Christianity- Knowledge of God's existence Flashcards
what is meant by revealed theology?
God revealing himself to humans
e.g. religious experience, in the person of Jesus, through scripture etc
what is meant by natural theology?
cosmological and teleological arguments
gaining a knowledge of God through reason and experience
natural theology- what is meant by the innate human sense of the divine?
- some Christians argue that we are made by God, in the image of God, we have an innate sense of the divine
- we have a feeling or sense of God in-built within us that can feel and respond to God
- catholic church believes desire for God is written on our hearts
what does Friedrich Nietzsche say?
“God is dead”
“where is God gone?” he called out
- basically saying, how can we reject God if he is built inside of us?
- how do we have in-built knowledge but refuse to believe that he exists?
Who is John Calvin? did he support natural theology or revealed theology?
- French theologian
- supported natural theology
- was a principal figure in development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism
“God himself has implanted in all men a certain understanding of his divine majesty” - basically saying that everybody has some understanding of God as we are made in the image of God
- he is innate within us
what is meant by “sensus divinitas” - John Calvin
sensus divinitas (sense of divine)
- Calvin argued we have a divine sense that makes it possible for everybody to know God
- he also spoke of the semen religionis (the seed of religion) that is found within all people
- we have no excuse not to worship God
- not everyone can see this clearly, so they worship other God’s or none
- the lack of clarity comes from human sin
- human sin has created the “epistemic distance” which makes God’s existence unclear
epistemic distance= the gap in knowledge or awareness between God and humans
Calvin identifies three ways that humans experience the sensus divinitas, what are they?
- conscience
- aesthetics
- intellectual ability
What does John Calvin mean by conscience?
- Calvin argued that we feel good or bad when we do good or bad things
- he argues that the voice or feeling we experience is evidence of an innate sense of the divine
- even the fact that we can identify right from wrong shows that humans are different from other animals
- this points to the fact that we have some sense of the divine and levels of reality beyond the material world
C.S. LEWIS’S MORAL ARGUMENT
- claimed we felt shame when we did wrong, even when there is no chance of being seen or caught
- he attributed this to an innate sense of God and morality
What does John Calvin mean by aesthetics?
- humans are aware of beauty, and this helps us understand God’s existence
- we have the ability to look at the beauty of nature and understand the creation of God and the character of God
what does Tennant say about aesthetics?
Tennant pointed to the existence of beauty as evidence for there being something more than a blind chance and brute evolution at work in the universe
this is known as the aesthetic principle
Tennant argues that the ability to appreciate music, art and nature gives us no survival advantage
why would we evolve these traits?
for Tennant, this suggests we were designed by God
what is C.S. Lewis argument // natural theology?
The argument from desire is an argument for God, which moves from human experience to the conclusion that God best explains it.
In other words, in looks at how we can best explain the human condition and concludes God is the best explanation
C.S. Lewis found the argument convincing, and it played an important part in his becoming a Christian.
His version of the argument is as follows:
- All innate human desires have objects that exist.
- There is a desire for “we know not what” whose object cannot be identified.
- If the object of this desire does not exist in this world, it must exist in another.
What does John Calvin mean by intellectual ability?
The fact that we have the ability to reason suggests that we are different from other animals.
This is linked to the idea we have covered before, that humans were made in the image of God.
For Aquinas he saw reason as being a gift from God.
Order and purpose
The design and cosmological arguments we covered in term one are examples of natural theology.
The strengths and weaknesses of these also apply to this topic (particularly the objections by Hume).
What did John Calvin believe about original sin and sensus divinitas?
Calvin felt that Sensus Divinitas was in all humans, however it was clouded by sin and original sin
- this means that not all people see God clearly
- this also explains why humanity has seen different conceptions of God
Evaluating Natural Theology, what are the strengths?
- IT IS INNATE -
natural law fits with the way humans gain a huge wealth of our knowledge
we observe and draw conclusions, we work this way through science - TRADITION-
arguments for natural theology can be traced back to the Bible, and is also very old within the Christian tradition
“ the heavens declare the glory of God” Pslam 19 - EXTENT-
many traditions emerged in many different eras in many different geographical locations - AWE AND WONDER-
- many material experiences invoke non- material reactions
When you view a landscape you do not simply take in an appreciation of the physical forces that have shaped it.
You feel a sense of awe and wonder, it moves you in ways that are not just intellectual.
Supporters of natural theology would say that it is reasonable to say you can access an immaterial God through material evidence.
Evaluating Natural Theology, what are the weaknesses?
- GAP-
the gap between God and humans is too great a chasm to cross
- attempting to deduce information about an immaterial, eternal, ultimate reality is always going to lead to a very incomplete view of God.
- the gap between our intellects and the reality of God is just too great for natural theology to be useful and reliable. - IMPERSONAL-
natural theology is useless for giving us information that would allow a personal relationship with God
- it is similar to understanding gravity
- it gives impersonal factual information
- it reduces God down into a force
-Natural theology alone cannot be the basis for religious belief or faith in God. - INCONSISTENT & SUBJECTIVE-
- reason is often subjective
- many people use the same evidence and reason God does not exist
- it therefore, cannot be the basis for religious faith - SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATIONS-
- order and purpose can easily be explained by other factors (Hume & Dawkins)
-Paley and Aquinas’s assertions have been significantly damaged by the concept of evolution - UNRELIABLE SENSES-
just because beauty evokes awe and wonder, it does not mean that there is anything supernatural
BRUNNER VS BARTH// brunners case.
- did not think that natural theology alone could save people
- he took calvins ideas of sensus divinitas as a starting point
-However, he felt that humans know they have a connection to God and that is how we are aware of our sinful nature. - The fall damages people on some levels but on the spiritual level we are still capable of a connection with God.
BRUNNER VS BARTH// barth’s case
- Nazi Party ideology made the claim that is was based on reason.
- Barth felt that if reason could lead you to the horrors of the Nazi policies it could not be useful for obtaining truth, it was simply too unreliable.
-Some have criticised him for allowing the Nazi Party’s assertions cloud his judgements as to the usefulness of reason. - God is so ‘radically other’ to try to fit him in with human reason would be like trying to pour Niagara Falls into a milk jug.
- Human language is originated in the world to explain things in the world it does not have the capacity to explain anything beyond the world.
- Human reason cannot be trusted.
- Human nature was completely corrupted by the Fall so only through revelation can God interact with humanity.
- Barth asserts we do not need natural theology because God has revealed himself fully in the person of Jesus.
What is the key objection to Barth?
- Barth says we need to rely on revelation through the Bible and in the person of Jesus.
- He claims that the Bible is only the Word of God because he allows revelation to occur through it.
- However, as we have seen the Bible supports the use of natural theology as an avenue to understanding God.
revealed theology - revelation through faith and God’s grace
- humans are sinful and have finite minds therefore natural theology is insufficient for gaining knowledge about God
- full knowledge of God can only come through faith and grace
revealed theology - Aquinas and faith
Aquinas sees faith as complimentary but different from other forms of knowledge
logical and empirical knowledge “scientia” is certain
faith is “ an act of intellect assenting to the truth at the command of the will”
revealed theology - the catholic church
the catholic church teaches that faith and knowledge are interdependent
- both are gifts from God
- it is impossible to have faith in something unless you have knowledge of the issue
- faith is the act of “buying into” something you have reasoned to be true
Calvin and faith
for calvin, christian faith comes properly through an acceptance of jesus as redeemer of the world
this is not done on a rational level but can only occur on a spiritual level
one you accept Jesus, then it leads you towards true knowledge of God
revealed theology - faith and grace
Christianity teaches you can only have faith in God in the concept of God’s grace
God gives the gift of grace through the Holy spirit
the Holy spirit is God’s action in the world
Through the Holy spirit God:
- gives prophets the correct words
- guides the writers of scripture
- give people wisdom to understand the scriptures
- gives people the courage to share the Christian message
- strengthens the church community
- brings people to salvation
revealed theology - revelation through Jesus
Christianity is centred on the actions and nature of Jesus and the plan for salvation that culminated and was fully revealed through Jesus
Catholics & Protestants have different understandings of revelation and how knowledge of God is accessible through revealed theology
revealed theology - catholic view
God’s revelation was completed in the Christ- event and the sending of the Holy spirit
however, to remain relevant, it needs to be understood in each new circumstance
- the work of the church is to communicate this message to each new age and allow them to access God’s grace
- God is revealed in the Bible and Church tradition
- The Church was a gift given by Jesus to the world to continue his work and spread the Gospel
- The actions of the Church reveal aspects of God e.g. the sacraments reveal different aspects of God’s salvation plan
revealed theology - protestant view
There is no one view that unites all Protestant churches
However, the following is true for most:
- the Bible has more authority then the church
- the role of the church is to point people to the Bible
- Calvin emphasized that Jesus bridged the gap between God and Humans
- Jesus is the meditator and the redeemer
revealed theology - Karl Barth
humans cannot understand God through their own efforts, God chooses to reveal himself through Jesus Christ, the Bible, and the teachings of the church
- Jesus is the living word of God
- the word consists of three forms
- Jesus is the most important form, exemplifying God’s love in human form
- second is the Bible which is not the word of God in a literal sense but a witness to the revelation of God in Christ
- the third is the churches teachings, bringing the Christian message to people
For Barth, Jesus is the only reliable way to gain genuine knowledge of God
revealed theology - the Bible
tells the story of how God works through history so that they can fully understand the person of Jesus
- old testament shows the ups and downs of the Jewish people as God reveals himself through different meditators
- Christians believed that Jesus combined all those roles (prophets,kings,priests) each old testament figure pointed towards this one figure, who was God
- new testament shows the good news spread and manifest in the church
- Bible is clear that God has revealed himself directly, through visions and the work of different people
- all christians believe the Bible is a revealed text
- some see it as the infallible word of God
evaluation of revealed theology - what are the strengths?
God is ineffable
- the experience of God is often understood to be beyond description
- there is a strong tradition within Christianity of what is known as Via Negativa, the argument that God can only be understood by explaining what God is not
- God is not like other subjects or objects that can analysed to compared to other things
Maintains God’s otherness and supremacy
- Most Christians would argue that it is important not to reduce God to human terms.
- Natural theology reduces God down into something that is knowable such as gravity
- Placing emphasis on faith to gain some knowledge maintains this important status.
- Also emphasising grace helps people understand the greatness of God and our place of relative ignorance
Centrality of Jesus
- Revealed theology, especially that of Barth and Calvin, place Jesus at the centre of theology.
- from a Christian perspective, this makes logical sense
- Jesus is the incarnation of God it is consistent to say that this is the most important source of knowledge about God.
- Everything should be viewed through the lens of Jesus.
The Bible
- it removes the opportunity for personal knowledge of God.
- Understanding the Bible as the revelation of God makes it accessible to all and allows personal relationship with God.
- It is also consistent with the idea of a loving just God who would wish his creation to have a relationship with him.
What are the weaknesses of Revealed Theology?
Limited Value
- Leads to Christianity becoming a ‘closed shop’.
-It does not persuade non-Christians.
- It also means Christianity is closed to dialogue about the nature of God that stems from an observation of the universe and the world in which we live.
- Non-believers cannot interpret or understand revealed theology.
Not Just
- Revealed theology argues God reveals himself at certain times and places.
- This means that certain people are chosen to receive specific revelation.
- Does this mean God has been biased towards some people?
Contradictory
-People who claim that God has revealed himself in some way have been contradicted by others.
- Christian revealed theology assumes Christianity is correct.
- The same arguments could be made for the Qur’an, the Torah or the Book of Mormon.
- As we saw in religious experiences some experiences are contradictory.
- How can revealed theology be said to be true if revelations are diverse and there is no way to distinguish between them.
Interpretation
- It is not clear how revelation should be interpreted.
- The Bible in particular could be used in a number of different ways.
- There is form criticism, redaction criticism, source criticism, literalism etc.
