Final Flashcards
How important is imputation to the Gospel? (double imputation)
Imputation demonstrates why Christ is the only source of salvation to make sinners righteous before
God and escape His divine wrath purely by grace rather than by human merit. Imputation importantly
serves as the grounds for justification in the gospel.
Define notitia, assensus, and fiducia in one or two sentences each.
Notitia - knowledge or content of faith about who God is and what are His deeds; faith must have
content in order to truly believe
Assenssus - intellectual assent/acknowledgement that affirms that what Scripture reveals about God is
true and valid
Fiducia - personal trust and reliance upon the Word of God
What are the four essential principles of knowledge?
Identify them and offer a definition in one-two sentences for each.
The Law of Noncontradiction (p. 31) - two things cannot be the same and contrary to one another in
the same time and relationship
The Law of Causality (p. 51) - for every effect, there is a cause; ties in with Aquinas’ idea of God as
the First Cause
The Basic Reliability of Sense Perception - the senses are basically dependable to acquire knowledge
The Analogical Use of Language (p. 66) - two things can be partially alike and different (specifically
about God); e.g., Image of God
What is the difference between secular and secularism? Be sure to
adequately define secularism in your one-paragraph answer.
Secular: to acknowledge that we operate within the confines of time and space
Secularism: the belief that there is nothing outside of time and space (right now merely counts for the moment; one cannot be a Christian and a secularist)
What is the difference between plurality and pluralism? Be sure to
adequately define pluralism in your one-paragraph answer.
Plurality: diversity of ideas, peoples and backgrounds; unity to emerge through the many
Pluralism: many gods, many ways, universalism; only diversity, no unity (all ideas are acceptable)
How does the classical view of apologetics define apologetics?
Classical Christian apologetics is the rational defense of the Christian faith.
What does 1 Peter 3:15 teach about apologetics?
1 Peter 3:15 (ESV) - “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a
defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect”
Apologetics is fulfilling the command to all Christians to be prepared to give a rational answer to anyone as
a defense for the faith/the Gospel in gentleness and respect.
Give an example of how John uses testimony in the Gospel of John.
The Gospel of John itself is a personal account/testimony from the Apostle John about Christ
John 1:7 refers to John as one who “bears witness” about Christ (prophetic testimony)
John 20:30-31 testifies to Jesus as the Messiah by His miraculous works
What can we learn about apologetics from Paul’s example in Acts 17?
Appeals to general revelation and connects with his audience even before turning to Scripture
Challenges their worldview by citing one of their Greek poets
Some accept it, others are merely interested, and still others mock him in response => expected responses to our apologetics
The Spirit provokes Paul to act
What can be learned from John 14:6 about questions and answers?
Thomas is asking where Christ is going as if it is a place that they’ve visited together. Jesus then answered that HE is the way to the Father. Christ turns his question into an answer to a BIGGER question. We are, in apologetics, to answer the bigger underlying questions
Give reason for the hope amidst trials and despair just as Christ gives hope to His disciples in his answer to them just before His arrest and crucifixion
What do you know about Anselm and his ontological argument for God? (Proslogion, p. 17(?))
(Lecture 5: God Is)
Therefore, God is that Being which no being greater can be thought to exist
God has to exist in the mind and reality, for to exist merely in the mind is inferior
Deserted island example/illustration
What are the Five Ways of Thomas Aquinas? Note the importance of necessary being.
(Aquinas’ Summa Theologica)
- The Way of Motion
- The Way of the Efficient Cause
- The Way of Necessity
- The Way of Gradation
- The Way of Governance
Describe The Way of Motion
Since everything that moves is moved by another, there must thereby exist an Unmoved Mover
Describe The Way of the Efficient Cause
The sequence of causes which make up this universe must have a First Cause
Describe The Way of the Necessity
Since all existent things depend upon other things for their existence, there must exist at least one thing that is not dependent on anything: the Necessary Being (Aseity)
Describe The Way of Gradation
Since all existent things can be compared to such qualities as degrees of goodness, there must exist something that is an Absolutely Good Being
Describe The Way of Governance
The intricate design and order of existent things and natural processes imply that a Great Designer exists (Teleological Argument)
Can you walk someone through the cosmological argument?
The heavens declare the glory of God and the creation demonstrates His handiwork
The universe is the effect that points to the Supreme Cause, the Unmoved Mover, the Necessary Being
What are the specific arguments for Scripture’s uniqueness, which serve to rationally demonstrate the
reliability of Scripture? (Remember, there is the externum testimonium and the internum testimonium)
Externum testimonium - general revelation; creation as proofs of God’s handiwork
Internum testimonium - special revelation; internal witness and conviction of the Holy Spirit (goes back to
fiducia)
The Bible contains 66 books from multiple authors with different backgrounds, cultural situations point
to one unified message (for externum testimonium)
Can you compare and contrast other religious texts with the Bible? Compare with 2+ other religious texts
Quran
- Claims inerrancy and infallibility
- Written by one author in one time as contrasted with the Bible’s consistency over millennia and a
multitude of different authors - One cannot question the Quran vs. the Bible encourages examination
- The Bible constantly points to the time in which it takes place, it is verifiable
- Abrogation - Mohammad replaces faulty sayings with new ones; some passages are intended to be
recited not practiced and others practiced but not recited
The Book of Mormon
- Written by one author, Joseph Smith
- Full of contradictions compared to the Bible
- Uses portions of Scripture and makes false interpretations from those passages
The Bible
- Testifies to Christ in the New Testament from multiple passages in the Old Testament
- Historical records (Josephus, Tacitus, etc.) and archaeology point to the Bible’s authenticity from the
various manuscripts discovered in archaeology - The willingness of the Apostles and the Early Church Fathers to die for their faith
What can we say about the uniqueness of the historical Jesus before using the Bible?
Christ is unlike any other man who has ever lived because of His works and sayings. History testifies to Christ as a historical figure who had a great influence upon the world. Numerous accounts within and outside the Bible acknowledge His existence such as the writings of Josephus, Tacitus, etc.
What do the biblical authors say about the person and work of Christ?
Truly God and truly man, unlike any other
What are some of the factors over the last century that have contributed to pluralism today?
Philosophers started to say that we use language to gain power over others (Marx and Nietzsche). This started the growth of “idealism” where we can make our own reality. Existence precedes essence. Building off of this, we see Postmodernism where they attack any idea of a “metanarrative.” All metanarratives must be suspect.
Religious tolerance and civility (e.g., the Enlightenment)
Mass immigration leads to mass exposure to many religions
What are some different types of inclusivism?
Absolute Inclusivism (Universalism) - all religions are equally valid and acceptable in all times despite their contradictions. An unknown set of assertions are absolutely true
Relativistic Inclusivism - religions are true within a particular context
