GOD Flashcards
What is monotheism?
Only 1 God
Quote from Old Testament about monotheism
Isaiah 44:6
“I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God” (Isaiah 44:6)
Quote from Deuteronomy about monotheism?
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4
What was Israel’s monotheism?
It was not a philosophical concept, but it is applied to life; it was ethical monotheism.
What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment?
“The most important one… is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment great than these.” -Mark 12:29-31
What is Ethical monotheism?
Ethical Monotheism means that belief in one God includes also following the moral codes linked to that belief, e.g. the Ten Commandments
What is Descartes’ view on omnipotence?
God can do absolutely anything. (Can raise issues relating to the problem of evil)
What is anothet view from Christians about God’s omnipotence?
God is able to do anything that is logically possible.
What is one approach a minority of Christians think in terms of God the Omnipotent Creator?
A minority of Christians think in terms of the universe as coming out of God’s own being.
What is a view from many Christians about God as Omnipotent creator?
The view accepted by many Christians is that the universe was created by God out of nothing (EX NIHILO).
What is another approach of God as an Omnipotent Creator?
The third approach, using an alternative translation and adopted by process theology, is the view that the Earth was already in existence and in a state of chaos. God then ordered it.
What does “God as King” express?
Everything is subject to God’s control.
What do most Christians believe that God does now after creating the universe?
God not only created the universe, he also sustains it.
What do ethical teachings in the Bible show about God as the Omnipotent controller of all things?
They show how God sustains human life in the spiritual as well as the physical sense.
What is theological determinism when it comes to omniscience?
God knows past, present and future absolutely and in a causative sense. This means he controls our actions as he controls everything in the universe.
What do Christians say about God not being in space and time?
Because God exists beyond space and time, spatio-temporal language is not appropriate in relation to him, but we have to use it because it is all we have. God simply sees and knows all things, including the free choices that humans make, but his knowledge is not causative. (AQUINAS)
What did Swinburne say about God’s omnipotence?
God exists within time and knows all that is logically possible for God to know. This means he can’t know our future choices so he doesn’t cause our actions… but he might predict them.
What is God said to be?
Transcendent and unknowable
What is aseity?
The belief in God’s self-existence; it is his nature to exist.
What evidence shows that we cannot understand what it means to be God?
When Moses asked to know God’s name, the reply was ‘I am who I am.’
What is a clue in the Old Testament of the Trinity?
The Hebrew Word for God (“Elohim”) is plural.
What is said in Genesis 1 that shows part of the Trinity?
God as the ‘father’ of the universe created through his word and his spirit broods over the watery chaos.
What is a good hint showing the Trinity in the New Testament?
The Baptism of Jesus:
“Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dive. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Mark 1:10-11
What did Church leaders in the early centuries of the Church’s existence consider when setting out the doctrine of the Trinity?
- Biblical Text
- Their conviction that Jesus was uniquely the Son of God.
- Their exoerience of the power of the Holy Spirit guiding lives of individual Christians and the life of the Church as a whole.
What are the 3 parta of the Trinity?
FATHER, SON AND HOLY SPIRIT
What is a key feature in understanding the Trinity?
Each Person possses fully all the attributes of the Godhead.
For example, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience etc.
How is the relationship between the three persons?
One of mutual indwelling.
What is a quote from Pope Bendict XVI that talks about the relationship between the Persons of the Trinity?
God is not solitude but perfect communion.
How does the Trinity important in reflecting us?
The diversity together with unity within creation reflects the diversity with the unity of the Godhead.
How does the Trinity connect to the Christian beliefs about sin and atonement?
Christians who belive in the doctrine of the Original Sin claim that Gid sent his only son the atone for that sin through his crucifixion and resurrection and so reconcile humans to God.
The Holy Spirit works within believers’ hearts and lives, giving hope of eternal life.
What paradoxical claim does the Trinity explain?
Explains the claim that God is both transcendent and immanent.
How did Moltmann describe the relationship between the Persons of the Trinity?
Mutual self-giving and receiving love… like human relationships.
