Wherein lies the debate? Concerning whether God is a person

Within contemporary philosophy of religion there are three main ways in which God is conceptualised in relation to personhood:(1) God is a person and so personal (PP). (2) God is non-personal, and so is not a person (NPNP). (3) God is a personal non-person (PNP). The first two of these options will...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal for philosophy of religion
Main Author: Page, Ben (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V [2019]
In: International journal for philosophy of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B God / Person
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
NBC Doctrine of God
Further subjects:B Personal
B Monotheism
B Transcendence
B Theistic personalism
B Classical Theism
B God
B Person
B Simplicity
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:Within contemporary philosophy of religion there are three main ways in which God is conceptualised in relation to personhood:(1) God is a person and so personal (PP). (2) God is non-personal, and so is not a person (NPNP). (3) God is a personal non-person (PNP). The first two of these options will be familiar to many, with (PP) held by most contemporary monotheist philosophers of religion and (NPNP) mainly by those who are pantheists. (PNP), however, is a view some may not have come across, despite its proponents claiming it was the view of great philosophical theologians from the past. However, within recent times (PNP) has become more popular. On the face of it, it might not be clear what the difference between (PP) and (PNP) is, and whether debate had between the two positions is substantive. The goal of this paper is therefore to clarify the debate and assess whether the many claims advocates of (PNP) make as to why God cannot be a person (PP) stand up to scrutiny or are persuasive. My suggestion will be that on the whole they do and are not. As such, defenders of (PNP) will either need to defend these reasons in more detail or focus on the area I suggest the debate really rests on.
ISSN:1572-8684
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal for philosophy of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s11153-018-9694-x