The Theism Of A. E. Taylor -- By: Cornelius Van Til

Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 01:2 (May 1939)
Article: The Theism Of A. E. Taylor
Author: Cornelius Van Til


The Theism Of A. E. Taylor

Cornelius Van Til

A NUMBER of recent British philosophers have made a particularly attractive offer of peace and co-operation to orthodox believers. We refer to such men as A. Seth Pringle Pattison, James Ward, Hastings Rashdall and Clement C. J. Webb. These men have reacted against what they regarded as a Spinozistic interpretation of Hegel given by F. H. Bradley, Bernard Bosanquet and others. The theism that these men offer to us seems to resemble the theism taught in Scripture so much that one may easily be led to identify them.

Perhaps the most comprehensive presentation of this type of theism has been given by A. E. Taylor. He has written the article on “Theism” in the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics. He has written a large work on Plato in which he constantly speaks of the theism of Plato. His views on theism have had their fullest expression, however, in the Gifford Lectures given in the years 1926–27 and 1927–28 and published under the title The Faith of a Moralist.

That Taylor’s philosophy has a direct bearing upon modern theology appears from the fact that he is an active member of the Anglican communion. To the volume Essays Catholic and Critical, edited by Edward Gordon Selwyn, Taylor contributed an article on “The Vindication of Religion.” The purpose of the volume as a whole, and of Taylor’s article in particular, is to maintain the place of authority in religion without doing injustice to reason.

The influence of Taylor’s philosophy seems to be very great. Wilfred L. Knox and Alec R. Vidler have published a book on The Development of Modern Catholicism. In this book they discuss the question of the relation between faith and reason. They seek to give a history of the debate on this subject during the various decades of the nineteenth century. They contend that although it may have been doubtful in

the nineteenth century, in our day we may be certain that the real issue lies within the field of philosophy.1 We need a philosophy, they feel, that can do justice to Christianity “as embodying a direct revelation of God on the stage of history,” and “which can legitimately claim the free assent of human reason.”2 Where shall we look for such a philosophy? The authors make reply as follows: “The most important achievement of Anglo-Catholic theology since the War in this field is undoubtedly to be found in The Faith of a Moralist (The Gifford Lectures for 1926–28), by Professor A. E. Taylor (Macmillan, 1930).”

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