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Theology > Knowledge of God > Flashcards

Knowledge of God Flashcards

1
Q

What are the two sub categories of the specification?

A

natural theology and revealed theology

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2
Q

what are the two aspects of natural theology on the specification?

A

natural knowledge of God’s existence:
1. as an innate human sense of the divine
2. as seen in the order of creation

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3
Q

what are the two aspects of revealed theology on the specification?

A

revealed knowledge of God’s existence:
1. through faith and God’s grace
2. in Jesus Christ

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4
Q

define conscience

A

the inner sense of right and wrong in a person, sometimes described as an internal voice

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5
Q

define natural theology

A

use of reason and observation of the world to come to a knowledge of God

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6
Q

define sensus divinitatis

A

latin term: a sense of the divine, used by Calvin to talk about an innate sense of God in each of us

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7
Q

define sensus religionis

A

latin term: used by Calvin, meaning seed of religion

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8
Q

define revealed theology

A

the idea that God reveals what we need to know about him to us in different ways, eg through the Bible/Jesus

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9
Q

define revelation

A

God deliberately showing aspects of himself to the world

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10
Q

state of relationship with God pre-fall?

A

-knowledge of God was direct and intimate
-infusion of natural and revealed

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11
Q

state of relationship with God post-fall?

A

-epistemic distance between God and humanity
-knowledge of God is partial and indirect

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12
Q

what is the catholic interpretation of epistemic distance?

A

an acknowledgement that humans have a different nature to God, so He will always be unknowable to some extent

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13
Q

what is the protestant interpretation of epistemic distance?

A

punishment for original sin (also Calvinistic)

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14
Q

what is Hick’s interpretation of epistemic distance?

A

sign of God’s benevolence as it allows Christians to choose to love and worship God freely

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15
Q

what is a point of contact?

A

provided by our ability to reason, it allows us to know God’s will

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16
Q

why do humans have the ability to reason?

A

it is a part of being made in God’s image, imagio dei (Genesis)

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17
Q

examples of points of contact within the universe?

A

-goodness in the world (analogy of the baker)
-beauty in the world (aesthetics)

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18
Q

what core teachings of Christianity come from revealed theology?

A

-doctrine of incarnation
-doctrine of the Trinity

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19
Q

how do catholic Christians believe we know God?

A

both natural and revealed theology; since God gave us the ability to rationalise (natural), while revealed helps us bridge epistemic distance

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20
Q

how do MOST protestant Christians believe we know God?

A

ONLY revealed theology, since humans are fallen creatures and need God’s intervention to gain full knowledge of him

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21
Q

what did Aquinas think about the human ability to reason?
(inspo:Aristotle)

A

-it is a gift from God and leads us to a better understand of God
-wanted to show knowledge of God as being grounded in reason to avoid fideism

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22
Q

what did Calvin think about our ability to reason?
(inspo: St.Paul+St.Augustine)

A

-unreliable because of corruption caused by original sin
-we can have a sense of God that gives us a basis for belief (seed of religion)
-ultimately must find God through Jesus

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23
Q

examples of natural theology? (arguments for God’s existence)

A

-cosmological
-teleological
ontological (though Aquinas rejected this one)

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24
Q

what is Calvin’s view on the innate sense of the divine?

A

-sensus divinitatis gives us the knowledge that God exists
-only through revealed that a more developed, meaningful, personal knowledge of God is gained (specifically through Jesus as the Mediator and Redeemer)

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25
Q

what is Calvin’s response to why atheists do not appear to have any innate knowledge of God?

A
  1. they have chosen to reject the innate sense of God within them
  2. they are unable to connect with their sensus divinitatis because of original sin (self-inflicted)
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26
Q

how does Calvin ground his beliefs in the Bible?

A

through the teachings of St.Paul:
-letter to the Romans
-Book of Acts

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27
Q

how does St.Paul’s letter to the Romans support natural theology?

A

-people are “without excuse” in choosing not to know God
-God’s existence is self-evident if we simply take in the points of contact in the world around us

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28
Q

what does the Book of Acts (ch17) depict?

A

Paul’s evangelical work in Athens where he discovers the Athenians are worshipping false Gods
+ an altar inscribed to ‘to an unknown God’

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29
Q

how does the altar to an unknown God highlight the limitations of natural theology?

A

-Paul points out that the Athenians are “ignorant” of what they worship which suggests limited insight into the nature of God
-Paul has to REVEAL the ‘true God’ to the Athenians

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30
Q

how does the catechism of the catholic church support the notion that humans have an innate connection with God?

A

“the desire for God is written on the human heart” - suggests that God desires a relationship with his creation and that NT can provide personal connection with God

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31
Q

what is the principle of accommodation?
(key argument to support NT)

A

the idea that it is reasonable to suggest that a benevolent God would ‘accommodate’ humans by communicating in with us in ways that we are able to understand him

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32
Q

what is Cicero’s principle of universal consent?
(supporting NT)

A

the idea that there seems to be a universal agreement across all cultures and times in history that there is divine being(s)
-suggests that it is a part of the natural make-up of humans to connect with divinity

33
Q

what are limitations to Cicero’s universal consent argument?

A

-perhaps it is a result of the universal need for things like hope, comfort, authority
-it is no longer a trend as we live in an increasingly secular society

34
Q

what is Calvin’s opinion on apparent design and purpose of nature?

A

-universe acts as a “mirror” in that it gives us a glimpse into who God is because He created it
-eg. we can see the world as “skillfully ordered” which suggests God’s omnipotence

35
Q

what is the main issue of Calvin’s theology?

A

ambiguity (it is vague and unclear)

36
Q

Calvin seems to present two very different Gods due to the lack of clarity in his work. what are these versions?

A
  1. a transcendent God who is detached from the world, and yet accessible in the sense that the universe a “mirror” to him
  2. a personal, loving God who is closely involved immanently in the world (Holy Spirit+Jesus as Mediator)
37
Q

what is a limitation of Calvin’s presentation of God’s grace as a point of contact?

A

Calvin claims the impact of the Fall has corrupted the human ability to know God, but to what extent if we are still able to recognise God’s grace

38
Q

what is a limitation of Calvin’s notions of sensus divinitatis and semen religionis?

A

it is unclear if they are points of contact that we need reason to understand or if they are actually ways of God revealing himself

39
Q

what did the tension of Calvin’s ambiguities cause?

A

the debate between Brunner and Barth (20th century Swiss, Calvinist theologians)

40
Q

what conclusion did Emil Brunner draw from Calvin’s theology?

A

NT (points of contact in nature) can provide a basic understanding of God, but true redemption comes through Jesus

41
Q

what conclusion did Karl Barth draw from Calvin’s theology?

A

human nature is completely corrupted by the Fall and this means that there are no points of contact in nature
-only God can choose to reveal himself to a sinful man

42
Q

overview of Brunner?

A

-influenced by Aquinas
-the idea that reason can be used to identify aspects of God
-supported NT and RT

43
Q

what was Brunner’s starting point?

A

points of contact that give a basic understand of God
1. beauty of nature
2. conscience
3. sensus divinitatis

44
Q

how did Brunner respond to the limits of NT?

A

NT existing as the beginnings of the conversation, not providing full knowledge

45
Q

what was Brunner’s view of the Fall?

A

-accepted the impact on humanity but not to the drastic degree of Barth
-at a spiritual level, we remain the pinnacle of God’s creation

46
Q

overview of Barth?

A

rejected NT entirely, perhaps because of his experiences with the rise of Nazism

47
Q

what was Barth’s view of the Fall?

A

human nature had been completely corrupted and that the only way to know anything about God is through God’s choice to reveal something to us

48
Q

what was Barth’s opinion on points of contact?

A

if a person sees the beauty of nature and then knows something about God, it is because they have ALREADY had something REVEALED to them

49
Q

list A02 points to support natural knowledge of God

A

-reasonable to believe that a God who lovingly created humans would have made some way for them to have contact with Him
-works in a way that we are used to (it is normal for humans to use their brains to reason)
-God’s existence as self-evident

50
Q

list A02 points to support points of contact

A

-reasonable to suggest that the sheer number of people who have had some sort of faith suggests that there is a point of contact
-appreciation of awe/wonder takes us beyond the physical and the feelings we experience seem to be on a level different to material things which might point to a God that can be known from earthly things

51
Q

what did Butler, Newman, and C.S. Lewis claim in support of natural knowledge of God’s existence?

A

we all have feelings of guilt when we do something wrong; the fact that we seem to have an innate sense of morality may suggest that there is a God that is the source of this conscience

52
Q

what biblical evidence is there to support natural knowledge of God’s existence?

A

Genesis: God makes people in his own image and BREATHES INTO ADAM with his own breath, suggesting that there might be a ‘spark of divinity’ in each human life

53
Q

why is conscience (NT) limited?

A

can be explained through socialisation, rather than being a point of contact

54
Q

what was Hume’s criticism of NT?

A

it uses inductive reasoning which is problematic as it can only ever be highly probably, and rather unreliable

55
Q

what are issues with using reason to know God? (NT)

A

-using reason leads to different conclusions (highlighted by the Brunner v Barth debate)
-subjective
-reason is unreliable and Aquinas puts too much confidence in it

56
Q

what are the limitations of points of contact we observe? (NT)

A

-order and purpose can be explained by other factors like evolution
-just because we feel awe, does not mean that God has made this feeling

57
Q

define direct revelation

A

-immediate revelation
-direct terms; when God reveals himself directly to a person/people

58
Q

define indirect revelation

A

-mediate revelation
-indirect terms; when God reveals himself via another source like a person or the Bible

59
Q

what is the Trinity?

A

RT, a central belief that there is one God made up of three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)

60
Q

what is Jesus’ role in RT?

A

the Mediator: reconnected humans with God + allowed us to achieve salvation

61
Q

what is the Holy Spirit’s role in RT?

A

the power of God which is active in the world and must be understood in order to understand God’s grace (working alongside)

62
Q

what is the role of faith in RT?

A

knowledge of God that goes beyond what can be obtained through rationalism and empiricism
-the leap that someone makes to commit to something they cannot necessarily perceive

63
Q

what did Aquinas believe about faith and reason?

A

his arguments CONFIRM, not prove, with faith working alongside reason

64
Q

what is unformed faith?
(Aquinas)

A

the intellectual acceptance of Christian teaching, without necessarily believing they are true

65
Q

what is formed faith?
(Aquinas)

A

the full understanding and acceptance of Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God
-takes time, effort, and discipline of prayer and reflection

66
Q

what was Dawkins’ challenge to the catholic position that faith grounds reason?

A

faith is filling in the gaps where we simply do not know the answer yet, believing science will fill these gaps

67
Q

who said “faith is the great cop-out” an “excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate science”

A

Richard Dawkins

68
Q

what was Calvin’s view of faith?

A

it is firm and certain knowledge in Jesus, sealed or gifted by the Holy Spirit

69
Q

what are the different ways the Bible is interpreted by Christians?

A

-either as the Word of God that is infallible
-or as an inspired text that holds authority but must be interpreted

70
Q

what is the role of the church in RT for Catholics?

A

to reinterpret the message of the Bible in the present day; religion as a living entity, not just a book

71
Q

what does the Catechism warn Christians of?

A

reducing Christianity to just the Bible because it is a religion of the “eternal Word of the LIVING God”

72
Q

what is the role of the church in RT for Protestants?

A

simply to point the believers toward the revelation found in the Bible (prima scriptura)

73
Q

list A02 points to support revealed knowledge of God’s existence

A

-only God can properly reveal something as indescribable as himself
-emphasises the special nature of Jesus and gives appropriate importance

74
Q

what is a merit of the concept of faith in RT?

A

reflects the difference when talking about knowing things on earth and knowing God, so RT must be required to know about God

75
Q

what is a merit of the concept of grace in RT?

A

shows how humans need to appreciate that God is so much greater than them and they require his revelation to know about Him

76
Q

what is a merit of the Bible’s role in RT?

A

understanding the Bible as a revealed text shows how God has left that revelation for all to have access to

77
Q

list A02 points that challenge revealed knowledge of God’s existence

A

-not useful to a non-believer because they cannot interpret/ understand it
-assumes that Christianity is the correct revelation

78
Q

what are the issues of relying on humans to interpret revealed knowledge of God’s existence?

A

-people who claim that God has revealed himself in some way have contradicted others who claim the same
-it is not always clear how humans are to interpret what is revealed to them

79
Q

what is an issue with the way the nature of God is presented in RT?

A

suggests a God who only reveals himself in certain circumstances and so could be accused of being biased

Theology (2 decks)

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