Deistik argümanlara karşı vahyin imkân ve gerekliliği: 18. yüzyıl İngiliz deizmi ve kelâmı açıdan analizi
Özet
This study develops a justification for the possibility and necessity of revelation, which is an expression of God's communication with man. As part of this justification, the arguments of deism, which denies revelation, have been evaluated from the perspective of Kelam. The study consists of the introduction and three chapters. The introductory chapter analyzes the process that led to the English deism and its trajectory. The findings demonstrate that the humanistic worldview and the transformations in philosophy of nature in the wake of Renaissance shaped the deists' discourse. Moreover, the chapter looks at the impact of English deism on other countries as well as its legacy. The first chapter analyzes the deists' understanding of God and man. It identifies the points that differentiate deists from Christianity on these subjects. In that context, the chapter tackles with deists criticisms towards the basic tenets of Christianity, such as trinity, original sin, and redemption. Later, the chapter identifies the main elements in the deists' understanding of God and man. Based on this, it becomes possible to analyze the effect of these elements in the formation of their understanding of natural religion. The second chapter, which looks at the deists' understanding of religion and revelation, follows a methodology to the first one. Firstly, the chapter discusses the mainstream interpretation of the Christian theology and the deists' criticisms towards it. Then by investigates closely the deists' understanding of natural religion, the chapter identifies their approach to revelation. The third chapter offers an analysis of the deistic approach to revelation from the perspective of Kalam. It studies the relationship between reason and revelation offered by classical schools of Kalam. Moreover, the chapter offers a justification for the necessity of revelation.