God as Reason: Essays in Philosophical Theology

One strategy to resolve the tension between religion on the one hand, and science and philosophy, on the other, is to conclude that science and philosophy claim the domain of reason while religion claims faith. Hösle (philosophy, Univ. of Essen; director, Research Inst. for Philosophy, Hannover, Germany; Univ. of Notre Dame; The Philosophical Dialogue: A Poetics and a Hermeneutics), approaching the topic of religion as a philosopher, understands each as an offshoot of a tradition strongly committed to reason. His goal in these essays is to identify an interpretation of Christianity that is consistent with this commitment to reason. The author first presents theological arguments, including a discussion of theodicy, freedom, and the mind/body problem (in dialog form), as well as contesting the importance of Darwinism against the teleological argument. These assessments are unlikely to convince anyone who does not already agree with him. In the second half, the author attempts a rationalist interpretation of Christianity's sacred texts, with discussions of major figures. As a book that centers on the debate between defenders of both science and religion, the former will find few reasons to convert them, though, perhaps, that is not his goal.