God

Question 1

monotheism

Answer 1

there is only one god, the lord.
early israel: beloved there were other gods, just not worthy of worshipping
can be applied to life; ethical monotheism
eg 10 commandments

Question 2

Exodus 20

Answer 2

you shall have no other gods before me

Question 3

Deuteronomy 6:4

Answer 3

“hear, O israel; The lord our god, the lord is one”

Question 4

Isiah 44:6

Answer 4

apart from me there is no god

Question 5

Mark 12

Answer 5

golden rule

Question 6

omnipotence

Answer 6

descartes: god can do absolutely anything (evil and suffering?)

or

God can only do what is logically possible

Question 7

omnipotent creator

Answer 7

1. universe coming out of gods own being
2. universe created out of nothing (ex nihilo)
   eg: let there be light, word brought it into existence
3. process theology view that God god worked about ordering chaos

Question 8

omnipotent controller of all things

Answer 8

God not only creates universe but also sustains it
ethical teachings: sustains human life in spiritual and physical way

omniscience:
- god knows past present and future and in causative sense. controls everything incl. human action (theological determinism)

• exists beyond space and time, thus spatio-temporal language doesn’t suit. God sees and knows all things incl. human free choice but knowledge not causative (Aquinas)
• Swinburne: god exists within time and knows all that is logically possible for him know. cannot be cause of human future choices as he cannot know them

Question 9

transcendent and unknowable

Answer 9

god is beyond and outside of space and time
eternal and limitless
Catholic treaching refers to God’s aseity ( gods self existence; in his nature to exist)
Moses asks gods name : ‘i am who i am’, cannot know gods name ie. understand what it means to be god

Question 10

trinity

Answer 10

‘three in one’
hebrew word for god ‘elohim’ is plural
genesis 1: God as ‘father’ of the universe created through his word and his spirit broods over the watery chaos

heresis (beliefs stated false by leaders of the church) drove church to formulate the doctrine of the trinity

• 1 god, 3 persons
• each person fully possesses all the attributes of the god head:eternity, omnipotence omniscience etc
• relationship between 3 persons is that of mutual indwelling

Question 11

nicene creed

Answer 11

Jc “… begotten not made, being one of substance with the father”

Question 12

importance of the trinity

Answer 12

• diversity and unity of creation reflects diversity and union of trinity
• connects christian belief about atonement and sin
• original sin: god and jesus christ as the son sent to atone for sins and thus reconcile humans with god; holy spirit works within believers hearts and lives giving eternal life
• overcomes paradox of gods transcendence and immanence
• Moltmann: relationship of persons of trinity= mutual self giving and receiving love. reflected in human relationships

Question 13

John 10:30

“i and the Father are one”

Answer 13

JC response to those asking if he was the messiah

“one” common essence:
idea of pre-existence is present in:
-john1:1-12 which states that the word was in the beginning with god
- 8:58 jc states “before abraham was, i am”
viewed jc answer as blasphemous

“one” unity of purpose:
john 18: where JC prays that he and his disciples might be one
jc in discussion with jews said he was simply doing gods work

• translation may have been distorted when translated from aramaic to greek
• johns gospel written 60 years after the crucifixion

purpose of johns gospel was to combat heresy, so might have ‘slanted the text’

• Johns gospel an interpretation of the life and teaching of jc that was recorded in earlier gospels

Question 14

1 Corinthians 8:6

Answer 14

“one god the father, from whom all things came and fir whom we live” “One lord jesus christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist”

• some think paul had shema in mind and was equating JC with God
• others think that the use of preposition ‘through’ suggests JC was gods agent in creation but not in sense of being divine

Question 15

God as personal

Answer 15

-immanent ie involved in the world and is accessible
-god hears and answers sprayers
seen in indwelling of holy spirit in the spirit of believers

1 corinthians 6:19 “your bodies are temples of the holy spirit, who is in you”

Question 16

God as father

Answer 16

attribute to him a number of roles:
creating the universe
rescuing israel when in trouble
setting standards of behaviour eg 10 commandments
exercising justice, rewarding obedience and punishing misdemeanours

JC often refers to God as father:
parable of forgiving father, gods unconditional love is depicted
JC tells disciples that God will give good things to those who ask him
JC relationship with god is seen in prayer in Gethsemane where he uses term of affection Abba (Mark 14;36)
apostles creed: god as father as creator of universe and as the father of jesus christ

Question 17

god as love

Answer 17

OT:
‘hesed’ ‘stead fast love’ to depict gods dependable commitment to the covenant with israel
NT:
‘agape’ selfless, unconditional love for humanity

1 john: “god is love”

agape is part of the nature of the trinity
golden rule:
‘love the lord your god and love your neighbour”
situation ethics

Question 18

John 3:16

Answer 18

“for god so loved the world that he gave his only son, and who ever believes in him shall have eternal life”

Question 19

gender specific language

Answer 19

women feel excluded by gender specific language about god
in response gender neutral translations of the bible have been produced
however, does not address issues raised by feminists about the portrayal of god as a male figure in scripturee
- encourages a distorted and unacceptable understanding of god
- gender neutral translations do not apply to gender neutral terms for god

Daphne HampsonL: use of male pronouns replace with god or god self, but different conception of ‘that which is god’
“fundamental to the abrahamic religions is the will to subvert women and establish man as the norm”

rosemary reuther: ‘if god is male; then the male is god’

Question 20

continued:

Answer 20

clement of alexandria: christian nursing as the breast of God the father

Meister eckhart: referred to god lying on a maternity bed and giving birth

Mother julian: made reference to god in feminine terms stating that ‘as truly as God the father is our father, so truly is god the son our mother’

removing all gender specific references would lose too many insights, product of culture and time and needs to be understood that way

Question 21

god in process theology

Answer 21

universe has always existed; uncreated and eternal
therefore not created by god
god like universe= eternal and uncreated
relationship between god and universe= pantheistic
god persuaded order from chaos

God not omnipotent
god does not have unlimited power
universe independent from god, chaotic matter is able to resist attempts of gods persuasion

Question 22

strengths PT:

Answer 22

support from quantum mechanic 
fits with big bang and evolution 
supported by one translation of gen 1 
'in the beginning of god creating the world'
god doesn't control evil

Question 23

negatives PT:

Answer 23

god not being omnipotent goes against what many people thing what divine should be

god not worthy of worship?