Dedicated to the devotional, exegetical and philosophical study of theological paradox in Conservative, Thoroughly Biblical, Historically Orthodox, Essentially Reformed theology . . . to the glory of God alone!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Meet Dr. James Anderson - Author, Professor, Philosopher, and Proponent of Paradox

Here's a video about Dr. James Anderson, author of Paradox in Christian Theology: An Analysis of its Presence, Character, and Epistemic Status. So far, I've reviewed the first two chapters of the book, and I'll be adding more soon.

Anderson has accomplished a great feat in setting forth a philosophically grounded case for theological paradox. Prior to this, theological paradox was widely acknowledged - and even assumed in many circles - but no one had built a logical case for it from a philosophical standpoint. As such, Anderson has made a monumental contribution to theology, hermeneutics, and apologetics. Most importantly, he has helped us define the boundaries between apparent contradiction and actual falsehood, logical paradox and irrationality, genuine mystery and baseless mysticism. Even as Anderson was penning his book, God was opening my heart to the possibilities of Biblical paradox. Reading the book, I find the Lord is expanding my mind to a greater appreciation of the nature of His Truth.

The video is partly a bio of Anderson, and partly a promo for Reformed Theological Seminary, where Anderson teaches. Enjoy!


3 comments:

  1. You (and others) have really piqued my interest in this book. Paul Helm wrote a fairly extensive review of the book recently, which you would enjoy reading.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barry,

    I've read that review, it was almost as positive as Paul Manata's.

    A warning about the book: you may need to have a good college-level dictionary, a glossary of philosophical terms and a theological encyclopedia close at hand while you read. As Paul Manata noted: mental effort is required, but it's worth the effort. There's gold in them thar hills!

    Someday I want to write a simplified, less technical companion volume for those of us who are not used to swimming through higher philosphy.

    Grace & peace,
    Derek

    ReplyDelete
  3. Did I mention that James is an old friend of mine.

    :-)

    David

    ReplyDelete

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