Knowledge of Gods Existence

what did robert boyle think was the way to know god

could be known through ‘gods two book’ - the natural world and the bible

what did pope john paul II think was the way to know god

‘faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth’

what is faith

being committed to believe something without complete evidence

what is empiricism

the idea that knowledge comes from our senses

what is revelation

means ‘uncovering’

god allowing himself to be known

what is grace

the undeserved favour of god

what is natural theology

the idea that god can be known through reason or observation of the world

what is revealed theology

the idea that god is able to be known through scripture or prophets etc

what is fideism

the idea that faith is more important than reason in gaining knowledge of god

what is sensus divinitas

an inner sense or knowledge of god that each human being has

the natural world is a p……

point of contact between humans and god and is the first step of knowing god as redeemer

what 2 grounds for knowledge of god from nature did calvin put forawrd

subjective - an innate sense of the divine

objective - what can be seen in the apparent design and purpose of nature

calvin and sensus divinitas

belived all humans have an innate sense of god planted in them by god god

what were the 2 reasons calvin thought humans have sensus divinitas

the universality of religion and the existence of conscience

what is the universality of religion

since religion exists in all cultures throughout history, humans must have been born with a sense of the divine

anyone who reflects on the world should be able to understand the character of god ‘even the unlearned and ignorant people’

what is the existence of conscience

is a god given faculty which helps us make moral choices

we have a sense of guilt because we aware that we are responsible to god for our actions.

CCC views of sensus divinitas

the widespread practices of prayer, meditation and worship shows humans are ‘religious beings’

imago dei and natural knowledge

humans are made in the image and likeness of god which means we can appreciate and understand beauty and goodness in the world and recognise them as manifestations of gods creativity and goodness

divine spark and natural knowledge

refers to gods breath/divine spark when adam is created which suggest there is something in humans which is designed to seek and respond to god

Cicero and natural knowledge of gods existence as seen in the order of creation

by looking into the sky at the stars and planets it seems obvious that there exists some divine power of exalted intelligence by which they are ruled

calvin and the knowledge of gods existence as seen in the order of creation

creation is a ‘mirror of god’

what does it mean that knowing gods existence through the order of creation is remote knowledge

its like knowing someone on social media but having to rely on what they post. its not the same as really knowing them and having a relationship with them

aquinas and the knowledge of gods existence as seen in the order of creation

god made the world so gods signature may be observed within the created order

keen to show that christianity was not in opposition to reasonable common sense (natural theology applies to all persons)

christians and no christians alike have the opportunity to gain knowledge of god from the created world

leads to conclude there must be an intelligent being who is the author of the universe

what is the principle of accommodation

god can be seen through creation - which is a way finite minds can best understand god

swinburnes thoughts on natural theology

we have good reason to think that the world shows signs of order, regularity, purpose and reason therefore leads us to conclude that there probably is an intelligent being we call god

what were the three ways bonaventura believed that human minds could know god

the eye of the flesh

the eye of reason

the eye of contemplation

what is the eye of the flesh

incorporates sense perception

this eye means by which we gain knowledge about the physical world

what is the eye of reason

the way of knowledge that lets us work out mathematical and philosophical truths through the use of logic

what is the eye of contemplation

a way of knowing which allows us to come to a knowledge of god by going beyond the scope of sense experience and reason - knowledge of god through faith

polkinghorne’s metaphor of different eye

he sees through binocular vision

he sees science through one eye (the physical world and the laws/processes behind it

he sees spiritual truths through the other eye (purposefulness and the world in the context of the creation of god)

both eyes need to work together to give a complete picture in all its dimensions

its foolish to close one eye

robert boyles views

god has written 2 great books - the natural world and the bible which were both created by the same author

the words of the bible and the discoveries of science were seen as complementary each enhancing the other and deepening the understanding of god

what is immediate revelation

god makes known himself directly.

real encounters with god

what is mediate revelation

less direct form of knowledge about god

includes revelation which comes about by listening to or reading the words of god/those who had a direct encounter with god

calvin and adam remaining upright

is adam had remained upright the everyone would have known god and achieved a state of perfect happiness

not the case though

until jesus comes along as the mediator and reconciles us

true knowledge of god is salvation in christ

what ‘historical conditions’ does CCC 37 refer to

the fall and its consequences eg original sin

tensions in calvins theology

on one hand if humans are in a state of sin how can they be known and prompted to be open to gods grace unless god reveals himself generally in nature

on the other hand gods grace is not something we can ask for and we can only know god because he chooses to let himself be known

brunners view on the nature of humans

the material self represents the actual content of our lives, character, will and moral actions - this element was corrupted by the fall completely

the formal self is our god given ability to reason, make decisions, and respond to god - this wasnt corrupted by the fall

so we have the innate capacity to know god (formal) but our actual self (material) needs gods grace for us to know him

barths view on the nature of humans

the material self represents the actual content of our lives, character, will and moral actions - this element was corrupted by the fall completely

the fall has meant the formal self is utterly incapable of informing the corrupted material self about god by itself - it is completely dependant on gods grace for knowing god

brunners view of calvins interpretation

he thought that calvins argument that god’s ‘sparks of glory’ in nature provided ‘a point of contact’ which enable humans to have some knowledge of gods existence

barth’s view of calvins interpretation

completely disagrees with brunner

he read calvins view that the fall has so distorted human nature that there was absolutely no point of contact between god and humans

brunner and imago dei

image of god in humans was destroyed by the fall but not the spiritual image

brunner and general revelation

god communicates through nature which reflects his nature but due to sin its a point of contact nothing more