One of the most important Anglo-American philosophers of our time here joins the current philosophical debate about the nature of truth with a work likely to claim a place at the very center of the contemporary philosophical literature on the subject. William P. Alston formulates and defends a realist conception of truth, which he calls alethic realism (from “aletheia,” Greek for “truth”). This idea holds that the truth value of a statement (belief or proposition) depends on whether what the statement is about is as the statement says it is. Although this concept may seem quite obvious, Alston says, many thinkers hold views incompatible with it — and much of his book is devoted to a powerful critique of those views. Michael Dummett and Hilary Putnam are two of the prominent and widely influential contemporary philosophers whose anti-realist ideas he attacks. Alston discusses different realist accounts of truth, examining what they do and do not imply. He distinguishes his version, which he characterizes as “minimalist,” from various “deflationary” accounts, all of which deny that asserting the truth of a proposition attributes a property of truth to it. He also examines alethic realism in relation to a variety of metaphysical realisms. Finally, Alston argues for the importance — theoretical and practical — of assessing the truth value of statements, beliefs, and propositions. ~ Product Description
To illustrate this, consider the contrast between demon-possession and the “control” of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian. Inspiration, in the biblical authors’ cases, is not symmetrical with demon-possession at all. Demon-possession as recorded in the gospels suppressed the personality of the ‘host’; the Christian experience of the Spirit of God liberates our person to manifest its true character. We are designed to produce “self-control” (Gal 5.23!). The true dance with God brings our inner robustness and personality out to joyous expression. We become more ‘us’ than we could be otherwise.
Geivett and Habermas have collected some of the best available scholars around today to present a case for the actions of God in human history. The book begins with David Hume’s work on miracles along with a response from Antony Flew (the eminent Humean scholar). Then, a barrage of Christian philosophers and theologians tackle the issue of miracles in each chapter. Some of the chapter titles include – “Defining Miracles” (Richard Purtill), “Miracles and the Modern Mind” (Norman L. Geisler), “History and Miracles” (Francis J. Beckwith), “Recognizing a Miracle” (Winfried Corduan), “Science, Miracles, Agency Theory, & the God-of-the-Gaps” (J.P. Moreland), “The Evidential Value of Miracles” (Douglas Geivett), “Miracles in the World Religions” (David K. Clark), “The Incarnation of Jesus Christ” (John S. Feinberg), “The Empty Tomb of Jesus” (William Lane Craig), “The Resurrection Appearances of Jesus” (Gary R. Habermas), and more.
Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door. The eminent Kant scholar Lewis Beck used to say that anyone who could believe in God could believe in anything. To appeal to an omnipotent deity is to allow that at any moment the regularities of nature may be ruptured, that miracles may happen.
FOR CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS & STUDENTS:
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TASK OF INTEGRATING
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH INTO THE ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
The purpose of this selected bibliography is to be an aid and introduction into the subject of integrating the Christian faith into the academic disciplines. We suggest that one begin by reading the books and articles that are cited specifically for academic integration first and then move into the various resources suggested under the headings below. An extensive bibliography for academic integration at this site will be forthcoming.
A. Books on Academic Integration:Malik, Charles. A Christian Critique of the University. Downers Grove Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1982.
________. The Two Tasks. Westchester, IL.: Cornerstore, 1980.
Marsden, George. The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship. Oxford: Oxford Press, 1997.
Plantinga, Alvin. The Twin Pillars of Christian Scholarship. (The Stob Lectures) Grand Rapids, MI: Calvin College and Seminary, 1990.
________. “On Christian Scholarship” in The Challenge and Promise of a Catholic University, Ed. Theodore Hesburgh, Notre Dame and London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1994.
C. Selected Bibliography on “Calling” or “Vocation”:
Bernbaum, John and Simon Steer. Why Work?: Careers and Employment in Biblical Perspective. (Baker Book House, 1986) [OP]
Calvin, John. “Vocation,” Institutes of the Christian Religion III.X.VI.
Cotton, John. “Sermons on Calling,” in The Way Of Life, or God’s Way And Course, In Bringing the Soul Into, Keeping It In, And Carrying It On, In The Way Of Life And Peace. (A.M.S. Press, 1983).
Guinness, Os. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. (Word Publishing, 1998).
Hardy, Lee. Fabric of This World: Inquiries into Calling, Career Choice, and the Design of Human Work. (Eerdmans, 1990)
Helm, Paul. The Callings: The Gospel in the World. (Banner of Truth, 1988).
Marshall, Paul. A Kind of Life Imposed on Man: Vocation and Social Order from Tyndale to Locke. (Banner of Truth, 1996)
Perkins, William. “A Treatise of the Vocations or Callings of Men,” in Ian Breward, ed., The Work of William Perkins. (The Sutton Courtenay Press, 1970).
Ryken, Leland. Redeeming the Time: A Christian Approach to Work and Leisure. (Baker, 1995).
Volf, Miroslav. Work in the Spirit: Toward a Theory of Work. (Oxford, 1991) [OP].
Wingren, Gustaf. Luther on Vocation, trans. by Carl Rasmussen. (Muhlenberg Press, 1957).
D. Books on the Life of the Christian Mind
(of high relevance to academic integration and the Christian world view):
Blamires, Harry. The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think? New York: Seabury Press, 1963.
Glaspey, Terry W. Great Books of the Christian Tradition. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 1996.
Holmes, Arthur. Contours of a Worldview. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 1983.
________. The Making of a Christian Mind: A Christian World View and the Academic Enterprise. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1985.
Moreland, J.P. Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul. Colorado Springs, CO.: Navpress, 1997.
Noll, Mark A. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
Sire, James W. Discipleship of the Mind. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1990.
________. The Universe Next Door: A Basic World View Catalogue. 3rd ed. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Guinness, Os. Fit Bodies, Fat Minds. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.
________. The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life. Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998.
E. Books about Science:
Bauman, Michael. Man and Creation: Perspective on Science and Technology. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale College Press, 1993.
Behe, Michael J. Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution. New York: Free Press, 1996.
Bohlin, Raymond G. and Lane P Lester. The Natural Limits to Biological Change. Dallas, Texas: Probe Books, 1989.
Bradley, Walter, R.L. Olsen, and C. B. Thaxton. The Mystery of Life’s Origins. Dallas, Texas: Lewis and Stanley, 1984.
Bube, Richard. Putting It All Together: Seven Patterns for Relating Science and the Christian Faith. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1995.
Craig, William Lane, and Quentin Smith. Theism, Atheism, and Big Bang Cosmology. Oxford: Clarendon, 1993.
Dembski, William A. Mere Creation: Science, Faith, and Intelligent Design. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
Hummel, Charles. The Galileo Connection: Resolving Conflicts between Science and the Bible. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986.
Johnson, Phillip E. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
________. Reason in the Balance. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1995.
McGrath, Alister E. The Foundations of Dialogue in Science and Religion. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 1996.
Moreland, J. P. Christianity and the Nature of Science: A Philosophical Investigation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company, 1989.
________, ed. The Creation Hypothesis. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1994.
________. and Ciocchi, David M., eds. Christian Perspectives on Being Human. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Polkinghorne, John. Belief in God in an Age of Science. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996.
________. Quarks, Chaos, and Christianity: Questions to Science and Religion. New York: Crossroad, 1996.
Ratzsch, Del. Philosophy of Science: The Natural Sciences in Christian Perspective. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1986.
________. The Battle of the Beginnings: Why Neither Side is Winning the Creation- Evolution Debate. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996.
Ross, Hugh. The Creator and the Cosmos. Colorado Springs, CO.: NavPress, 1993.
_________. The Fingerprint of God. Orange, CA.: Promise Publishing, 1989.
Wright, Richard T. Biology Through the Eyes of Faith. San Francisco: Harper &Row, 1989.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Reason Within the Bounds of Religion. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1984.
Best, Harold. Music Through the Eyes of Faith. San Francisco: Harper, 1983.
Brown, Colin. Christianity and Western Thought. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1990.
Clouse, Robert, ed. Wealth and Poverty: Four Christian Views of Economics. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1984.
Evans, C. Stephen. Preserving the Person. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, (Reprint)1982.
Gallager, Susan and Roger Lundin. Literature Through the Eyes of Faith. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1989.
Johnson, Phillip E. Objections Sustained: Subversive Essays on Evolution, Law & Culture. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
Lyon, David. Sociology and the Human Image. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1983.
Marsden, George, and Frank Roberts, eds. A Christian View of History? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975.
Milbank, John. Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason. Oxford: Blackwell, 1990.
Montgomery, John Warwick. The Shape of the Past. Minneapolis: Bethany, 1975.
________. Where is History Going? Reprint, Minneapolis: Bethany, 1972.
Moreland, J. P., and David M. Ciocchi, eds. Christian Perspectives on Being Human. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Nash, Ronald. Christian Faith and Historical Understanding. Dallas, Texas.: Probe Books, 1984.
________. Freedom, Justice, and the State. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1980.
________. Poverty and Wealth. Dallas, Texas.: Probe Books, 1986.
________. Social Justice and the Christian Church. Milford, MI.: Mott Media, 1983.
________. The Concept of God. Grand Rapids, MI.: Zondervan, 1983.
________. The Gospel and the Greeks: Did The New Testament Borrow from Pagan Thought? Dallas, Texas.: Probe Books, 1992.
Neuhaus, Richard John. The Naked Public Square: Religion and Democracy In America. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.
Olasky, Marvin. Prodigal Press: The Anti-Christian Bias of the American News Media. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1988.
Stone, Ronald H., Ed. Reformed Faith and Politics. Washington, D. C.: University Press of America, 1983.
________. Telling the Truth: How to Revitalize Christian Journalism. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1996.
Van Leeuwen, Mary Stewart. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: A Christian Looks at the Changing Face of Psychology. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1983.
Vitz, Paul. Psychology As Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
Wells, Ronald. History Through the Eyes of Faith. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Art in Action: A Christian Aesthetic. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 1980.
________. Until Justice and Peace Embrace. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 1983.
________. Works and Worlds of Art. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1980.
I. Philosophy Books (and references) Helpful for Academic Integration:
Epistemology:
Clark, Kelly James. Return to Reason: A Critique of Enlightenment Evidentialism and a Defense of Reason and Belief in God. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans Publishing, 1990.
Evans, C. Stephen and Westphal, Merold, eds. Christian Perspectives on Religious Knowledge. Grand Rapids, MI.: 1993.
Geivett, R. Douglas, and Sweetman, Brendan, eds. Contemporary Perspectives on Religious Epistemology. New York: Oxford Press, 1992.
Plantinga, Alvin. Warrant and Proper Function. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
________. Warrant the Current Debate. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Wolfe, David L. Epistemology: The Justification of Belief. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1982.
Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Reason Within the Bounds of Religion. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI.: Eerdmans, 1984.
Metaphysics:
Alston, William. A Realist Conception of Truth. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996.
Hart, Hendrik. Understanding Our World: An Integral Ontology. Landham, MD.: University Press of America, 1984.
Hasker, William. Metaphysics: Constructing a World View. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983.
Grossmann, Reinhardt. The Existence of World: An Introduction to Ontology. New York: Routledge, 1992.
Moreland, J. P. Christianity and the Nature of Science: A Philosophical Investigation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company, 1989.
Ethics:
Budziszewki, J. Written on the Heart: The Case for Natural Law. Downers Grove, Il.: InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Grenz, Stanley. Sexual Ethics: An Evangelical Perspective. Louisville, KY.: Westminster John Knox Press, 1990.
Jones, D.C. Biblical Christian Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, 1994.
Pojman, Louis P. Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995.
Rae, S. B. and Wong, K.L. (Eds.) Beyond Integrity: A Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI., 1996.
Logic:
Copi, Irving M. Introduction to Logic. 7th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986.
Geisler, Norman and Ronald Brooks. Come Let Us Reason: An Introduction to Logical Thinking. Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Book House, 1990.
Miller, Richard W. Study Guide to Introduction to Logic (Copi). 7th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986.
Philosophical References:
Audi, Robert, ed. The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
Edwards, Paul, ed. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 7th ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1967.
Copleston, Frederick. History of Philosophy. IX Volumes. New York: Bantam Doubleday, 1993.
The worst of it is that subjectivism is not just an inconsequential intellectual flourish or badge of theoretical chic. It is used to deflect argument, or to belittle the pretensions of the arguments of others. Claims that something is without relativistic qualification true or false, right or wrong, good or bad, risk being derided as expressions of a parochial perspective or form of life, not as a preliminary to showing that they are mistaken whereas something else is right, but as a way of showing that nothing is right and that instead we are all expressing our personal or cultural point of view. The actual result has been a growth in the already extreme intellectual laziness of contemporary culture and the collapse of serious argument throughout the lower reaches of the humanities and social sciences, together with a refusal to take seriously, as anything other than first-person avowals, the objective arguments of others.
How is it possible that creatures like ourselves, supplied with the contingent capacities of a biological species whose very existence appears to be radically accidental, should have access to universally valid methods of objective thought? It is because this question seems unanswerable that sophisticated forms of subjectivism keep appearing in the philosophical literature…
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. ¶ Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privilege position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. ¶ The earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. ¶ It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.
Reason, if there is such a thing, can serve as a court of appeal not only against the received opinions and habits of our community but also against the peculiarities of our personal perspective. It is something each individual can find with himself, but at the same time it has universal authority. Reason provides, mysteriously, a way of distancing oneself from common opinion and received practices that is not a mere elevation of individuality… not a determination to express one’s idiosyncratic self rather than go along with everyone else. Whoever appeals to reason purports to discover a source of authority within himself that is not merely personal or societal, but universal… and that should also persuade others who are willing to listen to it.
We begin from the idea that there is some way the world is, and this, I believe, is an idea to which there is no intelligible alternative and which cannot be subordinated to or derived from anything else… [E]ven a subjectivist cannot escape from or rise above this idea. Even if he wishes to offer an analysis of it in subjective or community-relative terms, his proposal has to be understood as an account of how the world is and therefore as inconsistent with alternative accounts, with which it can be compared for plausibility.