Volume II, Issue 1
AN INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME 2 OF AD FONTES
Tertullian famously asked, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” The relationship between faith and reason, between the Holy Scriptures and natural revelation, and between Christian doctrine and non-Christian philosophy, has been the subject of immense debate within the Christian tradition. Unfortunately, the history of this conflict has been frequently caricatured and misunderstood. So before we attempt our own constructive answer to these questions today, we must first properly come to grips with the answers of the past. Just what was “philosophy” for our ancestors? Have the questions and intellectual postures associated with it changed, or is there significant continuity between “ancient” and “modern” philosophy? What were the doctors of the church thinking of specifically when they either condemned or affirmed the enterprise? And most importantly, where does that leave the church today? This year’s longer editions of Ad Fontes will present a non-exhaustive survey of how Christians have navigated through this territory in the history of the Christian church. Our goal in doing so is not to commend slavish obedience to their example, but rather to provide an opportunity for critical reflection upon their wisdom for the sake of further cultivation in the present.