Questions tagged [philosophy]
Philosophical approaches in theology and relationship between philosophy and faith.
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How do Christians rebut Matt Dillahunty's objection that the resurrection of Jesus is untestable, unfalsifiable and thus unreasonable to believe?
On April 8, 2021, during a debate between Matt Dillahunty and Catholic Apologist Trent Horn titled Is belief in the Resurrection reasonable? Trent Horn Vs Matt Dillahunty Debate, hosted by Pints With ...
user50422
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From a Christian perspective, what are "nonresistant nonbelievers" most likely doing wrong that prevents them from finding and believing in God?
From Nonresistant Nonbelief, by J. L. Schellenberg:
One might fail to believe in God even while God is open to a belief-entailing personal relationship if one prevents oneself from believing in God ...
user50422
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Philosophical proofs that God must be triune? [closed]
I have heard that many philosophers wrote that God must be triune. What were their arguments? What are some references regarding this topic?
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Believing that Christianity is "probably" true vs. being fully convinced that Christianity is definitely true?
Most apologetic arguments for theism/Christianity are probabilistic (i.e. they are abductive in nature, rely on premises that are not necessarily true, etc.), meaning that a rational person who is ...
user50422
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Was William of Ockham the first sedevacantist?
Ockham (cf. this article on him by the Catholic logician Paul V. Spade) invented his dead-end nominalist philosophy in order to justify his being against the papacy (cf. Thomist John Deely's Four Ages ...
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How do Latter-day Saints respond to William Lane Craig's philosophical objections to the Mormon view of creation?
The Mormon View of Creation is the title of an episode of the Reasonable Faith Podcast, recorded on February 16, 2010, in which William Lane Craig, a renowned Christian apologist, philosopher and ...
user50422
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How do proponents of the “free-will defense” against the problem of evil explain that God can be free and immune to moral evil at the same time?
The free-will defense is an argument commonly attributed to Alvin Plantinga, who developed it as a response to the logical problem of evil. However, in developing this argument Plantinga unwittingly ...
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According to Roman Catholicism, what is the soul and its purpose?
In the Catholic Tradition does there exist a teaching on the purpose or role of the human soul in the makeup of a human being? I could also settle for a theologian's thoughts and writings on the ...
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How do molinists justify a world where not everyone freely chooses salvation?
Assuming not all humans on earth will become Christians. Many have lived and died that have not. The Bible is clear that many will fall away and perish.
If Molinism is true,
Then either:
A. There ...
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What is the background of the words "notitia," "fiducia," and "assensus" and how do they relate to the biblical notion of "faith"?
The book Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview (page 18) describes notitia, fiducia, and assensus as the three essential elements that make up the biblical notion of "faith."
notitia ...
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What is God's shape or form? [closed]
How do we describe God? Does He have a shape or form? Is He human-like, a light, or something else? Does He have a shape? What does Christianity say about it?
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How it is possible to be one God in three persons (Jesus, Holy Ghost, and God the Father)?
1)”Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Deuteronomy 6:4
2)And the Word( Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[a] from the ...
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Are there Christian equivalents for the four sublime attitudes or brahmaviharas of Buddhism (metta, karuna, mudita, upekkha)?
The brahmaviharas are four sublime mental states recognized by Buddhism and for which there exist different meditative practices designed to cultivate them. Concretely, the brahmaviharas are:
Metta (...
user50422
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Are there any examples of deductive arguments used to defend a doctrine?
Does anyone know an example of a doctrine, from any denomination, that is defended via a deductive argument, where the doctrine is logically deduced from an initial set of premises? If so, what about ...
user50422
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Is there a name for a category of Christians who lack a doctrinal position in the debate about God's nature?
If a Christian considers that the burden of proof has not been adequately met by any known theological doctrines about God's nature, including mainstream ones such as Trinitarianism, Binitarianism, ...
user50422
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What reasons does Christianity give for "Why There Must Be A God?" [closed]
I realize this question could also be addressed on Philosophy.SE, but I am very interested to get specifically the Christian perspective on this issue.
I was raised Catholic, but have left the Church ...
user1930
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Is there a name for the belief that some individuals would always freely reject salvation no matter the world in which they are created?
When God created the world, He had to accept the fact that some of His creatures would sin and ultimately fail to repent and be saved (I'm assuming that universalism is false, to be clear). For ...
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What is a "non-theistic" Christian?
The comments to this response suggest that there is such a thing as a Christian who does not believe in God. To me, that is rather contradictory, sort of like social networking without all of the ...
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Why did Christianity not follow Philo of Alexandria's definition of logos?
Philo of Alexandria (20 BC – 50 AD), a Hellenized Jew, used the term Logos to mean an intermediary divine being, or demiurge. Philo followed the Platonic distinction between imperfect matter and ...
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How is the LDS view of eternity unique?
I was once told by a member of the LDS that the mormon concept of eternity is different, that they believe in "eternal progression" or something to that effect.
Essentially from what I ...
user54757
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What is a formal ontological definition of the nature of God according to the doctrine of the Trinity?
What is a formal ontological definition of the nature of God according to the doctrine of the Trinity? Are the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit ontologically independent entities, each one being ...
user50422
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In Aquinas's first proof of God's existence, what is the difference between accidentally and essentially ordered causal series?
I'm reading «Teología Natural» by Ángel Luis González. In the book, it is stated that St. Thomas Aquinas' viae would allow an indefinite series of causes.
He distiguishes between two causes. The ...
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Have any Christian thinkers expressed the idea that the Trinity can be proven independently from Scripture?
It is widely understood among trinitarians that the doctrine of the trinity is best seen through special revelation, particularly the scriptural accounts of the incarnation of Christ. But have there ...
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Are all things possible with God?
Every Christian knows the saying that "With God all things are possible." But is this actually a fact?
I listened recently to a speaker, who said, that God cannot come in contact with anything ...
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Tackling Catholic philosophy and theology
I'd like to read and understand Catholic theology, philosophy and Tradition as best as I can.
I'm a biologist and not a philosopher/theologian -- and as such, I cannot (and thus far have not) ...
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Do Christians believe that God chose to create the "best possible world" among multiple/infinite alternatives, by maximizing a "Goodness" function?
Do Christians (or at least a well-known subset of them) believe that God chose to create the "best possible world" among multiple/infinite alternatives, and therefore, that we are living in ...
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Must Catholics believe in Christ's historicity?
Is there some philosophical doctrine in Catholicism which does not require to believe in the historicity of Christ, like in Buddhism (you can "believe"/practice Buddhism, but don't believe in Buddha ...
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What are counterexamples to the position that Christian morality is ultimately utilitarian (i.e., that God is utilitarian)?
I personally believe that Christian morality is ultimately utilitarian. I see God as a utilitarian genius that is doing His best to guide His creation towards maximum utility, subject to certain ...
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