Analytic Theology & Jonathan Edwards In A Baptist Context: An Interview With Christopher Woznicki -- By: Anonymous
Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 20:2 (Fall 2023)
Article: Analytic Theology & Jonathan Edwards In A Baptist Context: An Interview With Christopher Woznicki
Author: Anonymous
Analytic Theology & Jonathan Edwards In A Baptist Context: An Interview With Christopher Woznicki
Christopher Woznicki (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is Research Fellow at the Jonathan Edwards Center, Gateway Seminary, California.
What Is Analytic Theology? Do You View Analytic Theology As A Method For Doing Systematic Theology Or An Approach Which Transcends Systematic Theology, Or Is It Even A Definable Discipline?
Not all that goes by the name “analytic theology” is systematic theology, in fact not all analytic “theology” is even theology! Though, to be honest, I’m probably getting a bit ahead of myself with that sort of answer! One relatively simple definition of “analytic theology” is that “analytic theology is just the activity of approaching theological topics with the ambitions of an analytic philosopher in a style that conforms to the prescriptions that are distinctive of analytical philosophical discourse.”1 To put it even more simply it’s just theology that engages with analytic philosophical literature and is done in the style of analytic philosophy.
Often, you’ll see people engaged in the analytic project find “puzzles” which they then analyze, break down into constituent parts, and then they aim to solve that puzzle. So let’s engage in a little analysis. We can break the term “analytic theology” into its two parts. First you have “analytic,” then you have “theology.” Simple enough! The analytic project has a certain “style.” The style is pretty easy to identify. You sort of know it when you see it. If you’ve read Richard Swinburne, Alvin Plantinga, Paul Helm, or other analytic philosophers you’ll probably notice a common style. It’s a style is characterized by logical rigor, clarity, and parsimony of expression. Mike Rea talks about writing philosophical positions and conclusions in sentences that can be formalized and logically manipulated.2 Personally, I don’t think that necessarily characterizes analytic theology, though I’d say that in principle much—though not
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all—of the content of an analytic theological work should be able to be characterized in such a way.
The “style” side of things is probably the easiest aspect of “analytic” to identify. The other side of “analytic” refers to its engagement with analytic philosophical literature and the intellectual culture that has formed specifically around analytic philosophy.3 Here things start to get a bit more complicated. Analytic philosophy has a history that hasn’t been too friendly towards theology. What we know today as “analyt...
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