PHL 210: Faith and Philosophy

Contents: Knowledge and belief : Plato -- Faith : Abraham -- Faith seeking understanding : St. Augustine -- Augustine : vision or proof? -- Faith seeking understanding : conclusion -- The universal awareness of God : John Calvin -- Properly basic beliefs : Alvin Plantinga -- Prepared to make a defense : the Apostle Peter.

The primary goal of Reformed epistemology, then, is to defend Christian belief against the de jure objection, thereby showing that everything really depends on the truth of Christian belief. This book demonstrates the feasibility of combining the Reformed epistemologist's position with an argument for theism that the author draws from Charles Taylor's work. In it, he shows the value that would be added to the Reformed epistemologist's position by such a combination.

In May 2010, philosophers, family and friends gathered at the University of Notre Dame to celebrate the career and retirement of Alvin Plantinga, widely recognized as one of the world's leading figures in metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of religion. Plantinga has earned particular respect within the community of Christian philosophers for the pivotal role that he played in the recent renewal and development of philosophy of religion and philosophical theology.Each of the essays in this volume engages with some particular aspect of Plantinga's views on metaphysics, epistemology, or philosophy of religion.

Faith and Rationality investigates the rich implications of what the contributors call "Calvinistic" or "Reformed epistemology." This is the view of knowledge--enunciated by Calvin, further developed by Barth--that sees belief in God as its own foundation; in the contributors' terms, it is properly "basic" in itself.  

This collection of essays is issued by his students, friends, and colleagues in honor of W. Harry Jellema, whose retirement this summer at the age of 70 closes a period of exceptional service to Calvin College, the Reformed community, and the cause of Christian philosophy.