Category: Uncategorized
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Psalms, Proverbs, and Biblical Philosophy
In the 1920s, the philosopher Cornelius Van Til developed and popularized an influential form of the Transcendental Argument for God (TAG). The TAG states God’s existence is necessary to explain and account for both morals and logic. It also states that any and all facts known through morality and logic have God as their necessary…
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Credo – I Believe
The prevalent method of high medieval philosophy and theology is known as Scholasticism. This method distinguishes between the Latin terms credere (to believe) and credere in (to believe in). This is how Scholastic theology makes the subtle but important distinction between Credere Deum (to believe God exists) and Credere in Deum (to believe in God).…
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Gloria In Excelsis Deo
Angels We Have Heard on High Angels we have heard on high, Sweetly singing o’er the plains, And the mountains in reply, Echoing their joyous strains. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing; Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the newborn King. Gloria in excelsis…
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Forward, Backward, and Directly to Christ
Among the philosophers and theologians, the names of Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, and Aquinas are intricately connected. While the Christian philosopher-theologian Saint Augustine drew from the philosophical insights of Plato, Saint Thomas Aquinas drew from the philosophical insights of Aristotle. Nevertheless, between chronologically moving forward and historically reflecting backward, there is yet an unnamed philosopher who…
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The Case for NextGen
In “Apologetics and Catechesis – Part 1” I make the case that apologetics and catechesis have a mutually beneficial relationship with one another. Next in Part 2, I make the case that whereas apologetics involves a defense of the central teachings of Christianity, catechesis involves a delivery of the faithful teachings of Christianity. And on…
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Four Books for Philosophy and Theology
During the second century, the theologian Tertullian famously asked, “What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church?” In these questions from Tertullian, a display of Christian theological resistance to Greek philosophical influence is evident. In The Book of Concord (here), we find the Apostles’ Creed…
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Four Quotes for Philosophy and Theology
Philosophy for Faith Formation – PF3 Ministries – is an educational outreach to catechists and catechetical leaders that supports their use of philosophy in faith formation. This outreach also extends to anyone interested in better understanding the role of philosophy in teaching theology. The following quotes from John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo…
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Wonderful Language of Mathematics
Through the character Socrates in the dialogue Theaetetus, Plato states, “Wonder is the feeling of the philosopher, and philosophy begins in wonder.” Many centuries later in The Assayer, Galileo states, “Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe, which stands continually open to our gaze. But the book cannot be understood unless one first…