The Presence and Absence of God: Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion, Conference 2008Safeguarding the distinction between God and world has always been a basic interest of negative theology. But sometimes it has overemphasized divine transcendence in a way that made it difficult to account for the sense of God's present activity and experienced actuality. Criticisms of the Western metaphysics of presence have made this even more difficult to conceive. On the other hand, there has been a widespread attempt in recent years to base all theology on (religious) experience; the Christian church celebrates God's presence in its central sacraments of baptism and Eucharist; process thought has re-conceptualized God's presence in panentheistic terms; and some have argued that God might be poly-present, not omnipresent. But what does it mean to say that God is present or absent? For Jews, Christians, and Moslems alike God is not an inference, an absentee entity of which we can detect only faint traces in our world. On the contrary, God is present reality, indeed the most present of all realities. However, belief in God's presence cannot ignore the widespread experience of God's absence. Moreover, there is little sense in speaking of God's absence if it cannot be distinguished from God's non-presence or non-existence. So how are we to understand the sense of divine presence and absence in religious and everyday life? This is what the essays in this volume explore in the biblical traditions, in Jewish and Christian theology and philosophy, and in contemporary philosophy of religion. |
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Contents
INGOLF U DALFERTH | 1 |
LEAH REDIGER SCHULTE and TAMMI J SCHNEIDER | 21 |
KRISTIN DE TROYER and LEAH REDIGER SCHULTE | 35 |
STEFAN ALKIER | 41 |
JEROME GELLMAN | 57 |
PHILIP CLAYTON | 67 |
CLAUDIA WELZ | 81 |
ANSELM K | 109 |
JOHN H WHITTAKER | 129 |
STEPHEN T DAVIS | 147 |
ROLAND FABER | 161 |
PATRICK HORN | 187 |
RICHARD AMESBURY | 201 |
Information about Authors | 223 |
| 231 | |
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Common terms and phrases
absence activity actual appears argued argument becoming believe body called cause Christian claims Clause comes concept concern created creative critics death deity distinction divine effects essence Establishment Esther example existence experience expression fact faith father finite follow Free future give given God's absence God's presence Greek hand Hebrew hidden hiding hope human idea important infinite interpretation Jesus John justice kind knowledge language liberal lives Luke material matter means metaphysics mode nature neutrality object occurs ontological orientation past person Philosophy possible precisely problem Process pure question rape reality reason reference relation religion religious remain requires resurrected revealed Rosenzweig secular sense signs speak Spinoza spirit story suggest takes Theology things thought tion transcendence true trust truths understand University Press Whitehead writes York
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Presence and Absence of God: Claremont Studies in the Philosophy of Religion, Conference 2008 Volume 42 of Religion in philosophy and theology, ISSN 1616-346X |
| Editor | Ingolf U. Dalferth |
| Publisher | Mohr Siebeck, 2009 |
| ISBN | 3161502051, 9783161502057 |
| Length | 236 pages |
| Subjects | › Philosophy / Religious Religion / Philosophy |
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