In Doing Philosophy as a Christian, Garrett DeWeese, Ph.D.[1], contends (contra Kant) that our approach should be one of Reason within the bounds of Religion (rather than the reverse). For him, this is a basic governing principle for how Christians do philosophy. Here is his thesis:
Doing philosophy as a Christian means doing philosophy under the authority of the Lord Jesus and of the Bible, the Word of God. It means reasoning within the bounds of religion. It means, in the end, doing philosophy in a way that aims intentionally at the ultimate goal of personal transformation into the image of Christ, and of extending a meaningful invitation to others to enter into that transformation — that is, of extending the kingdom of God on earth.
DeWeese applies this approach to overviews of the different sub-disciplines within philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics and aesthetics. He then takes on two interesting areas of discussion in contemporary philosophy, the philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. Nowhere do we see his approach more clearly than in his arguments for dualism based on the biblical case for the soul, and his arguments for a real Adam despite leaning toward some form of old earth, progressive evolution. [Read more…] about Book Review: Doing Philosophy as a Christian