Knowledge of God’s Existence Flashcards
What is natural theology?
Use of reason and observation of the world to come to a knowledge of God.
How can we sense the divine?
Many Christians argue there is a divine spark or innate knowledge of God in everyone. The Catholic Church says the “desire for God is written in the human heart.”
Calvin took this further, speculating that all people have an innate sensus divinitas that makes it possible for everyone to know God. He also spoke of the semen religionis, the seed of religion on everyone.
What are three key examples of how humans experience the sensus divinitas?
1.) The conscience - Calvin said the conscience is a function given to us by God and is part of the human response to God. It is innate evidence that God exists.
2.) Humans are aware of beauty and the Catholic Church said this helps people understand God’s existence. When we see or hear beautiful things, we have the innate capacity to understand that this is God at work.
3.) Humans are unique in their intellectual ability to reason. We can reflect on the way the world is and use our reason to come to the conclusion that there is a God. Thomas Aquinas used reason to prove God exists in his five ways.
Why does beauty help us understand the existence of God?
- Reflecting on the beauty of the world can make us experience something that leads us to God.
- Design arguments challenge our reason to see if we can deduce God exists from beauty and nature.
- Calvin sees the beauty of the world as a mirror to God.
- The orderly nature and intricacies of the world imply there must have been a designer (teleological arguments.)
What is Calvin’s “principle of accommodation”?
God, despite being unknowable, has communicated with humans in ways they will understand and in ways they can work out.
What are some strengths of Natural Theology?
- Works in a way we are used to. Humans often use their brains to reason.
- Long tradition of people using reason to show God exists.
- The sheer number of people of faith suggests there is a point of contact with God.
- An all-loving God must have fostered a way to communicate with his creations.
- Appreciation of awe and wonder takes us beyond the physical and the feelings we experience seem to be on a level different to material things.
What are some weaknesses of Natural Theology?
- Is the gap too great between God and humans to accept the sensus divinitas?
- Is Natural Theology useful if we cannot gain a personal understanding or relationship with God?
- Many people use their reason to come up with conclusions against the existence of God, so perhaps reason is not helpful and too subjective.
- Order and purpose in nature can be explained scientifically.
- Just because beauty makes us feel awe, doesn’t mean God made us feel this.
What is revealed theology?
The idea that God reveals what we need to know about him through different means - including the Bible and the person of Jesus.
How do humans experience revelation through faith?
Humans can’t access revelation with natural theology alone because humans are inherently sinful and their intellect is finite.
Faith works alongside reason, it helps us buy into something we have reasoned to be true.
True faith is something that happens through a process of formation where prayer and reflection allow someone to let go of reason alone. Aquinas saw it as a conscious choice to accept something uncertain.
Calvin says faith is an acceptance of Christ as the redeemer.
How do humans experience revelation through God’s grace?
Grace is the word to describe God’s unconditional, constant and immense giving of goodness to the world, called the ‘undeserved favour’. Christians believe God’s grace leads to faith and that leads to a personal relationship with God.
Calvin said the Holy Spirit helps humans open up to faith and God’s grace.
What do Catholics believe of the revealed knowledge in the nature and actions of Jesus?
- God’s revelation was completed with the Christ-event and the sending of the Holy Spirit.
- The Church must explore God’s revelation in the modern day and make it more accessible.
- God is revealed in both Bible and Church tradition.
- The Church was gift given by Jesus to the world.
- The actions of the Church reveal aspects of God. I.e. the Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of Jesus to the worshipper.
What do Protestants believe of the revealed knowledge in the nature and actions of Jesus?
- The Bible holds more authority than the Church.
- The Church’s role is to point believers towards biblical revelation.
- Calvin emphasised the work of Jesus on the cross - Jesus bridged the gap between humans and God.
What are some strengths of revealed theology?
- Only God can reveal something as indescribable as himself.
- Revealed theology must be required to know about God because there is a difference between worldly knowledge and spiritual knowledge.
- Grace shows how humans need to appreciate that God is so much greater than them and they his revelation to know about him.
- If the Bible is a revealed text, it shows how God has left the revelation so all can access it.
What are some weaknesses of revealed theology?
- It is of no use to a non-believer because they can’t interpret or understand it.
- Revealed theology suggests God reveals himself in only some circumstances so he could be accused of being biased towards some people.
- People who claim God has revealed himself have contradicted others who claimed God revealed himself in another way.
- Isn’t always clear on how humans should interpret revelations.
- Assumes Christianity is the correct revelation.
What does Brunner argue about natural human knowledge of God after the Fall?
- It is possible for use to know God through natural theology - the conscience and the sensus divinitas.
- Humans recognise the point of contact with God and become aware of their own sinfulness.
- Natural theology can’t save people, but it can point them towards the existence of God.
- There is a limit to what we can know.
- The Fall did not damage us on a spiritual level so there is still a way we can connect to God.
