Saving God: Religion after Idolatry

213 Pages·2011·0.688 MB·English

by  Mark Johnston

SAVING GOD
(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)(cid:3)To view this image,
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Saving God
Religion after Idolatry
MARK JOHNSTON
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON & OXFORD
Copyright©2009byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,6OxfordStreet,
Woodstock,OxfordshireOX201TW
press.princeton.edu
AllRightsReserved
Secondprinting,andfirstpaperbackprinting,2011
PaperbackISBN978-0-691-15261-5
THELIBRARYOFCONGRESSHASCATALOGEDTHECLOTHEDITION
OFTHISBOOKASFOLLOWS
Johnston,Mark,1954–
SavingGod:religionafteridolatry/MarkJohnston.
p. cm.
Includesindex.
ISBN978-0-691-14394-1(hardcover:alk.paper)
1.Religion—Philosophy.2.Supernatural.3.Naturaltheology.
4.Idolatry.I.Title.
BL51.J752009
210—dc22 2009012482
BritishLibraryCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailable
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinMinion
Printedonacid-freepaper.∞
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Frontispiece:ElExpolio—TheDespoliationofChrist,alsoknownasThe
DisrobingofChrist,1577–1579.Canvas,129×160cm.Cathedral,Toledo,
Spain.PhotobyErichLessing/ArtResource,NY. ImageReference:
ART213731
For my mum,
MARIE BRIGIT BRENNAN JOHNSTON

Contents
PREFACE xi
Chapter 1 Is Your God Really God? 1
BELIEVING IN GOD—ON THE “NAMES” OF GOD—THE
MEANING OF “GOD” AND THE COMMON CONCEPTION OF
GOD—WHAT IS SALVATION?—SALVATION VERSUS SPIRITUAL
MATERIALISM
Chapter 2 The Idolatrous Religions 18
THE BAN ON IDOLATRY—IDOLATRY AS PERVERSE
WORSHIP—GRAVEN IMAGES AND THE HIGHEST ONE—
IDOLATRY AS SERVILITY—THE RHETORIC OF
IDOLATROUSNESS—THE SAME GOD? —THE PHARISEES’
PROBLEM WITH JESUS—COULD WE BE IDOLATERS?
Chapter 3 Supernaturalism and Scientism 37
SCIENTISM AND SUPERSTITION—SUPERNATURALISM—
LEGITIMATE NATURALISM—SCIENTISM VERSUS
SCIENCE—THE ARGUMENT FOR NATURALISM FROM
TRUE RELIGION
Chapter 4 The Phenomenological Approach 53
THE METHOD AND THE QUESTION—YAHWEH'S USE OF
THE METHOD—A CRITERION, OR AN ENCLOSED CIRCLE? —
YAHWEH'S CRITERION APPLIED TO HIMSELF—FORGIVING
THE GOD—A REPLY TO YAHWEH'S ANSWER TO JOB
Chapter 5 Is There an Internal Criterion of Religious Falsehood? 70
THE POPE'S CRITERION OF RELIGIOUS FALSEHOOD—
A CONSEQUENCE OF THE POPE'S CRITERION—RELIGIOUS
AND SCIENTIFIC FALLIBILISM
viii CONTENTS
Chapter 6 Why God? 80
DOESN'T SUBSTANTIVE REASONABLENESS SUFFICE? —
THE FALL—HOMO INCURVATUS IN SE—THE REDEEMER?
Chapter 7 After Monotheism 95
THE HIGHEST ONE—THE TETRAGRAMMATON—THE
PARADOX OF THE HIGHEST ONE—SPEAKING OF THE
HIGHEST ONE—EXISTENTS AS DEPENDENT ASPECTS OF
EXISTENCE ITSELF—AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE THOMISTIC
INTERPRETATION OF THE HIGHEST ONE
Chapter 8 Process Panentheism 115
THE GOODNESS OF THE HIGHEST ONE —THE ANALOGY OF
LOGOS—PROCESS PANENTHEISM —THE SELF-DISCLOSURE
OF EXISTENCE ITSELF—THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE
PANTHEON
Chapter 9 Panentheism, Not Pantheism 126
DISTINGUISHING PANENTHEISM AND PANTHEISM—
PRESENCE—PRESENCE AS DISCLOSURE—IS BEING
ALMOST ENTIRELY WASTED? —UBIQUITOUS PRESENCE—
AGAINST NATURAL REPRESENTATION—REPRESENTATION
AND “CARRYING INFORMATION”—CAN CAUSATION
ACCOUNT FOR ABOUTNESS? —WHAT COULD REPLACE THE
REPRESENTATIONALIST TRADITION? —A DIAGNOSIS OF
THE REPRESENTATIONALIST'S MISTAKE—A TRANSFORMED
PICTURE OF “CONSCIOUSNESS” AND REALITY—
CONFIRMING THE SURPRISING HYPOTHESIS
Chapter 10 The Mind of God 152
THE OBJECTIVITY OF THE REALM OF SENSE—HOW THE
STRUCTURE OF PRESENCE MIGHT IMPOSE EVOLUTIONARY
CONSTRAINTS—OBJECTIVE MIND AND THE MIND OF THE
HIGHEST ONE—THE DOUBLY DONATORY CHARACTER OF
REALITY—DOES GOD EXIST? —THE HIGHEST ONE
CONTENTS ix
Chapter 11 Christianity without Spiritual Materialism 160
RELIGION AND VIOLENCE—THE GOSPEL ACCORDING
TO GIRARD—WHERE IS ORIGINAL SINFULNESS?—
ORIGINAL SINFULNESS AS SELF-WILL AND FALSE
RIGHTEOUSNESS—CHRIST DESTROYS THE KINGDOM OF
SELF-WILL AND FALSE RIGHTEOUSNESS—THE AFTERLIFE
AS AN IDOLATROUS CONCEIT—AGAINST “MAN'S QUEST
FOR MEANING”—THE AFTERLIFE AS RESISTANCE TO
CHRIST—NATURALISM'S GIFT: RESURRECTION WITHOUT
THE AFTERLIFE
POSTSCRIPT 187
INDEX 189