Q: Do you really believe Philosophy is the foundation for Theology?

A: Yes—in the same sense that the alphabet and grammar are the foundation of Theology.

Meaning: To have mastery of the latter, you would first have to have some mastery of the former.

Philosophy studies the most basic questions we can ask. We use those answers in all else we do.

The hierarchy of knowledge includes:

Alphabet
Grammar
Logic
Exegesis
Theology

Where is Philosophy in this? Philosophy is learned all along, and especially at the stage of grammar and logic.

Not to say we aren’t learning theological truths all along too. We are.

But we get to the point of being able to think systematically about the listed fields of knowledge in the order I gave.

One cannot think systematically about Theology until he has learned to think somewhat systematically about all the preceding fields.

This makes the study of Theology the highest and final field in terms of logical hierarchy.

When I’m talking about studying theology, I mean in the more rigorous sense, not the wider sense. I’m talking about developing a self-conscious, rational, defensible, integrated set of ideas about God. In order to do that, a person first has to have some philosophical framework in place, at least implicitly, but it is better when explicit.

For instance, what if I were to approach Scripture with the philosophical notion that a claim can be true and false at the same time and in the same sense? Then I would do my exegesis any way I want. Vs. if I approach Scripture with the philosophical notion that a claim cannot be both true and false at the same time and in the same sense. Then I will have a much better approach to exegesis.

If I approached Scripture with the first notion, Scripture might not be able to correct it, because I would be able to take Scripture both as correcting it and as not correcting it at the same time and in the same sense.

Until that particular philosophical issue is settled, I cannot even approach Scripture with an adult mind. It is much like putting Scripture in front a person who does not speak the language.