# A Book on Christian Philosophy



## Igor (Oct 27, 2009)

Will anybody please help me to make a choice? I want to order a good book on Christian philosophy and am now in two (or, rather, three) minds. Here is what I would like to choose from:
The Love of Wisdom: A Christian Introduction to Philosophy: Steven B. Cowan, James S. Spiegel
Introduction to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective: Paul Feinberg, Norman Geisler
Loving Wisdom: Christian Philosophy of Religion: Paul Copan
Any suggestions? Thank you very much.


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## Julio Martinez Jr (Oct 27, 2009)

There's actually a better one and recently published. It's called _For Faith and Clarity: Philosophical Contributions to Christian Theology_. It's was recently published, so its scholarship is up to date, unlike Geisler's book. I haven't read the other two that you put up, but I know that _For Faith and Clarity_ is a good read.

For Faith and Clarity: Philosophical Contributions to Christian Theology (9780801027666): James Beilby: Books

With this book, however, I came across one problem--Tertullian's dictum. Tertullian wrote, "What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church?"[1] Following down further in chapter 1, which reads about the relationship between philosophy and theology, the essayist Alan G. Padgett--an excellent writer in his own right--writes, "To give things away just a bit, we are going to find an answer different from the one Tertullian did."[2] I obviously disagree with Padgett, but that does not mean that we cannot take something from this book. Padgett places wisdom in such a high regard that it makes this essay a worthy read. To solve this little dilemma, as it did for me, I read Bahnsen's exegesis of Paul in Athens (Acts 17) and I also read Cornelius Van Til's book, _Jerusalem and Athens: Critical Discussions on the Philosophy and Theology of Cornelius Van Til_ .

[1] Tertullian, _Prescription Against Heretics_, sec. 7
[2] Alan G. Padgett, "The Relationship Between Philosophy and Theology," in _For Faith and Clarity_, 26.


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## Nathan Riese (Oct 27, 2009)

I'm currently going through Feinberg's _Ethics for a Brave New World_. It's alright, but I think Feinberg's dispensationalism leaves out a truly Biblical ethical worldview. I don't know how his and Geisler's book on philosophy is though.

This one I thought was IMMENSELY helpful! I believe Ronald Nash is PCA if I'm not mistaken. Nash, _Life's Ultimate Questions: An Introduction to Philosophy_


Amazon.com: Life's Ultimate Questions (0025986223649): Ronald H. Nash: Books


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## cih1355 (Oct 27, 2009)

The book by Cowan and Spiegel is good. I finished reading it last month. It covers


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## Igor (Oct 27, 2009)

cih1355 said:


> The book by Cowan and Spiegel is good. I finished reading it last month.


That is the first in my list. Would you please tell me more about it?


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## JTB (Oct 27, 2009)

When you are done with whatever book you choose, pick up Gordon Clark's _Thales to Dewey_.


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## Julio Martinez Jr (Oct 27, 2009)

JTB said:


> When you are done with whatever book you choose, pick up Gordon Clark's _Thales to Dewey_.



Nah. Van Til is better.


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## JTB (Oct 27, 2009)

Julio Martinez Jr said:


> JTB said:
> 
> 
> > When you are done with whatever book you choose, pick up Gordon Clark's _Thales to Dewey_.
> ...



That may be true, but Van Til is not as lucid as Clark, nor, I think, as precise. Bahnsen expresses Van Til better than Van Til expresses himself, in my humble opinion.


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## Igor (Oct 27, 2009)

My concern is that I will end up buying three or four books instead of one...


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## Grymir (Oct 27, 2009)

And the problem is??

You can never have to many philosophy books, and once you start reading...


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## cbryant (Oct 27, 2009)

If you are looking for Christian Philosophy (more specifically, Calvinistic Philosophy) then I would recommend picking up Herman Dooyeweerd (Roots of Western Culture) or Dirk Vollenhoven (Introduction to Philosophy).


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## cih1355 (Oct 27, 2009)

Igor said:


> cih1355 said:
> 
> 
> > The book by Cowan and Spiegel is good. I finished reading it last month.
> ...



The book covers philosophy from a topical perspective, not from a historical perspective. The authors do not pretend to be neutral. It gives the arguments both pro and con for various issues. The book covers logic, epistemology, philosophy of science, metaphysics, human nature, philosophy of religion, ethics, political philosophy, and aesthetics. The book discusses the different kinds of syllogisms and the different kinds of fallacies. It advocates the correspondence theory of truth. The philosophy of religion section covers the ontological argument, the theological argument, and the cosmological argument. It is against Open Theism. The book discusses libertarian free will and compatibilism, but it does not say which view is the correct one.


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