Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion

48

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA

cosmological argument for God’s exis-
tence. He also defended Newton’s view
of nature and God in a correspondence
with Leibniz. His works include A Dem-
onstration of the Being and Attributes of
God (1706), A Discourse concerning the
Unchangeable Obligations of Natural Reli-
gion and the Truth and Certainty of
Christian Revelation (1706), and Scripture
Doctrine of the Trinity (1712).

CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (c. 150–
215 CE). An outstanding synthesizer
of Christianity and Platonism, Clement
developed a cosmic Christology in which
the incarnation is seen as the fulfillment
of world history. He is the author of
Protrepticus, A Hortatory Address to the
Greeks, and The Teacher Stromata (Patch-
Wo r k ).

COLERIDGE, SAMUEL TAYLOR
(1722–1834). Along with fellow Roman-
tic poet, William Wordsworth, Coleridge
opposed rationalism and the mechanistic
materialism of his age, arguing for the
indispensability and value of the imagi-
nation in inquiry. He was in the Christian,
Cambridge Platonist tradition. His works
include Biographia Literaria (1818), Aids
to Reflection (1825), and Confessions of
an Inquiring Spirit (1840).

COLLINGWOOD, ROBIN GEORGE
(1889–1943). A British philosopher who

contributed to many areas, especially the

philosophy of history in which he argued

for the indispensability of placing your-

self subjectively in the position of relevant

agents. His works include Essay on Philo-

sophical Method (1933), Autobiography

(1939), The Principles of Art (1938), The

Idea of History (1946), and The Idea of

Nature (1945).

COMMON CONSENT ARGUMENTS.

Principally an argument for theism, but it

can also be used to support other views.

“If all people or most believe there is a

God, that is some reason for thinking

there is a God.” The argument is not a

demonstration. It is possible everyone is

wrong, but it may also be argued that if

theism is true, one would expect many

(but perhaps not all) persons to believe

it. A contemporary argument against

Christian theism reverses the common

consent argument and proposes that the

God of Christianity would make Godself

manifest to all people everywhere. Thus,

because there is no such global manifes-

tation, some argue that Christianity is

false. Some anti-skeptical arguments are

also akin to common consent arguments:

e.g., Is it plausible to believe that universal

convictions about there being moral

truths are false?

COMMUNITARIANISM. A late

twentieth-century ethical movement

that stresses the essential role of the