The nature of God Flashcards
(21 cards)
What religious language traditionally refers to God?
-Father
-Lord
-King
-He/Him/His
-Son of God
-Son of man
Isaiah 66:13 (doesn’t refer to God as male)
“As a mother comforts her child , so I will comfort you”
John 4:24 (neither male nor female )
” God is Spirit”
Who is Sally McFague?
- an American ecofeminist ( connects the exploitation of the world with the subjugation of women)
- christian theologian
What is McFagues take on the nature of God?
- all language to describe God is inadequate
- can only describe God using metaphors
- there is an issue with people turning words into idols (eg.King meaning God is male )
Pastoral benefits of God as father
-metaphors help us to understand the metaphysical and things we can’t comprehend ie the nature of God
-helps us to see God as present (not just a theological idea)
-connotations of father give us an idea of a supportive, guiding, protective authority figure
Pastoral challenges of God as father
- leads to abuse of the natural world and domination of women by men
- using male or female language to describe God limits our understanding of God’s nature
- God as father gives the impression of a judging parent who will punish those who have done wrong
What is panentheism?
- the belief that the divine is the soul of the universe
- if we damage the earth then we harm God
- God nurtures and comforts creation , showing our complete reliance on God.
What is McFague’s new image of the trinity?
- Mother instead of Father - agapeic love and compassion
- Lover instead of son - eros: a love of creation and desire for the whole world
- Friend instead of Holy Spirit- philia love meaning companionship with the whole of humanity
impassible
- not able to suffer or experience emotion
- what the church has traditionally taught God is
- He does not experience pleasure or pain from the actions of another being
aseity
God is completely independent , an uncaused causer
immutable
unchanging over time
God cannot be changed by the actions of humanity
Anthropomorphism
- the attribution of human characteristics to God
- emotions of God described in scripture are regarded as anthropomorphism
Who is Jurgen Moltmann
- German reformed theologian
- theology born out of his experiences in ww2 when he was drafted into the German army at 16
- horrified by the brutality of war and ashamed by the concentration camps, he surrendered to the first british soldier he met and spent the rest of the war as a POW
What is Moltmanns view of the suffering of God ?
- a response to the problem of evil
-rejects God as impassible
What does Moltmann think of the cross?
- the cross must be meaningful to those who suffer if it is to be relevant to modern times
-the church has sanitised the cross and taken christ off it, losing its true meaning
-this is remote from the death cry of christ in the gospel of Matthew
Matthew 27:46
And about three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice,’My God My God, why have you forsaken me?’
What is christ according to Moltmann
- God incarnate
- part of the Trinity
- in Christ, God suffered and died
What did God experience in Christ?
- abandonment
-bereavement
-humiliation
-helplessness
-despair
-pain
-suffering with us
What is the foundation of all christian theology according to Moltmann?
- christian identity
- this means solidarity with all those who suffer
- more meaningful than tradition and dogma
what is moltmann’s theory of hope?
-suffering as a reality prevents hope from being blind
- by joining forces against oppression, christians truly identify with the cross
- the hope for liberation comes from the spirit of the risen christ
