Danny McDonald

Paul Moser’s many contributions to Christian philosophy include his Christ-Shaped Philosophy project. In this project, Moser calls for Christian philosophers to take seriously the authority of Jesus Christ in their intellectual pursuits. One way in which the Christian philosopher submits to Jesus Christ’s authority is by pursuing only those philosophical questions that lead one to serve and love God and neighbor. Despite Moser’s refreshing and needed perspective on metaphilosophical issues, his Christ-Shaped Philosophy is not without problems. This paper argues that Moser’s appeal to Mark 12:28-31 (the greatest commandment) unnecessarily reduces and constricts the kinds of questions Christian philosophers pursue. The paper first provides a brief summary of Moser’s metaphilosophy, particularly his discussion regarding the types of questions philosophers ask. The paper then traces out the implications of Moser’s view in Christian philosophy as well as other disciplines. Building upon the groundwork laid by Moser, the paper sets forth a more robust view of metaphilosophy in regard to the questions that philosophers pursue. This is accomplished by exploring Augustine’s view about the unity and truth within the Trinity, after which the implications on philosophical questioning are teased out. The paper concludes by setting forth a renewed call for clarifying a Christian metaphilosophy in light of Christ’s redeeming work and the reality of the Trinity.

One of the primary means by which today’s believer hears God speak is through the reading of God’s word. “Living and active” (Heb 4:12, ESV), God’s word pierces and shapes the heart of the believer. But, what is it about reading Scripture that leads one to either obey or reject what God commands and teaches? Most of us know instinctively (at the least) that we learn something when we read. Yet, it seems that we generally limit this kind of knowing to merely knowing about. In this chapter, I seek to expound upon Murray Rae’s notion of “attentive listening” by arguing that the believer’s reading of the Bible is a form of listening, and thus an act of knowing that necessitates spiritual formation. To accomplish my thesis, I first expand upon what is meant by “to know” through building upon the work of Michael Polanyi (Personal Knowledge), Esther Meek (her covenant epistemology), and Dru Johnson (Epistemology and Biblical Theology and Scriptural Knowing). For these thinkers, the act knowing entails more than just knowing about—it necessarily involves listening to an authority, assenting to that authority, and embodying the authority’s teachings. Knowing, then, involves listening to and assenting to the authority of another. I then demonstrate that reading is another form of listening, such that when one reads Scripture, they are listening to God. If one submits to God’s authority, then the proper response is to live out (or embody) his teachings. This embodiment of God’s teachings leads to true knowledge of God (as opposed to mere knowledge about) and his ways, necessitating the believer’s spiritual formation.

Engaging Paul Moser’s Christ-Shaped Philosophy (CSP), this paper argues that listening is a philosophical virtue that is an essential characteristic of the Christ-shaped philosopher by meeting the Divine Love Commands (DLC). The paper first highlights the pertinent parts of Moser’s project that relate to the thesis of the paper – specifically that a defining feature of CSP is characterized by one’s Gethsemane union with Christ. The paper then follows with a discussion on the central role that listening plays in Scripture regarding the life of a child of God, providing a basis upon which to understand listening as meeting the first DLC. Drawing upon the works of thinkers such as Paul Moser, Dru Johnson, and Carol Harrison, among other, the paper engages the role of listening in one’s engagement with others, thus meeting the second DLC. The paper concludes by engaging the art of listening as a philosophical virtue, employing Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung’s definition of ‘virtue’ and Suzanne Rice’s exploration of listening as a Christ-shaped philosophical virtue.