New Models of Religious Understanding

Bibliographic Data

ID10691566
AuthorsGuy Bennett‐hunter (University of Edinburgh, corresponding author), Guy Bennett-Hunter (University of Edinburgh)
Year2019
Volume69
Issue275
Pages429-432
Publication date2019-04-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/pq/pqy040
OpenAlexW2890365020
LanguageEN
Citations received11

In his 1966 Principles of Christian Theology, John Macquarrie described the contemporary state of philosophy of religion as ‘ruinous’. He was dissatisfied by the inability of the traditional rational arguments in favour of religious beliefs to establish their own conclusions convincingly—let alone engage productively with the foundational concepts underwriting the actual practice of the world's religions. Yet, with Freud, Macquarrie also saw that ‘natural’ theology could never be replaced by its ‘revealed’ counterpart; rational supports will be necessary if religion and theology are to be protected, and indeed distinguished, from illusion and superstition. Macquarrie therefore called for a new style of philosophy of religion to take over the basic functions of old-style philosophy of religion without the attendant weaknesses. As Macquarrie envisaged it, philosophy of religion ‘in the new style’ would owe to the phenomenological method, being descriptive rather than purely deductive, and would attend not only to the rational arguments that are provided in religion's defence but also to the conviction that underlies and motivates them. It would take seriously the measure of participation involved in religious faith, which might enable it to be a far more effective apologetic tool than rational argument alone. And it would be existential rather than purely rational, taking the concrete, lived condition of human existence (which is not exhausted by its rational dimension) as its point of departure.

Argument (complex analysis) · Contemplation · Conviction · Epistemology · Existentialism · Faith · Philosophy of religion · Political science · Rationality · Sociology · Style (visual arts) · Karl Barth and Christian Theology · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious Education and Schools

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