The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology (Oxford Handbooks in Religion and Theology)

Philosophical theology is aimed primarily at theoretical understanding of the nature and attributes of God and of God's relationship to the world and its inhabitants. During the twentieth century, much of the philosophical community (both in the Anglo-American analytic tradition and in Continental circles) had grave doubts about our ability to attain any such understanding. In recent years the analytic tradition in particular has moved beyond the biases that placed obstacles in the way of the pursuing questions located on the interface of philosophy and religion. The result has been a rebirth of serious, widely-discussed work in philosophical theology. The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology attempts both to familiarize readers with the directions in which this scholarship has gone and to pursue the discussion into hitherto under-examined areas. Written by some of the leading scholars in the field, the essays in the Handbook are grouped in five sections. In the first ("Theological Prolegomena"), articles focus on the authority of scripture and tradition, on the nature and mechanisms of divine revelation, on the relation between religion and science, and on theology and mystery. The next section ("Divine Attributes") focuses on philosophical problems connected with the central divine attributes: aseity, omnipotence, omniscience, and the like. In Section Three ("God and Creation"), essays explore theories of divine action and divine providence, questions about petitionary prayer, problems about divine authority and God's relationship to morality and moral standards, and various formulations of and responses to the problem of evil. The fourth section ("Topics in Christian Philosophy") examines philosophical problems that arise in connection with such central Christian doctrines as the trinity, the incarnation, the atonement, original sin, resurrection, and the Eucharist. Finally, Section Five ("Non-Christian Philosophical Theology") introduces readers to work that is being done in Jewish, Islamic, and Chinese philosophical theology. Introduction / Thomas P. Flint and Michael Rea Part I: Theological prolegomena Authority of scripture, tradition, and the church / Richard Swinburne Revelation and inspiration / Stephen T. Davis Science and religion / Del Ratzsch Theology and mystery / William J. Wainwright Part II: Divine attributes Simplicity and aseity / Jeffrey Brower Omniscience / Edward Wierenga Divine eternity / William Lane Craig Omnipotence / Brian Leftow Omnipresence / Hud Hudson Moral perfection / Laura L. Garcia Part III: God and creation Divine action and evolution / Robin Collins Divine providence / Thomas P. Flint Petitionary prayer / Scott A. Davison Morality and divine authority / Mark C. Murphy The problem of evil / Paul Draper Theodicy / Michael J. Murray Skeptical theism and the problem of evil / Michael Bergmann Part IV: Topics in Christian philosophical theology The Trinity / Michael Rea Original sin and atonement / Oliver D. Crisp The incarnation / Richard Cross The Resurrection of the body / Trenton Merricks Heaven and hell / Jerry Walls The eucharist : real presence and real absence / Alexander R. Pruss Part V: Non-Christian philosophical theology Jewish philosophical theology / Daniel H. Frank Islamic philosophical theology / Oliver Leaman Chinese (confucian) philosophical theology / John H. Berthrong. Contents List of Contributors Introduction PART I: THEOLOGICAL PROLEGOMENA 1. Authority of Scripture, Tradition, and the Church 2. Revelation and Inspiration 3. Science and Religion 4. Theology and Mystery PART II: DIVINE ATTRIBUTES 5. Simplicity and Aseity 6. Omniscience 7. Divine Eternity 8. Omnipotence 9. Omnipresence 10. Moral Perfection PART III: GOD AND CREATION 11. Divine Action and Evolution 12. Divine Providence 13. Petitionary Prayer 14. Morality and Divine Authority 15. The Problem of Evil 16. Theodicy 17. Skeptical Theism and the Problem of Evil PART IV: TOPICS IN CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY 18. The Trinity 19. Original Sin and Atonement 20. The Incarnation 21. The Resurrection of the Body 22. Heaven and Hell 23. The Eucharist: Real Presence and Real Absence PART V: NON-CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHICAL THEOLOGY 24. Jewish Philosophical Theology 25. Islamic Philosophical Theology 26. Chinese (Confucian) Philosophical Theology Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z Philosophical theology is aimed primarily at theoretical understanding of the nature and attributes of God and of God's relationship to the world and its inhabitants. During the twentieth century, much of the philosophical community (both in the Anglo-American analytic tradition and in Continental circles) had grave doubts about our ability to attain any such understanding. In recent years the analytic tradition in particular has moved beyond the biases that placed obstacles in the way of the pursuing questions located on the interface of philosophy and religion. The result has been a rebirth of serious, widely-discussed work in philosophical theology.__The Oxford Handbook of Philosophical Theology__ Philosophical theology aims at achieving a theoretical understanding of the nature and attributes of God and of God's relationship to the world and its inhabitants. Contains twenty-six new essays in five sections: Theological Prolegomena, Divine Attributes, God and Creation, Topics in Christian Philosophy, and Non-Christian Philosophical Theology.