knowledge of Gods existence Flashcards
what was Polkinghorne’s view on knowledge of God?
We have a binocular vision of God, One eye is spiritual truths and the other is scientific. We need both to work together to ascertain truth.
what is natural theology?
Humans are the active agents when attaining knowledge of God from the world around us, using reason and experience. There is a point of contact between God and humans when analysing the world around us.
what is revealed theology?
God is the active agent in humans gaining knowledge. This includes the Bible, Jesus and Grace. It cannot be discovered through observation.
psalm quote for natural theology
‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands’
catechism of the church quote for sensus divinitatus
‘Desire for God is written in the human heart’
John Calvin’s views on natural theology
He believed humans have an innate sense of the divine (Sensus divinitatus) that allows everyone to form a relationship with God.
semen religionis - seed of the divine - found in everyone but some people are not aware of this because confused by sin. He also thought the world is like a mirror for God.
what three keyways do humans experience the sensus divinitatus
conscience
intellectual ability
beauty
how does human conscience allow people to experience God?
feelings of guilt are a voice providing innate evidence of Gods existence
conscience shows humans openness to understanding God
conscience is given by God and is a part of the human response to God
Henry Newman even said it is the ‘voice of God’
how does beauty allow people to experience God?
RC Church stated that human appreciation of beauty helps us know God because when we see something beautiful, we can use reason to understand that God is in the working world. our ability to do this is God given.
how does human intellect allow people to experience God?
The reason we are given allows us to reflect on what we see in the world around us. Once we understand the world in which we perceive our divine reason will lead to the conclusion of a perfect creator/God. supported by Aquinas and William Paley.
Descartes natural theology view
we are born with innate knowledge of God like a trademark or stamp. Through this we can use reason to realise existence is a predicate of his ontos.
what do design arguments for GE have to do with natural theology?
they suggest that there’s a beauty and purpose of the world that leads to the existence of a higher purpose and creator.
what did Aquinas mean by similitudo?
there is a likeness between creator and creation that must mean he exists
he has left metaphysical fingerprints on the world
we can understand God using the anology of attribution
how was Calvin influence by Cicero?
Cicero put forward the universal consent argument suggesting all humans have a natural inclination towards belief in a God if so many believe this it must exist
what is a limitation of Cicero’s theology?
Feuerbach –> universal belief in God only suggests a psychological need for a higher being or God
why is natural theology not enough for McCrath?
Natural theology can lead to the intellectual idea of a God but revealed theology is necessary to develop into a personal relationship with the Christian God .
for Calvin, why is revealed theology necessary?
The fall has created a distance between man and God. Calvin called this the epistemic chiasm
what ways has God been the active agent?
prophets
Grace
Christ
Bible
Religious experience
How does Christ reveal knowledge of God?
Jesus is homoosius with the father and represents the invisible God by appearing in a way that our finite minds can understand. God incarnate accommodates to our mental and physical conditions so we can learn more about him.
What does Calvin think of Jesus?
Jesus is the ULTIMATE mirror and mediator of the divine. He represents the love of God, his righteousness and justice.
how does the RCC see jesus?
as the ultimate final revelation of God
how does the RCC see Jesus?
as the ultimate final revelation of God, we can access what we need through him.
Aquinas on unformed and informed faith
unformed faith = rationality and intellect alone
informed faith = Reason and faith together
Luther on revealed theology
completely rejects reason
Bible contains all necessary proof, theonomous Christianity governed by the divine Law
our reason is limited
Knowledge requires Bible and Faith alone
sola scriptura etc
Kierkegaard and faith
Reason cannot grasp the essence of God and it undermines faith. If we were to have certain knowledge of God that would limit human free will and our genuine desire to develop a relationship with God. Thus, the ambiguity of God that he chooses to reveal allows us to leap into faith of him.
barth quote
‘the finite has no capacity for the infinite’ our minds cannot grasp Gods being
Emil Brunner’s view
The fall did not destroy all human reason so it is possible to use natural theology. The fall destroyed the materiality of a person but not the formal imago dei which is what separates us from humans and gives us a divine ability to reason.
through reason we can learn preserving grace- God is still maintaining creation we can observe this as its spinning
there is a limit to what we can know from God through reason since we are still sinful
what were Barths views
influenced by Nazi Germany, Barth believed our human ability to reason was limited and therefore we cannot use it to attain knowledge of God.
we should never be in a position where our human reason is above God.
Bible contains Gods revelation and Gods word because God allows us to know him through it
The distance created by man and God after the fall means God can only interact through his revelations.
strengths of natural theology?
Theocentric not Christocentric; universal appeal - explicit knowledge of Christ is not necessary for knowledge of God - attractive idea to pluralists such as Hick who argues revealed theology is not necessary to know God since Christianity is just one path
fits with an omnibenevolent God not elites - anonymous Christianity
Brunner - argues natural theology is credible despite the fall
weaknesses of natural theology?
not Christocentric- what is the point in the history of salvation if we can know everything of God through the world and our experiences alone. God is fully revealed through Christ since they’re homoosius this means we cannot know everything about God via natural theology. Exclusivists would argue we can only know God via Christ
Barth question human reason
Augustine and humanities sin
strengths of revealed theology
God = active agent - satisfactory because he is perfect, and man are fallen
Appealing to exclusivists
Christocentric
John henry newman - doctrine of reserve there is always more to know about God
weaknesses of revealed theology
it requires human reason to an extent
Pelagius - humans can be moral and orginal sin did not have the ffect on reason that we believe therefore we can know God through reason
Barth and Romans
Barth interpret St pauls description in Romans of the gentils worshiping a creater that they do not know as idoltry. this is what natural theology leads to it is incomplete faulty knowledge of God. worshiping and unknown diety.
