LABELS
Labels can allow an individual to
compartmentalize his or her own beliefs, and these certain labels can
permit others to differentiate the ideas one may hold. In this post I
will attempt to loosely explain what I think skeptical theism is.
However, in order to determine what I think a skeptical theist is or
could be[1] I need to define what a theist
believes in [theism] first. Theism is a loaded word because theism can
vary from theist to theist. For example, one theist could believe in Molinism and the other theist could believe in Calvinism. I can even entertain an instance where one theist could come from the school of Process Theism and the other theist could come from the school of Classical Theism.
So, there are particular concepts that could differ from one theist to
the other. Yet, I am content to define and categorize theism in
following manner:
Theism (from Gk. Θεός, ‘God’). The term, prob. first employed by R. *Cudworth in the preface to his Intellectual System (1678), was originally used as an opposite to ‘atheism’, and only later acquired its present definite meaning to denote a creed distinct also from *pantheism and esp. from *Deism (q.v.). Theism, as the word is currently employed, may be said to denote a philosophical system which accepts a transcendent and personal God who not only created but also preserves and governs the world, the contingency of which does not exclude miracles and the exercise of human freedom. Theism, therefore, leaves room for the Christian revelation and is in various forms the view of the world common to all orthodox Christian philosophers; it is also required by *Judaism and *Islam. Apart from certain aberrations, usually of a pantheistic character, Theism was the basis of Christian philosophy down to modern times. Relegated to the background by the Deistic philosophy of the 18th cent. and the *Hegelianism and materialism of the 19th, it has again found many competent and convinced exponents in the modern world.[2]Furthermore, theism derives from the Greek word theos, which means God/god. Theism, therefore, is a belief which adheres to the supposition that there is a God, and this God, is actively involved with whatever God created.
SKEPTICAL THEISM
I have briefly defined theism above, but what does it mean to be a skeptical theist? A skeptical theist, of course, must be some sort of theist. I personally use the "label" of skeptical theism, because if there is a God, and God is the greatest conceivable being—then it stands to reason I would be unable to [fully] understand everything God has done, does, and/or allows. Some of the things God may have done might include allowing certain evil(s). However, not being able to decipher something God allowed before or now does not mean the event will never be understood—nor does it mean God does not have a good reason for allowing or actively orchestrating the event; it just means at that moment we lack information to make an informed conclusion. Further, the skeptical theists presupposes God's creation is ordered, designed, etc., and if the actions of God are organized and God is[3] also good; then, an event which appears as "needless evil" may actually not be. Therefore, the skeptical theist believes he or she does not have knowledge proper, and I especially see no reason to commit to a conclusion that supposes God is responsible for needless evil when also considering the free will defense.
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[1] What I mean to say there is that I am
trying to define what I understand a skeptical theist to be. However, I
think or I am open to the idea that people who would label themselves
as skeptical theists could have certain variations in their beliefs from
that of other skeptical theists of what it means to be a theist.
[2] F. L. Cross and Elizabeth A. Livingstone, The Oxford Dictionary of the
Christian Church, 3rd ed. rev. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University
Press, 2005). 1608.
[3] Some examples of God's goodness are God's incarnation and revelation in Jesus Christ.
