Knowledge of God Flashcards
what is natural theology?
considers that god can be known through reason and observation in the natural world
what is revealed theology?
considers that god can only be known when he lets himself be known. Revelation might occur through a prophet, scripture, prayer and so on.
natural theology, aquinas/paley, point 1
- Reasoning about nature – For Aquinas there exists a “fundamental likeness (similitude) to God” within the created order, as a consequence of God being the cause. Aquinas developed his cosmological argument in his Five Ways, using Aristotelian notions of causation: if God made the world, God’s “signature” (so to speak) may be found within its created order “we are able to infer God’s wisdom from reflection upon God’s works” (Summa contra Gentiles)
- Catholic believes humans have an “openness to truth and beauty”; sense of moral goodness within humans is evidence of the divine creator.
- The same idea is posed by William Paley’s design argument: clear signs of organisation or purpose lead one to infer there is a designer/ creator.
the fall response to pale/aquinas
- Calvin argues the epistemic distance between God and humanity has been magnified by the Fall – natural knowledge of God is imperfect and confused and thus requires clarification through scripture/ Christ
- St Paul speaks to the Athenians about the “unknown God” – arguably highlights human beings wounded ability to know God…
innate sense of the divine response to calvin from calvin himself
• Innate sense of the divine - 16th century Protestant Reformer Calvin’s semen religionis (seed of religion, predisposes humans towards religious activity), sensus divinitas (innate divine awareness of God, a priori belief) 3 consequences of inbuilt awareness of divinity: universality of religion, a troubled conscience, servile fear of God. Calvin argues that anyone, by intelligent or rational reflection upon the order of creation, is able to arrive at the idea of God. (Institutes)
wrong interpretations argument against innate sense from calvin
- Nonetheless the fallen nature prevents further knowledge of God through nature
- People come to radically different conclusions about God from use of reason; evidently reason cannot lead to truth if truth varies
reason reduces god’s divinity, luther, point 2
• Martin Luther – “reason is a whore” in the sense that it reduces God to the finite level of the human mind, allowing anyone to access him. His ideas were emphasised during the Reformation in the 16th century when human reason justified the break from the authority of the Pope in Rome… One should develop faith from scripture, and totally surrender to the promise of God.
martin buber response to luther
- Although the Catholic Church argues for the importance of scripture in coming learn about Christ, the Catechism warns “Christian religion is not a religion of the book” – also need personal encounter
- Martin Buber “I-Thou” – religion is a personal experience of God, which cannot be attained through reading but through experience.
calvin accommodation response to buber
- Principle of accommodation; Calvin argues the infinite being reveals himself to finite beings through nature, does not reveal his essence but is a “sort of mirror” – there is no spot in the universe where you cannot discern at least some sparks of his glory” (Institutes of the Christian Religion) yet not specific truths, just aware of his existence
- For Calvin, knowledge of God is mediated through Christ, who may in turn be known through scripture, however the created order provides important points of contact for coming to knowledge of God’s existence. “Mirror and mediator of the divine”; God’s essence adapted to human finite understanding, allows us to understand God in human form.
codex siniaticus and tischendorf response to calvin
• If Protestants rely only on faith based on scripture, but scripture is proven to be inaccurate, then one loses access to God. 35,000 corrections found in the Codex Sinaiticus (350AD) – evidently not the unchangeable Word of God, but instead human communication of experience of God (Tischendorf)
codex siniaticus = greek bible
assent to faith/ god’s grace. Reason about revelation (locke), point 3
• Locke – faith is a matter of being guided by reason, faith is rational belief. Life starts as a Tabula Rasa (blank slate) and we must use our reason (as a gift from God) and experiences to come to belief in God.
dawkins and plantinga counter against locke
- Alvin Plantinga – key proponent of Reformed epistemology, which holds belief in God may be “properly basic” and not need to be inferred from others truths rationally warranted. Fideism – “the exclusive reliance upon faith alone, accompanied by a consequent disparagement of reason” ERROR OF FIDEISM, ATHEOLOGICAL OBJECTOR
- Dawkins, in ‘The God Delusion’ argues that, “faith is… the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, or perhaps because of, lack of evidence” “dies the death of a thousand qualifications”
aquinas leap of faith
• Aquinas – faith is stronger than rational knowledge and it is volitional (a choice to believe and therefore has personal meaning). Also, faith is supported by God’s grace and therefore connects us to God, whereas reason cannot. HOWEVER, we need reason to make the assent to faith; rational belief props up faith. Reason is proof e.g. cosmological argument, faith is truth; faith may be less certain than reason, but it is certainly more powerful.
plantinga faith alone argument
• Alvin Plantinga – key proponent of Reformed epistemology, which holds belief in God may be “properly basic” and not need to be inferred from others truths rationally warranted. Fideism – “the exclusive reliance upon faith alone, accompanied by a consequent disparagement of reason” ERROR OF FIDEISM, ATHEOLOGICAL OBJECTOR
