The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology Routledge Philosophy of Religion Series

Michael Sudduth examines three prominent objections to natural theology that have emerged in the Reformed streams of the Protestant theological tradition: objections from the immediacy of our knowledge of God, the noetic effects of sin, and the logic of theistic arguments. Distinguishing between the project of natural theology and particular models of natural theology, Sudduth argues that none of the main Reformed objections is successful as an objection to the project of natural theology itself. One particular model of natural theology - the dogmatic model - is best suited to handle Reformed concerns over natural theology. According to this model, rational theistic arguments represent the reflective reconstruction of the natural knowledge of God by the Christian in the context of dogmatic theology. Informed by both contemporary religious epistemology and the history of Protestant philosophical theology, Sudduth?'s examination illuminates the complex nature of the project of natural theology and its place in the Reformed tradition.

Contents: Preface; Introduction; Part I Natural Theology and the Reformed Tradition: The emergence and evolution of the reformed endorsement of natural theology; Understanding the reformed objection to natural theology. Part II Natural Theology and the Immediate Knowledge of God: The naturally implanted knowledge of God; The immediate knowledge of God in 20th-century religious epistemology; Immediacy and reformed models of natural theology. Part III Sin and the Christian Reconstruction of Natural Theology: Natural theology and the noetic effects of sin; The noetic effects of sin and contemporary epistemology; The dogmatic model of natural theology. Part IV The Logic of Natural Theology: The logic of theistic arguments; God of the philosophers; The 'robust theistic descriptivist' objection evaluated; Epilogue; Indexes.

Michael Sudduth is Lecturer in Philosophy at San Francisco State University, USA.