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Faith And Rationality: Reason and Belief in God Paperback – Download: Adobe Reader, June 30, 1984

by Alvin Plantinga (Editor), Nicholas Wolterstorff (Editor)

4.1 12 ratings

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Arguments about the "evidences of Christianity" have consumed the talents of believers and agnostics. These arguments have tried to give―or to deny―Christian belief a "foundation." Belief is rational, the argument goes, only if it is logically derived from axiomatic truths or is otherwise supported by "enough evidence."

Arguments for belief generally fail to sway the unconvinced. But is this because the evidence is flimsy and the arguments weak―or because they attempt to give the right answer to the wrong question? What, after all, would satisfy Russell's all for evidence?

Faith and Rationality investigates the rich implications of what the authors 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 authors’ terms, is it properly "basic" in itself.

Print length

328 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of Notre Dame Press
Publication date

June 30, 1984
Dimensions

9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
ISBN-10

0268009651
ISBN-13

978-0268009656
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This compilation of perceptive and in-depth essays . . . examines the epistemological topic of the rationality of Christian belief. These particular essays take a problematic approach in their criticism of contemporary analytic objections of theistic belief, and in the process make a contribution to general epistemology.” ―Faith & Reason

“This is an important book by members of what can be loosely called the school of contemporary Calvinist philosophers of religion. It is worthy of study by everyone concerned with the epistemology of religion.” ―The Journal of Religion

“The essays are exceptionally well written, clear, and stimulating. They explicate what it means to be rational in general and to hold a rational belief in particular. For those interested in the vexing but crucial issues of how reason relates to faith, this is a probative and illuminating study.” ―Theological Studies

“. . . an important new approach to the philosophy of religion. . . . The contributors are sophisticated and able.” ―The Journal of Philosophy

“This volume, which represents the best philosophical theology being done today, is a fascinating step in a largely unrecognized dialogue between Reformed and Roman Catholic philosophers.” ―New Oxford Review

"Faith and Rationality is an impressive and original contribution to the epistemology of religious belief and to general epistemology. [T]hese essays revolve around several common themes: first and perhaps foremost, there is the rejection of classical foundationalism ... a second and closely related theme concerns the evidentialist challenge to religious belief ... and thirdly, we find a position Plantinga and Wolterstorff dub Calvinist epistemology or Reformed epistemology." ―Nous

About the Author

Alvin Plantinga is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and former director of the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of several books, including Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism.

Nicholas Wolterstorff is Noah Porter Emeritus Professor of Philosophical Theology in the Divinity School at Yale University. He is the author of several books, including Justice: Rights and Wrongs and Justice in Love.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Notre Dame Press; 1st edition (June 30, 1984)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 328 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0268009651
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0268009656
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.06 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,213,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #949 in Epistemology Philosophy
- #1,890 in Religion & Philosophy (Books)
- #2,614 in Religious Philosophy (Books)

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4.1 12 ratings

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A. Customer

A Great Introduction to "Reformed Epistemology" and it's origins

Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2007

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Faith and Rationality is split into 9 different sections, including the introduction. (The introduction includes the major themes of the book and how it is primary a work of Reformed scholarship.) There are two short stories by George Mavrodes which I found highly amusing, and which were a nice break from the difficult readings. The rest of the book--the majority of it--is composed of 6 essays.

The first essay is Plantinga's "Reason and Belief in God." This is one of Plantinga's earlier essays on "Reformed Epistemology" and is highly recommended. It's a great introduction to the thought he more fully develops later on (primarily in the "Warrant Series"). The first part of the essay moves through the evidentialist objection to theistic belief and its various forms. In the second part of the essay Plantinga charges Aquinas with holding the view, speaking roughly, that belief in God is irrational without evidence. In this part Plantinga also argues that Classical Foundationalism is self-referentially incoherent. Part three goes through reformed objections to Natural Theology. During the last part of his essay Plantinga argues that belief in God is properly basic.

The second essay is William Alston's "Christian Experience and Christian Belief." Alston argues that certain Christian experiences (the presence of God, the moving of the HS, etc.) contribute to the rationality of Christian belief. I am not familiar with Alston's work, but after reading this essay I intend to do some follow up reading on his views (which, I assume, are expanded in Perceiving God: The Epistemology of Religious Experience ).

The third essay is Wolterstorff's "Can Belief in God Be Rational If It Has No Foundations?" Wolterstorff picks up where Plantinga leaves off. If Classical Foundationalism (and Natural Theology) are bankrupt, can belief in God still be rational? Wolterstorff's resounding answer is "Yes." Wolterstorff has a fascinating exposition of Locke and Reid in this essay. He eventually concludes, following Reid, that people have different "belief dispositions" which allow them to form rational beliefs, of which "reasoning" is only one disposition.

George Mavrodes' "Jerusalem and Athens Revisited" comes next. Relatively short, in comparison to the other essays, I found Mavrodes' essay very useful. He asked some probing questions, and made some very sharp distinctions which aided my understanding of the previous essays greatly. The book continues with George Marsden's essay entitled "The Collapse of American Evangelical Academia." I found this essay fascinating and loosely connected to the overall themes of the book. Finally, the book concludes with a essay by D. Holwerda called "Faith, Reason, and the Resurrection." This essay is a exposition and examination of Wolfhart Pannenberg's theology.

Most people who buy this book will buy it for Plantinga's and Wolterstorff's essays. Fair enough. But some of the other essays are very interesting (especially Marsden's) and informative. Overall, I would suggest this book as an introduction to Reformed Epistemology to be followed with Wolterstorff's Reason Within the Bounds of Religion (PBK) and Plantinga's "Warrant" series. Highly recommended.

26 people found this helpful

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Matt Oquist

Excellent primer on reformed epistemology

Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2004

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In laying the groundwork for a reformed epistemology, this book defines the idea of "rational belief" and shows how this definition is superior to the one assumed by contemporary logical positivists (i.e., many atheists and agnostics coming from the scientific perspective).
Summary: It can be rational to believe something without "proof"; we all do it all the time.
In measuring whether belief in God qualifies as rational, this book shows compellingly that belief in God is properly basic; i.e., it needs no general justification.
I found Marsden's chapter ("The Collapse of American Evangelical Academia") also to be quite informative. Before I read this chapter, I had ideas about the current state of the Evangelical mind (I've read OS Guiness, Dorothy Sayers, etc.), but I didn't really understand how we got where we are.
I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in the basics of justifying his/her Christianity either to him/herself, or to the world.

42 people found this helpful

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Hank

Interesting and Informative

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2014

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Alvin Plantinga's essay in this book is a classic, and it brilliantly demonstrates the inadequacy of Classical Foundationalism. That being said, it is somewhat primitive, as he had not yet fully developed his epistemology (i.e. Proper Functionalism. See "Warrant the Current Debate", "Warrant and Proper Function", "Warranted Christian Belief" and "Warrant in Contemporary Epistemology: Essays in Honor of Plantinga's Theory of Knowledge"). I found Wolterstorffs essay to be interesting, but quite primitive also. There is also a great essay on what led to the (now former) collapse of Christian scholarship.

5 people found this helpful

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D.C

A must read for any student of philosophy!

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2014

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Original and clearly written, these essays mark the beginning of the shift, in professional epistemology, from the old ways of thinking to the new, the ones more amiable towards belief in God. This book has been reprinted seven times for good reason.

This book is worth the cost simply because of Plantinga's essay "Reason and Belief in God" (just look up how many times it has been cited!). But the last few essays were not too interesting to me.

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