Knowledge of God's Existence (2)

Question 1

What is the Trinitarian View of God?

Answer 1

God is one but reveals himself as three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit
1) God as Father, prophets and writers bear witness to this revelation
2) Christ as mediator, clarity is given to Gods promises
3) Holy Spirit inspires Christians, sustains and leads them in the process of interpretation

Question 2

How does Christ show the Principle of Accommodation?

Answer 2

• Christ is the image or likeness of the invisible God so our finite minds can understand
• Christ acts as a mirror and mediator of the divine as he accommodates himself to our material and physical state

Question 3

Explain Calvins notion of Christ being ‘mirror and mediator’?

Answer 3

• Mirror: He reflects God’s qualities, e.g love, forgiveness which would have otherwise been hidden
• Mediator: The means by which sinful humans are reconciled and brought to knowledge and love of God

Question 4

What does the Catechism argue about the bible?

Answer 4

Believe that Christianity should not be reduced to the bible as it is ‘not a religion of the book’

Question 5

What do Natural Theologians believe about the Bible?

Answer 5

• That it is a source of knowledge of God
• A diverse collection of experiences of God from the early days of Hebrew people
• Psalms covers every kind of existential experience from knowledge of God who judges everyone to one who is a refuge and a friend

Question 6

What is the Natural-Revealed Theology Debate?

Answer 6

• Calvin was ambiguous in stating whether he believed in Natural or Revealed Theology
• God is the creator (detached from the world) but also a redeemer who is immanently involved with the world

Question 7

What is Brunners view?

Answer 7

• Believes that God’s general revelation (sensus divinitatus and conscience) act a s point of contact to know God’s command and their sinful state
• Not enough to achieve redemption, natural theology is about pointing towards evidence of Gods existence

Question 8

What is Imago Dei (Brunner)

Answer 8

• The image of God in humans after the Fall is only destroyed at the material physical and emotional level
• Formal and spiritual level of the humans image of God is uncorrupted allowing us to be addressed by God

Question 9

What is General Revelation (Brunner)

Answer 9

• God communicates through nature but due to sin humans are incapable of receiving the communication of grace
• All we know is God exists and nature provides the point of contact

Question 10

What is Conscience (Brunner)

Answer 10

• Conscience and guilt makes us aware of Gods laws

Question 11

What is True Knowledge (Brunner)

Answer 11

• Grace and renewal of the material self, true knowledge of God is only available to those who have faith in Christ
• Revelation of Christ ‘far surpasses’ general revelation of God in nature

Question 12

What is Barths view?

Answer 12

NEIN - disagreed with Brunner
- Human Nature is completely corrupted by The Fall and no points of contact exist
- Only God can choose to reveal himself to man

Question 13

Formal Self cannot inform the material self (Barth)

Answer 13

• The Fall blotted out the material selfs ability to know God and thus the material self cannot be informed by the formal spiritual self
• Brunner has not accounted for the sheer corruption of the material self and its inability to be informed

Question 14

No Points of Contact (Barth)

Answer 14

• Nature, conscience and guilt are not points of contact
• Conscience and guilt are experienced after receiving Gods grace not before or independently
• Brunners ‘points of contacts’ are a result of Gods grace and mercy, not a point of contact

Question 15

Order of Creation (Barth)

Answer 15

• Order in nature is not the bassi for morality or salvation
• Gods moral command in the bible is much different to natural law humans can perceive
• Brunner undermines uniqueness of faith with too much emphasis on reason

Question 16

What is Alvin Platingas view?

Answer 16

• Believes the reverse, revealed theology is reasonable and are ‘warranted’ and ‘justified’
• Natural theology however does not offer sufficient reason to believe in God and no knowledge of a God of love or grace

Question 17

What is Reformed Epistemology for Platinga?

Answer 17

Belief that knowledge of God is a properly basic belief

Question 18

What is Basic Knowledge for Platinga

Answer 18

• The same way science has basic beliefs, for example general laws that are built upon
• A belief that is self to be true as it makes sense of other experiences and is just so
• Platinga argues that Christian revealed truths are basic

Question 19

What is Platingas view on the Senses Divinitatus?

Answer 19

• Argues for a general religious sense which makes it reasonable for Christians to make religious claims
• Rejects that this is reason (natural theology) but a god given faculty
• Only available to a Christian as only Christ can remove sin and the Holy Spirit helps the believer respond to the defect

Question 20

What is the Atheological Objector and how does Plating reject this?

Answer 20

• Those who reject theological claims on the grounds that they are no more than wishful thinking
• Platina argues that an argument for the existence of God is no more rational than an argument for atheism
• In both cases there is no incorrigible evidence for either one of the beliefs

Question 21

What are objections to Platinga?

Answer 21

• Knowledge of God is not basic, millions of people having a sense of God could me mistaken and not happened
• Assumes Christian beliefs are true, the faith and bible do not give enough support for incarnation and the holy spirit
• Basic beliefs can be used to support anything the believer deems basic, tooth fairies etc

Question 22

What is Fideism?

Answer 22

• Requirement that revelation is essential for the human mind to know anything about Gods existence/nature
• Reformed epistemology is accused of this, ruling out reason means there’s no way to test beliefs
• Argued that Natural Theology rational view allows it to be considered with non-Christians and all views

Question 23

If we accept Natural Theology, what are its implications for Christianity?

Answer 23

Can be argued that it does not justify Christian claims of divinity etc
- Jesus was a mere teacher and prophet
- Resurrection is a moment of hope over despair
- Heaven is just a political goal of this world transformed

Question 24

Does Natural Theology appeal to the imagination?

Answer 24

• Argued that natural theology does not rest purely on reason to interpret religion but also on imagination

Question 25

What does Douglas Hedley say about the imagination?

Answer 25

• Argues tha imagination is an essential part of philosophical investigation
• Plato used stories to illustrate ideas, e.g the smile of the cave in the republic continues to raise questions
• We use imagination like faith, consciously and intentionally to understand other peoples experiences

Question 26

What does Douglas Hedley say about the imagination?

Answer 26

• Argues tha imagination is an essential part of philosophical investigation
• Plato used stories to illustrate ideas, e.g the smile of the cave in the republic continues to raise questions
• We use imagination like faith, consciously and intentionally to understand other peoples experiences