Triune God Quiz 3

How do we define simplicity? Positively and Negatively

God is His attributes

Positively: God is identical with all that is in and of himself

Negatively: God is not composed of parts

What are the 4 other doctrines/ideas we infer simplicity from?

God’s Immutability, Aseity, Perfection and Creation

What is immutability?

God cannot change

What is impassibility?

God cannot change in state, suffer, or be acted upon

What are the 3 steps we take to understand “problem passages”?

Look at context, consider limitations, understand what changes

Who is the person whose writings are most responsible for challenging impassibility?

Jurgen Moltmann

What are the 2 erroneous conclusions that come from misunderstanding impassibility?

An impassible God can’t genuinely care for creatures, only a suffering of God can be empathetic with our plight.

What are the 3 implications of denying impassibility (Billings)?

Makes God reactive instead of sovereign, applies pain to God when He has no body, makes God’s love/justice imperfect

Principal claim of divine simplicity?

God is entirely without parts

What does Paul Helm say that Classical Christian Theism gives us?

a grammatical template to help us learn about God

What does Classical Christian Theism do?

Classical Christian theism is deeply devoted to the absoluteness of God with respect to His existence, essence, and activity.

3 Biblical doctrines that necessitate simplicity

Creation, Infinity, Independence

2 implications of All That Is In God is God with regard to His attributes?

God’s existence and essence are identical. His attributes are identical to each other

Athanasius and the persons of the Trinity as not parts of God

The Father, Son, and Spirit aren’t pieces that add up to make God, but each person is fully God.