The Philosophical Theology of Austin Farrer

Book excerpt: Thirty years of reflection on the philosophical theology of Austin Farrer lie behind the nine chapters of this book, in which Farrer's seminal work on faith and reason, providence and evil, finite and infinite freedom, evolution and creation, and the doctrines of the Incarnation and the Trinity is discussed and developed. Austin Farrer, Fellow and Chaplain of Trinity College, Oxford for twenty years, then Warden of Keble College till his death in 1968, is widely regarded as the most significant Anglican philosophical theologian of the twentieth century. His unparalleled combination of philosophical acuity, theological insight and spiritual profundity have earned him lasting admiration and influence wherever the mainstream Christian tradition is valued and thought worthy of further exploration and fresh interpretation. These studies are offered in the hope that a new generation of philosophical theologians will find inspiration and encouragement in Farrer's work.