REL 352 Midterm Exam
filioque clause
"and the Son" in the Nicene Creed; double procession
historical theology
"what did a particular person believe about a specific topic" or "what did they think in the past?"
aspects/attitudes to include in theological methodology
-prayer -humility -help from others -rejoicing and praise
theological methodology (steps)
1. Collect Biblical materials 2. Notes are to be taken and points to be summarized 3. Attempt to summarize into 1+ points what Scripture affirms about the particular topic (assuming the unity of Scripture) 4. Check findings against appropriate sources 5. Those sources/findings might send you back to one of your points. *not necessarily linear progression, but more often is spiraling
Biblical affirmations of the Trinity
1. God is three persons. 2. Each person is fully God. 3. There is One God: God is one Being or Substance, there are not three Gods but One
Eusebius' 3 Criteria for Canonicity
1. Match the Rule of Faith 2. Written by Apostles or their associates 3. Widely used among churches
Tertullian
160-225 AD apologist who refuted Sabellian heresy used substantial metaphysically to indicate the invisible divinity of God used persona to indicate the distinction within the divine substance without separation or division
ontological argument for God's existence
Anselm it is impossible for the greatest possible being to be non-existent and if God is the greatest of all conceivable beings, then He must have the attribute of existence God is the greatest of all conceivable beings. The greatest of conceivable beings cannot be nonexistent. Therefore, God must exist.
cosmological proof for God's existence
Aquinas there must be an existing, beginning point and it has to be a necessary being (God); presuppositions: every effect has a cause; infinite regress is impossible
teleological argument for God's existence
Aquinas things look like they have a designer, so they must ex. watch in the woods
necessity of Scripture
Bible is necessary for knowing the gospel, maintaining spiritual life, and for knowing God's will, but is not necessary for knowing that God exists or for knowing something about God's character and moral law
Christianity's presuppositions
Bible is the absolute standard of truth God exists and is who the Bible says He is
adoptionism
Christ was not God but God was exerting a force in Christ and His life from the time of His adoption onward; He is thus adopted as Son at His baptism and received supernatural powers. 1. God is three persons. X Each person is fully God. 3. There is one God.
Derivations & Properties in the Trinity
Father: paternity, unbegottenness Son: filiation, begottenness, eternal generation Holy Spirit: eternal procession or aspiration of the Holy Spirit *the Father has always been and the Son has always been; for the Son to be eternally begotten, He must have a Father from eternity; for the Father to eternally be the Father, He must have a son from eternity. There was never a time when the Father and Son were not together. spiration: personality of the Trinity, because of the Holy Spirit's presence, literally becomes One; double procession
righteousness/justice
God always acts according to what is right and is Himself the final standard of what is right
will
God approves and determines to bring about every action necessary for the existence and activity of Himself and all creation
perfection
God completely possess all excellent qualities and lacks no part of any qualities that would be desirable for Him
jealousy
God continually seeks to protect His own honor
blessedness
God delights fully in Himself and in all that reflects His character
impassibility of God
God does not have negative passions or emotions such that He is led to sin
omnipresence of God
God does not have size or spacial dimensions, and is present at every point of space with His whole being, yet God acts differently in different places
independence of God
God does not need us or the rest of creation for anything, yet we and the rest of creation glorify Him and bring Him joy
freedom
God does whatever He pleases
love
God eternally gives Himself to others
eternity of God
God has no beginning or end in time and does not experience time successively
wrath
God intensely hates sin
omnipotence
God is able to do all His holy will
unity (or simplicity) of God
God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times
modalism
God is one person who appears to us in three different forms or modes. past: Sabellius (excommunicated in 220 AD) present: United Pentecostal Church X God is Three Persons. 2. Each person is fully God. 3. There is One God.
goodness
God is the final standard of good and all that God is and does is worthy of approval
beauty
God is the sum or all desirable qualities
immutability of God
God is unchanging in His being, perfections, purposes, and promises, yet God does act and feel emotions, and He acts and feels differently in response to different situations (everything is fully actualized, there is technically no potential)
diahypostatic tradition
God the Father is the only God in the truest sense; the Son is non-eternal, created being above all creatures but subordinate to God; still prior to and above creation
dictation theory of inspiration
God told the writers what to write, verbatim. Scripture is inerrant.
faithfulness
God will always do what He said and fulfill what He has promised
revealed will (God's wish)
God's declared will concerning what we should do
revelation
God's gift of knowledge of Himself and all things in reference to Him
mercy
God's goodness toward those in misery and distress
grace
God's goodness toward those who deserve only punishment
special revelation
God's words addressed to SPECIFIC PEOPLE, including the words of the Bible
holiness
He is separated from sin and devoted to His own honor
truthfulness
He is the true God and that all HIs knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth
modern-day assessments (in relation to the apocrypha)
I Maccabees: "none could speak with the authority of God as the OT prophets have done..." Reformers: stuck with original 66 RC: official declaration at Council of Trent that the apocrypha are canonical
anthropological argument for God's existence
Kant no God = no basis for an objective moral we have a moral impulse that is often not rewarded, so why do we still follow it? if ethics have any basis, we must have undying souls, there must be a judgment, and there must be a good God who rewards and punishes
unity of Scripture
Scripture cannot and will not contradict Scripture
sufficiency of scripture
Scripture contains all of the words of God He intended His people to have at each stage of redemptive history; it now contains all the words of God we need for salvation, for trusting Him perfectly, and for obeying Him perfectly
Arianism
Son and the Holy Spirit are not fully God past: Arius present: Jehovah's Witnesses 1. God is three persons. X Each person is fully God. 3. There is one God.
subordinationism
Son was fully God, but not equal to the Father in being or attributes past: Origen problem: logically contradictory 1. God is three persons. 2. Each person is fully God. 3. There is one God.
Councils of Carthage
Third Council: Western churches agreed with Eastern churches on the present day list of NT books (397 AD) Fourth Council: endorses same list (420 AD) NT recognized as is ever since by both RC and Protestant churches
authority of scripture
all words in Scripture are God's words; to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disobey God
systematic theology
any study that answers the question "what does the whole Bible teach us today?" about any topic
Christian ethics
attitudes and actions we should maintain in given situations according to Scripture
communicable attributes
attributes that God communicates or shares with us
incommunicable attributes
attributes that God does not share with us or communicate with us
a priori arguments
axiomatic, deductive, arguing from abstract notions to consequences
categories of divine attributes
communicable and incommunicable
acts
corresponding roles
apologetics
defense of the faith, often to convince unbelievers; defensive & positive
attribute
describe the being of God
properties
describe/distinguish persons of the Trinity
roles
describe/distinguish what the persons do
apocrypha
deutero-canonical books accepted by Roman Catholics, but not Protestants, as canonical; may be read for instruction and edification
Arius
diahypostatic; under Alexander, began the Arian controversy in 318 AD
perspicuity/clarity of scripture
does not mean that Scripture is always clear everything necessary for salvation is accessible and acceptable to Christians and accessible to non-Christians through Scripture. other teachings are able to be understood when using the whole Bible with drive, effort, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit
philosophical theology
doing theology largely without using the Bible; philosophizing also about topics not necessarily covered in the Bible
secret will (God's will)
encompasses His decrees pertaining to all of creation and time
Council of Hippo
endorsed the list of apocrypha in the 39th Paschal Letter of Athanasius 400 AD ish
Emperor Constantine
ends religious persecution in Rome in 313 AD with Edict of Milan
full inerrancy
holds that the Bible is true; while the Bible does not primarily aim to give scientific and historical data, such scientific and historical assertions as it does make are fully true; the data recorded here can be PHENOMENAL and involve APPROXIMATIONS basically: takes literally what the Bible is intentional about mentioning, but can also see things metaphorically, symbolically, or phenomenally, too
absolute inerrancy
holds that the Bible, which includes rather detailed treatment of matters both scientific and historical, is fully true; genre and normative language usage rules are not considered basically: everything is taken literally
dynamic theory of inspiration
human and divine elements in the writings; the human writers were directed to thoughts and concepts to convey; the personalities of the writers are evident Scripture could have errors.
verbal theory of inspiration
human and divine elements; concepts and words are all chose such that they are exactly what the Holy Spirit wanted; human traits somehow still work in; the personalities fo the writers are evident. Scripture is inerrant.
a posteriori arguments
inductive, arguing from effect to cause, uses empirical proof
inspiration
influence of the Holy Spirit on a human writer to create an accurate record of the Word of God
limited inerrancy
like full inerrancy because it says the Bible is inerrant and infallible in its soteriology; however the scientific and historical references in the Bible reflect outdated understanding current to the time; sometimes limited inerrancy believers are called INFALLIBISTS basically: the Bible is only inerrant when speaking of matters of salvation; everything else is specific to the time when it was written and should not be taken literally
canon
list of all books that belong in the Bible; only the 66 books of the OT and NT are Scripture and authoritative.
39th Paschal Letter of Athanasius (Eastern Church)
lists exact list of NT books that are accepted today and same OT books, except Esther Named the apocrypha but said those books were not canonical No concern about Esther in the West
Bishop Alexander of Alexandria
miahypotstatic; tried to ensure the unity of teaching
Christ and the Apostles (in relation to the apocrypha)
no dispute between Jesus and the Jews regarding canon; Christ and NT authors quote different OT Scriptures as authoritative; do not consider apocrypha authoritative
Origen
no systematic theology had been completed during his time to compete with His work; Arianism
natural theology
relying only on purportedly non-supernatural sources in thinking and concluding about God (using only natural, physical elements)
Jews (in relation to the apocrypha)
say that the canon is closed (prophecy is closed); believed that revelation ceased in 435 BC; do not consider apocrypha authoritative
miahypostatic tradition
strict monotheism; God begets the Son and sends the Holy Spirit; the Son is God in the same way that the Father is
biblical theology
systematizes a particular group of books or authors; also might assume a certain chronology, then ask, "at a particular point in time, what would they have known about a given doctrine?"
inerrancy
the Bible is fully truthful in all of its teachings or the idea that Scripture in the original manuscripts does not affirm anything that is contrary to fact
illumination theory of inspiration
the Holy Spirit heightened the powers of the writers, much like a drug would. Scripture could have errors
summary of the history of the canon
the apocrypha should not be considered Scripture because there is no claim of authority they are not regarded by the Jews, Christ, or other NT authors contain some teachings that are inconsistent with the Bible
illumination
the bringing about of the comprehension of the Biblical texts' meaning and "creating a certainty of its truth and divine origin" illuminating or shedding light on the text
divine attributes
the concepts or designations of the divine essence employed by the finite intellect in its declaration concerning what God is
circular reasoning
the conclusion is basically the presupposition
regeneration
the imparting of new life to us by the secret work of the Holy Spirit (born again, new creation) the reason we have conviction and truly believe and hold Scripture to be authority is because of regeneration from the Holy Spirit
general revelation
the knowledge of God's existence, character, and moral law that comes through creation to ALL HUMANITY
functional inerrancy
the original manuscripts are inerrant and the copies we have today are inerrant to a point; they serve purpose and function; we can still trust what our translations are saying
presupposition
they are the "givens"; they are where you start; you need to start at the same presuppositions as someone else to argue, otherwise you are just arguing the presuppositions
tritheism
three Gods; Christians are often accused of this view 1. God is three persons. 2. Each person is fully God. X There is one God.
Voltronism
three persons unite when needed 1. God is three persons. X Each person is fully God. 3. There is one God.
Jerome (in relation to the apocrypha)
translated the Vulgate; said apocrypha were not authoritative but are useful to use with Scripture - this gave them an ambiguous status
doctrines
what the whole Bible teaches us today about some particular topic
institution theory of inspiration
writers were religious geniuses such that their inspiration is from natural endowment - the Bible is at the same level of respect as any other philosophical work; inspiration only in that God gave them natural gifts Scripture could have errors.