Knowledge of God Flashcards
what is natural theology?
god can be seen through reason and the natural world
what is revealed theology?
god can only known when he lets himself be known
give some examples of god letting himself be known
prophets
prayer
scripture
what is sensus divinitatis?
an innate knowledge of god
who first used ‘sensus divinitatis?
john calvin - french protestant reformer
what is the universal consent argument?
the idea that over human history, various cultures have ‘consented’ in the idea of a higher being/beings
what is the anthropic principle?
the idea that theories of the universe are constrained by the necessity to allow human existence
what is the accomodation principle?
the idea that an ineffable god has communicated in a way in which humans can understand and respond to
what is aquinas analogy on natural theology?
everything points away from itself and towards god
give an example of aquinas analogy
the tree cannot finally explain its own existence and therefore points towards god - necessary existence
how does the accommodation principle manifest itself in natural theology?
god speaks to people through nature, a language they can understand
how does barth argue that the fall has led to human loss of knowledge of god
pride leads to loss of relationship with god
what is regeneration for calvin?
being able to transform through knowledge of god
how does the person of christ reveal something of god?
son of god is a mirror of the transcendent father
what is the significant difference between the finality of christ but not the finality of christology?
christ is absolute truth, revealed through humans
BUT
our study and knowledge of christ is never ending because we are fallen
name the five interpretations of the bible
god as author fundementalist bible and jesus experience trinitarian
explain the bible interpretation of god as author
god speaks through bible
the words point beyond themselves to god
explain the bible interpretation of fundementalists
the bible is the exact words of god
bible belt america
explain the bible interpretation of bible and jesus
you read the bible ‘with jesus’
read with your faith to make sense of it
explain the bible interpretation through experience
the bible as a group of individual experiences
explain the trinitarian interpretation of the bible
one god revealed in 3 ways
every word is prayed/ read through the lens of christ
what are the three ways god is revealed for a trinitarian?
father
son
holy spirit
how does the holy spirit influence the trinitarian reading of the bible and why are these readings inaccurate?
guides reading leading towards father and son, readings will always be imperfect due to human nature
