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HODGSON, Peter. Hegel and Christian Theology: A Reading of the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 308 pp. Hardcover, $110.00 - Hodgson divides his book into three parts. He begins with an introduction that situates Hegel's philosophy of religion vis-à-vis both Hegel's philosophy as a whole and the circulating theologies of Hegel's time. Hodgson then provides an extensive reading of Hegel's philosophy of religion. Here Hodgson tackles Hegel's views in a theme-by-theme manner-for example, he discusses Hegel's thoughts on worship, creation, reconciliation, and the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions. Finally, Hodgson concludes by directly contrasting his own interpretation of Hegel's philosophy of religion with certain other interpretations.
Hodgson's primary aim is to show that Hegel's philosophy of religion offers us a workable middle position between the "reigning dogmatisms of our time"-namely, "philosophical agnosticism and rehgious fundamentalism" (p. 284). Here he considers three views of God: (1) God does not exist; (2) God may exist, but, regardless, we cannot know anything of God; (3) God exists and is radically distinct from humanity, such that to claim that humanity can contribute to God (for example, add to God's fulfillment) contradicts the very idea of God. Hodgson's...