EBOOK
Theology's Epistemological Dilemma
How Karl Barth and Alvin Plantinga Provide a Unified Response
Kevin DillerSeries: Strategic Initiatives in Evangelical Theology(0)
About
The problem of faith and reason is as old as Christianity itself. Today's philosophical, scientific and historical challenges make the epistemic problem inescapable for believers. Can faith justify its claims? Does faith give us confidence in the truth? Is believing with certainty a virtue or a vice? In Theologys Epistemological Dilemma, Kevin Diller addresses this problem by drawing on two of the most significant responses in recent Christian thought: Karl Barth's theology of revelation and Alvin Plantinga's epistemology of Christian belief. This will strike many as unlikely, given the common stereotypes of both thinkers. Contrary to widespread misunderstanding, Diller offers a reading of both as complementary to each other: Barth provides what Plantinga lacks in theological depth, while Plantinga provides what Barth lacks in philosophical clarity. Diller presents a unified Barth/Plantinga proposal for theological epistemology capable of responding without anxiety to the questions that face believers today.
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Reviews
"I found Diller's exposition of Plantinga lucid and illuminating. . . . Diller's text is, overall, cogent and clearly argued-a notable contribution to analytical theology. Specialists in theology and philosophy will want to give it careful attention. . . . Diller's provocative proposal promises to enrich constructive theology for years to come."
J. Scott Jackson, Anglican Theological Review, 98.3
"Both scholarly and approachable, this volume should be engaging to any serious student of philosophy or religion or religious epistemology."
James Wetherbee, Library Journal, November 15, 2014
"Christians today are faced with epistemological challenges all the time: How can I know that this is the truth? What warrant do I have for my beliefs? Is the Bible trustworthy? Can I know that there is a God? The list goes on. The great Swiss theologian Karl Barth gave certain answers to these worries. In a different context, philosopher Alvin Plantinga has spent much of his career tackling such issues. However, these two thinkers are often regarded as providing quite different answers to these questions. In this book, Kevin Diller gives an account of Barth and Plantinga that shows a deep consonance between them and their respective attempts to address the epistemological troubles we face. This is an outstanding work that repays careful study. All those who care about the future of Christian theology and philosophy, and the conversation between the two disciplines, ought to read it."
Oliver Crisp, Fuller Theological Seminary