Theology`s Epistemological Dilemma – How Karl Barth and Alvin Plantinga Provide a Unified Response

The problem of faith and reason is as old as Christianity itself. Today's philosophical, scientific and historical challenges make the epistemic problem inescapable for believers. Can faith justify its claims? Does faith give us confidence in the truth? Is believing with certainty a virtue or a vice?In Theology?s Epistemological Dilemma, Kevin Diller addresses this problem by drawing on two of the most significant responses in recent Christian thought: Karl Barth's theology of revelation and Alvin Plantinga's epistemology of Christian belief. This will strike many as unlikely, given the common stereotypes of both thinkers. Contrary to widespread misunderstanding, Diller offers a reading of both as complementary to each other: Barth provides what Plantinga lacks in theological depth, while Plantinga provides what Barth lacks in philosophical clarity. Diller presents a unified Barth/Plantinga proposal for theological epistemology capable of responding without anxiety to the questions that face believers today.

"Both scholarly and approachable, this volume should be engaging to any serious student of philosophy or religion or religious epistemology.", "This is an interesting work that is certainly useful in explaining not only two towering Christian thinkers, but in showing how they are very similar (and somewhat different).", "I found Diller's exposition of Plantinga lucid and illuminating. . . . Diller's text is, overall, cogent and clearly argued—a notable contribution to analytical theology. Specialists in theology and philosophy will want to give it careful attention. . . . Diller's provocative proposal promises to enrich constructive theology for years to come.", "TED is a must-read for those interested in the discussion of theological epistemology. Not only will it provide the scholar with new concepts and paradigms to consider, it also provides the pastor and layperson with tools that aid them in their own understanding of the relationship between knowledge and faith. TED meets academic, ministerial, and apologetic needs.", "This is an extremely well-argued and timely book, breaking a lot of traditional barriers between Christian theologians and philosophers. I for one have become convinced by Diller that Barth’s and Plantinga’s approaches of 'the grounding problem' are indeed – though far from identical – complementary in highly fruitful ways. Congratulations are also due to Diller’s supervisor, Prof. Alan Torrance (St. Andrews), whose own intellectual biography – with its remarkable shift from Barth to Plantinga – now turns out to be less strange than some may have thought."

Kevin Diller (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of philosophy and religion at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. He holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary and Calvin Theological Seminary, and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Notre Dame where he was awarded the prestigious Frederick J. Crosson Fellowship from the Notre Dame Center for Philosophy of Religion.