Howard Wettstein

Reviewed in B&C 7-8/13 by David O'Hara, "In Awe of the Living God"

Looking back on it, I realize now that I came to philosophy through love, and through the practice of communities... My hope is that the study of philosophy will inform my students' whole lives, enriching their thinking and giving them tools for solving problems they have not yet even imagined.

The idea of religion as love informs much of Wettstein's book. The texts of the Bible are like love letters; the prayers of religious communities aren't doctrines disguised as prayer, but the love-language of a people and their God, one that may seem silly to those who aren't in love; religious life is not about settled knowledge but about love, gratitude and awe.

In biblical communities, awe (Wettstein prefers "awe" as a translation of the Hebrew yirah rather than "fear") is more important than belief, because belief is concerned with cognition, while awe is a matter of one's whole life.

Thankfully, Wettstein is blessed with both a grasp of religious practice and a "feel for philosophy."

Philosophers have come to treat God as a concept to be cognized, abstracting God from biblical religion and from the literary and liturgical life of the communities to whom God most matters.

To stand in awe of God, Wettstein says, is not a natter of knowing awesome things about God so much as it is to feel privileged. to be overwhelmed, to feel humility without being diminished. The biblical texts attempt to express this, not by cataloguing God's properties but through narratives about God's roles ["father, friend, lover, judge, creator , and the like"].

This is not to say that theology is unimportant, but that it is helpful to remember that affirming systems of propositions is no substitute for learning to live in awe of God.… (mehr)