Influence of Theology

[ITS]

List three ways in which you feel theology has benefited from the influence of philosophy. Provide examples.

[gcantu]

Truth was now question and put to the criteria of philosophy and then firmly ground on that which could be differently prove and could not be doubted. An emphasis centering on epistemology, with God getting involved in our own epistemology. Finally the need to define and explain our usage of "God". Our language to be more consistent and understandable to those who hear us. Theology has benefited from philosophy most by it's challenge to question it's perception of truth.

[PT]

List three ways in which you feel theology has benefited from the influence of philosophy. Provide examples.
Theology "benefits" from philosophy's influence in these practical ways;
1. People who do not have an interest in the study of God but do have an interest in Theology will now, more than ever talk openly about the relationship between the two topics. Hang out in any coffee shop when students show up to "do their homework", the discussion concerning these two disciplines are everywhere.

2. Believers who are committed to being salt and light in this generation must know not only what they believe, but why they believe what they believe, espescially as it relates to other worldviews (philosophy). They must dive into their theology more deeply than they/we would have otherwise. Because philosophical talk is everywhere!

3. Theology offers a hope and a future that most all of philosphy does not, and therefore I beieve that theology has benefitted from the emptiness that philosophy concludes (generally). God's word, in the form of theology, is causing people to contemplate their phiolosophical views for what they are....empty in comparision to what Jesus offers.

[jvalade]

List three ways in which you feel theology has benefited from the influence of philosophy. Provide examples.
Theology has benefitted from philosophy in these three ways:

1. Philosophy has provided Theology with a language with which to engage in a conversation about faith in Jesus. You can, for instance, speak in terms of ontology or epistemology or speak of God as transcendent or immanent.

2. Philosophy provides up-to-date ideas with which believers' ideas about Jesus can interact and be updated. An example would be questions of determinism or free will, and whether either is related to an external God.

3. Philosophy has recently established limits to its own effectiveness (e.g. earlier and later Wittgenstein) in producing an accurate word-picture of the world around us. Theology is not limited to phenomenology of the visible world, but can take heart in the limitations of language as a reminder that God is much, much bigger than human language or conceptions.

[jvalade]

List three ways in which you feel theology has benefited from the influence of philosophy. Provide examples.
Theology "benefits" from philosophy's influence in these practical ways;
1. People who do not have an interest in the study of God but do have an interest in Theology will now, more than ever talk openly about the relationship between the two topics. Hang out in any coffee shop when students show up to "do their homework", the discussion concerning these two disciplines are everywhere.

2. Believers who are committed to being salt and light in this generation must know not only what they believe, but why they believe what they believe, espescially as it relates to other worldviews (philosophy). They must dive into their theology more deeply than they/we would have otherwise. Because philosophical talk is everywhere!

3. Theology offers a hope and a future that most all of philosphy does not, and therefore I beieve that theology has benefitted from the emptiness that philosophy concludes (generally). God's word, in the form of theology, is causing people to contemplate their phiolosophical views for what they are....empty in comparision to what Jesus offers.
I think I'll have to start hanging out in coffee shops to do my homework now! I do recall having had many more interesting conversations over the years about God with non-believers than I have with believers.

I have been a follower of Jesus for more than 20 years, and one of my perennial pet peeves is that many Christians do not seem to know why they believe what they believe. Do church doors come equipped with anti-philosophical emitters or something?

In most of those conversations, the most telling discussions revolve around hope for the future and personal meaning. I agree that philosophy, no matter how heroic it may at first appear, becomes empty when compared to Jesus and what He offers.

Thanks again.
John

[Brain]

I think that, in order to understand philosophy one must not only grasp its subject matter, such as metaphysics and ethics, but also its method. In western philosophy the method to obtain knowledge is rooted in the philosopher's ability to form and evaluate arguments. In Asian philosophy there is greater emphasis on knowledge of the Way(Dao)to live a life harmonizing the individual with his/her natural and social world. But in all cultures philosophy same as theology requires that we think critically: to be clear, precise, well-organized, truthful, complete, and able to handle objections.

To be philosophical is to be a logical thinker who seeks knowledge of the whole. In this way philosophers same as theologens avoid unsupported beliefs but base their views on good reason and evidence. Philosophers and theologens demand of themselves and others that they have reasoned logical belief.

Therefore, philosophy has a great influence on theology because allows the theologens to be:clear, well-organized, but most of all allows them to be logical thinkers.

[kaepp]

I think that theology has benefited from philosophy in the following ways:

1. Philosophy has contributed to the framework or method of theological argumentation. It seems to me that philosophical proofs have made their way into systematic theology and have helped to organize and streamline theological arguments.

2. Philosophy often strengthens arguments from revelation. I believe from Scripture that God exists and yet Aquinas' proofs for the existence of God bolster my faith in the existence of God.

3. Philosophy is often a great apologetic tool used in dialogue with those who deny the authority of Scripture. In other words, if a non-Christian does not believe in the truth and authority of Scripture, no argument from revelation alone is going to be convincing. Arguments from reason are extremely useful in bringing such an individual to an awareness of God.

[kaepp]

List three ways in which you feel theology has benefited from the influence of philosophy. Provide examples.
Theology has benefitted from philosophy in these three ways:

1. Philosophy has provided Theology with a language with which to engage in a conversation about faith in Jesus. You can, for instance, speak in terms of ontology or epistemology or speak of God as transcendent or immanent.

2. Philosophy provides up-to-date ideas with which believers' ideas about Jesus can interact and be updated. An example would be questions of determinism or free will, and whether either is related to an external God.

3. Philosophy has recently established limits to its own effectiveness (e.g. earlier and later Wittgenstein) in producing an accurate word-picture of the world around us. Theology is not limited to phenomenology of the visible world, but can take heart in the limitations of language as a reminder that God is much, much bigger than human language or conceptions.

I agree with and want to elaborate on this final point. When we get to the end of what reason can prove about God and His works, God's revelation in Scripture blows the doors off of our philosophically derived knowledge. Who would conceive of a God who is one in essence, but three in personal subsistence or who would think of a Redeemer with dual divine and human natures? If we can view philosophy with a perspective in which we value its contribution to theological thought, while also realizing its limitations, we can praise God for the complexity and coherence with which he created the world, for His incredible superiority over human reason, and for the revelation of Himself to us through Scripture.

[ContemporaryTheoStudent]

In this course, we have learned about how many of the Contemporary & especially the Existential philosophers/theologians believed that the starting point for theology ought to be the basic questions we have about our own existence (Tillich's "ultimate concern" comes to mind). Philosophy has always started from these basic questions - perhaps this is best illustrated in the case of Descartes, who starts with the most basic of all concerns: the question of his own existence. Philosophy thus provides categories of language appropriate to these "basic questions," so if an inquirer wants a theological answer to questions of epistemology or metaphysics, theologians can use relevant philosophical categories and terms in response.

Philosophy, as a discipline, specializes in formulating precise questions (and in some fortunate cases, providing answers). Theologians would do well to plunder philosophy's carefully formulated language and categories in their interrogation and interpretation of Scripture.

[ContemporaryTheoStudent]

I agree with many of these posts that philosophy helps us to refine and focus our questions. It also helps us clarify our answers. I agree in particular with the point made by "kaepp" that the philosophical discipline of logic has greatly strengthened many theological arguments, when these arguments have included philosophical proofs. I agree that arguments from reason, although incapable in and of themselves of fostering saving faith, can foster interest and confidence in the claims of Christ or biblical reliability for a non-believing inquirer.

[petertan]

It is helpful to know how theology benefits from philosophy by understanding the difference and similarity between the two. Philosophy is the science of thinking about subject and object and the relationship between the two; while the theology is the science of understanding God and human beings and the relationship between the two. If we think the philosophical object includes God, the philosophy can be overlapping with theology entirely. That is the reason why before Hegel, the philosophy is not a separate school from the theology. After Hegel, the two have been separated along with humanism movement with certain extent remaining overlapping. In general, the difference comes from that the some philosophical schools exclude God from their consideration; the similarity results in those others include God as the basis of philosophical thinking. With this generic concept, I view the benefits the theology obtains from the philosophy in following ways.

At first, from differences between the two, we can deeply understand the hopelessness of philosophy, or any other humanism thoughts. They can only end with resultlessness without going to God. On the other hand, theology can provide ultimate resolution in the God. From the philosophical tragedies, we can ascertain our direction in theological study and try our best in understanding God.

Secondly, we can adopt philosophical approaches whenever they are not used as weapon against God. In this sense, the philosophical ways of thinking is part of the creation of God and it is part of the ability of human being. This intellectual component of human essence is the consistence of image of God who is the Creator of man. Therefore, in reverence to God, we can and should utilize the philosophical methodology in full gear in theological study and application.

Thirdly, we can keep in parallel with philosophical approaches whenever they are not directly against God. For instance, some schools in philosophy focus on metaphysics; though it is not equal to the object of theology - God, it may be one step closer to Him. In another end, existential schools focus on individual human being, which is another object of theology. As soon as they are not away from recognition of sinful nature of sinned man, theology can take their results and use them for the purpose of theology.