Knowledge Of God Flashcards
What is the ao1 spec for knowledge of God
Natural knowledge of God’s existence as an innate Human sense of the divine
Natural knowledge of God’s existence as seen in order of creation
Revealed knowledge of God’s existence through faith and god’s grace
Revealed knowledge of god’s existence in Jesus christ
What is the ao2 spec for knowledge of God
Whether god can be known through reason alone
Whether faith is sufficient reason for belief in god’s existence
Whether te fall has removed all natural knowledge of God
Whether natural knowledge of God is the same as revealed knowledge
Whether belief in god’s existence is sufficient to put ones trust in him
What is natural theology
The idea that God can be known through reason and observation of the natural world
What is revealed theology
The idea that God has deliberately chosen to give some knowledge to people that could not be gained rationally or empirically
Who was calvin
16th century protestant, inspired by st Paul and st augustine
Summarise what Calvin believed
All humans have an innate sense of the divine (sensus divinitatis) and a seed of religion (seed of religion)
The fall has impacted this god given point of contact, so we can only access it in a limited way
How did Calvin explain why atheists seem to have no innate knowledge of god’s existence
They have chosen to reject the innate sense of God within them
They are unable to connect with their innate knowledge due to original sin
How did st Paul influence Calvin’s beliefs
He said people are without excuse in choosing to not know god because god’s existence is self evident when we look at the world around us
In Athens he saw an altar ‘to an unknown god’ showing that the Greeks who worship many gods, still have an innate sense of the ‘true god’
How does the altar to an unknown god show we need revealed theology aswell
All they know of the god is his existence, but nothing about his nature
How does the catechism of the Catholic church support natural theology
It says ‘the desire for god is written in the human heart’, showing that god desires a relationship with us and natural theology provides a personal connection
What is the principle of accommodation
The idea that it is reasonable to suggest that a benevolent god would ‘accommodate’ human beings by communicating with us in ways we can understand
What is the principle of universal consent
Made by Cicero, idea that there seems to be an agreement across all cultures and all times in history that there is a divine being
How does the ability to recognise beauty support natural theology
We can know more about god through our ability to recognise beauty as it shows his benevolence
How does conscience support natural theology
When we do something wrong, we feel guilty - God is the source of this moral guidance so we can use it to understand God’s laws
How does Calvin support natural knowledge as seen in the order of creation
He says the universe acts as a ‘mirror’ as it gives us a glimpse into who God is
E.g we can see that the world is skillfully ordered to give us an impression of his omnipotence
