Ramon Harvey. Transcendent God, Rational World: A Māturīdī Theology (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2021). Pp xv + 280. $33.90 (Pbk). ISBN 9781474451659
Year: 2024
Type: book-review
Abstract: There is a certain sense in which I, as a Christian theologian, am spoiled.If I want to see a recent, systematic reconstruction of Christian doctrine, I can grab a three-volume systematic theology textbook.If I am feeling particularly ambitious, or perhaps masochistic, I will read a five-volume Christian systematic theology textbook.How Christian systematic theology came to adopt this particular multivolume format is beyond my comprehension, but here we are.Also, as an analytic theologian, I also have access to all manner of recent philosophical reconstructions and explorations of Christian doctrine.Thankfully, these tend to be a single volume.Yet when I want to venture outside of my own religious tradition, things become a bit more difficult.If I want to know about the history of Jewish or Islamic thought, there are plenty of places to turn.If I want a systematic or philosophical reconstruction of Islamic theology that is not simply a history book, I find myself with fewer options.This is unfortunate since interreligious dialogue needs fresh accounts of differing religious belief systems.Seeing how a system of beliefs works from the inside out is deeply important for the shared task of searching for the truth.Much to my delight, Ramon Harvey has written a wonderfully systematic book that brings the Māturīdī tradition of Islamic thought into dialogue with contemporary philosophy.Harvey has taken important thinkers from the Islamic past and developed a philosophical reconstruction for contemporary audiences to explore.For me, personally, this is exactly what I was looking for to help me understand how the different pieces of Islamic thought can fit together into a coherent whole.I enjoy reading Islamic thinkers from the past, but I want to know how those ideas come together, and how they can handle contemporary philosophical issues.As an added bonus for Christian theologians like me, one will find Harvey offering a rather robust engagement with Christian theologians and philosophers.I would like to see Christians return the favour, and Harvey's book will be an excellent starting point for such an endeavour.Harvey's book has an introduction and seven chapters.In the introduction, readers are introduced to the task of the book.Following the notion of kalam, Harvey sets out to offer a systematic philosophical discourse about the divine.Much like his medieval forbearers, Harvey wishes to offer an articulation of the truths of theology in a way that will be appropriate to the current intellectual milieu.As Harvey understands things, part of this intellectual milieu is a mix of continental phenomenology, analytic philosophy, and
Source: Religious Studies
Author: R.T. Mullins
Institution: University of Lucerne
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4404249164