William A. Christian

God and the World

LET me say at once that I shall confine myself to something more specific than a bald statement of such a large topic might suggest. First, I shall state the problem of God and the world as a specifically religious problem, for, I suppose, it is with problems of this sort that religious thought begins. Second, I shall examine some propositions about God and the world, giving special attention to a proposition which traditional theism has often expressed or implied, namely, the proposition that God is the sole cause of the world. Concurrently and somewhat incidentally, I wish to illustrate a view of the interrelation of theology and philosophical inquiry, which I shall state briefly at the end.

Three Kinds of Philosophy of Religion

uncertainty about the function of philosophy of religion. I want to suggest some distinctions which may clear up some of this confusion. And I want to use these distinctions to bring up some problems with which philosophers might concern themselves more than they do. The first two kinds of philosophy of religion I shall discuss consist in discourse about religion. For both, philosophy of religion means the sort of discourse about religion which is appropriate for philosophers. Since philosophy is different from science, philosophical dis-