Solved by Sacrifice
Austin Farrer, Fideism, and the Evidence of Faith
by R. MacSwain
Austin Farrer (1904-1968), Warden of Keble College, Oxford, was a remarkably creative and significant figure in twentieth-century theology. Robert MacSwain argues that one explanation for Farrer’s relative obscurity is that most commentators have focused on his metaphysics, and in particular on Finite and Infinite (1943), his monumental treatise of ‘rational theology’. By contrast, MacSwain proposes an epistemological analysis that takes seriously the neglected but crucial theme of fideism in Farrer’s thought.
Austin Farrer (1904-1968), Warden of Keble College, Oxford, was a remarkably creative and significant figure in twentieth-century theology. Robert MacSwain argues that one explanation for Farrer’s relative obscurity is that most commentators have focused on his metaphysics, and in particular on Finite and Infinite (1943), his monumental treatise of ‘rational theology’. By contrast, MacSwain proposes an epistemological analysis that takes seriously the neglected but crucial theme of fideism in Farrer’s thought. MacSwain charts the development of Farrer’s thinking on the proper relation between faith and reason from 1924 to 1968-including his engagements with Karl Barth, logical positivism, Thomism, and Wittgensteinian philosophy-and offers a reading of Farrer that resonates with contemporary religious epistemology and the growing focus on spiritual praxis. The final chapter considers Farrer’s provocative claim that the logical paradoxes of religious belief are ‘solved by sacrifice’ in the lives of those whom we recognise as ‘saints’: as Farrer puts it, ‘Such a life, then, is evidence, and what other evidence could you hope to find?’
Introduction Chapter One: "The Believer's Reasons" Chapter Two: "A Sort of Fideist" Chapter Three: "A Viable and Sophisticated Natural Theology" Chapter Four: "Can Reasonable Minds Still Think Theologically?" Chapter Five: Solvitur Immolando
- By (author) R MacSwain
"This book is unquestionably a major contribution to the study of Austin Farrer's writings and to philosophical reflection on the topic of faith and reason." -- Brian Hebblethwaite, Faith and Philosophy "good exposition, when dealing with material of this kind, itself requires great philosophical acuity, and MacSwain deserves credit not just for producing a clear and judicious account of the intellectual development of his chosen subject, and for charting [Farrer's] academic influence, but also for bringing out what is of enduring philosophical and theological interest in its own right." --John Cottingham, International Journal for Philosophy of Religion "Robert MacSwain has written one of the best books on the work of Austin Farrer to this day. Beyond being an authoritative guide to the philosophical theology of Farrer, MacSwain offers a brilliant and nuanced narrative of Anglophone philosophical theology in the second half of the twentieth century, especially as this was practiced by those in the Anglican Communion." --Charles Taliaferro, Anglican Theological Review "...a very welcome stimulus to further consideration of a thinker whose stature grows the more we read him in the context of the intellectual history of the last half-century." --Rowan Williams, Journal of Theological Studies
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Other Titles in this Series
The Art of Theology
Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theological Aesthetics and the Foundations of Faith
Volume 25
Levinas and the Greek Heritage followed by One Hundred Years of Neoplatonism in France
A Brief Philosophical History
Volume 32
The Limits and Possibilities of Postmetaphysical God-Talk
A Conversation between Heidegger, Levinas and Derrida
Volume 52
On the Meaning of ‘Miracle’ in Christianity
A Philosophical Evaluation of the Current Miracle Debate and a Proposal of a Balanced Hermeneutical Approach
Volume 68
John Henry Newman’s Theology of History
Historical Consciousness, Theological 'Imaginaries', and the Development of Tradition
Volume 60
The Hammer of the Cartesians
Henry More's Philosophy of Spirit and the Origins of Modern Atheism
Volume 53
Christian Theology and the Transformation of Natural Religion: From Incarnation to Sacramentality
Essays in Honour of David Brown
Volume 64
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