Dennis Bray

Hometown

Hanford, California (USA)

Education

MA in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics, Biola University

MA in Systematic Theology, Biola University

Social Studies teaching credential, Fresno Pacific University

BA in European Studies, UC Irvine

Thesis Topic

I am interested in philosophical arguments for the Trinity. In my dissertation, I will follow an argument first developed by Richard of St Victor and then advanced by Bonaventure. On this line of thinking, we can come to knowledge of the tri-personal nature of God through reason starting from our common experiences with love. That is, based on what we know about love, if there is a God, then the one God must be tri-personal. I will draw mainly from the philosophy of love, but also from phenomenology and psychology to test the argument’s claims and offer creative augmentations.

This trajectory of research falls into the developing field of ramified natural theology. Even so, the project is primarily and explicitly an exercise of faith seeking understanding: it was for Richard and Bonaventure, and it is for me. If Richard’s argument is strong, then there is application in doctrine of the Trinity, metaphysics of the Trinity, apologetics, and ecclesiology.

Publications

With David McNutt, Love Your God With All Your Art: A Faithful Introduction To Aesthetics, IVP [Forthcoming, 2018]