Christian Beliefs all weeks (2, 3, 4, & 5)

what is our sharing in God's coming to this world?

our fellowship w/God and an anticipation of our eschatological destiny

what is human existence?

a world of sin

sin is the....

revival of chaos. power of chaos manifesting itself in human being, resisting & distorting the creative power of God's coming into the world

what does it mean to be authentically human?

oriented toward God

what does our creating from nothing and out orientation toward God mean?

we are creatures who require and seek completion.

finitude

The state of having limits or bounds

what is because of our finitude?

we are afflicted w/various infirmities

temptation not sign of sin...

it's a sign of finitude

sin is our failure....

to faithfully and obediently respond to God, and it's our life in a disordered and disorienting fallen world

what does sin appear as?

as foolishness opposite of wisdom. foolishness is made of existence that makes no account of God. has a corporate dimension. ethical world in competition w/God's created world

wat is unrighteousness?

breaking God's law and failing to offer God our heartfelt, obedient, and faithful response. unrighteousness in relation too God goes hand in hand w/injustice toward our neighbor

what is sin in the form of unrighteousness?

encompasses sins of commission and sins of omission

christian freedom

principle that christians are free to practice or not practice according to conscience in matters that are outside the scope of divine law

in the world of sin we...

place our hope and trust in created things instead of in God. such misplaced trust is characterized by destructive emotions such as anxiety and fear. ironically the objects of our trust, being created things can't save us

what is failure to trust God?

really matter of misplaced trust for trust and hope are essential aspects of human existence

what does misplaced trust signify?

our disengagement from God and our seeking fullness and completion in created realities

what is the essential problem of misplaced trust?

we set our hope on things that can't save us

hubris

opposite of humility. it's substituting ourselves in the place of God as the source of our well being and highest good. in hubris we think of ourselves as possessing all the resources necessary for finding the completion that we seek. it's our aspiring to be divine

familiarity w/God

is the opposite of fear and awe. in the world of sin we don't fear God b/c we fashion a picture of God that's convenient for us, a picture of a being who accepts and affirms us just as we are. in this way we feel comfortable w/God and have no sense of divine judgement

contingency of God's acceptance

measure of distance between us and the Holy God

idolatry

withholding praise from God and directing our worship to created things. but i's also the attempt to control God's revelation and to secure the presence of God

idolatry is not limited

to representing God in physical form although it always involves our choosing some created things as the means by which to secure God's presence

what does sin organize itself into?

world that's the distorted image of God's created world

apocalyptic literature

of Bible portrays the world of sin in terms of cosmic powers that stand opposed to God. thus testifies to corporate character of sin and experience of demonic in personal form

what does the apocalyptic impulse in the Bible reminds us of?

sin can't be adequately analyzed in terms of human wickedness

in Johannie literatire

central concept for understanding sin is the world. world means both God's creation and also system sin that humans inhabitat and that's opposed to the revelation of God

in Paul's theology

central concept for understanding sin is flesh. under condition of sin flesh signifies root of wickedness and rebellious condition of existence in world of sin, experienced as power over which we have no control

social gospel and liberation theology

offered helpful and suggestive insights into corporate aspect of sin. both have asserted that just as salvation pertains to every aspect of our being, so sin must be understood not only individualistically also corporately

social gospel

based on understanding kingdom God as reality that manifests itself in society as well as in human heart

liberation theology

a movement within the Catholic church to understand Christianity from the perspective of the poor and oppressed, with a focus on fighting injustice

doctrine of sin affirms...

corporate dimensions of sin as well as depth and extensiveness of human depravity. features of the world that constitute human nature are sinful

statement about universality human sin and...

fact sin organizes itself into world that's opposed to world God's creation

social nature of human beings

helps us understand why sin has corporate dimension why we're all born into the world of sin

depravity

moral corruption; wickedness

what does existence in this world mean?

alienation from God. b/c our sin physical world doesn't function in relation to us as it should

what does alienation manifest as?

death and judgement. judgement is God's revelation and coming into the world

what is another result of sin?

corruption of our created nature. manifests itself in wrong desire, loss of true freedom, distortion of our thinking, and ethical conduct in wickedness

inward sin

evil thoughts and tempers such as pride, anger, self-will, and jealousy

outward sin

overt acts of wickedness; wrongful deeds

what does corruption result in?

loss of freedom

what does corruption extend to?

our ethical existence

what does the corruption of our ethical existence show?

shows itself in wickedness

if human being becomes...

main subject of theology, we aren't doing theology anymore

theological anthropology

The doctrine of the human being - what sort of creatures we are and what we are like

what do cultural anthropologists do?

immerse themselves in lives of certain people in order to study their habits, practices, and customs

what do theological anthropologists work to understand?

humanity both as God intends it to be and as it actually is

study of human as sinner

leads us inexorably to the One who saves human beings from sin: Jesus Christ

why do we take humanity seriously?

b/c God does

what does our created finitude mean?

we need each other, that we receive the gift of learning to live w/and for another and above all that we need God

Irenaeus of Lyons says

people who don't wait for period of growth who attribute the weakness of their nature to God are completely unreasonable

psychosomatic unity

a creature who is always both physical and spiritual

human being is not...

soul in a hostile relationship w/body

what does hierarchical dualism pit the body against?

against soul and body understood as obstacle or burden

Christians reject Platonic dualism...

which soul is "bound and glued to body and forced view things as if through prison"

what does christian theological anthropology reject?

any materialism that would deny the existence of the spiritual or reduce human being to constellation body parts and nothing more

some Christians argue for nonreductive physicalism

kind materialism still recognizes human being in relationship to God

holistic dualism

The person is a body-soul unity

what do christians claim human beings are?

middle creature

functional view of the image of God

emphasizing unique function that human beings have in caring for God's creation

relational view of the image of God

often beings w/God's triune nature, emphasizing God's life as perfect relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. thoughts of contemporary theologians

can't talk about how our creation...

in "image of God" affects Christian perspective w/o first acknowledging brutal fact that image of God has been distorted and broken by Sin

what do many theologians emphasize when describing the nature of sin?

pride

John Calvin suggests

root of sin is unbelief and beginning of ruin by which human race was overthrown was defection from command of God

sin suppresses God's word...

to us and about us by twisting it into something false

what is key to the christian life?

break habit of sin

Augustine sees...

created human nature as existing in state of original righteousness in which we free to choose or not choose to sin

posse peccare

able to sin

non posse non peccare

not able not to sin

how can we become truly human beings and live truly human lives?

through Jesus

through resurrection

we become human

yahweh

hebrew for God

what does God present himself as?

presents himself as God who will be known (will of God)

where does God make himself known?

makes himself known in word/deed

how does God communicate?

creation, salvation, and judgement

what is the Bible?

Bible is God's divine revelation (self disclosure) to humanity

inspiration of the Bible

recording of happiness within a people group as they were inspired

what can revelation be in the form of?

can be in form of a vision with words or solely words

what is cosmology the study of?

study of God as a supreme being and his relation to created order

what are the 3 main assumptions about monotheistic religion?

existence of God. relation of God to creation. regulatory and continuous will @ plan

monotheistic religions

christianity and other religions (islam & judaism) are montheistic and assume a transcendant and sovereign God who created and maintains the universe

God and existence

God causes things to exist in the sense that their existence depends wholly on his power

sovereign

self-governing; independent

universe is...

not a perpetual motion machine w/o God's regulation. he didn't leave all things he made to their own devices. there's close relationship between course of nature and events of history. in addition to definite plan of God

Agrarian societies

began to develop about 3300 BCE. 1) mesopotamia 2) egypt and nubia 3) Indus Valley 4) Andes mountains in South America; more appeared in China around 2000 BCE and in modern day mexico and central america

how many Gods did the Greeks and Romans have?

had their 12 temple Gods

empirical proof

existence of God in many cultures is assumed and not subjected to empirical proof

argument from desire

though that all human being is religious in nature. natural desire and instinct for a supernatural relationship suggests both existence and relevance. interaction of belief, faith, and practice forms religion

what are the 4 major arguments for God's existence?

cosmological. teleological. ontological. moral law

cosmological

argument for God's existence. world couldn't exist on its own so these must have been a cause. cause/effects

teleological

argument for God's existence. argument from design. telos in Greek means purpose, end, goal, design. design and purpose. great complexities of universe suggests evidence of a designer

ontological

argument for God's existence. something than which nothing greater can be though. asserts that God being defined as most perfect. must exist since a God who exists is greater than a God who doesn't

moral law

argument for God's existence. w/o God, morality would be impossible. there's a standard of life that points to an origin/basis- God. every person is born w/inherent understanding of right/wrong. there must be a lawgiver (ultimate moral being).

universal moral being

is it accidental or shows a designer?

faith is an

important aspect of understanding God and his existence

christian doctrine cosmology

study of world primarily as sphere of redemption

how many words is cosmology made of?

2. greek words. kosmos= world. logos=speech or reason

what is paramount importance of earth?

advent of God's Son upon it to accomplish redemption here. made by theatre God's crowning work of creation

mechanical or atheistic theory

not itself antiscriptural or against God. held by those who hold to the eternality of matter as only thing there is. its forces are eternal w/o any personal power behind it all directing it. it certainly is atheistic

nebular hypothesis

all was gaseous chaos, gradually evolved into ordered universe. no room any interference of any supreme intelligent being

emanation or pantheistic theory

most religions of Orient were pantheistic. assumes world has no substance reality or real distinct existence.