Philosophy and Theology - I
Summary
introduction pp 113-114
As Dooyeweerd’s philosophy claims to have a radical Christian starting point he has to address the relationship between philosophy and theology. He sharply distinguishes between Christian philosophy and theology.
This view has had not had much success in Christian circles, largely as a result of the Greek idea that theology can be philosophical in character.
Parmenides (b. 510 BCE.)
http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/p/fotos/parmenides.jpg
Plato (427-347 BCE)
http://www.nd.edu/~tbays/images/plato.jpeg
Aristotle (384-322BCE)
http://www.omegafdn.org/aristotle%20alive.jpg
church fathers pp 14-116
The church Fathers maintained that theology has it own principle of knowledge: Word-revelation. Thus Christian theology has a certainty of knowledge that pagan philosophy lacks. Christian philosophy is a supreme science – it is the true Christian philosophy.
Augustine rejects the idea of philosophical thought being autonomous. However, his view of theology is ambiguous. He uses it to refer to the true knowledge of God and ourselves as well as to the doctrine of the church – in sense theology cannot have a scientific meaning. Christian theology is bound to human thought and cannot be infallible.
Augustine (354-430)
http://utopia.utexas.edu/project/portraits/augustine.jpg
Greek thought led Augustine to confuse theoretical Christian theology with the true knowledge of God and self. This view of theology as the queen of the sciences was Aristotelian in origin. Theology became Christian philosophy.
aquinas’ view pp 116-118
Aquinas in his Summa theological maintains that sacred doctrine is necessary ad humanam salutem and is a science.
Theology for Aquinas is higher than philosophy as theology’s knowledge is supernatural. Theology is no longer Christian philosophy.
Philosophy (and natural theology) is an autonomous science – it is based on reason alone. For Aquinas theology is identified with scripture and the doctrine of the Church.
Aquinas (c.1225/7 – 1274)
http://www.student.liu.se/~bjoch509/works/aquinas/aquinas.jpg
ad humanam salutem = to human health
Deum et animamscire = God and soul
regina scientiarium = queen of the sciences
sacra scriptura = holy scripture
imagao dei= image of God
barth’s view pp 119-
For Barth Christian philosophy is a contradiction in terms as philosophy comes from human thought corrupted by sin.
Karl Barth (1886-1968)
http://www.uni-bonn.de/Aktuelles/Presseinformationen/2004/502/bilder/barth_k.jpg
Barth, like Augustine, also uses theology in an ambiguous way: true knowledge of God in Jesus and the science of truths revealed in the scriptures.
Dooyeweerd stresses the importance of avoiding any ambiguity in the meaning of theology.
The knowledge of God can only be acquired by the operation of God’s Word and his Holy Spirit in the heart of a human – it surpasses theoretical thought.
This theoretical thought is always related to the ‘I’, the human self.
modal aspects pp 121-
Dooyeweerd then goes onto identify the different modal aspects.
The law of God has its unity in the love command, which is addressed to the human heart – the religious centre of human life.
When humanity closed their hearts and turned away from the word of God and attempted to become like gods, the whole of the earth was cursed.
In Christ humanity and the whole temporal order can be redeemed.
This Word-revelation is behind the scientific problem of theology and philosophy. It cannot become the theoretical object of theology.
Theological and philosophical theoretical thought are within the bound of modal aspects.
The different modal aspects give rise to special sciences, which in turn raise fundamental questions. For example, what is number? What is space? What is extensive movement? These questions are philosophical in character. The sciences do not make modal aspects the object of research.
When a biologist examines water she only investigates it biological function – she does not take into account other modal aspects. The relation between the modal aspects of an individual whole is philosophical – it exceeds the boundaries of the special sciences.
Philosophy provides a total view of the temporal horizon of experience.
The question then is: does Christian dogmatic theology provide a total view? If it does it is identical with Christian philosophy.
Theology, no more than biology or any other special science, provides a total view.
Review questions
1. Before reading this chapter jot down how you think theology and philosophy relate.
2. In what ways is Augustine’s view of theology ambiguous?
3. How does Augustine and Aquinas’ view of theology and philosophy differ?
4. In Aquinas’ view how does theology and philosophy differ?
5. Why is true self-knowledge necessary to understand the real relation between theology and philosophy?
6. Why are the modal aspects essentially modes of time?
7. Why does theology not provide a total view?
Study questions
1. Is theology the queen of the sciences?
2. Is philosophy a hand maiden of theology?
3. What other fundamental questions do the other sciences that arise form the aspects give rise to?
