Reason and God

Religious faith and philosophical thought, the most fundamental spiritual forms in human life, have always found themselves in the peculiar position of not being able to get along with each other and of not being able to remain permanently apart. Their overlap of interest, as shown in their common concern for such matters as the ultimate nature of things, the form of the good life, the destiny of man and his status in the universe, …

…topic bids us begin with two acknowledgments. First, natural religion has been understood in many senses and this has often led to confusion and discussion at cross purposes. Secondly, in the current revival of Protestant theology any idea of natural religion is anathema. Even more, there are those for whom religion itself is regarded as a merely "human" phenomenon which belongs to culture, having nothing to do with God as understood in the Christian tradition.