Who/what are some good introductions into Christian philosophy?

Question

I am open to book suggestions, YouTube pages or anything with a community for Bible-believing academics.

thank you in advance

Answer 1

The classical introduction into Christian Philosophy is “Thomas Aquinas: Summa Theologiae”. The book is written as a textbook for beginners, see his prologue. It is written by a theologian well experienced in academic teaching.

But the book has been written about 750 years ago. It uses concepts which are no longer common in present language.

Before ascending to Christian philosophy it is necessary to acquire a well-founded knowledge and understanding of the texts of the Jewish and Christian tradition.

A search in the internet with the keyword “Introduction into the study of Christian theology” and also “Introduction into the study of Christian philosophy” provides you with a series of possible books.

Unfortunately, from my own reading I could recommend nearly only books in German language, from the end of the previous century. A big read was "John Leslie Mackie: The miracle of Theism. Arguments for and against the Existence of God. (1982)".

Answer 2

It's a big question because there's such a wide, diverse, and often contradictory range of Christian philosophy over a long span of time, and anything you read is inevitably going to privilege one point of view over the others. Here are some productive starting points, however:

• The core of Christian philosophy is, of course, the canonical Gospels. The modern-day movement centered on these is called the Red-Letter Christians.
• Christianity as we know it was largely built out by Saint Paul in the Pauline Epistles. These, as combined with Jeremiah and Isaiah, are the roots of the modern evangelical movement. Billy Graham is one of many figures who wrote frequently and influentially from this perspective.
• The most influential philosophers/theologians of the classic church are Saint Augustine (who was influenced by Plato and Plotinus) and Saint Thomas Aquinas (who was influenced by Aristotle and Ibn Sina). They can be considered as part of a tradition of Christian apologetics, which is philosophies concerned with arguments for belief. CS Lewis' Mere Christianity is a more recent entry in that same tradition.
• The Christian humanist movement began in the Renaissance. Mirandola and Petrarch are major figures, Acts and Psalms are an important Biblical sources (as well as the Gospels). The modern day successor is the Social Gospel movement.
• On a more personal, individual level, Christian Existentialism is a school of thought that emphasizes the direct personal relationship with God as taking primacy over religion, law and morality. That is associated most closely with Kierkegaard, and foreshadowed by Dostoevsky, with inspiration from the Gospel of John and Ecclesiastes.
• There's an progressive activist tradition within Christianity, which looks to the Gospel of Matthew and to Exodus in the pursuit of freedom and equity for all oppressed peoples. It's typically called "Liberation Theology." Martin Luther King, Jr., Oscar Romero and Howard Thurman are associated figures.

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Although I hesitate to include them, it's also worth mentioning:

• The prosperity "gospel" - An influential modern movement that takes material wealth and success as signs of righteousness.
• Cultural Values - A right-wing political movement, nominally Christian, that emphasizes the enforcement of strict traditional patriarchal rules and values, and that is increasingly associated with White Nationalism.

I don't personally consider these last two as legitimate offshoots of Christian (Gospels-founded) philosophy, but they--having largely cannibalized the earlier, more legitimate "evangelical" and "fundamentalist" movements--are arguably the most visible and well-known philosophies associated with the modern Christian church, with a global reach and influence. I'd be cautious with what you find on YouTube or in online communities, it's most likely to be propaganda from these two internet-native movements.

Answer 3

I will assume that the reader has modest philosophical pretensions, wanting to form at least a foundation to understand and attack contemporary problems, further dialog with Christian philosophers and Christian theologians in the modern day.

intro to modern POR

these are referenced fairly often. It is incomplete (!), since the literature is so vast. Also, many are a bit outdated, but nonetheless useful for pedagogical reasons. Mostly natural theology, with some Christian flavor (since Christians are the most prominent writers in POR, probably).

• Mackie, the Miracle of Theism: 1982. A very easy introduction to the basic arguments for and against natural theology, somewhat polemical, responded to heavily in the literature, hence worth knowing.

• Swineburne the existence of God 1979. As above, an easy, biased intro. Also responded to heavily in the literature. Actually an argument for Christianity.

Please also see the SEP on (a) divine hiddenness (b) the problem of evil (c) fine tuning (d) skeptical theism. Read perhaps Craig 1979, Koons 1997 for intros (again, mildly outdated) to modern day cosmological arguments. See of course Oppy for criticisms thereof.

intro to modern Christian philosophy

• Plantinga is Belief in God Properly Basic 1981. Plus see Plantinga's whole project of reformed epistemology, originally for reformed Christians, but as of late adopted by Catholics, and probably those of other faith traditions as well.

• Dale Tuggy, what is the trinity? 2017. I've included this one since it presents a criticism of modern trinitarian discourse, plus is indicative of a (modern?) trend in Christian theology - namely some acceptance of use of historical critical methods. It is beyond me to provide an intro to the use of HC methods, further HC methods in Christian thought, but Ehrman, Allison, Hurtado, Sanders are popular scholars in the area.

See also: Pruss, for his works on Christian Ethics (he works from a broadly NL perspective). Of course one should be aware of basic arguments in ethics, such as violinist argument for pro-choice positions, etc. Moser, for his Christian responses to Divine Hiddenness.

Left out so far has been any discussion of Christian existentialism, how Christianity is to interact with politics, and any number of discussions about the interplay between science and Christianity. Also there are a huge number of things important to christians such as atonement, sin, etc that are also treated philosophically (just see CUP or SEP). But these are, in my opinion, not introductory.