton Mindick, and Nahum Ward. Alan Anderson and Deb Whitehouse have attempted to integrate process theology with the New Thought variant of Christianity. The work of Richard Stadelmann has been to preserve the uniqueness of Jesus in process theology. -
Religious Fundamentalism in Eight Muslim‐
JOURNAL for the SCIENTIFIC STUDY of RELIGION Religious Fundamentalism in Eight Muslim-Majority Countries: Reconceptualization and Assessment MANSOOR MOADDEL STUART A. KARABENICK Department of Sociology Combined Program in Education and Psychology University of Maryland University of Michigan To capture the common features of diverse fundamentalist movements, overcome etymological variability, and assess predictors, religious fundamentalism is conceptualized as a set of beliefs about and attitudes toward religion, expressed in a disciplinarian deity, literalism, exclusivity, and intolerance. Evidence from representative samples of over 23,000 adults in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Turkey supports the conclusion that fundamentalism is stronger in countries where religious liberty is lower, religion less fractionalized, state structure less fragmented, regulation of religion greater, and the national context less globalized. Among individuals within countries, fundamentalism is linked to religiosity, confidence in religious institutions, belief in religious modernity, belief in conspiracies, xenophobia, fatalism, weaker liberal values, trust in family and friends, reliance on less diverse information sources, lower socioeconomic status, and membership in an ethnic majority or dominant religion/sect. We discuss implications of these findings for understanding fundamentalism and the need for further research. Keywords: fundamentalism, Islam, Christianity, Sunni, Shia, Muslim-majority countries. INTRODUCTION -
Conceptualizations of God by Lutheran Laypeople Ashley Burgess Leininger Iowa State University
Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2009 Conceptualizations of God by Lutheran laypeople Ashley Burgess Leininger Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Leininger, Ashley Burgess, "Conceptualizations of God by Lutheran laypeople" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 10805. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/10805 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Conceptualizations of God by Lutheran laypeople by Ashley Burgess Leininger A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Major: Sociology Program of Study Committee: David Schweingruber, Major Professor Gloria Jones-Johnson Carl Roberts Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2009 Copyright © Ashley Burgess Leininger, 2009. All rights reserved. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. iv ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. -
Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction Du Branch Patrimoine De I'edition
A MONERGISTIC THEOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF MORAL EVIL by C. Elmer Chen A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of PROVIDENCE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-37195-4 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-37195-4 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. -
Theism in Christianity, Islam and Sikhism: a Comparative Analysis
THEISM IN CHRISTIANITY, ISLAM AND SIKHISM: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Ekpenyong Obo Ekpenyong and Emmanuel Williams Udoh Department of Religious and Cultural Studies, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria Email: [email protected]; [email protected] ABSTRACT God is usually taken to be a necessarily existing being who is unsurpassably powerful, knowledgeable and good. Theism is conceptualized in a single being that is monotheism in some religions and polytheism that is more than one being in some others. Yet some others see theism in everything of human concern that is pantheism. The doctrine of God is strong-minded by means of the religious experiences of men and evident in the conduct of such religious persons. This work intends to show here, the points of similarities and dissimilarities between the concept of theism in Christianity, Islam and Sikhism. This work exposed among others that their major point of way out is that in Christianity, there is a distinctive and central teaching concerning Jesus Christ as unique incarnations, the word of God, pre-eminently manifested in a historic person, on the ground that his moral character perfectly represents the character and purpose of the invisible holy God. While Islam, and Sikhism, have no such doctrine, or theory of incarnation. INTRODUCTION Theism stems from the Greek word Theos meaning God or from the Latin word dues meaning Deity or God. But we are concerned here with the idea of God that is sacred power or different conceptions of God or deity in different world religions. Theism in some religions is conceptualized in a single being that is monotheism. -
The Problem of Evil and the Probity of Theodicy from William Rowe's
Liberty University Department of Philosophy The Problem of Evil and the Probity of Doing Theodicy from William Rowe’s Evidential Argument from Evil ------------------------------------------- A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Philosophy Department of Liberty University In Partial Fulfilment Of the Requirement for the Degree Master of Arts in Philosophical Studies -------------------------------------------- By Olaoluwa Apata -------------------------------------------- Lynchburg, VA May 2016 Abstract In this research, we discussed the types of evil: moral and natural, which are cited by atheistic philosophers as evidence against the existence of God. The so-called evidence from evil has been used by the atheistic and other non-theistic scholars to raise hypothesis on evaluating the possibility or likelihood that an omnipotent, omniscient, and wholly good God exists in a world that is littered with evil. Moral evil is evil that arise from the misuse of free will by moral agents, while natural evils are natural disasters such as: earthquakes, famine, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes etc. We discussed moral evil and Plantinga’s free will defense. We also discussed the natural evil and how it poses threat to theism. The logical and the evidential arguments from evil are the forms of arguments developed from moral and natural evils. While many scholars have agreed that Plantinga’s free will defense adequately responds to the problem of logical evil, the same consensus does not necessarily apply to the evidential argument from evil. We also examined William Rowe’s evidential argument which he developed from cases of intense animal and human sufferings considered by him to be pointless or gratuitous with no known reasons or goods for which God should have allowed the visceral experience of such sufferings. -
10. Transcendent Integration 10.1 God As the Object And
SEC 4 Page 1 of 6 10. TRANSCENDENT INTEGRATION 10.1 GOD AS THE OBJECT AND PURPOSE OF SEARCH: The meaning of life is a philosophical question concerning the significance of life or existence in general. It can also be expressed in different forms, such as "Why are we here?", "What is life all about?", and "What is the purpose of existence?" It has been the subject of much philosophical, scientific, and theological speculation throughout history. There have been a large number of proposed answers to these questions from many different cultural and ideological backgrounds. The meaning of life is in the philosophical and religious conceptions of existence, social ties, consciousness, and happiness, and borders on many other issues, such as symbolic meaning, ontology, value, purpose, ethics, good and evil, free will, the existence of one or multiple gods, conceptions of God, the soul, and the afterlife. Scientific contributions focus primarily on describing related empirical facts about the universe, exploring the context and parameters concerning the 'how' of life. Science also studies and can provide recommendations for the pursuit of well-being and a related conception of morality. An alternative, humanistic approach poses the question "What is the meaning of my life?" The value of the question pertaining to the purpose of life may coincide with the achievement of ultimate reality, or a feeling of oneness, or even a feeling of sacredness Historically and still today many people feel that humankind was created by a supernatural entity called God, that God had an intelligent purpose in creating humankind, and that this intelligent purpose is the ‘meaning of life’. -
The Liberal Doctrine of Hell and Universalism: a Transcendental Approach
1 The Liberal Doctrine of Hell and Universalism: A Transcendental Approach By Daniel L. Broadstock BA (Hons), B.Ed A thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy University of Divinity 2017 2 Abstract In this thesis I have applied a Kantian methodology to present a new approach to the problem of Hell. I have engaged with two leading perspectives in this debate, the ‘liberal doctrine of Hell’ and the doctrine of Universalism, and pursued dialogue with leading theologians of each view; Jerry Walls and Jurgen Moltmann respectively. The liberal model of Hell is a modern attempt to revitalise the doctrine by recasting its nature and purpose. Rather than an instrument for the punishment of sin, the liberal model interprets Hell as God’s response to human freedom. This theory holds that God has constituted human beings with free volition of the will and desires a free relationship with them. As it is possible to resist this invitation, he has also created Hell as a place of eternal separation for those who reject him. While the invitation of grace is never withdrawn, some will remain there forever. Universalism is the view that all human beings will be saved. I have sketched a general outline of these views, illustrating them with reference to arguments proposed by key thinkers in their respective fields. I conclude that they constitute an antinomy; an a priori dilemma abstract from experience and therefore unresolvable by philosophical reasoning. I suggest that the problem of Hell can be resolved by employing a theological adaptation of Kant’s transcendental idealism: eternal separation and universal salvation can both be true, if understood as compatible manifestations of different levels of reality and perception. -
This Thesis Is Submitted in Fulfilment of The. Requirements of the Degree Of
The Problem of Evil and Theodicy in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Thought Muhsin Akbaý This thesisis submittedin fulfilment of the. requirementsof the degreeof Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Wales University of Wales,Lampeter 1999 1 Acknowledgements I would like to expressmy sinceregratitude to ProfessorPaul Badham,who has supervisedmy research,for his valuableattention, guidance, suggestions, and comments. I would also like to thank to ProfessorRabbi Dan Cohn-Sherbokfor his helpful supervision in the Jewish side of this study, and to Dr. Dawüd al-`Alanü for his valuable suggestionsin the Islamic side of this work. It is necessarythat I extend my deepestgratitude to the Higher Educational Counsel of Turkey and canakkale Onsekiz Mart University for their financial support without which this studywould not haveemerged. I would also like to thank to Professor Mehmet Aydm and ProfessorHanifi Özcanat the Faculty of Divinity at Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir for they encouragedme to pursue an academic career in Philosophy of Religion. I am very happy to thank to the members of the library and the ACS at Lampeter for their assistance during my research. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my wife, Emine, for her patience, support, and encouragement throughout my research. Il Abstract This thesisis the study of the problemof evil and theodicyin Jewish,Christian, and Islamic traditions.The principal aim of the study is to explore,discuss, and compare and contrastthe major responsesto the problem of evil offered in the sacredwritings, theology and philosophy of the three Abrahamic faiths. I have demonstratedhow Judaism,Christianity, and Islam understoodthe problem of evil, and respondedto the atheisticargument from evil.