Religious Knowledge

This book explores the relationship between religious knowledge and belief in Christianity, examining the ambivalence about religious knowledge within the tradition and considering the compatibility of religious knowledge with faith. It also considers other religious traditions and the distinction between attaining Wisdom and religious knowledge.

Format: Hardback
Length: 118 pages
Publication date: 02 December 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This comprehensive book delves into the intricate relationship between religious knowledge and religion, with a specific focus on Christianity. It begins by exploring the fundamental distinctions between knowledge and belief, examining the interplay between faith and knowledge, and shedding light on why belief, rather than knowledge, holds a central place in the Abrahamic religions. The book then delves into the complex and often ambivalent attitudes towards religious knowledge within Christianity. While some religious thinkers, such as St. Thomas Aquinas, embraced and sought religious knowledge, others, like Søren Kierkegaard, viewed it as inherently incompatible with faith. Furthermore, the book explores two opposing religious intuitions about knowledge: one that suggests faith necessitates a constant struggle with doubt, while the other posits that faith demands unwavering certainty that excludes any room for doubt. It examines the consequences of these intuitions for religious knowledge, arguing that for the first, religious knowledge would undermine faith, while for the second, it could complement and complete faith. While the book primarily concentrates on the Christian tradition, it also takes into account other religious traditions, including a chapter dedicated to the role of religious knowledge in nontheistic religious traditions. The final chapter explores the distinct pathways to Wisdom, as personified in the Jewish and Christian traditions, and highlights the differences between attaining religious knowledge and coming to Wisdom as a personal experience.

Weight: 306g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031187865
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023