Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

P hilosophy of religion [from Latin fides , also meaning trust or loyalty] Voluntary acceptance of views that are not supported rationally or empirically or that cannot be so supported, especially in association with religious belief. Faith is therefore contrasted with philosophical and scientific knowledge . The term became philosophically prominent with Paul, who took it as a Christian attitude of belief in the words or works of Christ. Paul's conception of faith as the gift of God was greatly developed by Augustine and Aquinas . How to reconcile the tension between faith and knowledge has been a major philosophical theme since medieval times. For Kant , faith is the acceptance of transcendental ideas , God, freedom, and immortality, which are beyond the realm of experience and are therefore not objects of theoretical knowledge. They nevertheless play a great role in moral affairs. Hegel, Kierkegaard , and Nietzsche all dealt extensively with the topic of faith. Faith is also an ethical term for keeping promises. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” Paul, in New Testament , Ephesians 2:8 ... log in or subscribe to read full text