RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-04-15DOI: 10.1017/s003441252400012x
Owen Hulatt, Lucas Oro Hershtein
{"title":"True ‘contradictions’ and conflicts in the Talmud","authors":"Owen Hulatt, Lucas Oro Hershtein","doi":"10.1017/s003441252400012x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s003441252400012x","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, we consider the presence of what appear to be true contradictions in the Talmud. We consider and reject a glut-theoretic response. We argue these apparently contradictory Talmudic passages should be understood not as ordinary propositions, but as being given under an operator. This allows us to understand these rulings as genuinely conflicting, but not genuinely contradictory. We illustrate the broad shape of such a view through consideration of Hans Kelsen's late-period philosophy of law. We also consider and reject responses to this issue given by Rashi, R. Kook, and R. Feinstein. We close by considering why a system of Jewish law which allows for jointly affirmed conflicting propositions is desirable. We claim that if, as Maimonides suggests, the fundamental project of Jewish law is the eradication of idolatry, then the law itself should remind us that God's ways are higher than our ways. One way of doing so is to resist capture by a transparent set of principles, by allowing for conflicting rulings to be affirmed. This article does not presuppose familiarity with the Talmudic corpus or Jewish tradition.","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"58 2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140576087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-04-15DOI: 10.1017/s0034412523001051
Ana Bajželj
{"title":"Selfhood, persistence, and immortality in Jaina philosophy","authors":"Ana Bajželj","doi":"10.1017/s0034412523001051","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412523001051","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores the notion of immortality in Jaina philosophy by focusing on the problem of the persistence of the self. It considers the concept of persistence within the broader context of Jaina metaphysics and its specific application to living beings. The article analyses the relationship between the immaterial self and its material body to determine which aspects of living beings can be deemed immortal or persisting beyond death. It also investigates the state of liberation as an immortal condition. Drawing from the <jats:italic>Tattvârtha-sūtra</jats:italic> and four of its commentaries, the article demonstrates the complexity of the Jaina treatment of the issue of the self's persistence over time and its commitment to the doctrine of non-one-sidedness. It also shows that Jaina philosophers deal with this critical philosophical problem in a way that reflects their engagement with the intellectual debates of their time.","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140576093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-04-11DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000131
Samuel Lebens
{"title":"The apple of God's eye: a biblical account of holiness","authors":"Samuel Lebens","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000131","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, an exercise in Jewish philosophy, I propose a taxonomy that can account for and organize all of the many species of holiness that we find in the Hebrew Bible. Each species admits of precise definition. Moreover, the genus as a whole can be unified by a guiding metaphor, suggested by the Bible itself. Holiness, according to this metaphor, is bestowed by a certain type of gaze, and ultimately by occupying the centre of the field of God's attention.","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140576092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-26DOI: 10.1017/s003441252400009x
Thomas H. McCall
{"title":"Trinity, simplicity, and contradictory theology: a theologian's reflections","authors":"Thomas H. McCall","doi":"10.1017/s003441252400009x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s003441252400009x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>I explore the promise of Beall's proposal for a long-standing challenge for traditional theology. I first offer a sketch of the problem and a brief overview of some of the more common responses to it. I then show how Beall's proposal holds initial promise; following this I highlight some concerns and raise some questions.</p>","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140302842","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-26DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000118
James N. Anderson
{"title":"On the virtues of neutrality","authors":"James N. Anderson","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000118","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000118","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Jc Beall's <span>Divine Contradiction</span> proposes a bold response to the so-called ‘logical’ problems of the Trinity: we should admit without embarrassment that divine reality is flat-out contradictory. Beall defends his proposal against a wide range of objections and contends that it enjoys various philosophical and theological virtues, including the virtues of metaphysical and epistemological neutrality. While I agree that <span>ceteris paribus</span> these are desirable, I question whether the possession of these virtues really gives Beall's approach any advantage over its competitors when the chips are finally counted.</p>","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140303101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-21DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000027
Nicholas Hadsell
{"title":"Divine authority as divine parenthood","authors":"Nicholas Hadsell","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000027","url":null,"abstract":"In this article, I argue that God is authoritative over us because he is our divine, causal parent. As our causal parent, God has duties to relate to us, but he can only fulfil those duties if he has the practical authority to give us commands aimed at our sanctification. From ought-implies-can reasoning, I conclude that God has that authority. After I make this argument, I show how the view has significant advantages over extant arguments for divine authority and can help solve other significant problems in philosophy of religion.","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140202706","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-20DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000106
Harvey Cawdron
{"title":"The regeneration of the cosmic mind: cosmopsychism, mental chaos, and the new creation","authors":"Harvey Cawdron","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000106","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000106","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In several works, Joanna Leidenhag has discussed the theological merits of panpsychism, the idea that consciousness is ubiquitous in the universe. I shall pursue a related project here in which I consider how a variant of panpsychism called cosmopsychism, in which the universe itself is seen to be conscious, can answer key questions regarding the cosmic scope of sin and redemption in the new creation view of eschatology. After outlining the new creation view and considering key problems in the contemporary debate about cosmopsychism in philosophy of mind, I shall propose a cosmopsychist account of the new creation view that can address these queries regarding cosmic scope.</p>","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140170753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-18DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000088
Miles K. Donahue
{"title":"Divine psychology and cosmic fine-tuning","authors":"Miles K. Donahue","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000088","url":null,"abstract":"<p>After briefly outlining the fine-tuning argument (FTA), I explain how it relies crucially on the claim that it is not improbable that God would design a fine-tuned universe. Against this premise stands the divine psychology objection: the contention that the probability that God would design a fine-tuned universe is inscrutable. I explore three strategies for meeting this objection: (i) denying that the FTA requires any claims about divine psychology in the first place, (ii) defining the motivation and intention to design a fine-tuned universe into the theistic hypothesis, and (iii) providing arguments that the relevant probability is not terribly low. While I reject the first two, I conclude, in line with the third, that considerations about life's objective value establish that it is not absurdly improbable that God would design a fine-tuned universe, whether one regards the FTA as an inference merely to a cosmic designer, or to theism proper. Accordingly, the divine psychology objection fails.</p>","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"98 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140150465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-18DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000052
Lari Launonen
{"title":"Non-belief as self-deception?","authors":"Lari Launonen","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000052","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The suppression thesis is the theological claim that theistic non-belief results from culpable mistreatment of one's knowledge of God or one's evidence for God. The thesis is a traditional one but unpopular today. This article examines whether it can gain new credibility from the philosophy of self-deception and from the cognitive science of religion. The thesis is analysed in terms of the intentionalist and the non-intentionalist model of self-deception. The first proposed model views non-belief as intentional suppression of one's implicit knowledge of God. It is less feasible psychologically but has a good theological fit with Paul's and Calvin's versions of the thesis. This model also helps the argument for the culpability of non-belief. The second model views suppression as a process of subconscious motivated reasoning driven by a desire to avoid an uncomfortable truth. It fits Pascal's view that one's desire for or against God determines whether one sees general revelation as providing sufficient evidence for God. There is some empirical and anecdotal evidence for both models, but obvious cases of non-resistant non-belief present a major problem for the suppression thesis. Also, it is hard to see what might motivate anyone to deceive oneself about God's existence.</p>","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140156934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
RELIGIOUS STUDIESPub Date : 2024-03-14DOI: 10.1017/s0034412524000040
Anna Marmodoro
{"title":"Glutty and simple?","authors":"Anna Marmodoro","doi":"10.1017/s0034412524000040","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412524000040","url":null,"abstract":"Beall's original understanding of the nature of the divine allows for contradictory statements to be true of God, by assuming that parts of reality, such as the Trinity, are ‘glutty’ (namely, what we can say about them is both true and false). Is the divine is the only glutty part of reality, and if so, why? Furthermore, does the glutty nature of the divine undermine its simplicity? Beall argues that God is not mereologically complex, but on his account God is logically and hence, it appears, metaphysically complex.","PeriodicalId":45888,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS STUDIES","volume":"84 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2024-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140150469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}