knowledge of god

natural theology

• the attempt to gain knowledge of god’s exxistence and attributes through human reason, logic, and observation of the natural world

revealed theology

• the belief that god can only be truly known when he chooses to directly reveal himself to humanity through the person of jesus christ, specific supernatural events or the bible

examples of natural theology

• nature

• teleological argument

• cosmological argument

examples of revealed theology

• religious experience

• bible

• person of jesus christ

aquinas’ book on natural theology/ general revelation

• summa contra gentiles books 1-3

aquinas’ book on revealed theology/ special revelation

• summa contra gentiles book 4

what does aquinas call natural theology?

• general revelation

examples for aquinas of general revelation

• natural law

• cosmological argument

• teleological argument

what does aquinas call revealed theology?

• special revelation

who supports natural theology?

• aquinas

• calvin

• brunner

who only supports revealed theology?

• barth

what did aquinas believe formed faith is?

• for aquinas, formed faith requires not only an intellectual knowledge of god’s revelation, but also the supernatural grace of love to animate and perfect that belief

how does aquinas use natural theology to support, rather than replace, christian faith?

• as a proponent of natural theology, aquinas argued that while human reason cannot absolutely prove god’s existence, observing the beauty, order, and goodness of creation leads humans to recognise god’s wisdom and power

• strengthening belief in the christian god through reason

bible verse that supports natural theology

• romans 1:20

• ‘since the creation of the world god’s invisible qualities… have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made’

pope john paul II’s second quote on faith + reason

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

• pope john paul II

calvin’s book

• institutes (1536)

three ways calvin believed natural theology can be seen

• conscience

• sensus divinitatis

• creation

calvin’s view of natural and revealed theology

• calvin argues that all humans possess an innate sensus divinitatis (sense of the divine) and can observe god’s handiwork in creation, providing a form of natural theology that is sufficient to condemn humanity by leaving them without the excuse of ignorance

• quote

• however, due to total depravity caused by the fall, this natural knowledge is distorted by sin and cannot save

• therefore, revealed theology through jesus christ as the ‘mediator’ is essential to achieve a saving knowledge of god

calvin’s quote about natural theology

• ‘none shall take refuge in the plea of ignorance’

calvin’s quote about revealed theology

• ‘no knowledge of god could be profitable to salvation without a mediator’

verses that show revealed theology through the person of jesus christ is the only source of soteriologically effective knowledge

• john 14

• acts 4:12

john 14

• ‘i am the way and the truth and the life. no one comes to the father except through me’

acts 4:12

• ‘salvation is found in no one else’

brunner’s book

• ‘nature and grace’ (1934)

brunner’s examples of natural theology

• nature

• conscience

• image of god within us

brunner’s view on natural theology

• in contrast to barth, brunner argues that the fall did not completely destroy human reason, drawing a distinction between the destroyed material imago die and the undamaged formal imago dei (our capacity for reason, language, and moral responsibility)

• brunner argues there are ‘points of contact’ within human nature that help us to make sense of divine revelation

what are the two forms of imago dei brunner believes in?

• material imago dei

• formal imago dei (our capacity for reason, language, and moral responsibility)

barth’s book

• ‘nein’ (1934)

barth’s view of revealed theology v. natural theology

• influenced by the augustinian view of the fall, barth argues that human reason is too corrupted by original sin to achieve a soteriologically effective knowledge of god, famously asserting that the ‘finite has no capacity for the infinte’

• consequently, he rejects natural theology as a dangerous path to idolatry, maintaining that humanity must rely exclusively on revealed theology to safely understand god and his morality

barth’s quote

• ‘the finite has no capacity for the infinite’

• reaffirms isaiah 55, ‘for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways’

• whatever humans discover through reason is not divine, so to think it is divine is idolatry- putting earthly things on the level of God