Walter Stacey
Fr. Majewski
September 23, 2008
God of the Philosophers
Wolfhart Pannenberg debates the issue of deism and theism in his article, referring constantly to the interpretation of philosophical theology. Deism and theism relate to one another, in that they both share some similar qualities, yet also express some major differences. However, in order to comprehend the issue of, one must compare the two ideologies and incorporate other notions such as science, philosophy, and modernism. The title of the article is contrasting in a way, being that the philosophers dealt with ideals such as reason and rationale to compare teachings of religion. However, their views of reason conflict those made present in religious guidelines. In stating that God is “of the philosophers” means that Gods word seems to rule over all, yet the definition of God’s word is left to be argumentative.
The word or reason in this article is, similar to previously read works, is defined by the title logos. This logos can also be interpreted other ways, such as the son of God in accordance with Pannenberg. He argues both sides of the coming into being argument, showing the literal Christian meaning and that of philosophers. The literal Christian teachings show that God is triune, a combination of three parts, the father, son and holy spirit. However, if this is true how is it that Jesus Christ is the declared son of God? This is where the term logos clarifies this argument. In accordance with the logos, one must use his or her reason to look upon this issue of God. As Tillich put it, he used reason to assume that God was “being in itself”. This being would mean that God seemed to have created existence yet seems to let it run by itself. This is very similar to the teachings of Deism, in that God is supernatural and has created the physical world. Both philosophical and theological teachings lead to a similar meaning in this argument. The theological aspect is that...