A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion (Paperback)

by Anthony Thiselton (Author) "The term denotes an argument that applies 'all the more', or 'with greater force'..." (more)
Key Phrases: kalam tradition, logical currency, models and qualifiers, New York, Ibn Sina, Jesus Christ (more...)

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Product Description
Covering thinkers from Plato to Freud, offering detailed explainations of fundamental principles, and outlining clear definitions of complex ideas, this is a comprehensive reference tool for all those studying, or interested in, the philosophy of religion.

About the Author
Anthony C. Thiselton (Ph.D., University of Sheffield) is research professor in Christian theology at University College Chester and emeritus professor of Christian theology at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of seven books, including the NIGTC commentary on 1 Corinthians, The Two Horizons, and New Horizons in Hermeneutics. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oneworld Publications (November 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851683011
• ISBN-13: 978-1851683017
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,816,619 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful, timely resource for students and teachers, June 28, 2003

By	Scott David Foutz (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Anthony Thiselton is a well known name in evangelical circles for his extensive work in contemporary hermeneutics and exegesis through titles such as "New Horizons in Hermeneutics" (1992), "Two Horizons" (1980), and the more recent "The First Epistle to the Corinthians" (2000; New International Greek Testament Commentary Series). Thiselton's most recent work is a compendium of his insights into major figures and trends within contemporary hermeneutical, theological and philosophical thought. And students of these contemporary issues will not be disappointed with the timeliness and depth of the topics covered.

"A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion" is precisely that; an encyclopedia containing over 300 entries and sub-entries relevant to any informed discussion of philosophy of religion. In addition to the classic figures generally present in such discussions, Thiselton brings to the table all those others who are just as relevant and crucial to contemporary discussions. Although it is more than tempting to list all the names covered by Thiselton, I will list only a few I was quick to look up: Austin, Ayer, Barthes, Bergson, Chisholm, Derrida, Hartshorne, Henry, Husserl, Levinas, Malcolm, Plantinga, Quine, Swinburne, Whitehead, and Wolterstorff.

All of Thiselton's articles are cross-referenced to allow you to find other topics related to your inquiry within the encyclopedia. He also intentionally explains "virtually every unfamiliar technical term, and will introduce unfamiliar thinkers". This is an excellent resource for students and laymen. I have used this frequently while writing papers or to gain refreshed insight into the thought of a particular figure mentioned in my other readings.

This book can be recommended for students of theology and philosophy, and will be of particular interest to those pursuing contemporary theology, hermeneutics, postmodern theology, historical theology, and philosophy of religion. The book's intent is to provide a contemporary, up-to-date textbook for university level students in these fields. Thus it may prove helpful to teachers striving to expose their students to these same issues.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, Erudite, and Accessible, February 14, 2006

By	Derrick A. Peterson (Oregon) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion, A (Paperback)

Anthony C. Thistleton is one of the rare thinkers of our generation that has the ability to extend their knowledge over a vast array of philosophical and theological topics, and yet maintain the ability to keep them in focus and synthesize them for the edification of others. His past works, which include Two Horizons in Hermeneutics, its sequel New Horizons in Hermeneutics, and the NIGTC commentary on 1 Corinthians, are all themselves examples of the scholarly level of Thistleton's work, and his latest, A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion is no dissapointment.

Containing several hundred entries, including (but, of course, not limited to) entries on thinkers such as Riceouer, Barth, Derrida, Foucoult, Pannenberg, Moltmann, Heidegger, Hegel, Feuerbach, Fichte, Aquinas, Augustine, Lyotard, Plantinga, Scotus, and Freud, and entries on various topics such as Evil (e.g. Theodicy), Causality, Contingency, Demythologization, marxist critique of religion, hermeneutics, postmodernism, The Five Ways of Aquinas, etc...

Thistleton is especially strong in areas of explaining post-modern thinkers and hermeneutics, but quite adept in all other areas (except, perhaps, his explanations of eastern philosophies, which he admits is not his strong area, but are nonetheless sufficient for their purpose, and do not seem excessively truncated when compared to the other articles)

The cross-referencing of the articles makes it especially easy, not only to see the interrelations between thinkers and schools, but is a helpful tool for organization that makes accessing the information a snap.

The only critique I have of this book is a problem that I have of encyclopedias of philosophy and theology in general, that because of the territory covered, the amount of depth in each article is limited. On some occasions also, Thistleton despite his careful indexing or definition of terms in other areas, sometimes uses vocabulary particular to the thinker that he is explaining without expounding on the specific meaning of the term. This is rare, however, and often if the term is not specifically defined, it's usage is made clearer by the context in which it is presented.

This book will be an invaluable asset to all students studying theology and philosophy, and is a key asset, especially as an auxillary source.

For a fuller reference, I recommend Audi's Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, which has multiple contributors and fuller individual articles, albeit with much less emphasis on specifically Christian schools and terms.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great tool for expanding your knowledge of ideas, January 7, 2008

By	wisdomofthepages.com (St. Louis, Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion, A (Paperback)

I love to use encyclopedias like this to gain a quick introductory nugget of information about a topic. Thiselton gives me 300+ words in the very specific field of "Philosophy of Religion".

This is a tool. Read systematically through specialized encyclopedias like this, especially in fields of study that you normally do not travel and you will gain a broader knowledge of the world of ideas.

A sampling of the entries:
"Arguments for the existence of God" (2.5 pages)
"John Hick" (2 pages)
"Nagarjuna" (1 page... and don't try to tell me you already know who Nagarjuna is)
"Post-mortal existence of the self" (3.5 pages)
"time" (1 page)
"Zen philosophy (1/2 page)

Of course, the strength of any book is whether the author knows the subject matter and is good with the pen in explaining the material. Thiselton shines in both.