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Thomas A. Idinopulos, The Erosion of Faith: Origins of the
Contemporary Crisis
in Religious Thought
Philosophical and Cultural Studies in Religion
The
Erosion of Faith is a unique exploration of the ideas of the
great theologians of the last 150 years, whose works form the
background for all serious contemporary discussions of religion and
modern men and women. The objective of this remarkable synthesis by
Thomas Idinopulos is to discover the origins of those theological
ideas that have led to both a human loss of faith and to the
revolutionary ferment within virtually all modern organized
religion. The subjects of his inquiry are Friedrich Schleiermacher,
Søren Kierkegaard, Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Jacques Maritain,
Nicolas Berdyaev, Martin Buber, and the newer secular theologians,
especially Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Harvey Cox, Thomas J. J. Altizer,
and Richard Rubenstein. Theologians from Schleiermacher to Cox have
agreed that the problem of God is linked to the problem of modern
human beings. The loss of certainty about God, church, and Bible
reflects loss of confidence in humanity. It is not a loss of
confidence in science or technological powers, as Mr. Idinopulos
explains, but rather a loss of a sense of personal dignity, and a
sureness of human destiny. In the minds of theologians, the loss of
certainty about God means that men and women have lost the sense of
ultimacy that gives depth and purpose to everyday life. The great
achievement of Mr. Idinopulos is to show how the general trend in
theology from Schleiermacher to the present-day has been away from
church and Bible and toward cultural experience as the resource for
mankind’s understanding of the human relation to God. Thus, modern
theology has reintroduced the questions of humanity itself:
questions of life and death, experiences of tragedy, joy, and guilt,
of rejection and acceptance, of loss and love.
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1 The Theology of Feeling: Frederich Schleiermacher
Chapter 2 The Theology of the Individual: Søren Kierkegaard
Chapter 3 The Theology of the Word: Karl Barth
Chapter 4 The Theology of Correlation: Paul Tillich
Chapter 5 Theocentric Humanism: The Thomistic Philosophy of Jacques
Maritain
Chapter 6 The Theology of Godmanhood: Nicolas Berdyaev
Chapter 7 The Theology of Dialogue: Martin Buber
Chapter 8 Theologians in a World Come of Age
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Author
Thomas A. Idinopulos teaches in the Religious Studies
Department at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His writings have
appeared in several magazines and journals including
Encounter
and the Journal of Religion. He is the best-selling author of
such works as Weathered By Miracles,
What Is Religion?
and Religion and Reductionism.
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