Knowledge of God's existence Flashcards
whats natural theology?
God can be known through reason and observation of the natural world
what’s revealed theology?
God can only be known when he lets himself be known, revelation might be through a prophet, scripture or religious experience
what does natural theology rely on?
an innate sense of divine, us noticing a point of contact between God + humans ➡️ natural theologians would argue this process is enough to develop a deep knowledge of God and to form a relationship with him
what does Calvin describes humans as having?
sensus divintatis, a sense of God or a semen religionis, a seed of religion as shown in what he argued was a natural inclination in all people to carry out religious practices such as rituals and prayers
how do some christians link human openness to beauty and goodness to having an innate sense of God?
catholic church believe in a sense of goodness + morality (NML, catholic tradition that an understanding of the universal laws is seen to be an indication of human innate knowledge of God as it relies on all humans having an innate sense of goodness and justice (can be seen in young children)
protestent tradition of conscience holding significance in our knowledge of God and moral goodness, Calvin argued it is a god-given ability unique to humans as the only creatures created in the image of God
AO2 on natural theology?
✅
- More rational than relying on faith as reason can be proven whilst faith could just be projection of imagination
- Its likely a creator would want its creation to be able to form a relation with them
- Cicero’s universal consent argument which argues that so many people believe in the gods or god that God must exist, it at least proves its reasonable to believe (eg tribes separated from society who still have a belief in God even though they have no over influence)
❌
- Not everyone has the adequate reasoning abilities for example people with special needs, a benevolent God would not exclude them from knowing him
- Luther believed that as this is not supported or inspired by God it is not a correct teaching
- Kierkagardd believed this gives too much credit to the believer, forming a relationship with God wouldn’t be this easy
- Aquinas’ five ways directly reflects on the nature of causes and their effects in the material world, concluding that the material world could not have come into, or maintained existence without an uncaused causer who created and sustained it
quote to support natural theology from the catechism of the Catholic Church?
“the soul ‘the seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material’ can have its origins only in God”
➡️ for catholics both the conscience and ethics (through NML) show that our faculties make us capable of coming to know God not just as a fact but personally
what was Calvins explanation of natural theology?
the world is like a mirror of God ‘for the display of divine goodness, wisdom, justice and power’ as it is his work of art and reveals something of his character
but he also recognises the effects of the fall on human nature and that this causes some humans unable to access their innate sense (epistemic distance created by Hick) and therefore natural theology should provoke someone to turn to scripture to find out more about God
why do many protestants emphasise the need for revealed theology?
humans are fallen creatures and need God’s intervention to gain full knowledge of him whilst catholics believe that revealed theology is require simply because of the huge differences between God and humanity
what is faith?
a belief in something that evidence does not necessarily support, the leap made to commit to something that they cannot necessarily perceive with their sense
- faith must be required for full engagement with ineffable things
how does the catholic church describe faith?
free submission and obedience to that which had been heard
how do protestants describe faith?
God’s action in the world, we fallen beings deserve nothing without God’s grace which can be seen most notably by his sending of Jesus to earth to die for humanity, understanding and accepting this aspect of God’s work is accepting God’s revelation and brings a person to knowledge of God, often knowledge in a more intimate way than could be achieved through reason alone
how can the Holy Spirit be seen as how to fully understand God?
christians believe the Holy Spirit inspires and guides people, gives them faith and strengthens them to live good christian lives
Calvin said ‘till the spirit has become our instructor, all that we know is folly and ignorance’ thus for Calvin, faith requires the grace of the Holy Spirit and so knowledge of God does too, we cannot achieve true faith on our own
how does the catechism of the Catholic Church describe God’s grace?
god has ‘places in people a longing for truth and goodness that only he can satisfy’
Grace is the gift of the spirit and is ‘free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God
what is unformed faith?
the person may find intellectual reasons why without ‘believing’ in it
