ABSTRACT
Here is a simple idea: philosophy of religion is just another way to study theism, as sociology, theology, history and other disciplines do, as described in other contributions to this volume. On this reading it is all quite straightforward. Philosophy of religion differs from its nearest reflective discipline, theology, in that it studies belief in God asking slightly different questions and using somewhat different methods, and quite different sources. Instead of marshalling their arguments from the Bible and from ancient and contemporary Church documents, Christian philosophers of religion use logic and inferential reasoning. That “God must be good” is thought to be something that can be advanced and defended by pure logic; whereas that “God is a Trinity” is something that can only be defended with New Testament texts, as they have been interpreted and expounded by traditional Christian thinkers.
