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.
