God as Creator Flashcards
What are the seven key characteristics of God from a Biblical point of view?
Omnipotent, transcendent, omnipresent, omnibenevolent, craftsman, immanent and omniscient
What is transcendent?
God is separate/completely distinct from the world
What is immanent?
God is involved and active in the world
What is a story where God is transcendent?
Genesis 1. Before there was anything there was a ‘spirit moving over the face of the waters’.
What do Greek translations of the Old Testament refer to God in Genesis 1 as?
LOGOS, referring to the reason or order behind the universe
What are the main qualities of God shown in Genesis 1?
He is transcendent, and omnipotent
What happens in Genesis 1?
God commands the world in to existence: Light and dark are separated, the sky and sea separate, land and sea separate, the heavens are filled with life, the sky and sea are filled with life, the land is filled with life, then God rests on the seventh day
What type of literary genre is Genesis 1?
A chiastic polemic; a story genre which builds to a crescendo.
What does the fact that Genesis 1 is a chiastic polemic suggest?
That it is not intended to be read as a real scientific account
How is God shown as transcendent in Genesis 1?
He commands the world into existence rather than modelling it like an efficient cause
How is God shown as omnipotent in Genesis 1?
He is in charge
How does God appear to be in Genesis 1 and why?
He appears to want some sort of relationship with us, blessing us and giving us “dominion” because he created everything else before he created humankind. Therefore mankind is created for a purpose: to fill the earth and subdue it
How does God in Genesis 1 contrast with Aquinas’ idea of the Prime Mover?
The Prime Mover does not know of our existence otherwise it would ‘move’ him
What stories is omnipotence shown in in the bible?
Genesis 1, Job 38:12 ‘Have you commanded the morning since your days began’, Job 40:9 ‘Have you an arm like God, can you thunder with a voice like his’ (authority, control), Joshua 10:11a, ‘the Lord threw huge stones down from heaven’ (almighty, higher than everything else) and Job:36:22 ‘God is exalted in his power’ (powerful and can do impossible things)
How is Genesis 1 different to Genesis 2 and 3?
In Genesis 2 and 3 God is seen in a more human (anthropomorphic) way as he walks the earth and gets angry. Psalm 8:3 describes God’s fingers at work in his creation
