•  1804
    The link between human nature and human flourishing is undeniable. "A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit" (Matt. 7:18). The ontology of the human person will, therefore, ground the nature of human flourishing and thereby sanctification. Spiritual formation is the area of Christian theology that studies sanctification, the Spirit-guided process whereby disciples of Jesus are formed into the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:28-29; 2 Cor. 3:18; 2 Peter 3:18). Until th…Read more
  •  304
    Revolutionary Neighbor-Love: Kierkegaard, Marx, and Social Reform
    International Journal on Humanistic Ideology 11 (1): 199-218. 2021.
    In this paper we compare Kierkegaard’s and Marx’s views on social reform. Then we argue that Kierkegaard’s own reasoning is consistent with the expression of neighbor-love through collective action, i.e. social reform. However, Kierkegaard’s approach to social reform would be vastly different than Marx’s. We end by reviewing several questions that Kierkegaardian social reformers would ask themselves. Our hope is that this exploration will provide helpful insights into how those who g…Read more
  •  174
    God and Moral Obligation
    Oxford University Press. 2013.
    God and moral obligations -- What is a divine command theory of moral obligation? -- The relation of divine command theory to natural law and virtue ethics -- Objections to divine command theory -- Alternatives to a divine command theory -- Conclusions: The inescapability of moral obligations.
  •  162
    C. Stephen Evans explains and defends Kierkegaard's account of moral obligations as rooted in God's commands, the fundamental command being `You shall love your neighbour as yourself'. The work will be of interest not only to those interested in Kierkegaard, but also to those interested in the relation between ethics and religion, especially questions about whether morality can or must have a religious foundation. As well as providing a comprehensive reading of Kierkegaard as an ethical thinker,…Read more
  •  123
    Kierkegaard’s View of Humor
    Faith and Philosophy 4 (2): 176-186. 1987.
    Many people view humor and a serious religious life as antithetical. This paper attempts to elucidate Kierkegaard’s view of humor, and thereby to explain his claims that humor is essentially linked to a religious life, and that the capacity for humor resides in a deep structure of human existence. A distinction is drawn between humor as a general element in life, and a special sense of humor as a “boundary zone” of the religious life. The latter kind of “humorist” embodies a religious perspectiv…Read more
  •  122
    Moral Arguments
    In The Philosophers' Magazine, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 6-8. 2010.
    This article provides a survey of types of moral arguments for the existence of God. The article begins by defending this type of arguments against some common criticisms, and then distinguishes practical moral arguments from theoretical moral arguments, before looking at the strengths and weaknesses of various versions of each type. The philosophers who are discussed include Immanuel Kant, Philip Quinn, Robert Adams, and George Mavrodes. The article defends the claim that such arguments can be …Read more
  •  98
    Separable souls: A defense of minimal dualism
    Southern Journal of Philosophy 19 (3): 313-332. 1981.
  •  95
    Kierkegaard and the Limits of Reason: Can There Be a Responsible Fideism?
    Revista Portuguesa de Filosofia 64 (2/4). 2008.
    This paper argues that Kierkegaard is not an irrationalist, but a "responsible fideist." Responsible fideism attempts to answer two important philosophical questions: "Are there limits to reason?" and "How can the limits of reason be recognized?" Kierkegaard's account of the incarnation as "the absolute paradox" does not see the incarnation as a logical contradiction, but rather functions in a way similar to a Kantian antimony. Faith in the incarnation both helps us recognize the limits of reaso…Read more
  •  87
    Kierkegaard and Plantinga on Belief in God
    Faith and Philosophy 5 (1): 25-39. 1988.
    This paper compares the views and arguments of Alvin Plantinga and Søren Kierkegaard on the question of belief in God. Kierkegaard’s view of belief in God (which must be sharply distinguished from faith in the Absolute Paradox) is shown to be surprisinglysimilar to Plantinga’s claim that belief in God can be properly basic. Two of Plantinga’s arguments for taking belief in God as properly basic are shown to have analogues in Kierkegaard.Plantinga claims that though properly basic beliefs are not…Read more
  •  85
    Kierkegaard's Aesthete and Unamuno's Niebla
    Philosophy and Literature 28 (2): 342-352. 2004.
    What is truly beautiful? For Søren Kierkegaard the beautiful is to be found in an integrated self, one that is freely chosen. This article explores Kierkegaard's "aesthetic" stage of existence through the character of Augusto Pérez, the protagonist of Miguel de Unamuno's novel, Niebla. After establishing a solid link between Unamuno and Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard's "ethical" stage is used to critique the "aesthetic" stage on aesthetic grounds, on the basis of the beauty found in life's work, a cal…Read more
  •  81
    Wisdom as Conceptual Understanding
    Faith and Philosophy 27 (4): 369-381. 2010.
    This article argues that Platonism provides a plausible account of wisdom, one that is especially attractive for Christians. Christian Platonism sees wisdom as conceptual understanding; it is a “knowledge of the Forms.” To be convincing this view requires us to see understanding as including an appreciation of the relations between concepts as well as the value of the possible ways of being that concepts disclose. If the Forms are Divine Ideas, then we can see why God is both supremely wise and …Read more
  •  73
  •  65
    Evidentialist and non-evidentialist accounts of historical religious knowledge
    International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 35 (3). 1994.
  •  55
    Kierkegaard On Escaping the Cult of Busyness
    with Karl Aho
    Institute of Art and Ideas. 2018.
    A 2016 article in the Journal of Consumer Research argues that busyness has become a status symbol. In earlier societies, such as the 19th century Thorstein Veblen describes in his Theory of the Leisure Class, the wealthy conspicuously avoided work. They saw idleness as an ideal. By contrast, contemporary Americans praise being overworked. They see busy individuals as possessing rare and desirable characteristics, such as competence and ambition. To respond philosophically to our new overwork…Read more
  •  52
    Critical Historical Judgement and Biblical Faith
    Faith and Philosophy 11 (2): 184-206. 1994.
  •  50
    The Soul Hypothesis (review)
    Faith and Philosophy 29 (2): 240-243. 2012.
  •  49
    If some philosophers had not existed, the history of philosophy would have to invent them. After all, what would the introduction to philosophy teacher do without good old Berkeley, the notorious denier of common sense, or Hume, the infamous sceptic. In some cases, in fact, philosophers have been invented by the history of philosophy. I don't mean to suggest that historians of philosophy have actually altered the past by bringing into being real flesh and blood philosophers. Rather, I mean to sa…Read more
  •  48
    The God of Metaphysics, by T. L. S. Sprigge.: Book Reviews (review)
    Mind 119 (475): 860-864. 2010.
    (No abstract is available for this citation)
  •  45
    The Revolt against Accountability to God
    Philosophia Christi 21 (2): 289-308. 2019.
    Philosophers such as Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud have developed “global hermeneutical perspectives” on human nature. This paper argues that Christian faith also provides such a perspective, which is termed the “no-neutrality thesis.” Humans were created to serve God, but they have rebelled against their rightful sovereign, and this rebellion may show itself in morality. If moral obligations are God’s requirements, then the human rebellion might provide motivation for rejecting objective moral obl…Read more
  •  43
    Book reviews (review)
    with Stephen Crites, Findley B. Edge, S. Daniel Breslauer, Frederick Sontag, Clement Dore, John W. Elrod, John Sallis, Henry W. Smorynski, and Louis P. Pojman
    International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 12 (3): 179-191. 1981.
  •  42
    Kierkegaard: An Introduction
    Cambridge University Press. 2009.
    C. Stephen Evans provides a clear, readable introduction to Søren Kierkegaard as a philosopher and thinker. His book is organised around Kierkegaard's concept of the three 'stages' or 'spheres' of human existence, which provide both a developmental account of the human self and an understanding of three rival views of human life and its meaning. Evans also discusses such important Kierkegaardian concepts as 'indirect communication', 'truth as subjectivity', and the Incarnation understood as 'the…Read more
  •  41
    Kierkegaard's aesthete and unamuno's
    Philosophy and Literature 28 (2): 342-352. 2004.
    : What is truly beautiful? For Søren Kierkegaard the beautiful is to be found in an integrated self, one that is freely chosen. This article explores Kierkegaard's "aesthetic" stage of existence through the character of Augusto Pérez, the protagonist of Miguel de Unamuno's novel, Niebla. After establishing a solid link between Unamuno and Kierkegaard, Kierkegaard's "ethical" stage is used to critique the "aesthetic" stage on aesthetic grounds, on the basis of the beauty found in life's work, a c…Read more
  •  41
    Faith, Reason, and History (review)
    Faith and Philosophy 5 (3): 330-332. 1988.
  •  40
    This paper considers whether a divine-command theory of moral obligation could justify morally horrible acts, partly by examining Kierkegaard’s writings. It argues that only the commands of a God who is essentially good could be morally justified, and thus no defensible version of a DCT could actually justify horrible acts. In Works of Love Kierkegaard defends such a DCT, and thus is committed to the claim that any actual commands of God must be aimed at the good. This is consistent with the cla…Read more
  •  40
    In this article I compare the kryptic model of the Incarnation, developed by Andrew Loke, with two other models, the “two-minds” model and the kenotic model. All three models succeed in showing the logical coherence of the doctrine of the Incarnation, and I concede that Loke’s model has some of the advantages of both of the other two, while avoiding some perceived disadvantages. However, I argue that Loke’s model also has some of the disadvantages of both of the other models. In conclusion I arg…Read more
  •  40
    Kierkegaard on Religious Authority
    Faith and Philosophy 17 (1): 48-67. 2000.
    This paper explores the important role authority plays in the religious thought of Søren Kierkegaard. In contrast to dominant modes of thought in both modern and postmodern philosophy, Kierkegaard considers the religious authority inherent in a special revelation from God to be the fundamental source of religious truth. The question as to how a genuine religious authority can be recognized is particularly difficult for Kierkegaard, since rational evaluation of authorities could be seen as a reje…Read more