•  62
    The God Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers (and Everyone in Between)
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 33 (1): 91-94. 2012.
    The first thing that the reader notices when taking up John Shook's The God Debates is his refreshingly conciliatory tone. In a time when the "New Atheists" crowd the best-sellers lists with mud-slinging tomes and Evangelical Christians and others seem all too ready to return fire, Shook offers his work as a contribution to "ecumenical conversation" (p. 2), extending intrafaith and interfaith dialogue to include the nonreligious. In this book, Shook focuses his attention on the question of God's…Read more
  •  53
    Transforming Faith: Individual and Community in H. Richard Niebuhr by Joshua Daniel
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 39 (2): 81-84. 2018.
    Joshua Daniel offers a reconstruction of the influence of Josiah Royce and George Herbert Mead on H. Richard Niebuhr to counter predominate strains in Christian ethics that overemphasize the role of socialization in moral formation at the expense of acknowledging the agency of individuals and their importance in preventing communities from turning in on themselves or becoming static. Daniel characterizes the driving worry of postliberal Christian ethics as “the accommodation of Christian communi…Read more
  •  35
    Toward a Realistic, Public, Christian Pacifism
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 33 (3): 245-257. 2012.
    In a 2007 interview, then senator and presidential candidate, Barack Obama, called Reinhold Niebuhr, “one of my favorite philosophers.” When his interviewer, David Brooks, followed by asking, “What do you take away from him?” Obama answered, “I take away the compelling idea that there’s serious evil in the world, and hardship and pain. And we should be humble and modest in our belief we can eliminate those things. But we shouldn’t use that as an excuse for cynicism and inaction. I take away . . …Read more
  •  27
    Nonviolence and the Nightmare: King and Black Self-Defense
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 39 (1): 64-73. 2018.
    I remember the first time that I heard James Cone's voice. A well-established, white scholar had just given what I thought to be a solid presentation on Martin Luther King Jr.'s notion of the "beloved community." When he had finished, Cone was one of the first to speak in the question and answer period. His strong tenor was piercing: "You can't talk about the dream, if you're not going to talk about the nightmare." He went on to clarify his worry that the heart of King's message was too often lo…Read more
  •  21
    Nonviolence and Moral Equivalency
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 35 (2): 172-183. 2014.
    In 1910, William James made his contribution to the "war against war" in his essay "The Moral Equivalent of War." "Militarism is the great preserver of our ideals of hardihood," he argued. "It is a sort of sacrament." The warrior is truly a hero because he exemplifies hardiness, loyalty, and self-sacrifice. Some other cause and project will need to be found that can inspire these same qualities, if militarism is to be countered effectively. A "moral equivalent to war" is required. James employed…Read more
  •  14
    Naturalistic Fruits of the Spirit: Faith, Hope, and Love
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 42 (1): 32-49. 2021.
    This article continues a dialogue between Demian Wheeler and myself that extends debates between Bernard Loomer and Bernard Meland of the third generation of the Chicago school. My contribution begins with my journey from a more panentheistic approach to process theology consistent with the Claremont school toward a thoroughgoing naturalistic and empirical process theology consistent with Loomer and Meland. After clarifying why I found and find Meland’s theology more satisfying, I turn to a prag…Read more
  •  12
    This book offers another in a long line of Creighton Peden’s contributions to understanding the thought of perhaps neglected religious thinkers in the American liberal tradition. Peden has stated that his approach in writing about figures like Gerald Birney Smith, George Burman Foster, and Edward Scribner Ames has not been critical or even comparative, but explicative. His goal is to make more of their work more accessible. And Peden is especially well positioned to do so in the case of Bernard …Read more
  •  8
    Christian Naturalism: Christian Thinking for Living in This World Only by Karl E. Peters (review)
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 44 (2): 97-99. 2023.
    In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:Christian Naturalism: Christian Thinking for Living in This World Only by Karl E. PetersDaniel J. OttChristian Naturalism: Christian Thinking for Living in This World Only. Karl E. Peters. Boston: Wipf & Stock, 2022. xvi + 152 pp. $25.00 paperback; $22.00 eBook; $40.00 hardcover.The number of scholars who would call themselves Christian naturalists and the number of books that think through what it means to be both Christ…Read more
  •  5
    Guest Editor’s Preface: Faith and Solidarity
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 37 (2): 105-107. 2016.
    The essays in this issue of the American Journal of Theology and Philosophy were originally presented at the 2015 meeting of the Institute for American Religious and Philosophical Thought, held in Asheville, North Carolina, in June. Hannah Schell and I are glad to have had the opportunity to convene that conference and edit this collection.Joshua Daniel writes, “To be members of a community is to participate willingly in the interpretation of ourselves to ourselves”. These essays pursue meanings…Read more
  •  4
    The Religious Qualities of Naturalistic God Metaphors: Introducing the Debate
    with Demian Wheeler
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 42 (1): 5-7. 2021.
    What follows is a continuation of a debate that dates back to at least John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius but took on its naturalistic guise in the third generation of the Chicago school between Bernard Loomer and Bernard Meland. Basically, the argument pertains to whether God is to be associated with everything that is, including suffering and evil, or whether God is more rightly associated with what we take to be good or redemptive. Loomer defended the former position. Late in life, he came to e…Read more
  •  1
    Pragmatic Nonviolence: Working toward a Better World
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 43 (2-3): 174-177. 2022.
  • Review (review)
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 33 (1): 91-94. 2012.
  • Review (review)
    American Journal of Theology and Philosophy 36 (3): 292-295. 2015.