Transcendental theology
"Transcendental theology" (Template:Langx) is a term invented by Immanuel Kant to describe a method of discerning theological concepts.<ref name=KantCritique>Kant, Immanuel, Critique of Pure Reason (1855), Ch. III, Section VII: Critique of all Theology based upon Speculative Principles of Reason.</ref> Kant divided transcendental theology into "ontotheology" and cosmotheology, both of which he also invented, "in order to distinguish between two competing types of 'transcendental theology'".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Kant defined the relationship between ontotheology and cosmotheology as follows:
"Transcendental theology aims either at inferring the existence of a Supreme Being from a general experience, without any closer reference to the world to which this experience belongs, and in this case it is called cosmotheology; or it endeavours to cognize the existence of such a being, through mere conceptions, without the aid of experience, and is then termed ontotheology."<ref name=KantCritique/>
A critique of transcendental theology as developed by Kant is that it is argued that human reason is not capable of proving God's existence;Template:Citation needed Kant solves this problem by appealing to moral symbolism. Thus, Kant describes God as a moral trinity: holy lawgiver, good governor, and just judge.<ref>For details, see Stephen Palmquist, "Kant's Perspectival Foundation for Critical Theology", Part Two of Kant's Critical Religion (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000).</ref>