Description

Is the existence of God a matter of faith or knowledge? Does God sometimes act miraculously or are there physical causes for everything? Is morality absolute or relative? Are humans truly free or does God’s sovereignty determine everything? When bad things happen, is God the cause or are they the fault of humans? Too frequently Christians answer these questions with a ‘Yes’ to one side and a ‘No’ to the other side. Thomas Aquinas and Karl Barth answer ‘Yes’ to both sides. Following their model, Machuga defends a ‘third way’ that transcends the Enlightenment dichotomies of fideism versus rationalism, supernaturalism versus naturalism, relativism versus absolutism, free will versus predestination, and God’s justice versus his mercy. Ric S. Machuga has taught Philosophy in the Honour Programme at Butte College for thirty-five years. He is the author of ‘In Defense of the Soul’ 2002 and ‘Life, the Universe, and Everything’ The Lutterworth Press, 2011. ‘Machuga begins by showing how these false dichotomies grew out of Enlightenment assumptions about mechanism, universal quantification, and mono-causation. He then corrects these demonstrably dubious assumptions by articulating a theory of dual-causation. The result is a thoroughly biblical understanding of God, miracles, and free will that can withstand the contemporary criticisms of both science and philosophy. This patient, lucid argument unpacks the false dichotomies that bedevil controversies about God’s sovereignty, human freedom, and divine judgment, leading us persuasively to embrace humility, mystery, and confident hope.’ John Wilson, editor of ‘Books & Culture’.