The Wisdom of Clarity and Coherence in Analytic Theology

Abstract

ANGLO-AMERICAN ANALYTIC philosophy of religion is an esteemed tradition. Recently, analytic philosophy has expanded into theological territory, promising to offer a novel vista from which to view the relations of God, self, and world. In this article, I engage with Oliver D. Crisp and Michael C. Rea, co-editors of the volume Analytic Theology, in their description of that enterprise. I begin by offering some criticisms intended to draw attention to potentially serious limitations in the analytic method of inquiry, first by pointing out the narrow and potentially constricting sense in which wisdom is conceived and then by emphasizing that the lack of methodological pliancy leads to a rigidly ontological construal of conceptual “clarity” based on evidence grounded (purely and/or primarily) on propositional knowledge for content. I address these substantive shortcomings in a set of critical observations, and I use the example of (the problem of) evil in order to hone a better understanding of the lack in the analytic method, as well as to further the discussion of its relevance to theological reflection.