ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Natural (a)theologies in Ancient Israel: Descriptive perspectives from philosophy of religion

 

 

Jacobus W. Gericke

School of Basic Sciences, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, South Africa

Correspondence

 

 

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ABSTRACT

According to popular consensus, the ancient Israelites shunned natural theology and belief in Yahweh was based on revelation and not reason. In relatively recent times, this view has come under increasing pressure as the presence of natural theology in the Hebrew Bible has turned into a topic of sporadic interest. In this article, a contribution to this discussion is made by way of placing the topic in its proper framework within the philosophy of religion. In doing so, it provides a descriptive introduction to what will for the foreseen future remain a controversial issue.

Keywords: arguments for the existence of God; atheism; atheology; biblical theology; Natural theology

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Correspondence:
Jacobus Gericke
School of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Humanities
North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus
PO Box 1174
Vanderbijlpark 1900
South Africa
Email: 21609268@nwu.ac.za

Received: 26 May 2010
Accepted: 18 Aug. 2010
Published: 10 Nov. 2010