Abstract

This article compares the object and method of three philosophical sciences that study God: the phenomenology of religion, the philosophy of religion, and natural theology. Reflecting on how God enters philosophy reveals the presence of a transcendent ambiguity in each of these three sciences, leaving room for, or even requiring, taking a stand – a call to faith or no-faith – on the part of the researcher. In this sense, none of the three disciplines turns out to be absolutely primary; rather, each is interwoven in distinct ways with the other two, depending on its own perspective. Applying Étienne Gilson's methodological adage – "faith generative of reason" – the article concludes by suggesting how the particular manner of belief ends up favoring one of the three sciences as the basic philosophical science in the study of God.