C. Stephen Evans & critical dialog C. Stephen Evans. “Critical Dialog in Philosophy of Religion.” In Michael Peterson, et al., eds. Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings. 3rd ed. NY: Oxford UP, 2007. An examination of the three main positions on the relationship between religious faith & reason: Fideism, Neutralism, and Critical Dialog. (Note that Evans’ names for these positions differs from the standard names.) Evans on critical dialog ~ slide 1

C. Stephen Evans & critical dialog Fideism Taking a neutral stance on religious truth claims is destructive of religion. Should start with religious faith, a personal commitment. Critique Is internally self-justifying The problem of religious pluralism The Jonestown incident Evans on critical dialog ~ slide 2

C. Stephen Evans & critical dialog If we accept theism, then we should accept human rationality and its use as a gift from God Neutralism (a variation of strong rationalism) Must take an entirely neutral, presuppositionless stance when investigating religious truth claims Critique Is it possible to be rational & completely neutral? Evans on critical dialog ~ slide 3

C. Stephen Evans & critical dialog Is neutralism desirable even as an ideal? The Cartesian ideal & its failure Does science, often taken as the quintessence of neutral rationalism, achieve this ideal? Critical dialog (what Peterson et al. call critical rationalism) Taking the best of fideism & neutralism Evans on critical dialog ~ slide 4

C. Stephen Evans & critical dialog How can we test our basic religious beliefs? Simple matters of fact are easy to test But what about big theories (grand systems of ideas), including religious belief systems? The standards in science: coherence, predictive or explanatory power, & relative to competitors Can religious belief systems be tested in a similar way? Evans on critical dialog ~ slide 5

C. Stephen Evans & critical dialog A few differences: * Testing religious systems is more complicated * Is more difficult because of strong commitments * Evidence is different Critical dialog is important to a robust religious faith Evans on critical dialog ~ slide 6