About Faith and Philosophy
This book's twelve chapters use Church history as a backdrop while they trace the fascinating interrelationship of faith and philosophy from the time of the early Greek thinkers to the present day. The book also consists of a preface, an introduction, notes, and a bibliography. A helpful chart that shows what was happening in Greece during the period that the Bible was being written in Israel is contained in a chapter entitled The Influence of Philosophy on Scripture.
Another chapter describes the councils that were held early in Church history for the purpose of formulating doctrine. An especially important one was the Council of Chalcedon, called in 451, which established affirmation of the two natures of Jesus Christ--human and divine.
To help the reader better understand why God willed philosophy, two chapters are devoted to the influence of philosophy on Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Three other chapters explore the interrelationship of philosophy and faith during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation.
The tenth and eleventh chapters convincingly point out why it is important for various faiths to become more tolerant of each other. They also describe several shared beliefs; that is, beliefs that various faiths have in common. For example, among adherents of Confucianism, one finds reverence for family life and belief in the Golden Rule--the rule imploring that you do unto others as you would have them do unto you. In this respect, they are similar to Christians. There is no doubt that greater understanding of other religions can lead to greater peace in our world.
The last chapter, The Meaning of Faith, features Old Testament stories in which people's faith was tested, such as Noah and the Ark and the Book of Job. The latter is best known as having the theme of innocent suffering, but it is also an excellent story about the testing of a man's faith and his ultimate transformation.
The book concludes by suggesting ways that people today can look into their own lives to find the meaning of faith. The author again names historical figures who would be good models to follow, whose spiritual lives were discussed in earlier chapters. In several places in the book, she quotes portions of the works of those historical figures, whose logical arguments are used to refute the views of several modern-day atheistic philosophers and psychologists.
In these and in many other ways, Faith and Philosophy answers the need that people have for an increased spiritual awareness.
