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Randal Rauser

Home of progressively evangelical, generously orthodox, rigorously analytic, revolutionary Christian thinking (that's what I'm aiming for anyway)

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Anselm

Does God’s perfection undermine petitionary prayer?

April 26, 2014 by Randal

In the comment thread to my latest podcast, “Travis Dumsday on the atheist’s duty to pray,” philosopher Robert Gressis offered an objection to the practice of prayer. The objection is based on the assumption that God is a maximally perfect being (i.e. the Anselmian conception), and thus perfectly good and all knowing. Gressis explains: assuming that we’re […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Anselm, foreknowledge, God, perfect being, petitionary prayer, providence

Why biblical theologians need philosophical theology

December 7, 2011 by Randal

I have enjoyed having a discussion with my colleague Jerry Shepherd. I think that the fact that we can have an irenic discussion of this type is very important and illustrates the need for more dialogue without enmity. As interesting as the convesation has been, even more interesting is discovering what the conversation is really […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Anselm, biblical theology, Jerry Shepherd, perfect being, philosophical theology, philosophy, theology

Could God be other than maximally loving? Yet another response to Jerry

December 7, 2011 by Randal

Jerry asks: “You say that God is “maximally loving” and that God maximizes his glory. My question for you is, if God wasn’t maximally loving, how could you tell? In other words, what would it take for you to declare that God is not maximally loving, and therefore, not worthy of your worship. If God […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Anselm, Jerry Shepherd, perfect being, theology

God is maximally great, God is perfectly good, so we can thank him in every possible world

October 12, 2011 by Randal

There has been much ado about the ontological argument, most of it skeptical. In response to the chorus of incredulity, it may help to put this into a more formalized type of argument. However, doing so is risky given the sharp minds out there waiting to trip me up. But I care more about corporate illumination […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Anselm, God, modality, necessity, ontological argument, perfect being, possible world, theistic proof

That theologian from which greater behavior could be conceived

October 12, 2011 by Randal

Over the last few days we’ve had some substantial conversation over the great Anselm’s ontological argument and the accompanying definition of God as that than which none greater can be conceived. There is no doubt that Anselm was an enormously important, seminal thinker. But like all of us he was also human. And like all […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Anselm, perfect being theology, sin

Is God as perfect as I think he is?

October 9, 2011 by Randal

Walter asks: “Why must divine equal perfection? Why is it not possible for a transcendental Creator to be vastly more powerful and intelligent than us, yet still be short of perfection?” There are two questions here. Let’s number them for ease of reference. (1) Why must divine equal perfection? (2) Why is it not possible for a […]

Filed Under: The Tentative Apologist Tagged With: Anselm, atheism, divine, God, intuition, perfection, theism, theology

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