Faith and Reason Through Christian History

Specifying the relationship between faith and reason has been at least a challenge, if not a problem, in every century of Christian thought. Christian philosophers and theologians have produced many good accounts of this relationship; none have settled the discussion. The expansiveness of this literature has begotten topical introductions, some theological and some philosophical, some Protestant and some Catholic, and some interreligious. Good introductions to the history of this conversation, however, are harder to find, even more so if one seeks a recent treatment in English.

Grant Kaplan’s Faith and Reason Through Christian History: A Theological Essay therefore meets a real need and deserves adulation for that reason alone. Kaplan’s studies on René Girard and figures from 19^th-century German Catholic theology, excellent in their own right, turn out to have been more than adequate preparation for writing this introduction to the history of Christian thought on faith and reason. The book is discerning in its foci, broad in its reach, and self-effacing in its limitations. Given the weightiness of such a topic and the range of potential figures and periods to be treated, this is no mean feat.

As Kaplan writes in the preface, the book provides the reader not only with a historical narrative, but also with a sense of the variety of options Christians have taken vis-à-vis faith and reason (x). Yet Kaplan also intends for the reader to detect “a certain recurring Christian grammar about faith and reason,” which the author understands to be normative (xi). This normative grammar, as Kaplan presents it, aligns with a conventional Roman Catholic view of the matter—an affirmation of human reason but not rationalism; the priority of faith but not fideism; science without scientism; historicity without historicism. Kaplan, of course, makes his case well. Readers wary of such a position should not, however, shy away. He is not heavy-handed. Nor does he slip into the easy genealogical narrative—so common in some circles—in which Duns Scotus begat Martin Luther, who begat Immanuel Kant, who begat G.W.F. Hegel, who begat both Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzsche, who together begat the nihilistic irrationalism of the 20^th century. Kaplan regards such approaches as dismissive and simplistic (xiii). His own narrative is far less “neat and tidy” and takes the figures in question far more seriously.

Kaplan’s survey is comprehensive in the sense that the chapters take up figures from every era of Christian thought. But the book is hardly exhaustive. As Kaplan admits, he does not deal with Orthodox thinkers, let alone representatives from Syriac Christianity and their descendants. After antiquity, the book focuses only on major mainstream figures in the western tradition who have received a great deal of scholarly attention in the past. Given the topic, one would expect Augustine of Hippo, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Henry Newman, and Karl Barth, and Kaplan gives attention to each. Kaplan recognizes the value of recovering marginalized figures, but he is honest that this book is not a contribution to that project (xi).

Kaplan structures the book as a “triptych of triptychs”—three parts containing three chapters each. Part I covers the premodern, Part II the modern, and Part III the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Kaplan’s treatment runs from the New Testament to Pope Benedict XVI’s 2005 Regensburg Address. Each chapter takes up a few figures who are representative of one approach or another to the topic.

Certain chapters will appeal to different readers, depending on their interests and expertise, but it may be helpful to look at one chapter in particular to illustrate Kaplan’s approach. Chapter 8 on “Mid-20^th-Century Theology” first covers Protestant theology in the wake of Barth. Wolfhart Pannenberg, for example, receives particular attention and credit for his corrective emphasis—vis-à-vis Barth—on reason and the necessity of philosophy for doing theology (260). On the Catholic side, Kaplan surveys the work of Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan. Refreshingly, Kaplan highlights the important differences between these two figures who are so often considered under the unhelpful umbrella of “transcendental Thomism.” Perhaps most impressive is Kaplan’s presentation of Erich Pzywara, whose thought is notoriously difficult (262-267). Kaplan ably reconsiders Barth and Pzywara’s disagreement over the analogia entis (analogy of being), providing a cogent and accessible interpretation of Pzywara’s account. Kaplan unpacks the term but also demonstrates its importance as a “unified field theory” for Pzywara (262) and relates it to Pzywara’s understanding of the relationship between faith and reason in an illuminating way.

The book is a strong historical introduction to this topic. As with any introduction, much of the book takes up standard figures and issues. With respect to such things, Kaplan is a well-organized and engaging guide. Moreover, Kaplan’s surveys of great swathes of intellectual territory are remarkably fresh; he does not rely on textbook stereotypes and academic commonplaces. Kaplan’s decision to focus at greater length on particular figures gives the reader some degree of depth and texture, which is often missing in these kinds of introductions. His reading of Origen of Alexandria, for example, goes on for six pages, which is long enough in an introductory work to provide the reader with a real sense of how Origen’s deployment of the philosophy at hand illuminated, but did not overdetermine, Origen’s biblical exegesis.

Some readers will find that the book’s strengths are also its weaknesses. Kaplan’s selection of figures is overwhelmingly European (Origen and Augustine being notable exceptions) and male—although, Kaplan gives some attention to feminism in the final chapter. Kaplan concedes this upfront, arguing that the work is one of introduction rather than a work of recovery. Some readers will find this persuasive, or at least an understandable tradeoff, and perhaps some will not.

Whether or not one finds fault with the book in that respect, Kaplan’s historical introduction remains a judicious and accessible guide to a crucial topic and will be most useful for theology and philosophy of religion courses.

Matthew B. Hale is a visiting assistant professor at the University of Scranton.

Matthew Hale

Date Of Review:

June 30, 2023