A Theological Engagement with the Science of Science Skepticism

When Christians reject the claims of scientific experts, are they being irrational? Much of recent discussion in scholarly and popular media have discussed science denialism by conservative Christians, linking a low view of scientific expertise to the United States’ current political turmoil. This paper will focus on scientific explanations of science skepticism, asking whether there is anything unique to religious communities that make them vulnerable to misinformation.

Editorial: E. J. Lowe’s Metaphysics and Philosophical Theology

Edward Jonathan Lowe was one of the most distinguished metaphysicians of the last 50 plus years. He made immense contributions to analytic philosophy in as diverse areas as metaphysics, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophical logic, history of Modern philosophy (especially on John Locke), and philosophy of religion

La coherencia de la doctrina trinitaria desde la noción de función de Gottlob Frege

En este artículo se pretende mostrar la coherencia de los enunciados sobre el Dios uno y trino en la teología analítica, a partir de su formulación en el llamado credo atanasiano. Se ofrece un panorama crítico sobre la discusión acerca de la inteligibilidad del misterio de la Trinidad en la teología filosófica analítica reciente, así como las diversas soluciones en algunos de sus más destacados representantes: la del trinitarianismo social (William Hasker), la del trinitarianismo latino (Brian Leftow) y la identidad relativa aplicada a la teoría trinitaria (Peter van Inwagen). Para superar las dificultades que tienen estas posiciones, derivadas, sobre todo, de su problemática noción de persona, se presenta una contribución a esta discusión con un novedoso análisis de la Trinidad, basado en la noción de función de Gottlob Frege. Con este análisis se explica por qué no hay contradicción entre los enunciados trinitarios, y así se justifica la consistencia y, en consecuencia, la coherencia de la doctrina trinitaria. Abstract: This article aims to show the coherence of the statements about the one and triune God in analytic theology, starting from their formulation in the so-called Athanasian Creed. It offers a critical overview of the discussion about the intelligibility of the mystery of the Trinity in recent analytic philosophical theology, as well as the various solutions in some of its most prominent representatives: the social trinitarianism (William Hasker), the Latin trinitarianism (Brian Leftow) and the relative identity applied to trinitarian theory (Peter van Inwagen). In order to overcome the difficulties with these positions, derived, above all, from their problematic notion of personhood, a contribution to this discussion is presented with a novel analysis of the Trinity, based on Gottlob Frege's notion of function. This analysis explains why there is no contradiction between trinitarian statements, and thus justifies the consistency and, consequently, the coherence of trinitarian doctrine.

Let's Play GOLF!

A central feature of the “free will defense” as developed by Alvin Plantinga is his response to the claim that God can create a world containing creatures with libertarian freedom that contains no moral evil. Plantinga’s response appeals to the notion of “morally significant freedom” according to which free creatures, in order to do moral good, must be capable of moral evil. In this paper, I argue, first, that morally significant freedom is not required for free creatures to do moral good and, second, that other recent attempts to necessitate a creaturely capability for evil likewise fail. The upshot of my paper is that the free will defense simply won’t work because it is possible and feasible for God to create a world containing libertarianly free creatures capable of moral good and yet containing no moral evil.

Liturgical Anthropology

According to recent accounts of so called “liturgical anthropology,” human beings are ritual creatures shaped more by what they feel than what they think. This is because the liturgies that make up our daily lives orient our desires towards certain goals and visions of the good life. We seek to expand this vision of liturgical anthropology by offering a critique of a predominantly affective vision of human development in which liturgy shapes primarily what we love. Drawing insights from developmental psychology, we argue that affect and cognition and intertwined throughout development, each reinforcing the other. Instead of attempting to artificially separate cognition and affect, then, we offer a vision of liturgical anthropology that is holistic, paying attention to the ways in which both our desires and beliefs are shaped by participation in liturgies, whether these be religious or otherwise. Finally, we argue that the psychological concept of “joint attention” can provide a helpful focal point for establishing why liturgy and ritual is so formative for human development.

The Context of Suffering

While the evidential problem of evil has been enormously influential within the contemporary philosophical literature—William Rowe’s 1979 formulation in “The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism” being the most seminal—no academic research has explored what cognitive mechanisms might underwrite the appearance of pointlessness in target examples of suffering. In this exploratory paper, we show that the perception of pointlessness in the target examples of suffering that underwrite Rowe’s seminal formulation of the problem of evil is contingent on the absence of broader context. In other words, we show that when such suffering is presented alongside broader contextual information, the appearance of pointlessness, on average, significantly diminishes. In §1 we briefly elucidate Rowe’s formulation of the problem of evil and the thought experiment that motivates a key premise. In §2 and §3 respectively, we briefly explain our hypothesis regarding Rowe’s case and our methods for testing these hypotheses. In §4, we elucidate our results, and in §5 we explore some of the philosophical implications of our findings and gesture towards some areas for future research. Finally, in §6, we briefly connect our research to some of the established philosophical literature on suffering and narrative before concluding.

Editorial

In 1969, T.F. Torrance published Space, Time, and Incarnation. This brought together recent work in philosophy and science on the nature of space and time in order to explore the implications for theology. Torrance’s theology engaged with the scientific thought of Albert Einstein and James Clerk Maxwell, as well as the temporal logic of A.N. Prior. The influence of this work on subsequent Christian theology cannot be overstated. Yet, a great deal has changed since 1969, and most contemporary discussions in systematic theology show little awareness of recent advancements in the metaphysics of time and space.

E. J. Lowe and Divine Causal Agency

In this essay, I apply Lowe’s theory of rational agency to God’s causal activity. I argue that Lowe’s account fits well the traditional notions that God acts in the world for reasons. In contrast to Lowe’s analysis of human causal agency, I argue that in the divine case, reasons for acting are not constituted by needs. They are constituted by God’s desires or plans. The fit between Lowe’s account of causal agency and the contours of divine causal agency motivate an argument in favor of Lowe’s theory. Any philosopher who is a theist ought to think Lowe’s account is likely to be true.

Metaphysics, Natural Science and Theological Claims

In this paper, I aim to discuss E. J. Lowe's view of the synergy between metaphysics and natural science. In doing so, I will extend Lowe’s synergistic model to develop a realist account of theological claims thereby responding to Byrne’s strong form of eliminativism and agnosticism about theological claims. The paper is divided up as follows. In section 1, I will discuss Lowe’s view of metaphysics. In section 2, I will explain how Lowe thinks metaphysics and natural science are related. In section 3, I will respond to objections against Lowe’s conception of metaphysics. In section 4, I will discuss the implications of Lowe’s conception of metaphysics for a realist account of theological claims. In section 5, I will conclude this paper by claiming that there are excellent reasons to extend the synergy between metaphysics and natural science to that of theology as well.

From Murphy’s Christian Physicalism to Lowe’s Dualism

Nancey Murphy argues that God created us as physical beings without immortal souls. She supports this Christian physicalism by arguing that neuroscience can better explain minds in terms of physical information processing than dualists can in problematic nonphysical terms. We reply that Murphy overestimates neuroscience and underestimates dualism. She doesn’t show how neuroscience can explain the mind’s characteristic qualia, unity, privacy, or causality. We argue that Lowe’s dualism can better explain minds, often with experimental support and in testable ways. Murphy’s physicalism thus serves to highlight the value of Lowe’s dualism today.