Customer Reviews

Philosophy for Understanding Theology

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It's about time! A book that brings together the great minds of philosophical thought and their theologies in a cronologically ordered system. This is a great resource for those interested in this field. It logically brings together a history of thought from Plato to Satre and explores in a way that is not over the abilities of most college graduates. I recommend this book for those who want to put together these two disciplines in a historical context but not to the depth of reading all of the original authors. Some prior reading of the classic works in philosophy and theology is recommended in order to be able to fully utilize this resource.

Allen, of Princeton Theological Seminary, writes here of the interrelatedness of philosophy and theology within the history of Christian thought and ideas. He covers the important influence of philosophical thinking on theology from the early years with Plato and Aristotle up to today. A must read for all serious about maturing in their theology. A very helpful book for those wanting to begin the process of being theologians themselves. We are in Allen's debt for writing such an informative and readable book.

Allen is remarkably clear and easy to read, yet he does not sacrifice scholarship or content to be so. This volume packs an amazing amount of material in its 280 pages, containing every big name in the history of philosophy. Yet this book is not simply a historical overview of the major tenets of the discipline; it is focused at every turn on showing how philosophy has impacted Christian thought. While Allen covers all one would expect from Plato and Artistotle to Hegel and Kant, he makes a deliberate effort to show how such leading Christian thinkers as Augustine and Aquinas interpreted and applied philosophy to their theology. This text is a superior introduction to the relationship between philosophy and theology. Highly recommended.

this is a good book for diving into the crux of philosophical issues in relation to christian theology through the centuries. A very good overview and in some detail. This book is not for beginners though, despite it's medium size. One needs to have some philosophical and theological familiarity in order to plow through this work. Another good one, and a bit more manageable, is: Consequences of Ideas by R.C. Sproul.

This work is a chronologically arranged look at Western Philosophy, concentrating chiefly on those areas where it has informed or influenced theology. The authors do a good job in explaining the essential thinkers and the systems of thought over roughly a 2,500-year period.

Beginning with Plato, the first inflection point, they briefly jump back to touch on the pre-Socratics, and then follow through with Aristotle and Aquinas, then the pre modern-, modern-, and post modern-ists.

Although the authors are admirably objective in their narrative, there is a touch of Protestant bias (or is it my Catholic bias?) in the treatment of the Angelic Doctor. St. Thomas and Thomism is so much more than what the authors let on. Also, there always seems to be (in general with Protestant commentators) an attempt to "lift" St. Augustine out of the Catholic Church, primarily by placing Aquinas and Augustine in opposition. It is done here through the voice of Karl Barth speaking 700 years in the future. I've always felt this Aquinas-Augustine tension to mirror the tension found among the Gospels; i.e., the points of contradiction or non-agreement in the Gospels is additive to our Faith and helps us understand the great mysteries better, rather than nullifying either of them. I say all this with the complete confidence that the authors have forgotten more about Theology and Philosophy than I'll ever know - this is just my un-learned opinion.

This work is composed so that each chapter can more or less stand on its own, so there is a bit of re-hashing and overlap - but I think that is a plus as it can be used to reference a single period without having to re-read previous chapters.

All in all, a worthwhile and informative read.

The content of the book is fascinating and brilliant!

However, I must regretfully inform that the layout is terrible. The authors are doubtless brilliant but often repeat themselves again and again (note especially the section on Plato). Now, in their defense, I probably needed to hear Plato's basic tenets repeated many times over in order to get them, but I fear the average reader will grow frustrated by all the redundancy. Further, at times, it seems as though the author rambles in a sort of stream of consciousness manner without really holding himself to an outline. If I'm wrong, perhaps section headings within the chapters would be a good addition for a future edition.

Allen's brilliant PHILOSOPHY FOR UNDERSTANDING THEOLOGY boils down the foundation of Christian Theology to this: The World was created. According to the Bible, God created heavens and the earth. He is eternal, not that which he created. Allen explains that this differs from Aristotle who believed the universe had no beginning. The exalted One for Aristotle, then, is no different than the world. The difference then between the Christian faith and Aristotle (and philosophical systems that posit the eternality of matter) is ontological and epistemological.

That's just the first page of Allen, and in it he previews the conflict that has existed throughout the ages between theology and philosophy. Clear and concise in his writing, penetrating in his analysis of philosophical systems, expert in his understanding of theology, this is a great book to have.

Not only does Diogenes Allen deliver what he promised (i.e., an explanation of those philosophic systems pertinent to theology) but he delivers a history of philosophy (albeit restricted) from the pre-socratics to the present that is easily understood and enjoyable!

The two books I ordered by Diogenes Allen were required for a graduate course in theology that I am taking. Allen is a well-respected philosopher/theoogian, and these books reflect the depth of his scholarship. Not many in our culture are interested in theology, so these books would appeal to a very narrow segment of the American population.

****
Everyone needs to know some philosophy in order to understand the major doctrines of Christianity or to read a great theologian intelligently" (D. Allen, Philosophy for Understanding Theology, iii)



Faith & Understanding:
Faith in search of understanding, therefore, writes Jaroslav Pelikan, had the duty of clarifying these various senses in which words were used. He quotes Maximos Confessor, "To say something without first distinguishing the meanings of what is said ... and to obscure instead of clarifying. ... but one had to be careful to note the distinctive meaning acquired by such philosophical terms that were employed for Christian doctrine." The Christian Tradition II

Theology's Languages:
"Philosophy and theology enjoy a peculiarly intimate relationship because they have been traditionally concerned with many common issues: ..., Such familiarity breeds territorial disputes ..." Harriet Baber, Professor of Philosophy
Recently, the 'Joint Commission of the Theological Dialogue' between the Eastern and the Oriental Orthodox Churches', has stated after fifteen centuries that, "On the essence of the Christological dogma, we found ourselves in full agreement! Through the different terminologies used by each side, we saw the same truth expressed!" This is a very good example for why eminent Professor Diogene Allen was to explain in his book, "How Philosophy Shapes Theology,'" as proposed by Frederick Sontag years earlier. But did the eminent Princeton philosophy professor provide what he promised, in his book title, to clarify Christian dogma utilizing the tools of then prevailing philosophic systems?

Issues for Clarification:
The elaborate book neglected to underline that Christianity, a Hebrew Messianic hope was written in Koine, archaic Greek language, expressed by the Church fathers in Neo platonic and Aristotelian terms and expressions. Christian Theology was established by the great Alexandrine Church teacher Origen, whose De Principii is to this day the World View basis of theology, studied by Church Fathers allover the Mid Orient. They debated the basic Christian Doctrines in Neoplatonic terms of Alexandria counter the Aristotelian language of Antioc. Neoplatonism (reformed Middle Platonism) was in fact an Egyptian reformation of the archaic Greek philosophy launched by Amon Saccha and his school in second century Christian Alexandria. Augustine is a good example, converted from Manichaenism to Neoplatonism on reading Victorinus, Origen's student, before becoming a Christian. St. Augustine's view on Free Will was not philosophically defended and on Predestination were not properly verified biblically. These are few examples of the book's failure to tell the full story, as W. Kaufmann warned three decades earlier, "It is easy to underestimate the originality of St. Thomas because he seems to synthesize Scripture and Aristotle, making ample use of all the labors of his predecessors, stating, "St. Thomas made Aristotle say so many things he never said." Critique of Religion & Philosophy, pp.144

Theological Philosophy:
"To treat the nominalism of the fourteenth century in a chapter ... may seem strange," is what the crafty author wrote, pp.151, and he is right. He quotes the eminent historian H. Butterfield for an assessment of the scientific revolution. Butterfield who though started logically with the historical importance of Philoponus' Impetus Theory, as the breakthrough point in the obsolete body of Aristotelian physics, he failed to identify Philoponus, who effectively deconstructed Aristotle's philosophy into rubble in sixth century Alexandria. It was known when this book was written, that Aquinas used John Philoponus philosophic writings, articulating Orthodox doctrines, of 'Creation ex Nihilo,' and the 'Resurrection.'

Theology & Postmodern Philosophy:
The well written second part of his book, is too condensed to be of good help to the lay reader who looks for modern philosophy to understand the Postmodern theological currents of the day. Recent strides in physics and developments in philosophy have superseded some of the scientific and philosophical concepts that were foundational for the modern world view. So, in a most explicit statement on the end of the modern era, in a critical evaluation of William James', Whitehead infers as the denial of any difference in its essence from the core and milieu of the physical, starting a new chapter in philosophy.

Epilogue to a review:
This book and its companion anthology of basic readings have been the textbooks for a Princeton Theological Seminary course that has been popular with its students. The books have also been also selected by other seminaries across the country. Church history and History of Christian thought are rendered more accessible to the readers of this book.
This good introduction falls short to its intended scope of clarifying early fierce debates of the basic Christian Doctrines. While the first part missed explaining such concepts, the second part of the book is well crafted but is too concise, and not as thorough as others; (Colin Brown's 'Philosophy & The Christian Faith) and could hardly be recommended to serve as introduction to Malcolm Diamond's Contemporary Philosophy and Religious Thought. An alternative of the suggested reading list is "Walter Kaufmann's Critique of Religion and Philosophy."

Aristotle East and West: Metaphysics and the Division of Christendom