Skip to Main Content

Dialogues between Faith and Reason: The Death and Return of God in Modern German Thought

Online ISBN:
9780801463273
Print ISBN:
9780801449277
Publisher:
Cornell University Press
Book

Dialogues between Faith and Reason: The Death and Return of God in Modern German Thought

John H. Smith
John H. Smith
University of California, Irvine
Find on
Published online:
18 August 2016
Published in print:
22 September 2011
Online ISBN:
9780801463273
Print ISBN:
9780801449277
Publisher:
Cornell University Press

Abstract

This book traces a major line in the history of theology and the philosophy of religion down the “slippery slope” of secularization. At the same time, it points to the persistence of a tradition that grew out of the Reformation and continues in the mostly Protestant philosophical reflection on whether and how faith can be justified by reason. The book posits that faith and reason have long been locked in mutual engagement in which they productively challenge each other as partners in an ongoing dialogue. Although in the secularized West the death of God is said to be fundamental to the modern condition, our current post-modernity is often characterized as a “postsecular” time. This means not only that we are experiencing a broad-based “return of religion” but also, and more important for his argument, that we are now able to recognize the role of religion within the history of modernity. Emphasizing that, thanks to the logos located “in the beginning,” the death of God is part of the inner logic of the Christian tradition, the book argues that this same strand of reasoning also ensures that God will always “return” (often in new forms). Neither a defense of atheism nor a call to belief, the book explores the long history of their interaction in modern religious and philosophical thought.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close