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Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology by Thomas V. Morris
Our Idea of An Introduction to Philosophical Theology
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First published January 28, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 30, 2017
This is a toned-down version of his Logic of God Incarnate and in many ways it is just as powerful and more accessible.. With the exception of his take on foreknowledge and eternity, I whole-heartedly recommend this book.
Furthermore, this book is a skillful exercise in analytic theology. Morris invites us to think deeply on what we mean by God. And we mean by God:
God is the greatest possible array of compossible great-making properties.
Morris explains some of the terms:
Great-making property: a property it is initially good to have.
Compossible: a set or array of properties is compossible if it is possible that they all be had by the same individual at the same time, or all together.
Morris’s take on God’s knowledge starts off well and cuts finite goddism off at the knees:
If God has to depend on any intermediary for knowledge, then this defeats creation theology: God would then be the creator of the intermediary, yet also lacking the knowledge of what he creates. Morris then defines two useful concepts in analytic philosophy: de re and de dicto.
The proposition
(1) God is omniscient
Is necessarily true. True in every possible world. It has both de dicto and de re status.
G1: Necessarily, God is omniscience (de dicto status)
G2: God is necessarily omniscience (both de dicto and de re).
I am going to skip what Morris says about Molinism, Presentism, and Eternity. His true skill is in Christology. Is it logically incoherent to say that Jesus is both God and Man? Morris shows that when we gloss our terms, there is no problem. He writes,
“Divinity, or deity, we shall continue to construe as analogous to a natural kind, and thus as comprising a kind-essence, a cluster of properties individually necessary and jointly sufficient for belonging to the kind, or in this case, for being divine” (162).
Morris then capitalizes on the argument in several crucial sentences:
“An individual-essence is a cluster of properties essential for an individual’s being the particular entity it is, properties without which it would not exist. A kind.essence is that cluster of properties without which, as we have seen, an individual would not belong to the particular natural kind it distinctively exemplifies. Of necessity, an individual can have no more than one individual-essence, or individual nature, but it does not follow from this, and is not, so far as I can tell, demonstrable from any other quarter, that an individual can have no more than one kind-essence” (163).
Let’s cash this out. Humans are sinful. Jesus was human. Yet, Jesus was without sin, so how could Jesus be human? Morris shows that sin is a common human property, but not an essential one (since it wasn’t there originally and won’t be there in heaven). Further, we say that Jesus is fully human, not merely human.
Fully human: exemplifying all of the properties in the kind-essence humanity
Merely human: exemplifying only those H-properties.
Two Minds Christology
They stand in an asymmetric accessing relation. Jesus typically drew upon his human resources.
This book is easier to read than Logic of God Incarnate, and can probably be found cheaper than Logic. It ends with a short bibliography.
Furthermore, this book is a skillful exercise in analytic theology. Morris invites us to think deeply on what we mean by God. And we mean by God:
God is the greatest possible array of compossible great-making properties.
Morris explains some of the terms:
Great-making property: a property it is initially good to have.
Compossible: a set or array of properties is compossible if it is possible that they all be had by the same individual at the same time, or all together.
Morris’s take on God’s knowledge starts off well and cuts finite goddism off at the knees:
If God has to depend on any intermediary for knowledge, then this defeats creation theology: God would then be the creator of the intermediary, yet also lacking the knowledge of what he creates. Morris then defines two useful concepts in analytic philosophy: de re and de dicto.
The proposition
(1) God is omniscient
Is necessarily true. True in every possible world. It has both de dicto and de re status.
G1: Necessarily, God is omniscience (de dicto status)
G2: God is necessarily omniscience (both de dicto and de re).
I am going to skip what Morris says about Molinism, Presentism, and Eternity. His true skill is in Christology. Is it logically incoherent to say that Jesus is both God and Man? Morris shows that when we gloss our terms, there is no problem. He writes,
“Divinity, or deity, we shall continue to construe as analogous to a natural kind, and thus as comprising a kind-essence, a cluster of properties individually necessary and jointly sufficient for belonging to the kind, or in this case, for being divine” (162).
Morris then capitalizes on the argument in several crucial sentences:
“An individual-essence is a cluster of properties essential for an individual’s being the particular entity it is, properties without which it would not exist. A kind.essence is that cluster of properties without which, as we have seen, an individual would not belong to the particular natural kind it distinctively exemplifies. Of necessity, an individual can have no more than one individual-essence, or individual nature, but it does not follow from this, and is not, so far as I can tell, demonstrable from any other quarter, that an individual can have no more than one kind-essence” (163).
Let’s cash this out. Humans are sinful. Jesus was human. Yet, Jesus was without sin, so how could Jesus be human? Morris shows that sin is a common human property, but not an essential one (since it wasn’t there originally and won’t be there in heaven). Further, we say that Jesus is fully human, not merely human.
Fully human: exemplifying all of the properties in the kind-essence humanity
Merely human: exemplifying only those H-properties.
Two Minds Christology
They stand in an asymmetric accessing relation. Jesus typically drew upon his human resources.
This book is easier to read than Logic of God Incarnate, and can probably be found cheaper than Logic. It ends with a short bibliography.
July 31, 2019
As the subtitle says, this is an introduction to philosophical theology, specifically what is called theology proper, or the doctrine of God. Christians do and should rely on the Bible to understand who God is. Yet with each doctrine of God (such as omnipotence, omniscience, the incarnation, the Trinity, etc.), there are philosophical issues that must be sorted out. As a tool, philosophy can sharpen our theology and demonstrate that it is coherent.
Morris appeals to Scripture and Perfect Being Theology to make sense of philosophical issues related to the doctrine of God.
Morris's writing is clear and cogent. Whether all his positions are correct are not is another matter, but I tend to agree with his positions.
Morris appeals to Scripture and Perfect Being Theology to make sense of philosophical issues related to the doctrine of God.
Morris's writing is clear and cogent. Whether all his positions are correct are not is another matter, but I tend to agree with his positions.
May 7, 2019
**true rating 4.5
Honestly, I thought this was an incredibly accessible read, especially given the subject matter. While true to its subtitle -- An Introduction to Philosophical Theology -- only the first two chapters seem to act as such. The rest of the chapters are more exercises of philosophical theology covering topics such as God's goodness, power, knowledge, relation to time and creation, and the distinctively Christian claims of two-natures Christology and three-person-yet-one-nature Trinity. Tom Morris employs Anselmian theology, or "perfect being theology" (PBT), which starts by saying that God is "that which nothing greater can be thought" (cf. Anselm, Monologion and Proslogion), or that God is "the greatest possible being" exhibiting "maximal perfection" (Morris, 35). This conceptual apparatus launches the thinker into some astonishing claims about God, which Morris so helpfully explores.
I find it odd, however, that God's omnipresence is not thoroughly discussed. Unlike his chapters on omnipotence and omniscience, which each attribute has its own chapter, omnipresence is attributed to God without much argument or defense. Perhaps, it would best fit in conversation about God's eternality, especially if one accepts that spacetime is irreducible and inseparable.
Honestly, I thought this was an incredibly accessible read, especially given the subject matter. While true to its subtitle -- An Introduction to Philosophical Theology -- only the first two chapters seem to act as such. The rest of the chapters are more exercises of philosophical theology covering topics such as God's goodness, power, knowledge, relation to time and creation, and the distinctively Christian claims of two-natures Christology and three-person-yet-one-nature Trinity. Tom Morris employs Anselmian theology, or "perfect being theology" (PBT), which starts by saying that God is "that which nothing greater can be thought" (cf. Anselm, Monologion and Proslogion), or that God is "the greatest possible being" exhibiting "maximal perfection" (Morris, 35). This conceptual apparatus launches the thinker into some astonishing claims about God, which Morris so helpfully explores.
I find it odd, however, that God's omnipresence is not thoroughly discussed. Unlike his chapters on omnipotence and omniscience, which each attribute has its own chapter, omnipresence is attributed to God without much argument or defense. Perhaps, it would best fit in conversation about God's eternality, especially if one accepts that spacetime is irreducible and inseparable.
July 12, 2021
This book is not about the proofs of God, but about our idea of who God is and the theological proofs defending those positions. It is a dense read in a rather short book, making it accessible but not comprehensive. It's not really proving anything, or taking strong sides, but it is more of an introduction to students on the topic. I found my mind wander a bit at some parts, and sometimes even imagining God in ways not touched upon here. Maybe because I was not quite prepared for a book like this - still in the end, I was thankful for getting around reading it.
October 3, 2023
Certainly a great book for this philosophical subject. I think Morris could’ve added a bit more in terms of content; however, it was a challenging and fun reading experience.
Morris presents each topic concisely and in a approachable way. I only wish that he had added a bit more. I will also add that his responses to certain premises are interesting, yet entertaining.
If you need an introduction book, this is a great choice!
86/100
(I read this for my Philosophy of the Christian Faith Class).
Morris presents each topic concisely and in a approachable way. I only wish that he had added a bit more. I will also add that his responses to certain premises are interesting, yet entertaining.
If you need an introduction book, this is a great choice!
86/100
(I read this for my Philosophy of the Christian Faith Class).
October 4, 2019
The god depicted in these pages is Morris’ best attempt to describe a philosophically adequate concept of divinity. But, unsurprisingly, this ‘god’ bears little resemblance to the One who raised Jesus from the dead.
Read Aquinas if you want a better attempt.
Read Aquinas if you want a better attempt.
December 8, 2007
Morris writes about the approach of philosophical to Christian doctrines about God. His approach combines perfect being theology with other methods to show that philosophical theology can provide some "inroads" into our understanding of God. While he present the first few chapters from a monotheistic view, the last chapter takes a distinctly Christian turn.
A helpful introduction to philosophical theology, but not the best in terms of getting a grasp of the doctrine of God. Would recommend other books to serve that purpose.
A helpful introduction to philosophical theology, but not the best in terms of getting a grasp of the doctrine of God. Would recommend other books to serve that purpose.
May 12, 2012
Wonderful little (very short!) introduction to philosophical theology. Succinct, clear, easy to follow. Morris does a good job of demarcating his views from the others he summarizes, and gives them all fair treatment.
December 21, 2015
a good overview of the arguments for a theistic view of deity. I especially like the chapter on creation in which the author deals with the problems related to dependence of the world to God.
January 15, 2021
The book that transformed my understanding of God and Judeo-Christian Theology
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews