Knowledge of God's Existence: Natural Theology Flashcards
What is natural theology?
Gaining knowledge of God through observation and reason
What does natural theology contrast with?
Revealed theology, which is knowledge of God gained through religious experience and scripture
What argument relies on natural theology?
Paley’s watch
What are examples in the Bible of God being known through the natural world?
Psalm 8 and Romans 1
Who used natural theology to show that Christian belief is reasonable and does not have to contrast with logical philiosphy?
Aquinas
Who argues that we are all born with a sense of the divine so knowledge of God should be easy to gain for anyone
Calvin
Who argued that the world displays characteristics of order and design?
Swinburne
What is an ‘innate sense of the divine’?
When human beings are born with a sense for God
Who argues that in all times and cultures, people have had a sense there is an infinite being in control?
Cicero
What bible passages support that we are born with a sense of the divine?
Genesis 2:7, where God breathes life into Adam
Who argued that we instinctively feel guilt when we have done something wrong, and this ‘inner voice’ is evidence of God within us?
Newman, C.S. Lewis and Butler
What is the argument that God can be seen in the order of creation?
Teleological argument
What scholars argue that the natural world reveals God?
Aquinas, Calvin, Paley and Tennant
