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.