Theology Exam 1 Study Guide Ch1-11
CH8.According to Erickson, when Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would help people's memory of Jesus' teaching, this was supposed to be understood as referring to:
All Christians
CH8. The Holy Spirit's conviction of sin is extended to:
All people
Evangelical theology vs. other theology
Evan theo is about relationships Should ultimately get you to talk with God Theology makes it to where everything is spiritual
CH9. Among the errors made in attempts to understand God are:
Excessive Analysis & Excessive Speculation
All ideological conceptions within the postmodern mentality should be rejected and resisted by Christian theologians.
False
All points of theology are equally important, and therefore there should not be any sub-points to one's theology.
False
CH6. According to postmodernism, truth is that which is logically verifiable.
False
CH7. The term "inerrancy" is a biblical concept.
False
CH9. It is possible for God's attributes to increase over time.
False
Doctrine is the whole of the permanent element within Christianity.
False
Evangelicals should derive their theological beliefs solely from the text of Scripture without interacting with persons in different contexts.
False
If one denies that Jesus is the Son of God, he can still hold the view that Jesus was a teacher of morality.
False
One should accept uncritically whatever a theological master says.
False
Our own circumstances in history do not influence our interpretation of the BIble.
False
Postmodernism is completely incompatible with biblical Christian theology.
False
Since all truth is God's truth, there is no need to consider what a biblical passage meant to the original audience.
False
The author highlights Erasmus of Rotterdam as an example of a natural theologian in the history of the church.
False
The moral and spiritual qualities of humans have no correlation to the character of God.
False
The postmodern way to find meaning is through academics.
False
The study of theology has little to do with the fundamental issues of life.
False
The study of theology should be considered something that is optional for people to consider.
False
The way in which concepts are understood today is basically the same as they were understood in biblical times.
False
Theology is based on feelings alone, and has little to do with objective study.
False
William Temple
"If your concept of God is wrong, the more religion you get, the more ferneries you become to you and to others."
When the Bible is said to contain "progressive revelation," what does this mean?
The New Testament builds on the Old Testament.
IMPORTANT: Which of the following starting points for theology is used within the Erickson text?
The Scripture
CH9. Erickson begins chapter nine by listing two levels of problems, which make it beneficial to have a correct understanding of God. Which one of the following ideas does he categorize in the "sophisticated" level?
The conception of God as Creator
CH9. Erickson begins chapter nine by listing two levels of problems, which make it beneficial to have a correct understanding of God. Which one of the following problems does he categorize in the "popular" or "practical" level?
The conception of God as a grandfatherly being
Biblical Theology primarily uses the Old Testament and the New Testament for its content.
True
CH6. It is possible to have inspiration without revelation.
True
CH6. It is possible to have revelation without inspiration.
True
CH6. The "dictation" theory of inspiration maintains that the text of the Scriptures contains no distinctive style attributable to the human authors themselves.
True
CH6. The "dynamic" theory of inspiration maintains that the Holy Spirit dictated certain ideas to the human authors, but the human authors chose the exact words to write.
True
CH6. The anthropological argument sees some of the aspects of human nature as a revelation of God.
True
CH6. The word "inspired" in the original (Greek) language meant "God-breathed."
True
CH7. Erickson claims that biblical approximation of details does not necessitate the abandonment of biblical inerrancy.
True
CH7. The church has consistently embraced some form of biblical inerrancy throughout its history.
True
Erickson believes that special revelation is both personal and propositional.
True
God has left evidence of himself in the world he has created.
True
IMPORTANT: According to the author, it is important to communicate the gospel in terms that will be understood in the twenty-first century.
True
IMPORTANT: Exegesis is the process of identifying all the relevant biblical passages dealing with a topic to begin an investigation and a careful interpretation of those biblical passages.
True
It is important to examine the historical treatment of doctrines in order to help determine the implications of a current view.
True
It is possible to have a "postmodern" evangelical theology.
True
Modernism proposed that knowledge was absolute and unqualified.
True
The ability to express biblical truth at different times and places and to different audiences is vital for a theologian.
True
The anthropological argument sees some of the aspects of human nature as a revelation of God.
True
The essential doctrine of a passage of Scripture may appear explicitly in didactic passages.
True
The goal of modernism was to use reason alone to demonstrate a universal morality and basis for society.
True
Theologies which align themselves too closely with contemporary developments will likely become obsolete.
True
Truth is not relative, but our knowledge of truth is often relative.
True
Defining Postmodernism
the world is shrunk and we are all wired together
Full inerrancy
theological/spiritual message absolute true and few seeming discrepancies explained
What does Erickson call the type of law that Gentiles have apart from special revelation?
The Internal Law
CH7. What is the logical result of the abandoning of the doctrine of biblical inerrancy?
1. Other bases of doctrine will be sought. 2. There will be a shrinking list of doctrines. 3. Christians will have less basis for claiming they know the truth
What type(s) of human deficiency/deficiencies has/have made special revelation necessary?
1.Diminished Personal Relationship with God 2.Moral Limitation of Human Sinfulness 3.Obscured Understanding of Spiritual Matters
Chicago Statement Biblical Inerrancy
1978, confirms authority of Scripture
CH8. Ultimately Erickson believes that authority is constituted by:
A combination of The Bible & The Holy Spirit
General Revelation- Ontological
ANSLEM- if were were made in something, there must be something greater, human being Religion is the opposite of revelation!
General Revelation- Teleological
AQUINAS- AUGUSTINE- If there is order, within the order, there must be unique design and designer, end
CH9. Which one of the following terms is NOT a good synonym for God's "attributes"?
Actions
Which of the following biblical passages best demonstrates that God's general revelation can be seen in the fact that He has sent rain to fall on all people—not just the Jews and Christians.
Acts 14:15-17
Limited inerrancy
Bible technically details, language restricted to time yet totally true for salvation
Five to Thrive
Biblical- it's content, God said it Systematic- concern whole, orderly, process, steps, order Contextual- how it relates to culture Contemporary- for me, here and now Practical- how is it applicable/useful
CH9. If we overemphasize God's transcendence we may expect God to act through __________ all of the time.
Divine miracles
Our Current Culture
Communication, Transportation, Trade and Commerce
When God's revelation and inspiration are all merged into one mode, this is referred to as:
Concursive inspiration
5 Criteria for Permanence
Constancy across cultures- LENGTH- transcultural, then & now Universal setting- BREADTH- global application, great omission Permanent factor as basis- VALUE- once and for all, people and time Sure link with essential experience- ACTUAL AND FACTUAL- risen! not just principle Final in progressive revelation- foretaste/shadow to reality/substance Faith today- biblical, apostolic, historic- truth to be understood, interpreted, applied
Modernism
Determinism- we can figure out what is going to happen through physics, laboratory
CH7. Which view of inerrancy maintains that the scientific and historical details mentioned in the Bible are accurate as they appear to the human eye but not necessarily exact?
Full Inerrancy
CH7. Which position does Erickson finally take on biblical inerrancy?
Full inerrancy
CH7. Inerrancy is a corollary of which doctrine?
Full inspiration
CH8. What/Who is the ultimate authority in religious matters?
God
Styles- Personal
God comes to individuals and makes himself known at a specific time in a specific way- Moses
Revelation
God disclosing exactly what He wants us to know in His holy word the Bible
John 8:32- the truth will set ya free
God has spoken, it is written We have a God that takes the initiative to talk with us He creates, redeems TRUTH TRUMPS EXPERIENCE
CH8. With which of the following statements would Erickson most likely agree?
God inspired the human authors with varying degrees of specificity from passage to passage.
According to Erickson, what would God do if a person, who had no knowledge of Jesus, were to throw themselves upon the mercy of God?
God would consider them saved as He did the Old Testament believers.
Charity
God's basic, missional attribute is love
CH7. What is Erickson's solution to the problematic passages in the Bible?
Harmonize what you can and wait until future solutions present themselves.
Righteousness
His righteousness- laws express love (nature) ◦ Realism- God chooses right because it is right ◦ Nominalism- It's right because God does it ◦ Biblicism- It's right/chose- it's true to HIs nature
CH8. When Erickson says that God is "transcendent" he means that:
His ways are difficult to understand.
Purity
Holiness: God's Otherness, separate, cut off, to be set apart wholly ◦ Majestic- 'nature' totally free from any/all evil ◦ Marked off- unable to tolerate any form of sin ◦ God forsook Jesus his only son, so that those who put their faith in Jesus will never be forsaken by the Father
Modes of Revelation
Human agents- prophets Heavenly messengers- angels Directly- voice Speech, audible voices, incarnation
Subjective truth
I've experienced this as true time and again
CH6. Which of the following theories of inspiration maintains that prophets had a temporary increase of their regular abilities, which enabled them to write on the spiritual level they did?
Illumination
Anthropic
In different categories, language, experiences, dreams/visions, ex: God reveals his name through language, Joseph in the dream
According to Erickson which of the following modes of revelation is the most complete?
Incarnation
CH8. According to Erickson which of the following modes of revelation is the most complete?
Incarnation
CH6. Which of the following theories of inspiration maintains that prophets had a life-long spiritual gift, which enabled them to write on the spiritual level they did?
Intuition
CH9. Which of the following theories of inspiration maintains that prophets had a life-long spiritual gift, which enabled them to write on the spiritual level they did?
Intuition
5 Theories of Inspiration
Intuition- somehow God in a special way gives us a gut response Illumination Dynamic- God inspires through thoughts and personalities Verbal- God selected words he wants to use Dictation- speech
The scope of information given by special revelation:
Is limited so as to emphasize God's relationship with humankind.
CH9. The "immanence" of God means that He:
Is present and active within His creation.
God is holy
Isaiah 6
What does Erickson mean when he said that special revelation has an "anthropic nature"?
It is given in human terms, so people can understand it.
General Revelation- Anthropological
KANT- look at things from the inside, the moral our inside humans, conscience
3 Dangers of Contextualizing the Gospel
Mix and match So much involved in culture we forget the truth Independence and arrogance- learn from one another
When sin entered the human race there was:
More need for special revelation
Clarifying God's Acts vs. His Attributes
Natural- greatness of our God, what we naturally know ◦ Moral- goodness of our God, how he relates to us, his moral attributes
CH9. Erickson's opening/introductory definition of inspiration:
Necessitates a human element.
CH8. Determining what the permanent essence of a passage is may be referred to as the Bible's:
Normative Authority
Implications of an Immanent God
Not limited to show up, work directly • May use so-called secular means • Appreciate all creation, not disrespect • Value and learn from creation order • Gospel already at work, need to connect
3 approaches to this task
Presenters- just preach the Bible and let the word do the work Transformers- get involved in order to change the situation Translators- people who are willing to keep the message and make it applicable DO NOT DILUTE, DISTORT, DISENGAGE, DERAIL truth
Pre-modernism
Rationality- there is a universe, it is not next door, creation and a creator Teleological- this is going somewhere, goal or target, pattern and purpose Realism- what I feel is what I know
Dissatisfaction
Relative morality- what is good for you may not be good for me
Implications of a Transcendent God
Something far greater, be still to know • Cannot exhaust God or take for granted • What we can know, is because of His Grace • Mind the gap, we will never become God • Can't command or demand God
General Revelation- Cosmological
THOMAS AQUINAS- proposed two major ways that God is cosmological The system operates the world, God is the first cause order to our chaos
CH8. Your conviction of the divine origin and authorship of the Scriptures is the role of:
The Holy Spirit's illumination
CH8. To what/whom has God delegated His authority in religious matters?
The Bible
What is the source of evangelical theology?
The Bible
Inspiration
The Holy Spirit ensuring the originals are precisely what God has spoken
CH9. Which of the following is taught in Scripture?
The immanence of God & The transcendence of God
CH7. God reveals himself in:
The spectacular and miraculous events of history & The mundane events of history
Special Revelation
To a particular people at a particular time and at a particular place Now available through sacred scripture Creation- tells us God is glorious but doesn't tell you how to get saved- Psalm 19:1-6 Conscience- severed and marred, corrupt mind, we do not fully understand- Romans 1:18-22 Commandments- everyone has broken one Christ- we need a Savior Christian- God reveals himself through us
"Natural theology" studies the way in which God's existence is known outside the biblical source, specifically through the use of reason.
True
Objective truth
can absolutely trust what is written
IMPORTANT: When "contextualizing" the message, the theologian must consider all of the following except:
depth
Theodicy
difference between severe and sentimental love
Analogical
different in not kind, but decree, God reveals His power in things we cannot explain, things that manifest knowledge and power, but knowledge that is beyond human and power is extraordinary, Red Sea parting
Absolute Inerrancy
every detail/data, entry verified scientifically-historically verified as accurate
Doctrinal
grounded in the Bible, God said it, I believe it, Evangelical truth is grounded in Biblical revelation, MACHEN
Illumination
he Spirit assuring and enabling the believer to understand as God's word
4 Theories-Institutional
how do you know something is true? it has been inspected by Roman Catholic Church , AUGUSTINE
CH6. According to Erickson, on what did Jesus and the Pharisees disagree?
interpretation of the Scriptures
Moral
morally truthing in love, has to be seen in behavior, RAUSCHENBUSCH
Collective truth
together we've always found this true and reliable
Relativism
truth is relative
Rationalism
way of thinking that trumps Postmodernism
Experiential
we've always known, through common experience of genuine Christians, FOSDICK
God's Incommunicable and Communicable Attributes
• God Incommunicable/Greatness attributes of his infinity- eternity, aseity (self-existence, independence of will, immutability) are not shared with creatures, even analogically • God's Communicable/Goodness attributes- love, knowledge, power, righteousness are shared with human beings created as His image bearers