Does philosophy tolerate Christening?
Thomas Aquinas and the notion of Christian philosophy
pp. 37-61
in: Jeremiah Hackett, Jerald Wallulis (eds), Philosophy of religion for a new century, Berlin, Springer, 2004Abstract
The notion of Christian philosophy was a matter of substantial discussion for both Christian philosophers and Christian theologians in the twentieth century.1 Indeed, even non–Christian philosophers from time to time have taken an interest in it. The decade of the 1930s was the period of greatest activity with respect to this issue. Etienne Gilson, Jacques Maritain, Maurice Blondel, and other Roman Catholic philosophers in particular engaged in a controversy which lasted for several years. The debate quieted down somewhat since then, but it is by no means died.3 This may be in part the result of Gilson" s pervasive influence in Christian circles. After the publication of the History of Christian Philosophy in the Middle Ages and The Christian Philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas in the mid–fifties, his view has slowly gained support among Thomists and other Christian thinkers to the extent that now the expression "Christian philosophy" is commonly used in philosophical discourse.4 In the United States, Christian presses regularly turn out texts on "Christian philosophy" and in Europe and Latin America very few Christian philosophers object to the use of the expression, although explicit clarification of its meaning is seldom given.5 Moreover, since Gilson and other reputable Thomists, such as Pieper and Maritain, have been responsible to a great extent for the popularization of this term, it is usually taken for granted that its use or abuse is warranted by Thomas" thought.
