Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Realism and Christian faith: towards an ontological approach
- 2 ‘Limping with two different opinions’?
- 3 Taking leave of theological realism
- 4 Realism and Christian faith after Wittgenstein
- 5 The grammar of Christian faith and the relationship between philosophy and theology
- 6 Representation, reconciliation, and the problem of meaning
- 7 God, reality, and realism
- 8 Speaking the reality of God
- 9 Realism: conformed to the conforming word
- References
- Index of scripture references
- Index of names and subjects
6 - Representation, reconciliation, and the problem of meaning
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Realism and Christian faith: towards an ontological approach
- 2 ‘Limping with two different opinions’?
- 3 Taking leave of theological realism
- 4 Realism and Christian faith after Wittgenstein
- 5 The grammar of Christian faith and the relationship between philosophy and theology
- 6 Representation, reconciliation, and the problem of meaning
- 7 God, reality, and realism
- 8 Speaking the reality of God
- 9 Realism: conformed to the conforming word
- References
- Index of scripture references
- Index of names and subjects
Summary
Introducing this work, I said that it has the form of a transcendental argument. Such arguments typically aim to show that given that p is accepted, certain other conditions must obtain. In the present case this comes out as follows: granted the view that the triune God is the ens realissimum, we need to propose accounts of epistemology, ontology, and language that are coherent with it. By contrast, although it is not usually defended by transcendental arguments, theological realism tries to work up to God from semantic and epistemological problematics, but, as we have seen, this leads to serious problems. Paradoxically, theological realism is insufficiently theological. An alternative account of the realism of Christian faith therefore needs to be more theological and integrated with a different approach to epistemology, ontology, and semantics. Because of the current concern with semantic issues this will be the main focus of my positive account, and developing it will take up the remainder of the book. In the next chapter we look at some ontological and epistemological issues so as to locate realism's conceptual place in Christian faith, then in the final two chapters I draw the threads together by describing how we can be said to speak the reality of God. In this chapter, some of the ground for this approach is laid by giving theological shape to the realism problematic, for, as we shall see, the issue is not principally about our gaining cognitive access to God or how we can succeed in representing him linguistically; rather, it concerns our moral and ontological standing as creatures before our creator.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Realism and Christian FaithGod, Grammar, and Meaning, pp. 138 - 165Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003