McGrath Ch 9 - The Doctrine of God Flashcards
What kinds of ‘female imagery’ has been used in the Scriptures about God?
- God as ‘giving birth’ to Israel
- as a midwife who helps with the birthing process
- Caring for Israel as a mother
Which church father rejected the idea that God was male?
Gregory of Nazianzus
According to the Catechism of the Catholic church, what does calling God ‘Father’ indicate?
- God is the first origin of everything
- God is transcendent authority
- God is good and has loving care for his children
According to the Catechism of the Catholic church, what does God’s ‘motherhood’ express?
- parental tenderness
- Emphasizes God’s immanence
- Intimacy between the creator and creature
What are some potential problems with the idea of a ‘personal’ God?
- Might be taken to imply that God is a human being
- Because the Trinity speaks of God as three persons, to speak of God as a ‘person’ may be a denial of the Trinity.
Why does Spinoza believe that love cannot be reciprocated by God?
- Any passion on the part of God involves a change in his being
- God cannot move to a greater perfection or to a lesser.
- The perfection of God would be compromised
What is the 20th century philosophical movement that attempts to help clarify what it means to speak of God as a person? Who is the leading representative?
“Dialogical personalism”. Martin Buber
What is the difference between the ‘I-It’ and ‘I-You’ categories?
‘I-It’
- relationship between subject and object
- knowledge is indirect, mediated through an object
- an active subject pursuing a passive object
‘I-You’
- relationship between two active subjects. Mutual and reciprocal
- Knowledge is direct, immediate, lacks specific content
What are the beliefs of the ‘history of dogma’ movement?
- Belief that classical Greek ideas had inappropriately found their way into Christian theology
What created a climate in which it was apologetically necessary to speak of a suffering God?
Protest Atheism
Who argued that a God that cannot suffer is a deficient, not a perfect God
Jurgen Moltmann
How does Moltmann argue that both the Father and the Son suffer but in different ways?
- the Son suffers the pain and death of the cross
- the Father gives up the son and suffers his loss
Who believed that human civilization had reached a stage at which it may dispense with the notion of God?
Friedrich Nietzche
What is closely linked to the rise of the movement known as Deism?
The Newtonian emphasis upon the mechanical regularity of the universe
Who conceived of divine action in terms of primary and secondary causes?
Thomas Aquinas
Which councils explicitly taught that God created a good creation out of nothing?
- The Fourth Lateran Council
- The Council of Florence
What were the statements by Augustine of Hippo that rejected dualism?
- Everything that exists owes that existence to God
- Everything that exists was created good by a good God
- Evil that exists in this world does not possess its own substance. Rather it is a ‘lack of goodness’
- Evil does not derive its origin from God, but from humanity’s use of its God-given freedom
Which thinkers believed that the world was created out of pre-existing material?
- Plato
- Gnostic writers
- Clement of Alexandria
- Justin Martyr
What are 3 different models of God as creator?
- Emanation
- Construction
- Artistic expression
What is Irenaeus’ approach to theodicy?
An encounter with evil is seen as a necessary prerequisite for spiritual growth and development
What is Augustine’s approach to theodicy?
Evil is a direct consequence of the misuse of human freedom. God created humanity with the freedom to choose good or evil. Sadly, humanity chose evil; as a result, the world is contaminated by evil.
Evil had to be an option within the world if it were to be accessible to human choice
Which theology sees suffering as participation in the struggle of God against suffering in the world?
liberation theology
Who is the origins of “process thought” generally associated to?
Alfred North Whitehead
What is the concept of “process theology”?
God acts through persuasion/influence
Who argued that an exploitative attitude to nature is a direct result of the Christian doctrine of creation?
Lynn White Jr.
Which philosopher addresses the existence of evil using “free-will defense”?
Alvin Plantinga
What is the idea of “free-will defense”?
- Free will is morally important
- If humans were forced to do nothing but good, that would represent a denial of human free will
- God must bring into being the best possible world with free will
- Therefore God must create a world with free will
- God is not responsible if humans choose to do evil, since God is operating under self-imposed constraints - God will not compel human beings to do good.
