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Philosophical Interpretations of Religion : 187
the distinction between secular and religious spheres. The Chinese have no word corresponding to religion and have, of late, adopted the term 'Tsun Chiao' from Japanese which was adapted by the latter to suit the modern concept of religion.
The case is, however, different in Europe. There we see several marriages and divorces between philosophy and religion through the centuries. The predominant western tradition, as found today, is the combination of Greek Philosophy, Hebrew Religion and Roman state organization. It was Philo Judaeus of Alexandria (c. 20-10 B.C. - 50 A.D. ?) who had combined the Greek and the Jewish traditions when the Hebrew scriptures were interpreted in the light of Greek philosophy which, in its turn, was influenced by Moses. 'Logos' became the first-born son of God. 'The marriage continued till seventeenth century when Spinoza (1632-77) pulled it down. His reaction has been described as 'yes-but'. The 'yes' part permits, to some extent, the external formulation of some of the principles of the traditional religious philosophy. The 'but' part is a statement of a special sense in which Spinoza himself is willing to use that formulation - he would accept a God, but not in its traditional sense.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) should be given the credit of having technically formulated the phrase' the philosophy of religion.' In 1793 he wrote the famous book Religion Innerhalb der Grenzen der Blassen Vernunft. It is a work depicting religion within the sphere of 'naked reason' or religion within the 'boundary of pure reason'. It is the last major work of the saint-philosopher and is addressed to scholars (the learned world in general). Of four Books of this work, the Second Book became controversial, as, according to the State censure (during the rule of Frederick William II), the essay controverted the teachings of the Bible.
Kant's Religion is a work on religion per se. It is important for the understanding of his ethical writings for two main reasons.
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