The view that theology represents the highest level of academic learning and the summit of human knowledge has a long history. In this article, starting from Aristotle, the genealogy of this view is excavated. Second, it is examined how and why theology lost this special status in modernity, as this appears in Immanuel Kant’s The Conflict of the Faculties. Third, it is shown in which way and for what reasons theology continued to have a place of its own in the (...) modern university since the founding of the University of Berlin. In particular, the crucial role of Friedrich Schleiermacher’s proposal is highlighted. Fourth, it is suggested that, under certain conditions, theology can still be conceived as a proper university discipline in contemporary pluralistic societies. (shrink)

Introduction for 'New Developments in Cognitive Science of Religion - The Rationality of Religious Belief' forthcoming with Springer. We discuss the philosophical debate over Cognitive Science of Religion and give an outline of the book.

Cognitive Science of Religion is still a rather young discipline. Depending on what one deems to be the first paper or book in the field, the discipline is now almost forty or almost thirty years old. Philosophical and theological discussion on CSR started in the late 2000s. From its onset, the main focus has been the epistemic consequences of CSR, and this focus is dominant even today. Some of those involved in the debate discussed the relevance of CSR for further (...) issues in philosophy of religion, and other have examined how CSR weighs in on various theological questions. Finally, a small number of philosophers offered criticisms or support for various CSR-theories. In this chapter, we give an overview of the debates so far and provide an outline of the book. (shrink)

It is widely thought that the cognitive science of religion may have a bearing on the epistemic status of religious beliefs and on other topics in philosophy of religion. Epistemologists have used theories from CSR to argue both for and against the rationality of religious beliefs, or they have claimed that CSR is neutral vis-à-vis the epistemic status of religious belief. However, since CSR is a rapidly evolving discipline, a great deal of earlier research on the topic has become dated. (...) Furthermore, most of the debate on the epistemic consequences of CSR has not taken into account insights from the philosophy of science, such as explanatory pluralism and explanatory levels. This volume overcomes these deficiencies. This volume brings together new philosophical reflection on CSR. It examines the influence of CSR theories on the epistemic status of religious beliefs; it discusses its impact on philosophy of religion; and it offers new insights for CSR. The book addresses the question of whether or not the plurality of theories in CSR makes epistemic conclusions about religious belief unwarranted. It also explores the impact of CSR on other topics in philosophy of religion like the cognitive consequences of sin and naturalism. Finally, the book investigates what the main theories in CSR aim to explain, and addresses the strengths and weaknesses of CSR. (shrink)

This paper explores the relation between evolutionary explanations of religious belief and a core idea in both classical Christian theology and Reformed Epistemology, namely that humans have fallen into sin. In particular, it challenges the claim made by De Cruz and De Smedt that ‘ in the light of current evolutionary and cognitive theories, the Reformed epistemological view of NES [the noetic effects of sin] is in need of revision.’ Three possible solutions to this conundrum are examined, two of which (...) are shown to be plausible. (shrink)

It has recently been argued by both lay people, church leaders and academic philosophers that evolutionary theory – and especially the theory of common ancestry – rules out any adequate notion of human dignity (I). In this paper, this claim is examined and refuted. First of all, when spelled out in a conceptually unambiguous way, it turns out that the evolutionary argument against human dignity hinges on the belief that human uniqueness , as this was traditionally encapsulated in the doctrine (...) of the imago Dei , has been falsified (II). Secondly, therefore, a recent proposal to reinterpret this doctrine in a way which allows us to drop the notion of human uniqueness but to still uphold a robust notion of human dignity is discussed (III). It is concluded, however, that this proposal is problematic for several reasons. Thirdly, therefore, a more fruitful avenue is explored, namely the attempt to reinterpret the notions of human uniqueness and human dignity along theological rather than biological lines (IV). It will turn out that this attempt, which is inspired by both contemporary biblical scholarship and systematic theology, in fact enables us to adhere to notions of human uniqueness and human dignity (and to connect this to the doctrine of the imago Dei ) which are not at odds with evolutionary theory. Finally, some conclusions are drawn (V). (shrink)

De redactie van Philosophia Reformata heeft aan prof. Brümmer, dr. Sarot en ondergetekende gevraagd te reageren op hetgeen prof. Geertsema in twee bijdragen aan dit nummer over de zogenoemde ‘Utrechtse school’ in de wijsgerige theologie te berde brengt. Aangezien het minder gebruikelijk is om als auteurs c.q. redacteuren te reageren op een boekrecensie, gaan onze duplieken vooral in op het zelfstandige artikel dat Geertsema wijdt aan de theologie van Brümmer. Toch willen we graag ook beknopt reageren op de recensie, die (...) immers de vorm gekregen heeft van een tamelijk uitvoerige ‘kritische studie’, en daarmee toch eigenlijk ook van een min of meer zelfstandige bijdrage. (shrink)

Human death is natural from the perspective of evolutionary biology but unnatural from the vantage point of classical Christian theology. The biblical notion that death entered the world as a result of sin seems hard to square with the view that (human) death has been an integral part of the natural order all along. I suggest an ecumenical solution to this conundrum by retrieving and elaborating the Augustinian modal distinction between strong and weak immortality. It is argued on exegetical and (...) theological grounds that the human being can best be seen as being created in a state of posse mori et posse non mori, and that—when conceptual ambiguities in their writings are dissolved—this is what theologians as diverse as the prelates of the Council of Trent, John Calvin, Louis Berkhof, and Wolfhart Pannenberg had in mind. It is also argued that this solution is compatible with contemporary evolutionary science and can be accepted by creationists of various stripes. (shrink)

One of the less well-researched areas in the recent renaissance of the study of Reformed orthodoxy is anthropology. In this contribution, we investigate a core topic of Reformed orthodox theological anthropology, viz. its treatment of the human being as created in the image of God. First, we analyze the locus of the imago Dei in the Leiden Synopsis Purioris Theologiae. Second, we highlight some shifts of emphasis in Reformed orthodox treatments of this topic in response to the budding Cartesianism. In (...) particular, the close proximity of the unfallen human being and God was carefully delineated as a result of Descartes’s positing of a univocal correspondence between God and man; and the Cartesian suggestion that original righteousness functioned as a barrier for certain natural impulses, was rejected. Third, we show how, in response to the denial of this connection, the image of God was explicitly related to the concept of natural law. Tying in with similar findings on other loci, we conclude that Reformed orthodox thought on the imago Dei exhibits a variegated pattern of extensions, qualifications, and adjustments of earlier accounts within a clearly discernable overall continuity. (shrink)