Theology 1 Exam-Lecture
James Sire's definition of worldview, and relation to theology
-"A worldview is a commitment of fundamental orientation of the hear that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being" -biblical theology is represented as a story 1 creation 2 fall 3 redemption 4 glorification
History of Inerrancy: International Council on Biblical Inerrancy
-1977-1987 -answer to warning --Inerrantist Leaders: A theological "army" of nationally known theologians, biblical scholars, & Christian leaders who came together to battle for inerrancy among evangelicals --Papers on Inerrancy: Wrote papers dealing with specific issues in the debate --Inerrancy Conferences: Major national conferences for the propagation of inerrancy --Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978): Doctrinal statement of Inerrancy Conference -Largest, broadest group of evangelical Protestant scholars (200+) that ever came together to create a common theological document in 20th century, 1st systematic-like creed
Protestant view over perspicuity of Scripture
-Can interpret obscure passages in light of clearer ones -Interpret with the church (one another), not simply by ourselves
God's independence (aseity: from himself)
-God is independent of creation: doesn't depend on anything outside himself, qualitatively or quantitatively; distinct from creation -He is life, the reason why we have life -God is free & independent in his decisions, purposes, and will
Ways Jesus held to the authority of OT & NT
-Jesus acknowledged all the OT prophets from Gen-2 Choron (Hebrew Bible has different order) to be authoritative -Jesus acknowledged that every letter in the OT is everlasting and authoritative -Jesus acknowledged even verb tenses to authoritative -Jesus held his teaching to be equally authoritative as the OT (shown by teaching authoritatively and by teaching out of the OT) -Jesus believed the future, Spirit-inspired teaching of the apostles to be an extension of his own authoritative teaching
What is not meant by verbal plenary inspiration?
-Not that the prophets and apostles themselves were inspired, as if everything they believed, said or did was God's word -Not that the prophets were merely passive in the process (God made them free of error) -Not that the inspiration pertains to the intention of the human authors; they prophesized more than they themselves knew
Essentials of biblical inerrancy
-The Bible is totally accurate in every area it touches upon (e.g. science, history, geography) -Every word in Scripture is true without any error (beyond ethical/theological topics too) -The autographs (i.e. original copies of Scripture were true with no errors)
Essentials of Verbal Plenary Theory (Scriptures too)
-Verbal=actual words of God; Plenary=all; Inspiration=God breathed -Asserts dual authorship: written by human and divine; an ungraspable paradox -2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21 "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
Systematic Theology
-answers the question "What does the whole Bible teach us today?" (Wayne Grudem) -deals with the accepted doctrines of the church (Louis Berkhof) -an organized and detailed summary of important topics in theology (Michael Horton)
Verbal Plenary Theory: (theory of biblical inspiration)
-early church -Every word of Scripture is breathed out by God
Mechanical Dictation theory: (theory of biblical inspiration)
-early church -God dictated the exact words to human authors, remove the character of the author (writing styles express human emotion); God uses humans as a mouthpiece
Why can't general revelation save us?
-human depravity rejects and suppresses the information about God -people are not morally neutral--they are dead in trespasses and sin -people are only saved by hearing, believing, and calling on the name of Jesus
History of Inerrancy: Princeton formulation
-late 19th-20th century -The 1st full-blown treatment of inerrancy was articulated by AA Hodge and BB Warfiled in their book "Inspiration", published 1881.
Dynamic theory: (theory of biblical inspiration)
-modern invention -(middle ground between encounter and plenary theories) -Holy Spirit inspired the concepts, not the words (diction can err)
Illumination theory: (theory of biblical inspiration)
-modern invention -Holy Spirit (supernatural) exists and impresses on writers, but no different than great thinkers; heightened to show error of culture
Intuition theory: (theory of biblical inspiration)
-modern invention -Non-Christians studying in secular school (naturalists) as deep insights; believe that the stories are not real and do not believe the stories are carried by Holy Spirit
Encounter theory: (theory of biblical inspiration)
-modern invention -Words of Scripture become the word of God (encounters us) when we read it. God speaks through plain error-prone text.
History of Inerrancy: Harold Lindsell's book "The Battle for the Bible" (1976)
-warning call to evangelism -Exposed the massive infiltration of liberalism & neo-orthodoxy. Into nearly every denomination & seminary that considered itself evangelical
Roman Catholic view on Scripture's sufficiency
.2 forms of Inspired Word: Sacred Scripture+ Sacred Tradition are equally important
Ways apostles held to the authority of OT & NT
1 All Scripture is literally God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16) 2 The OT Prophets spoke from God (2 Peter 1:16) 3 Paul believed he spoke from the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 7:40) 4 Peter considered Paul's writing as Scriptures (2 Peter 3:15-16)
3 Criterias of NT canonicity
1 Apostolic: well-attested apostolic authorship or certification 2 orthodoxy: right doctrine is reflected by harmony with the rest of Scripture 3 catholic: universal & continuous usage in the church
Beddington Quadrilateral
1 Biblicism- the view that the Bible is fully inspired by God 2 Crucicentricism-the view that stresses the centrality of Christ's sacrifice on the cross "as a substitute for mankind" 3 Conversion-the view that people need to be changed and that occurs as people become "justification by faith alone" 4 Activism-the view places greater focus on the individual than the society
3 Forms of General Revelation
1 created order 2 the human conscience: law written on our hearts 3 the flow of human history: providence
Protestant view on Scripture's sufficiency
1 form of Inspired Word: Sacred Scripture; belief in Sola Scriptura
5 Categories of Special revelation
1-God's acts in history 2-Dreams, visions, oracles 3-Personal address by God 4-Jesus of Nazareth 5-The writings of the OT & NT
Qualifications of biblical inerrancy
1. Inerrancy applies to only to the autographs 2. Inerrancy respects the authorial intent of the passage and the literary conventions under which the author wrote 3. Inerrancy allows for partial reporting, paraphrasing, and summarizing 4. Inerrancy allows for phenomenological language (that is, the description of phenomena as they are observed and experienced) 5. Inerrancy allows the reporting of speech without the endorsement of the truthfulness of that speech (or the implication that everything else said by that speech (or the implication that everything else said by that person is truthful). i.e. Job's friends 6. Inerrancy is not invalidated by colloquial (casual) or nonstandard grammar or spelling
Integrative motifs (a concept which serves as a systematic theology's central organizational feature, the theme around which it is structured)
1. Religious experience- integrative motif, "religion is defined as an experience of absolute dependence (finite), operating on a naturalistic worldview 2. Political liberation-integrative motif, it defines the bible's purpose to help liberate politically, economically, socially. --liberation theology: oppressed people need to be free --feminist theology: Marxist; the liberation of women from patriarchy 3. The Kingdom of God: God's kingdom is society toward a universal brotherhood of man & fatherhood of God; removing social classes, sin offends each other not God
Content of General Revelation
1. There is one creator God who deserves our exclusive worship 2. He is eternal and independent (of us) 3. He is invisible and powerful 4. He is personal and wise; a law-giver
What 3 Questions does theological prolegomena seek to answer?
1. What is theology? 2. What is the relationship between God's knowledge and our knowledge? 3. How does human reason relate to theology?
3rd of 5 levels of development toward an evangelical theology: Evangelical Movement
A movement among British American protestants Salvation through personal faith in Christ
4th of 5 levels of development toward an evangelical theology: American Fundamentalism [+Theological fundamentals]
A subtype of evangelicalism which is militant in opposition to liberal theology. Get back to the fundamentals: THEOLOGICAL FUNDAMENTALS 1 inspiration of Scripture-Given by God 2. virgin birth of Christ-(supernatural) Christ as God 3. substituary atonement-Christ died in our place for our sin 4. Bodily resurrection of Jesus (bc God can interact with universe) 5. bodily return of Christ
Incommunicable attributes
Attributes that belong to God alone (i.e. cannot be given to another); attributes that are especially identified by the way of negation (i.e. "not dependent)
Communicable attributes
Characteristics that are more shared with humans; man is meant to grow in their attributes (often not pure/sacrificial, because humans are tainted by sin)
Dynamic equivalence in biblical translations
Clarity of English expression (thought for thought)
Formal equivalence in biblical translations
Correspondence to original language (word for word)
2nd of 5 levels of development toward an evangelical theology: Reformation Theology
Doctrines from the Reformation that clarify Christian belief: 5 Solas Sola Scriptura, Sola Christus, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Deo Gloria
God's eternity & omnipresence
GOD's ETERNITY -refers to God's transcendence of time and space -eternal: God is timeless; he transcends time, he created it [Plato, Augustine] -Everlasting: God is within time, but without beginning or end. Time is a sequence of events [Aristotle, Plato; Psalm 102:12] GOD'S OMNIPRESENCE -God is everywhere -The all-encompassing nature of God's presence -"Not even hell can be described as separation from God; rather it is God's presence in wrath -God has chosen to dwell in certain locations (tabernacle, temple, believers) -God's presence to dwell in his absence in the covenantal drama of Scripture is equivalent to salvation & judgment
God's impassibility
God exhibits no passions in his work among us -God is immune to suffering in His essence; nothing moves him out of his essence or eternal decrees (it is people that are affected/change) *emphasis on God's sovereignty, not tranquility or indifference
Question #4: What is God?
God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth
God's simplicity (unity)
God is not divided into parts, yet we see different attributes of God emphasized at different times -God fully embodies each of His attributes (not conditional)
God's immutability
God is unchanging in His essence and attributes -Since God is independent, there is nothing for him to become -God is unchanging in His purpose and will -God is unchangeable in relation to us (always faithful)
General revelation (Erickson)
God's communication of Himself to all persons, all times, in all places (not salvation)
Special revelation (Erickson)
God's manifestation of Himself to particular person at definite times and places, enabling those persons to enter into a redemptive relationship with himself (specific, redemptive)
Archtypal theology
God's theology of Himself and created order
What basic beliefs do Christians typically begin with as they do theology?
Grudem: 1 The Bible is True 2 The God of the Bible exists Henry: 1 The one true living God is the primary ontological axiom 2 divine revelation is the primary epistemological axiom (primary starting point for knowledge)
Necessity of Divine Revelation
Humans have no other way of finding out about God apart from God revealing Himself
Catholic view over perspicuity of Scripture
Scripture is hard to understand and requires an infallible interpreter (magisterium); doctrine of implicit faith (believing whatever the church teaches)
Sola Scripture and how does it relate to confessions of faith and to church leadership?
Sola Scriptura- Scripture is our highest authority and stands as the sure & necessary guide for life and godliness Reformed (Protestant) View in regard to church leadership: Apostolic office is closed. Teaching office is now ministerial (serving the word), not magisterial (ruling over word) Catholic View in Regard to church leadership: Apostolic office is open. Magisterium (popes and bishops) are the successors of Peter and the Apostles
Roman Catholic view on canonicity
The church determines and declares it so (church-inspired); authority of the church
Protestant view on canonicity
The church discovered it to be so, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit (not church-inspired)
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 -Grudem
Canonization
The process of recognizing the inherent authority of the books
Pilgrim theology
What we learn from what God has revealed to us (echtypal theology)* what we learn may be wrong due to human's prone to error
Canon
a measuring rod/ruler; technically, a closed list of books that are inspired and authoritative (our belief)
Theology
a study of God
Major doctrines covered in THE 3301
bibliography, theology proper, histology, pnematology
Ectypal theology
copies/ segment of the archetypal theology; the theology God has revealed to us in His word & and creation
Deductive theology (credo ut intellegam and starting point)
credo ut intellegam- I believe in order to understand starting point- having general truths (basic beliefs) & then we work from there
1st of 5 levels of development toward an evangelical theology: Patristic Orthodoxy
essential doctrines from the early church i.e. trinity, deity/humanity, and the Holy Spirit
God's energies
how we understand God through His action and revelation to the world
Christian Theology
studies the true God as revealed in Jesus Christ through divine revelation
God's essence
the fullness of God; this is hidden and incomprehesible
theological prolegomena
the introductory section of a treatise or system of thought in which basic principles and premises are enunciated
Biblical Theology
the study of the Bible's theology & its unified message as it is developed along its historical framework (i.e. the Bible's metanarrative)
Pastoral Theology
the study of the application of theology to the church (i.e. preaching, biblical counseling, spiritual disciplines)
Historical Theology
the study of the development of doctrine throughout church history
Philosophical Theology
the study of theological issues by means of philosophy
Systematic Theology
the study of various doctrines by categorizing-(systems are developed by means of biblical, historical, and philosophical theology)
Major doctrines covered in THE 3302
theological anthropology, soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatlogy
3 Implications of the Doctrine of Divine Revelation
unified-not going to contradict itself; logically consistent truthful- inerrant authoritative-it is not a suggestion
Views of general revelation
universalism (false)-believing that God reveals himself to everyone, and thus being human, all of us are saved *Christian universalism-choosing a different form of God pluralism (false)-Everyone believes in the same God, but has a different name inclusivism (false)-Jesus is the only way+faithful believers (of any faith) are saved --"Anonymous Christian" Thesis-person not claiming to be a Christian, but God counts them because they accept general revelation --Post-Mordem Evangelism-there is a chance to be saved after death; Jesus will witness to him upon death to those who have not been evangelized exclusivism (true)-must have explicit faith in Christ during his life (word>hearing>faith)
Descriptions of God's communicable attributes
wisdom, knowledge, power, holiness, righteousness, justice, jealously, wrath, goodness, love, mercy