Classical theism

Classical theism refers to the a form of Theism^[specify] in distinction to modern ideas about God such as Theistic Personalism, Open Theism and Process Theism. Classical Theism began with the works of the Greek philosophers, especially Platonists and Neoplatonists and was developed into Christian Theology by the Scholastics, primarily by Thomas Aquinas (1224-1275). It is usually contrasted to the a priori methodology of the Perfect Being Theology that used St. Anselm of Canterbury's formula ("God is something than which nothing greater can be thought").One of the fundamental points of Classical Theism is: how do we acquire knowledge of God? Knowledge of God cannot be gained by a priori methods. Therefore, the philosophical methodology of Classical Theism is a posteriori.

Classical Theism holds first of all that in order to establish the nature of God we have to prove His existence. This is done by a posteriori methodology which proceeds from the effect to the existence and nature of its cause. In his Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas used the famous Five Ways (all of them metaphysical proofs) to prove God's existence. Other philosophical arguments adherents use to support Classical Theism include the argument from morality, and the teleological argument. Major arguments against Classical Theism include the problem of evil and the hiddenness of God.^{[citation needed]}

The doctrine of Classical Theism is primarily and historically based on doctrines of several classical philosophers, but primarily on Aristotelian metaphysics. Sacred texts such as the Tanakh, the Bible, or the Qur'an played a part in the later medieval development of theism. Depending on their understanding of scripture as revelation, they may disagree with contemporary scientific theories such as the steady-state and evolution. However, Christian apologists such as Norman Geisler, William Lane Craig, and Hugh Ross, an astrophysicist, argue that the Big Bang model, which is premised on a beginning of the universe (time, space, matter, and energy), supports the first words in Genesis, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth."^{[citation needed]}

Classical Theists hold this uncaused cause to be God. Supporters use scientific and philosophical evidence to support both premises. There are critics who similarly dispute both the scientific and philosophical grounds used to support the premises.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Paul Tillich, A History of Christian Thought, Simon and Schuster, 1972, ISBN 0-671-21426-8, online edition
• Jonathan Hill, The History of Christian Thought, Lion Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-7459-5093-0