William Lane Craig in the context of "Reformed epistemology"

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⭐ Core Definition: William Lane Craig

William Lane Craig (/krɡ/; born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author, and theologian. He is a visiting professor of philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology of Biola University. Until 2024, he was also a professor of philosophy at Houston Christian University.

Craig has updated and defended the Kalam cosmological argument for the existence of God. He has also published work where he argues in favor of the historical plausibility of the resurrection of Jesus. His study of divine aseity and Platonism culminated with his book God Over All.

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👉 William Lane Craig in the context of Reformed epistemology

In the philosophy of religion, Reformed epistemology is a school of philosophical thought concerning the nature of knowledge (epistemology) as it applies to religious beliefs. The central proposition of Reformed epistemology is that beliefs can be justified by more than evidence alone, contrary to the positions of evidentialism, which argues that while non-evidential belief may be beneficial, it violates some epistemic duty. Central to Reformed epistemology is the proposition that belief in God may be "properly basic" and not need to be inferred from other truths to be rationally warranted. William Lane Craig describes Reformed epistemology as "One of the most significant developments in contemporary religious epistemology ... which directly assaults the evidentialist construal of rationality."

Reformed epistemology was so named because it represents a continuation of the 16th-century Reformed theology of John Calvin, who postulated a sensus divinitatis, an innate divine awareness of God's presence. More recent influences on Reformed epistemology are found in philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff's Reason within the Bounds of Religion, published in 1976, and Alvin Plantinga's "Reason and Belief in God", published in 1983.

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William Lane Craig in the context of Kalam cosmological argument

The Kalam cosmological argument is a modern formulation of the cosmological argument for the existence of God. It is named after the Kalam (medieval Islamic scholasticism) from which many of its key ideas originated. Philosopher and theologian William Lane Craig was principally responsible for revitalising these ideas for modern academic discourse through his book The Kalām Cosmological Argument (1979), as well as other publications.

The argument's central thesis is the metaphysical impossibility of a temporally past-infinite universe and of actual infinities existing in the real world, traced by Craig to 11th-century Persian Muslim scholastic philosopher Al-Ghazali. This feature distinguishes it from other cosmological arguments, such as Aquinas's Second Way, which rests on the impossibility of a causally ordered infinite regress, and those of Leibniz and Samuel Clarke, which refer to the principle of sufficient reason.

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William Lane Craig in the context of Eternal procession of the Holy Spirit

The Eternal procession of the Holy Spirit is a theological concept in trinitarianism that describes the relationship of the Holy Spirit within the Holy Trinity. The doctrine of the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit is related to the doctrine of the eternal generation of the Son; however, in Christian theology procession (or spiration) is viewed as being mysteriously different from generation in order to distinguish the Holy Spirit from the Son.

In Western Christianity, the Holy Spirit is viewed to proceed from the Father and the Son. This is in contrast to the Eastern churches, which argue that the Holy Spirit proceeds only from the Father. This issue has led to the filioque controversy and was a large question in the East-West schism. However, despite being affirmed within the Nicene creed, the doctrine of the eternal procession of the Holy Spirit (alongside the eternal generation of the Son) is today denied by some social trinitarians, such as William Lane Craig.

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William Lane Craig in the context of Molinism

Molinism, named after 16th-century Spanish Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina, is the thesis that God has middle knowledge (or scientia media): the knowledge of counterfactuals, particularly counterfactuals regarding human action. It seeks to reconcile the apparent tension of divine providence and human free will. Prominent contemporary Molinists include William Lane Craig, Alfred Freddoso, Alvin Plantinga, Michael Bergmann, Thomas P. Flint, Kenneth Keathley, Dave Armstrong, John D. Laing, Timothy A. Stratton, Kirk R. MacGregor, and J.P. Moreland.

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William Lane Craig in the context of The Kalām Cosmological Argument

The Kalām Cosmological Argument is a 1979 book by the philosopher William Lane Craig, in which the author offers a contemporary defense of the Kalām cosmological argument and argues for the existence of God, with an emphasis on the alleged metaphysical impossibility of an infinite regress of past events. First, Craig argues that the universe began to exist, using two philosophical and two scientific arguments. Second, Craig argues that whatever begins to exist has a cause that caused it to begin to exist. Finally, Craig argues that this cause is a personal creator who changelessly and independently willed the beginning of the universe.

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William Lane Craig in the context of Social trinitarianism

Social trinitarianism is a Christian interpretation of the Trinity as consisting of three persons, each person having their own center of consciousness. These persons are united in a loving relationship, which reflects a model for human relationships. The teaching emphasizes that God is an inherently social being. Human unity approaches conformity to the image of God's unity through self-giving, empathy, adoration for one another, etc. Such love is a fitting ethical likeness to God but is in stark contrast to God's unity of being. Those who are often associated with this term include Jürgen Moltmann, Miroslav Volf, Elizabeth Johnson, Leonardo Boff, John Zizioulas, William Lane Craig and Catherine LaCugna.

Social trinitarianism is often in contrast to Nicene trinitarianism, as social trinitarianism generally denies the trinity being defined primarily by the eternal relations of origin.

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