Blackwell Reference Online

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Natural theology is the knowledge of God (and perhaps also of related topics, such as the immortality of the soul) accessible to all rational human beings without recourse to any special or supposedly supernatural revelation (see R evelation, concept of ). As the etymology of the word implies, theology was first studied among the Greeks, for whom God or the gods had become an intellectuai problem. The expression ‘natural theology’ ( theologia naturalis ) seems to have been first used by Augustine with reference to the deepest theological insights of the classical philosophers, insights which in some respects Augustine could acknowledge as anticipating the teaching about God in the ‘theologia supernaturalis’ of Christianity ( Jaeger, 1947 , pp. 1–4). Many other patristic writers had used arguments from pre-Christian philosophers in their theological writings. The alliance between natural theology and the supernatural, or revealed, theology of Christianity continued through the Middle Ages. In 1077 Anselm in his Monologion offered arguments for the existence of God as an alternative to believing on authority, and followed this with his Proslogion in which he stated his ontological argument for the existence of God. This famous argument is still debated by philosophers today. It is a purely rational argument, in the sense that it seeks to establish God's existence from the very ... log in or subscribe to read full text