Book Review – Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology by Thomas Morris (Pt. 1)

Thomas Morris’ book Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology is not simply an introduction to philosophical theology. It is also an exercise in philosophical theology. From the outset of the book Morris tells the readers that this book is “meant to serve as an elementary introduction to philosophical theology.”[1] Yet at the same time it is also an attempt “to provide an example of how some simple straightforward philosophical methods of thinking can shed light on theological matters.”[2] How does Morris combine these two attempts? Morris does it by focusing on the attributes of God. Among these attributes are goodness, power, knowledge, and being, just to name a few. By philosophically engaging these attributes Morris presents what he takes to be a pretty good description of who God is and what God is like. But more importantly he presents us with a method for engaging with our ideas of God.

In this review I intend to do several things: 1-present a brief sketch of what Morris does throughout the book, showing how the chapters contribute to his project of describing God; 2-present what I take to have been done well by Morris; 3-make several critical observations regarding Morris’ argument.

I will spend the next several blogs doing the things described above.