459 - Philosophy for Understanding Theology

Philosophy for Understanding Theology
Diogenes Allen
Atlanta, John Knox, 1985. 287 pp. $14.95.

Seldom is a history of philosophy written specifically for students of theology. Even rarer is a work that has the comprehensiveness, clarity, and precision of treatment as Allen's book. The section on Plato and his role in the formation of Christian apologetics is especially instructive and insightful. The book contains chapters on the major philosophical thinkers within the Western tradition-for example, Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel-and explains in a concise, but not at all cursory, manner how their particular ideas reshaped or constrained theological issues. The single criticism that one might bring against the book is that it attempts to slide too quickly in one brief chapter through the whole of twentieth century philosophy. The result is a glibness and superficiality that detracts from what is otherwise an excellent and highly readable text for professionals, students, and laity alike.

Carl Raschke
University of Denver
Denver, Colo.