Knowledge of God Flashcards
What does the specification tell us we need to know?
-innate human sense of the divine
-order of creation
-Faith and God’s grace
-God in Jesus Christ
What is natural theology?
Knowing God through reason and observation.
What are examples of natural theology?
-cosmological argument
-teleological argument
-ontological argument
Who is the main philosopher in natural theology?
Calvin
What does ‘sensus divinitates’ mean?
Having the innate sense of the divine.
What does ‘semen religiones’ mean?
Seed of religion.
What does Calvin believe the Fall has done?
Impacted the God given points of contact limiting access.
What does Calvin believe would help develop a more meaningful understanding of God?
Revealed Theology
What are the 2 reasons Calvin says why atheist reject religion?
-reject the innate sense
-unable to connect with the ‘sensus divinitates’ due to the effects of the fall,sin widens the epistemic distance
Who influenced Calvin’s ideas?
St Paul-God’s existence is self-evident if we take into the points of contact around us.
What is the unknown God written in?
The Book Of Acts
Explain the story of ‘To an Unknown God’
-Paul goes to Athens
-He sees that they are worshipping false gods-Greek
-He sees one which says ‘To an Unknown God’
-Innate knowledge of true God
What does the Unknown God show?
Show the limitations of natural theology.
-Paul says they are ignorant which shows natural theology offers limited insight
-In the rest of the story he goes on to show the Gospels meaning to truly understand revealed theology is needed and learn about things they could not have known innately.
e.g Jesus,resurrection
What are quotes from ‘to an unknown God’?
‘now i am going to tell you about this unknown God’
What do Catholics believe about natural theology?
‘the desire for God is written in the human heart’
God desires a relationship with his creation and through natural theology this provides connection with god.
What is the principle of accommodation?
A benevolent God would accommodate to human beings he does this by communicating with us in ways we understand.
Who and what is the principle of universal consent?
CICERO-There is universal consent across all cultures that their is a divine being,natural to connect with divinity.
What do Christians say about points of contact?
Ability to recognise beauty in the world allows us to know God.
reflection of God’s benevolence.
What do Christians say about consciousness?
Feeling of guilt is innate evidence as God is a moral compass
What does Calvin say about consciousness?
Its a capacity given by God
What do Catholic Christians believe humans have?
They have the gift of rationality from God which makes us desire to do good.-AQUINAS,natural law
-God has given the tool
How does ST Paul’s letter support catholic Christians belief of rationality
‘Written on the human heart’
Humans have everything they need to build a relationship with God
Why do Catholics further believe we have a innate connection with God?
Because humans are made in God’s image suggesting God desires a relationship with his creation.
What does St Paul say about order and purpose relating to God?
People are ‘without excuse’ when choosing not to know God due to the points of contact
why does Calvin say the universe acts as a mirror?
It gives us a glimpse into who God is as he created him e.g skillfully ordered shows God’s omnipotence.
What can be said against Calvin’s point about the universe being a mirror?
The knowledge we gain is limited due to it being corrupted and sin has widened the epistemic distance.
-Only through Jesus mediator we can know truth
What does Aquinas say about purpose and order?
Reason allows us to reflect on the world around us e.g natural law,fine tuned design of the universe
Aquinas provided significant evidence through his five ways
What are 3 examples of points of contact?
-the universe
-purpose and order (Aquinas and Paley)
-the heart
Why does Calvin’s theology provide ambiguity?
He talks about 2 Gods
1)Transcendant and it accesible through the mirror of the universe
2)Immanent and personal,true knowledge only to be know through Jesus
What are 3 problems with Calvin’s theology?
-What impact has the fall truely had on our ability to know God
-How can God’s Grace be recognised if the points of contact have been damaged by the fall
-Do we need reason when understanding ‘sensus divinitates’ and ‘semen relgionious’/ is it God revealing himself
What did the criticisms of Calvin lead to?
Brunner and Barth’s debate
What was Barth’s stance and what was Brunner’s stance?
Barth-human nature is corrupted and so there are no points of contact
Brunner-Natural theology provides basic undertanding however we need Jesus
Who was Brunner influenced By?
Aquinas