Agapeic Theism: Personifying Evidence and Moral Struggle

Abstract

The epistemology of monotheism offered by philosophers has given inadequate attention to the kind of foundational evidence to be expected of a personal God whose moral character is agapeic, or perfectly loving, toward all other agents. This article counters this deficiency with the basis of a theistic epistemology that accommodates the distinctive moral character of a God worthy of worship. It captures the widely neglected agonic, or struggle-oriented, character of a God who seeks, by way of personal witness and intentional action, to realize and manifest agape among humans who suffer from selfishness. In doing so, the article identifies the overlooked role of personifying evidence of God in human moral character formation. In agreement with some prominent New Testament themes, the new perspective offered ties the epistemology of monotheism to robust agapeic morality in a way that makes such epistemology ethically challenging for inquirers about God’s existence. Accordingly, such theistic epistemology will no longer be a candidate for ethically neutral, spectator reflection.