C.S. Lewis and the Anscombe Debate: from analogia entis to analogia fidei

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-123
Author(s):  
P.H. Brazier
Keyword(s):  
Theological Method ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Philosophical Discourse ◽  
Analogy Of Being ◽  
Analogia Entis ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Children's Stories ◽  
Theological Understanding ◽  
Mature Work

Noted for its impact by supporters and detractors alike, the Anscombe-Lewis debate was about the fundamental philosophical propositions that underpin Christianity; but more than that, it illustrates and defines a point where Lewis’s work changes, a shift in his theological method. From a philosophical perspective the debate centres on Lewis’s censure of Naturalism and Scientism. Anscombe’s criticism of Lewis’s key argument against Naturalism (the argument from reason) revealed a minefield in terms of causation and our use of language, however, Lewis’s response (the rewriting of Miracles, 2nd edition, 1960) illustrates his mature theological understanding of revelation and reason, and thereby foundationalism. Underpinning Lewis’s work is a symbiotic relationship between revelation and reason; Lewis did not see a dichotomy between the two: religion is rational, and reason is religious—importantly, reason precedes nature, it does not issue from nature. It is intended to demonstrate how Lewis’s championing of apologetics through the analogia entis (the analogy of being) in the 1930s and 1940s takes a more cautious, reflective and nuanced line in the 1950s; reason is complemented by wisdom though his use of the analogia fidei (the analogy of faith). Essentially this contradicts the critics who assert that, following the debate, Lewis abandoned rational apologetics for children’s stories. This shift in method is gradual, a development from the analogia entis to the analogia fidei, not necessarily triggered by the debate alone (perhaps accelerated), but a fuller development and use of a method already present. Reason and imagination now reveal of God’s purposes and truth through word pictures and narrative—faith leads to understanding (fides quaerens intellectum), faith is the ground from which reason can work. This relates closely to a concern for Christlikeness (which is consistently evidenced in his mature work): can analogical narrative tell us more of the truth of revelation than philosophical discourse?

Analogies across Faiths

2019 ◽  
pp. 115-136
Author(s):  
Joshua Ralston
Keyword(s):  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Analogy Of Being ◽  
Analogia Entis ◽  
Conversation Partner

Joshua Ralston frankly acknowledges Barth’s dismissive comments about Islam and the possibility of Muslim-Christian dialogue. Despite these comments, Ralston seeks to engage Barth as a conversation partner in comparative theological work by placing his dialectical understanding of revelation as the veiling and unveiling of God in conversation with Ash’arite Sunni thinking about God and revelation, specifically Abu Hamid al-Ghazali’s Al-Maqsad al-Asna (The 99 Beautiful Names of God). Both theologians affirm the particularity of revelation that comes only from God, and both reject the possibilities of any analogy of being (analogia entis). For both, to speak rightly about God is emphatically to speak “after revelation”—so analogy and reason may be used, but only in light of what God has first revealed (in Jesus Christ or in the Qur’an).

EMINENT PAPER SERIES THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF GAME THEORY

2012 ◽  
Vol 57 (01) ◽  
pp. 1250001 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN SHUBIK
Keyword(s):  
Game Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Symbiotic Relationship ◽  
Good Theory ◽  
Open Problems ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
The Many ◽  
Reference Section

A broad nontechnical coverage of many of the developments in game theory since the 1950s is given, together with some comments on important open problems and where some of the developments may take place. The reference section given serves only as a minimal guide to the many thousands of books and articles that have been written on this topic. The purpose here is to present a broadbrush picture of the many areas of study and application that have come into being. The use of deep techniques flourishes best when it stays in touch with application. There is a vital symbiotic relationship between good theory and practice. The breakneck speed of development of game theory calls for an appreciation of both the many realities of conflict, coordination and cooperation and their abstract investigation.

Barth and Roman Catholic Theology

2019 ◽  
pp. 669-686
Author(s):  
Paul D. Molnar
Keyword(s):  
Vatican Ii ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Theological Reflection ◽  
Karl Rahner ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Analogy Of Being ◽  
Hans Urs Von Balthasar ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Analogia Entis ◽  
The Trinity

Taking Barth’s doctrines of revelation and the Trinity as a starting point, this chapter places Barth’s thought primarily in conversation with Walter Kasper. It considers Kasper’s work as an attempt to integrate insights drawn from Barth and Karl Rahner, while placing their views within the wider context of post-Vatican II Roman Catholic theology, as well as the thinking of Hans Urs von Balthasar. By focusing on the different attitudes of Barth and Kasper to the analogia entis (analogy of being), the chapter proposes that the primary issue related to ecumenical unity that emerges concerns whether, and to what extent, contemporary theologians are willing to allow Jesus Christ himself to stand as the first and the final Word in all theological reflection.

scholarly journals Moltmann’s theology in dialogue with liberation theologians revives the role of Black Theology in democratic South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelebogile T. Resane
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Black Theology ◽  
Theological Method ◽  
God Concept ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Economic Imbalances ◽  
Theological Understanding

The theme for Liberation Theology has always been about concerns for the marginalised masses and socio-political liberation for the economically disadvantaged. Its mandate is to seek to guide towards the discovery of being human without references to historical divisions between the haves and have-nots created by socio-economic imbalances promoted by political regimes. Moltmann’s content of theology, its revision, its innovation rather than the theological method has marked his restless imagination. His method of exploration in doing theology has brought him into dialogue with philosophers and theologians of different persuasions. In this study, he is evaluated in his dialogue with the liberation theologians. The focus is on Moltmann’s theological approach to ecumenism, built around the Kingdom of God concept, and ecclesiastical analysis and political theology. These three areas are the transitional arguments on how Moltmann enters into dialogue with the liberation theologians. The argument moves on to point how Liberation Theology has exerted itself as Black Theology in South Africa during the apartheid time. Black Theology is a theology of liberation because of its resistance and endeavours of eradication of all forms of oppressive systems. The two injustices (socio-cultural misnomers) in the democratic South Africa are discussed as a calling for Black Theology’s voice. These are corruption and human rights abuses. Black Theology brings religion into the secular world as a way of aborting all forms of discrimination based on race, sex and economic class.Contribution: Black Theology is invited to revisit Moltmann’s ecumenical, ecclesiastical and political theological understanding, as a way of reviving itself back to the centre stage of prophetic role within the corrupt and human rights and dignity abuse society.

Az ember istenképűsége, mint létanalógia

2021 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Csaba Tódor
Keyword(s):  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Karl Barth ◽  
The Other ◽  
Analogy Of Being ◽  
The World ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Analogia Entis ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right ◽  
Contemporary Interpretation

"The Imago Dei as an Interpretation of the Analogy of Being. Regular theological examination of human nature seems to be the exploding germ of a longer reflection and analysis. My expectations of this study, and hopefully also of the following ones, is that the crisis and uncertainty into which our churches have drifted can (and should) be the subject of theological inquiry. If we keep our study in the right trajectory, then, hopefully, a new light will be shed on the practical aspects of our church life as well. We need to show the world that the God we believe in has remained an active and immanent force in human lives and that there is a reason for a pure, diverse, and substantial unity of the world and existence. This monotheism, however, must be polar, in which the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have their place as elements of analogy in the interaction of which the beauty and efficiency of service can be renewed and given a new meaning. This analysis implies a simultaneous two-way approach. On the one hand, it should be a God-centred approach that simultaneously embraces the realities of the horizontal world, and, on the other hand, in the vertical-horizontal pattern, it leaves room for a contemporary interpretation of the concept of analogia entis. I am aware that there has been an attempt to do this in the twentieth century. The reference to the dialogue between Karl Barth and Urs von Balthasar could serve as a good example of a fruitful conversation for the benefit of our spiritual and institutional lives. Together with Barth, the other “dialectical” theologian hoped and opened their dialogue in the hope of a “true rebirth of Protestantism”. The dialogues of the last century therefore must be the driving force behind the dialogues of today. Keywords: ecclesiology, relational theology, individuality, contextuality, God’s immanence- transcendence "

Barth and Roman Catholicism

2019 ◽  
pp. 146-161
Author(s):  
Keith L. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Reception History ◽  
Second Vatican Council ◽  
Roman Catholicism ◽  
Catholic Theology ◽  
Analogy Of Being ◽  
Vatican Council ◽  
Analogia Entis ◽  
Central Argument ◽  
Over Time

This chapter provides an interpretative lens for understanding Karl Barth’s dialogue with Roman Catholicism. The central argument is that Barth’s engagement with Roman Catholic theology changed over time, even as his core theological convictions remained constant. This argument is defended through an examination of Barth’s theological development, his debates with his Catholic contemporaries, and the dramatic changes in Roman Catholic theology during the twentieth century. A number of important specific issues are explored, including Barth’s criticism of the Roman Catholic analogia entis (analogy of being), Hans Urs von Balthasar’s interpretation of Barth’s theology, Barth’s reception history amongst Roman Catholic theologians, Barth’s visit to Rome after the Second Vatican Council, and the question of Barth’s interpretation of Roman Catholic primary texts.

The Polycentric Perspective: A Canadian Alternative to Rorty

Dialogue ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-116
Author(s):  
J. Douglas Rabb
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Philosophy ◽  
One Dimension ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Speculative Philosophy ◽  
Philosophical Discourse

Canadian philosopher Rupert C. Lodge (1886–1961) developed a pluralistic or “comparative philosophy” in which he adopted what I shall call the polycentric perspective. The polycentric perspective recognizes that since philosophical discourse, indeed all discourse, is necessarily linear, “of only one dimension”, it follows that no one metaphysical system, no one philosophical perspective, can ever be considered adequate on its own. In this paper I argue that the philosophy of pluralism, the adoption of the polycentric perspective by Lodge and other early Canadian philosophers, can and does serve as an adequate answer and intriguing alternative to Richard Rorty's challenge to Speculative Philosophy in The Consequences of Pragmatism and Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature.

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