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Religious Studies Ethics A2 > Definitions and Understandings of God > Flashcards

Definitions and Understandings of God Flashcards

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1
Q

how do Christians define God?

A

one God, trinity of father, son and holy spirit

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2
Q

where do Christians define God?

A
  • Bibles with God’s relationship with the world, attributes described but not defined
  • Nicene creed
  • used today in Anglican churches
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3
Q

meaning of father, son and holy spirit:

A
  • father: almighty, creating and sustaining the universe
  • son: bringing forgiveness and freedom, showing God’s nature
  • holy spirit: making people like Christ, empowering them to do God’s will
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4
Q

what did the first Christians already believe about God?

A
  • oneness of God
  • God as creator and sustainer of the universe
  • almighty and loving
  • relates to humanity through covenant made with Abraham
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5
Q

who were the early Christians?

A

mainly Jewish but influenced by Greek ideas

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6
Q

dictionary definition of God:

A

supreme being, creator, and ruler of the universe

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7
Q

where does the definition of God come from for Christians?

A
  • the Bible and Creed

- also early Christian theologians such as St Thomas Aquinas helped develop a deeper understanding of these definitions

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8
Q

Descartes definition:

A

“supremely perfect being”

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9
Q

Anselm’s definition:

A

“that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-conceived”

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10
Q

what is natural theology?

A

it is the attempt to use reason/philosophical argument to establish the existence of God

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11
Q

who are associated with natural theology?

A
  • St Thomas Aquinas

- the Roman Catholic church

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12
Q

what is revealed theology?

A

goes further than natural theology and provides truths which are not accessible to reason

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13
Q

what is faith based on for Protestants?

A

revelation i.e. scripture

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14
Q

how are reason and faith related?

A

reason operates within faith, but cannot provide a basis for faith

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15
Q

all Christians believe God to be eternal but what are the different ways of understanding this?(3)

A
  • timeless and transcendent
  • everlasting within time
  • moving through time with His creation
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16
Q

God as timeless and transcendent:

A

(transcendent - beyond physical existence)
-the idea of time not applying to God can seem to contradict scripture when God “remembers” or “promises” however these sections could be interpreted as metaphorical

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17
Q

God everlasting within time:

A

-allows us to preserve God’s omnipotence and action within the world

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18
Q

God moves through time:

A

God moves through time with his creation but changes with it

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19
Q

what are the two models of God? and the difference?

A
  • God of religion - immanent
  • God of Philosophers - transcendent
  • Christians believe God to be both immanent and transcendent
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20
Q

meaning of transcendence:

A
  • separate from the physical world

- above and beyond all things

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21
Q

meaning of immanent:

A

-idea that God is active and closely involved in the world

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22
Q

what are the arguments to do with God creating time and space?

A
  • if God created time and space then how can he exist within it
  • God has to be completely different to the universe He created
  • Plato and Aristotle both argued that whatever is perfect can’t exist in space and time
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23
Q

how does the Bible tend to portray God?

A
  • everlasting and personal, immanent

- Protestants

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24
Q

how do religious philosophers tend to portray God? and what denomination accepts this?

A
  • wholly simple, timeless nature of God, transcendent

- Roman Catholics

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25
Q

omnipotence and God:

A
  • if God created everything then there is nothing that God cannot do
  • God is all powerful
  • God has the power to do all things
  • and power over all things
  • the word ‘Almighty’ is used in creeds and prayers to mean the same thing
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26
Q

why is omnipotence so important?

A

-necessary for salvation, redemption and the promise of an afterlife

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27
Q

everlasting God and omnipotence:

A
  • can act within time so there is no contradiction

- no contradiction

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28
Q

wholly simple God and omnipotence:

A
  • can’t ‘act’ because that would imply change

- impossible because he is actuality with no potential

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29
Q

how did Aquinas solve this problem?

A

by saying God acted in a single timeless act, with temporal effects, meaning that the effects of God’s acts can be seen in time and space even though God hasn’t acted in time and space

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30
Q

what did Aquinas call the paradoxes that inflict omnipotence?

A
  • pseudo-tasks
  • things that don’t make sense for God to be able to do
  • a square circle
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31
Q

what did Aquinas believe about God omnipotence?

A

God can do anything actually possible, without contradiction to the task or nature of God

32
Q

who distinguished between two powers of God?

A

William Ockham

33
Q

what were these two powers of God?

A
  • absolute power of God

- the ordained power of God

34
Q

what did Descartes say about God’s omnipotence?

A
  • contradict Ockham
  • not limited by the laws of logic because He created them
  • God is transcendent, we do not know what God is capable of
35
Q

describing God as ‘Almighty’:

A
  • much less problematic
  • to describe God in this way is to say He is not just more powerful than any living creature, he is the creator and source of power
36
Q

meaning of almighty in a faith based context:

A

has power over all things as creator

37
Q

problem with God as Almighty and the doctrine of incarnation: (3)

A

(God becoming flesh as Jesus Christ)

  • God cannot die as he is the sustainer
  • cannot have a body or he would be limited by the flesh
  • “and the word became flesh
  • God, as Jesus felt human emotions, suffered and died, if God is wholly simple then this is against his nature
38
Q

meaning of omniscience in Christianity:

A

all knowing, all wise, and knows what’s true

39
Q

why are the attributes of omniscience essential?

A
  • essential for monotheistic religions as God’s justice depends on it
  • God cannot be just if He doesn’t know everything
40
Q

what are the problems with the idea of omniscience?

A
  • can God know what hasn’t happened yet
  • know the future
  • if so do we have free will
41
Q

what is seen as central with Christians relationship with God and why?

A
  • free will
  • without free will there would be no chance to chose good over evil
  • no responsibility for actions
42
Q

the wholly simple God and omniscience:

A
  • if God is outside time he knows all that has happened, is happening, and will happen
  • humans are limited by our perspective of time
  • for God all things happen at once
  • the future is known to God but it is not known as ‘the future’ but one eternal now
43
Q

what does Aquinas say about God and the future?

A

God knowing what will happen causes the event to happen

44
Q

what can attributes of omniscience lead to?(belief in Islam)

A

predestination

45
Q

what did John Calvin believe in terms of predestination?

A
  • that some people were predestined by God for heaven and others for hell
  • and that God knew the outcome of every action
46
Q

what is an argument that solves the problem of predestination and free will working together?

A
  • Augustine argued that if you know someone really well you might know what they are going to do without causing them to do it
  • however intuition can be wrong
47
Q

the everlasting God and omniscience:

A
  • if God is in time then time passes for Him as it does for humans
  • this is easier to fit with free will as the future is the future for God
48
Q

what is middle knowledge?

A
  • God knows what a person would do in any given situation

- knows everyone intimately and can predict what would happen in any given situation

49
Q

what is another idea to do with God and omniscience to do with logic?

A
  • God knows everything that is logical for God to know
  • God knowing the future is not logically possible
  • omniscience may leave room for God’s free choices
50
Q

meaning of immutable:

A

unchanging

51
Q

why is God omnipotent and what does this go with?

A
  • because he created everything

- goes with monotheism

52
Q

meaning of omnibenevolent:

A

all loving

53
Q

what can the wholly simple God only act within?

A

can only act within one timeless action

54
Q

attributes of God:

A
  • perfect
  • supernatural
  • a judge
  • personal
  • necessary
  • wholly simple
  • creator
  • impassable-unable to suffer
  • immutable-unchanging
55
Q

what does Aquinas say about Christ being God and man?

A

we can talk of Christ as both God and as man, as God he cant have a body but as man he can

56
Q

what are human beings either determined by, both with human factors?

A

we are either totally determined by genetics, social conditioning and other factors or we are influenced by these things but have a measure of determined freedom

57
Q

randomness and omniscience:

A
  • randomness lies at the heart of the universe

- if humans are genuinely free then how can God know what will happen in the future

58
Q

the problem of omniscience and evil:

A

if God is omniscient the evil done by humans is the direct fault of God

59
Q

contradictions in the attributes of God:

A
  • wrathful and angry yet loving accepting of all and forgiving
  • seen as God who condemns some to hell and others to heaven
  • Christianity portrays God as both a judge and a father
60
Q

meaning of a wholly simple God:

A
  • the wholly simple God is the God of the philosophers
  • God is not made up of parts or have a body
  • God is not in space or time
  • is immutable
  • has no potential
  • is necessary
61
Q

meaning of pure actuality:

A
  • God exists in the fullest possible sense, exhibiting all perfections to the highest degree
  • God’s essence is identital to his existence
62
Q

what was the typical pattern of development for God in many cultures?

A

God in nature, on of mountains, in the sky, a wonderful place somewhere called Valhalla

63
Q

what are pictures in monotheism?

A

too anthropomorphic

64
Q

what is wrong with pictures being anthropomorphic?

A

they are not adequate because then God would be subject to space and time, He would be limited and change

65
Q

perfection and changelessness being closely related:

A

so the Christian God has to be non-material and incapable of change

66
Q

what does the idea of God not knowing the future fit well with? but what is it rejected by?

A
  • process thought

- traditional Christianity

67
Q

why might God be present in His creation?

A

because the entire of creation owes its existence entirely to Him

68
Q

what was the belief that Aristotle had about the universe? and what is God in this belief? (actuality and potential)

A
  • everything in the universe was both actual in that it existed and had potential to change
  • God is fully actual and has no potential
69
Q

meaning of contingent:

A

subject to chance

70
Q

explain the state of being that the universe is in that is contingency

A
  • everything comes into and out of existence
  • every plant and animal grows and dies
  • even stars come into existence, go through various stages then die
  • everything is dependent on other things for existence
71
Q

why does God not have any potentialities?

A
  • because God cannot change and He is outside time

- the Church Fathers found this confirmed in the scriptures

72
Q

how is God not contingent?

A
  • God doesn’t depend on anything else for God’s existence
  • God doesn’t come into existence
  • God doesn’t come out of existence
73
Q

who came up with the idea of a wholly simple God?

A

St Thomas Aquinas

74
Q

what is the God of sacred scripture? (holy trinity and creation)

A

the Holy Trinity are joined together in a dynamic love relationship which causes creation to come into being, just as beauty is present everywhere so God is present throughout God’s creation

75
Q

God and beauty:

A

God uses beauty as a way to open the minds of human beings to God

76
Q

what is significant about the Biblical God:

A

-is personal and enters into loving relationships

Religious Studies Ethics A2 (7 decks)

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