Knowledge Of The Existence Of God

Question 1

Faith

Answer 1

Voluntary commitment to a belief without the need for complete evidence to support it

Question 2

Empiricism

Answer 2

A way of knowing that depends on the five senses

Question 3

Natural theology

Answer 3

Drawing conclusions about the nature and activity of God by using reason and observing the world

Question 4

Protestantism

Answer 4

A form of Christianity which rejects the authority of the Catholic Church and places greater emphasis on the Bible and on personal faith

Question 5

Revelation

Answer 5

‘Uncovering’. In theological terms, this is when God chooses to let himself be known

Question 6

Immediate revelation

Answer 6

Where someone is given direct knowledge of God

Question 7

Mediate revelation

Answer 7

Where someone gains knowledge of God in a secondary, non-direct way

Question 8

Grace of God

Answer 8

God’s unconditional and undeserved gifts

Question 9

Wisdom literature

Answer 9

A genre of writing from the ancient world, teaching about wisdom and virtue.

In the Bible, books such as Proverbs and Job are classified as wisdom literature.

Question 10

What is ‘sensus divinitas’ and who said that we have this?

Answer 10

It’s a ‘seed of divinity’, innate knowledge for god that lives inside of us.

John Calvin

Question 11

Who has ‘sensus divinitas’?

Answer 11

Every human has it - you cannot help but know God. To choose not to know God is an indication that you are damned.

Question 12

What is epistemic distance?

Answer 12

Distance between humans and God that has been put there by human sinfulness.

Question 13

How do we get close to God, according to Aquinas?

Answer 13

We use our own reason which is given to us by God and when properly used, it helps us to get close to him and fulfil our telos.

Question 14

An example of immediate revelation

Answer 14

Giving Moses the Ten Commandments

Jesus speaking to his disciples

Question 15

An example of mediate revelation

Answer 15

Moses telling people the 10 commandments

Jesus preaching his message

Question 16

What is faith?

Answer 16

Belief held in spite of a lack of conclusive evidence, or sometimes held in opposition to evidence/reason.

Aquinas says that faith is a voluntary choice, and should work together with reason, being gifts from God.

Look for John’s Gospel on sheet - Jesus is the revealer of secret knowledge

Question 17

What is Grace?

Answer 17

God’s unconditional gift to humanity. Gives people knowledge of God through grace.

God gives them the gift of faith, and sustains/strengthens their faith through the Holy Spirit.

Question 18

Why is the grace of God so important in Christian understanding of the knowledge of God?

Answer 18

People can only have full knowledge of God when God graciously chooses to give it.

Question 19

God as the Holy Spirit is believed to:

Answer 19

Give prophets of the Old Testament the right words to say at the right time, guiding the writers of scripture, God given authority.

Give people wisdom to understand what has been revealed to them.

Bring people to salvation.

Give people faith with which too believe the Christian message.

Enable people to live a Christian life on a personal level.

Give people the confidence to share the Christian faith, even in times of danger.

Strengthen the Church as a community of believers.

Question 20

Revelation in the Bible

Answer 20

In Christianity and especially Judaism, there is the belief that people can gain insight into the purposes of God by looking at the past.

The events of history are seen as the work of God - gives us greater understanding of what God wants/displeased by.

Jeremiah 32:21-23 - People of Israel have ignored the things God had done for them through history, and so brought punishment on themselves.

Question 21

Wisdom and words of the prophets

Answer 21

In the Bible, especially through ‘wisdom literature’, there is the idea that God can be revealed through the insights of wise people.

Those who have many years of experience of trying to live a normal life gain an understanding of God, which is revealed in their sayings and writings.

There is the belief the prophets directly reveal God’s words in the Bible - they are messengers.

Question 22

Religious experiences and visions

Answer 22

God is understood to reveal himself to people through personal religious experiences.

This could be dreams/visions from God himself or angels (like Joseph, or the three wise men)