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Although the relationship between theology and philosophy is a perennial issue in the history of thought, recent debates surrounding the so‐called theological turn of continental phenomenology have created a new space in which it can be explored from a fresh perspective. In this vein, I propose three theses concerning the relationship between theology and philosophy of religion, with particular focus on the phenomenon of divine revelation. First, a philosophy of religion that ignores theology's claim about divine self‐revelation will remain incomplete and unsatisfactory, at least from the perspective of a Christian theology which begins with the faith in God's self‐revelation in one particular human person. Second, a theology that does not acknowledge the possibility of philosophical reflections on the human aspect of divine revelation will not be able to escape blind dogmatism, but rather will isolate itself from the academic community. Third, and finally, despite the concerns of both parties, a dialogue between theology and philosophy centred on the phenomena of revelation can develop into mutually critical and mutually constructive interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I explore Christoph Schwöbel (1955–2021)'s distinctive contributions to the ongoing dialogue between religion and science in the following three perspectives. First, he emphasizes the need of a more consistently trinitarian theology of creation in dialogue with sciences which is expected to rectify widespread one-sided approaches. Second, he advocates for the continued importance of having philosophy as theology's dialogue partner along with natural sciences. Finally, he places significant emphasis on the ethic of createdness in the face of ecological crisis. After critical as well as appreciative analyses of each of Schwöbel's contributions, I make constructive proposals for the future discussion, in terms of more direct engagement with natural sciences, fuller explication of the ontology of communicative relations, and extended application of his ethic of createdness to the emerging issues concerning recent technological innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the semiconductor industry, fluorocarbon (FC) plasma is widely used in SiO2 etching, with Ar typically employed in the dilution of the FC plasma due to its cost effectiveness and accessibility. While it has been reported that plasmas with other noble gases, namely Kr and Xe, have distinct physical properties such as electron density and temperature, their implementation into plasma etching has not been sufficiently studied. In this work, we conducted SiO2 etching with FC plasmas diluted with different noble gases, i.e., FC precursors of C4F8 and CH2F2 with Ar, Kr, or Xe, under various gas flow rates of each as well as plasma diagnostics for the process interpretation. We show that Ar, Kr, and Xe gas mixtures depend on the FC precursor flow rate and the pattern width in a significantly different manner and we elucidate these findings based on plasma diagnostic results. The results of this work are expected to offer a practical etching database for diverse applications including plasma process engineering and the development of plasma simulation in the semiconductor industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study I analyze what Edgar Sheffield Brightman and Paul de Vries originally meant by methodological naturalism, when they first invented the term and then argue that both of them proposed a significantly qualified version of scientific naturalism over against the predominance of a reductionist version of scientific naturalism called epistemic reductionism or scientism—that is, an unjustified epistemological assumption that science is the only legitimate way to truth. In the final analysis, I propose a qualified re-definition of methodological naturalism with emphasis on the self-restricted application of the naturalistic method to natural sciences alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article the author explores what would happen to religion assuming the ETI hypothesis that there exist extraterrestrial intelligent beings. This issue is acutely raised in particular for Christianity due to the latter's doctrine of the incarnation. In this vein the author delves into the scandal of particularity, one of the perennial problems in the philosophy of religion, in relation to the ETI hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with diverse cultural challenges to hope, a constructive eschatology should do justice to the entire reality and develop a robust future‐oriented hope that helps to transform the present. In this regard Veli‐Matti Kärkkäinen has made a significant contribution, especially in dialogue with natural sciences and other faith traditions, to retrieve the cosmic dimension of Christian hope, as well as to address liberationist and ecofeminist critiques of some distorted hopes. After recommending distinctive features of Kärkkäinen's constructive proposal, I suggest advancing it further by combining the phenomenological insight into the lived body with the concept of temporal holism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores six different theological responses to the scientific prediction of the ultimately decaying universe. They are atheistic resignation, scientific creationism, futureless eschatology, physical eschatology, process eschatology, and, finally, resurrection hope in mutually critical dialogue with scientific prediction. In the conclusion, the author argues that the ultimate ground for the cosmic hope must be derived from the distinctively theological norm, that is, the gospel of Jesus Christ, which encourages us to envision the new creation as the redemptive transformation of the present universe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to lay a more solid foundation for the contemporary paradigm shift in the Christian theological thinking – that is, from theo-anthropology to theo-cosmology. In the new paradigm cosmic hope for the completion of the trinitarian project of creation, instead of human redemption from sin and death, comes to the fore as the most comprehensive horizon of Christian thinking. For this purpose the author reconstructs the underlying logic of the biblical faith in a narrative form from creation to eschatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is Christianity so incurably anthropocentric that the demise of anthropocentrism would be tantamount to the falsification of the Christian faith? Would Christianity be able to survive modern scientific challenges to the long-held anthropocentric world picture? Responding to these questions, I claim that the Christian doctrine of incarnation strongly supports the Christian belief in humanity’s special position in God’s created world, whereas it is not only possible but also mandatory to reconstruct a non-anthropocentric Christian doctrine of creation and humanity. First, as regards the non-anthropocentric idea of creation, I propose that creation, instead of redemption, should the overarching framework of Christian theology, the goal of creation is much greater than human redemption, and our human species is a companion to other creatures on the way to the eschatological consummation. With this non-anthropocentric Christian doctrine of creation in mind, however, I even more strongly maintain that humanity has a special position in God’s created world. Even if the traditional doctrine of imago Dei may not successfully convince us of the idea of human uniqueness in the face of scientific challenges, I argue, the authentic Christian affirmation of the incarnation of God in the specifically human form lays a firm foundation for the Christian belief in God’s special concern with our human species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a response to a paper which examined the divine action of God in the world. It discusses the unity between two dimensions of a single divine project in relation to the world, namely creation and redemption. It explores how the fourfold concept of divine action proposed by the paper overcomes the reductionist, non-eschatological views of divine action in both deism and naturalistic theism.

This article aims to compare and contrast three different readings of the biblical story of Martha and Mary (Luke 10:38-42), readings grounded upon three different hermeneutical theories of Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jürgen Habermas, and Paul Ricoeur. Given the fact that feminist scholars like Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza criticized the oppressive potential and oppressive interpretations of this passage, I will show how Gadamer, Habermas, and Ricoeur might respond to such a criticism respectively. I will analyze briefly the key arguments of each hermeneutical thinker and propose my constructive reinterpretation of the story on the basis of them. In the conclusion I will construct an imaginary debate between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]