Three Theological Mistakes: How to Correct Enlightenment Assumptions about God, Miracles, and Free Will

Machuga, Ric

ISBN 10: 1625647573 / ISBN 13: 9781625647573

Published by Cascade Books, 2015

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9781625647573

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Three Theological Mistakes: How to Correct Enlightenment Assumptions about God, Miracles, and Free Will
• Publisher: Cascade Books
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1625647573
• ISBN 13: 9781625647573
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Is the existence of God a matter of faith or knowledge? Does God sometimes act miraculously or are there physical causes for everything? Is morality absolute or relative? Are humans truly free or does God's sovereignty determine everything? When bad things happen, is God the cause or are they the fault of humans? Too frequently Christians answer these questions with a Yes to one side and a No to the other side. Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth answer Yes to both. Following their model, Machuga defends a "third way" which transcends the Enlightenment dichotomies of fideism vs. rationalism, supernaturalism vs. naturalism, relativism vs. absolutism, free will vs. predestination, and God's justice vs. his mercy. Machuga begins by showing how these false dichotomies grew out of the Enlightenment assumptions of mechanism, universal quantification, and mono-causation. He then corrects these demonstrably dubious assumptions by articulating a theory of dual-causation. The result is a thoroughly biblical understanding of God, miracles, and free will that can withstand the contemporary criticisms of both science and philosophy.

About the Author

Ric Machuga has taught philosophy and in the Honor Program at Butte College for thirty-five years. He is the author of In Defense of the Soul (2002), Life, the Universe, and Everything (2011), and numerous pieces for Books & Culture.