Theology 1 Midterm

Jehovah's Witnesses

"And the Word was a god"

The Filoque clause

"The Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son" Filioque is Latin for "and the Son" This caused the East-West schism of 1054.

Governance described

(1) Governance. God rules creation to bring about His purposes. (2) Ephesians 1:11. God works all things in His creation according to His purpose & after the council of His will. (3) Isaiah 46:10-11. Nothing is arbitrary with God. (4) His governance is over all. God's sovereignty is exhaustive and meticulous (Deut 32.39; Ps 135:5-6; Dan 4:34-35; Rom 9:6-26). (5) Governance fulfilled in Christ. God's purpose is to sum up all things in Christ, to bring everything into submission to the Son (Eph 1:10; Phil 2:9-11).

Preservation described

(1) Preservation. God preserves or maintains creation (i.e. He keeps it operating). (2) God has created everything (ex nihilo) and sustains everything (Neh 9:6). (3) Natural Law is under God's preserving power (Matt 6.25-34). (4) Christ Jesus (Col 1:17-18; Heb 1:3). God preserves all things through his Son (Col 1.17-18; Heb 1.3).

criteria of NT canonicity

- Apostolic - well-attested apostolic authorship or certification - Orthodox - unity and agreement w/the rest of the Bible - Catholic - universal and continuous usage in the church

qualifications of biblical inerrancy

- Applies only to the autographs - Respects the authorial intent of the passage and the literary conventions under which the author wrote - Allows for partial reporting, paraphrasing, and summarizing - Allows for phenomenological language (that is, the description of phenomena as they are observed and experienced) - Allows the reporting of speech without the endorsement of the truthfulness of that speech for the implication that everything else said by that person is truthful - Is not invalidated by colloquial or nonstandard grammar or spelling

(12) Know some of the ways Jesus held to the authority of the Old and New Testament.

- Jesus held the OT to be authoritative - Jesus acknowledged the endurance and authority of the very letters of the OT - Jesus acknowledged even the verb tenses to be authoritative - Jesus held his own teaching to be equally authoritative as the OT - Jesus held the future, Spirit-inspired, teaching of the apostles to be an extension of his own authoritative teaching

Some ways the apostles held to OT and NT authority of scripture

- Jesus' apostles held the OT and NT to be the authoritative Word of God. - Jesus' apostles would be Spirit-led into all truth. The Spirit would take Jesus' teaching and give it to them.

(3) Be able to articulate the threeness of God from the NT.

- Teaches 3 distinct persons in God (baptism Mark 1:10-11) - Jesus confessed as God (John 1:1, 14) - HS confessed as God (Acts 5:3-4,9)

human reason and theology

- We are dependent on God to reveal truth to us - Reason is the tool God has given us to recognize truth - Scripture tests everything - the Bible offers an authoritative guideline for knowing truth - Our various truth claims don't contradict each other; they fit together

What is not meant by verbal-plenary inspiration?

-Not that the prophets and apostles themselves were inspired, but rather it's their canonical writings that are inspired -Not that the prophets and apostles were merely passive in the process or that all inspiration falls into prophetic mold, "Thus says the Lord." -Not that the inspiration pertains to the intention of the human authors, who prophesied more than they themselves knew.

Protestant view of Scripture's sufficiency

1 form - sacred Scripture. The Bible is the mother of the church - giving & nurturing life

(3) Be able to describe the essential elements of verbal plenary theory (key scriptures also).

1. All 3 words are important: verbal: the actual words of the Bible, plenary: all of it, inspiration: God-breathed 2. 2 Tim. 3:16 - all Scripture is God-breathed, Romans 9:1 3. Asserts dual authorship (human and divine)

Why is divine revelation necessary for us?

1. Christianity is the only divinely revealed religion (all others are products of man) 2. The Christian God is the living God who speaks & acts (unlike the idols). 3. Humans have no other way of finding out about God apart form God revealing Himself.

(7) Why can't general revelation save us?

1. General revelation only tells us about God 2. Human depravity rejects and suppresses this information about God 3. People aren't morally neutral, they are dead in trespasses and sin 4. People are only saved by hearing, believing, and calling on the name of Jesus

the five categories of special revelation.

1. God's acts in history 2. Dreams, visions, oracles, and prophecies 3. Personal address by God 4. Jesus of Nazareth 5. The Writings of the OT and NT

The relevance of the doctrine of the trinity

1. Our worship. We praise God for blessing us in Christ with the spiritual blessings of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:3-14) 2. Our prayer life. We pray to the Father (Matt 6:9; Eph 3:14), through the Son (John 4:6), in the power of the Holy Spirit (Eph 3:16, Gal 4:6, Rom 8:15-16, 23-27) 3. Our growth/sanctification. The Father ordained and has secured our holiness, the Son accomplishes our holiness and the Holy Spirit unites us to Christ and transforms us into His likeness (Eph 1:4-10, 2 Cor 3:18). 4. Our relationships. Our unity as believers reflects God's unity (John 17:20-23; Eph 2:14) 5. Authority-submission structure. This structure helps us to see dignity and importance of authority and submission in our various relationships (Eph 5:22-6:9; Romans 13:1-7, Hebrews 13:17). 6. Our desire for community. As image-bearers, humans were created for community; we are also redeemed to belong to God's people (Titus 2:14; Acts 2:42, 1 John 2:7)

3 implications of the doctrine of divine revelation

1. Revelation is unified (not going to contradict itself) 2. Revelation is truthful (not going to lie or lead us astray) 3. Revelation is authoritative (not a suggestion)

the essential elements of inerrancy.

1. The Bible is totally accurate in every area it touches upon (science, history, geography) 2. Every word in Scripture is true without any errors 3. The autographs (original copies of Scripture) were true with no errors

(2) What basic beliefs do Christians typically begin with as they do theology?

1. The Bible is true and is our only absolute standard of truth 2. The God of the Bible exists Or 1. The one true living God is the primary ontological axiom 2. Divine revelation is the primary epistemological axiom

the three forms of general revelation.

1. The created order (nature) 2. Human conscience (bears witness to God's law) 3. The flow of human history (providential ordering of the world)

(5) Be familiar with some of the content of general revelation.

1. The oneness of God 2. The creator is the source of all life 3. God as eternal and independent 4. God as invisible and powerful 5. God as personal and wise, lawgiver 6. God alone as worthy of supreme worth and worship

Roman catholic view of Scripture's sufficiency

2 forms - sacred Scripture and sacred Tradition The Church is the mother of the Bible - producing the Scriptures

Counsel of Nicea

325 AD. Arius advocated homoiousios - of a similar nature as the Father. Athanasius advocated homoousios - of the same nature as the Father. this counsel adopted homoousios.

Subordinationism.

A trinity with all 3 persons as God, but God the Father is more God and the Son and the Spirit are less God. ["ontological subordinationism"] Includes Arianism and JWs

(5) What is a worldview and what influence does systematic theology have on our worldview?

A worldview is a commitment or a fundamental orientation of the heart that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions which we hold about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being. It is what you are chiefly committed to - the triune God of Scripture is redeeming creation by establishing his kingdom through Christ. As we form our systematic theology we are simultaneously forming our noetic structures which inform and determine our worldviews.

power

Ability to act as a free agent; in God's case, comprehensive freedom as Lord of all

holiness

As glory is a weightiness (significance), holiness is a separateness from all unrighteousness and injustice; for God, it is both an ontological uniqueness and an ethical purity.

Simplicity (unity)

As infinite spirit, God is not made up of different parts , his attributes are identical with his being

Theology 1 doctrines

Bibliology, Theology Proper, Cristology, and Pnematology

Evangelical Renaissance

Carl Henry writes about a call to cultural engagement in a positive manner

the difference between Catholics and Protestants over the perspicuity of Scripture.

Catholics - Scripture is difficult to understand and it requires an infallible interpreter Protestants - totes clear

theology definition summary

Christian systematic theology is the study of the various accepted doctrines of the church which relate to the true (triune) God, as He is revealed in Jesus and through divine revelation.

justice

Conforming desires, actions, and judgments to the standard of truth rather than expediency, favoritism, or personal advantage; in God's case, absolute commitment to what is right and to judging transgressors

spectrum texts

Declare God's control of both sides of the spectrum of life's occurrences

the difference between dynamic and formal equivalence in biblical translations.

Dynamic - clarity of English expression (thought-for-thought) Formal - correspondence to original language(word-for-word)

goodness

Faithful to his own character, God also seeks the welfare of his people

love

Favor toward and regard for the other; mutually interdependent in the case of human beings, but utterly free of reciprocity in God's case

Compatiblist freedom

Freedom of inclination. A person can act freely even though that action is determined by God.

open theism and impassibility

God can be hurt, surprised, devastated (an omni-empathetic God)

Open theism and immutability

God changes his mind based on human persuasion and decisions

Mechanical dictation

God dictated the exact words to the human authors, so as to remove the author's will and personality from the writing. God is the only author.

Divine permission & total depravity

God doesn't have to actively determine for us to do evil since we are bent that way from birth, God needs only to allow us to sin out of our own will

Asymmetry

God governs evil differently than he governs good

Pluralism

God has revealed Himself through Jesus but also in other ways...we all follow our path and will end up in the middle

"Question #4" from the catechism - "What is God?"

God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

Open theism and omniscience

God is open to the future b/c the future does not yet exist, keeps God from being blamed for evil and allows free will for humans

Summary of governance and preservation

God sustains & governs everything in such a way that He perfectly accomplishes His purpose and will to sum up all things in Christ to His own glory.

Middle knowledge

God's ability to know what would happen if the circumstances were different than they actually are, God knows what free creatures will do in various circumstances so He can adjust the state of affairs so that free creatures will choose their strongest inclination based upon that state of affairs

(3) In light of Erickson's definitions, be able to describe the differences between "general revelation" and "special revelation."

God's communication of Himself to all persons at all times in all places vs. God's manifestation of Himself to a particular person at definite times and places enabling those persons to enter into a redemptive relationship with Himself.

Ontological trinity

God's essence consists of 3 personal beings w/the exact same nature (eternal relationship, attributes, eternal generation of the Son, HS proceeds from the Father & Son)

mercy

God's favor toward those who deserve his wrath

Archetypal theology

God's theology of Himself; what God knows about Himself and the created order

the eternity and omnipresence of God.

God's transcendence of time and space

Credo ut intellegam

I believe in order to understand, Starting point - general truths (basic beliefs) and then work out of these... deductive theology

the counsel of Constantinople

In 381 AD, the Holy Spirit's deity was affirmed.

jealousy

In God's case, a love for his people that zealously binds them to himself, over against both the involuntary servitude and voluntary embrace of other lords

wrath

In God's case, the righteous and holy response to transgression

God's impassibility

Incapacity for being overwhelmed by suffering

Dynamic Monarchianism (Adoptionism)

Jesus was an ordinary man who received power and was adopted into the godhead at his baptism. (They see the Spirit in an impersonal way, as God's power) . [Theodotis]

Arianism

Jesus was the firstborn of all creation, meaning that He was created at a point in time. He was the 1st & greatest creation of the one true God.

7 various integrative motifs discussed in class.

Justification by Faith The Glory of God Religious Experience Political Liberation The Kingdom of God The Community of God The Kingdom of God in Christ

unitarianism

No trinity, God is one person (the Father). Thomas Jefferson was a Unitarian.

(2) Be able to explain monotheism from both the Old and New Testaments.

OT - the Shema NT - Jesus affirms the Shema, apostles affirm the Shema

God's knowledge of the future

OT: God's foreknowledge is a subject dealing with the nature of God (not the nature of the future). God's knowledge of the future rests on His sovereign will NT: God's knowledge of the future is joined to and rooted in His fixed purpose and will. Christ is exalted in God's perfect knowledge of the future. The heart of God's foreknowledge is to predestinate individuals to "become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren" (Rom 8:29)

Modalistic Monarchianism (Modalism)

Only one God (i.e., the Father), who appears in different forms. [Sabellius 3rd century].

knowledge

Possession of truth, including contingencies; in God's case, knowledge of all things from eternity—includes the free acts of creatures

righteousness

Similar to justice, righteousness is integrity; in God's case, an inability to sin

inspiration

Supernatural influence of the HS on the Scripture writers which rendered their writings an accurate record of the revelation of which resulted in what they wrote actually being the word of God.

Libertarian freedom

The freedom of contrary choice. The real possibility of making at least two different choices (A and not A) in exactly the same circumstances, both external and internal.

wisdom

The power to discern truth from error and righteousness from unrighteousness, and to make deliberate choices that eventuate in good rather than evil

Theology 2 doctrines

Theological Anthropology, Soteriology, Ecclesiology, and Eschatology

(1) What is "theological prolegomena" and what three questions does it seek to answer?

Theological prolegomena is the introductory section of a treatise or system of thought in which basic principles and premises are enunciated. It seeks to answer, "What is theology/it's various branches?" and "What is the relationship between God's knowledge and our knowledge?" and "How does human reason relate to theology?"

(1) Be able to answer "Q #6" from the catechism - "How many persons are there in the Godhead?"

There are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the HS, and these three are one God, the same in essence, equal in power and glory.

Tritheism

Three gods (father, son, and hs)

Binitarianism.

Two persons within the godhead (Father & Son(. Father & Son in personal terms, but the Holy Spirit is a force.

canon

a measuring rod (a ruler), specifically it is a table of contents consisting of books that are inspired and authoritative

Exclusivism

a person must have explicit faith in Christ during his life

1. Inerrancy assumed by Church until the Enlightenment

a. The Church fathers held to biblical inerrancy b. The Roman Catholic Church throughout the Middle Ages attributed inerrancy to Scripture

Systematic theology

any study that answers the question, "What does the whole Bible teach us today?" about any given topic. It is a study of accepted church doctrines. the study of various doctrines by categorizing and summarizing (systems are developed by means of other theologies)

communicable attributes

attributes that are more shared with humans -spirituality, invisibility, knowledge, wisdom, truthfulness, goodness, love, holiness, righteousness, jealousy, wrath, will, omnipotence

Incommunicable attributes

attributes that belong to God alone (can't be given to another) -independence, unchangeableness, eternity, omnipresence, & unity

American fundamentalism

beliefs that were solidified during debates in 19th-20th century (the inspiration of Scripture, virgin birth of Christ, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection of Christ, and bodily 2nd coming of Christ

reformation theology

doctrines from the reformation that clarify Christian belief (Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, soli Deo Gloria)

Patristic orthodoxy

essential doctrines from early church (trinity, Christ's diety)

verbal plenary theory

every word of Scripture is breathed out by God.

Universalism

everyone is saved because we are human beings

b. Harold Lindsell's book

exposed the massive infiltration of liberalism and neo-orthodoxy into nearly every denomination and seminary that considered itself evangelical

c. Int'l Coucil on Biblical Inerrancy

i. Inerrantist leaders - theological army of nationally known theologians, biblical scholars, and Christian leaders who came together to battle for inerrancy among evangelicals ii. Papers on inerrancy - wrote papers dealing w/the specific issues in the debate iii. Inerrancy conferences - major national conferences for the propagation of inerrancy iv. Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy - landmark church document/common, theological document in the 20th century

Christian theology

is the study of the Triune God and His purposes within the created order as revealed in Jesus Christ through divine revelation. It studies the true God as revealed in JC through divine revelation. (Doctrines hinge on Christ and depend on God's revelation.)

God's independence (aseity).

self-existence

Economic trinity

the 3 persons relate to each other differently and carry out different tasks (their work, their authority)

covenant canon

the 66 books given by God to create and govern His people

Encounter

the Bible is like all other books, but God has chosen to meet people through it. The Bible's words are not from HS, but he uses them as a vehicle

Intuition

the Biblical authors exhibit natural insights into religion, which is also found in other great philosophical or religious thinkers. Not HS, but naturally inspired.

Illumination

the HS impresses Himself upon the writers, not the text, but not in a way that is essentially different from the way he communicates w/all humanity

Dynamic

the HS inspires the concepts of the Bible but not the actual words

Roman Catholic view of canon

the church determined and declared it to be so (authority of the church)

Protestant view of canon

the church discovered it to be so through the illumination of the HS (not inspiration)

Princeton formulation

the first full-blown treatment of inerrancy was articulated by A.A. Hodge and B.B. Warfield in their book, Inspiration, published in 1881

Perspicuity

the idea that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings are able to be understood by all who read it seeking God's help and are willing to follow it.

Biblical theology

the study of Scriptural revelation based on the historical framework presented in the Bible

pastoral theology

the study of the application of theology to the church

historical theology

the study of the development of doctrine throughout church history

philosophical theology

the study of theological issues by means of philosophy

ectypal theology

the theology that God has revealed in created order and Scripture

pilgrim theology

the theology we learn along the way; our understanding of ectypal theology

Theology

the word we use to refer to what we know about God. It is a word about God.

Inclusivism

there is only one way to God through Jesus Christ, but JC will include those who are faithful and good in this life

God's immutability.

unchangeableness

sustenance (preservation)

underscores the maintenance or preservation of all things

government (governance)

we generally mean to emphasize the purpose or end to which God leads all things.