"high priority" book questions

Inbody distinguishes “the Christian faith” from “Christian faith” in what way?

“The Christian faith” is the inherited communal faith, while “Christian faith” is its personal appropriation.

What is embedded theology?

Deeply rooted beliefs acquired before formal theological study through things such as Scripture, worship, stories, images, pastors, and Christian formation.

What can cause embedded theology to become conscious and open to reflection?

Crisis, contradiction, or experiences that challenge previously held beliefs.

What does Inbody mean by an irenic theological style?

Seeking dialogue and cooperation rather than simply defeating an opponent.

What does Inbody mean by a dialectical theological method?

Recognizing that apparently opposing positions can contain complementary truths.

What is a “canon within the canon”?

The tendency of Christians to give greater weight or priority to certain biblical themes or passages.

What does sola scriptura NOT mean according to Inbody?

It does not mean “nothing but the Bible”; Scripture has primacy while tradition, reason, and experience also participate in theology.

Where does the ultimate authority of Scripture and tradition lie according to Inbody?

In the work of the Holy Spirit rather than in Scripture or tradition functioning as self-evident, infallible foundations.

What is the distinction between reason as reasoning and reason as ideology?

Reasoning clarifies, analyzes, criticizes, and compares interpretations, while ideology uses reason to impose social agendas, power, or interests.

What are the two functions of experience in Inbody's theology?

Appropriation and confirmation.

What is the opposite of faith according to Inbody?

Nihilism.

What are the three functions of Christian creeds according to Inbody?

Forming Christian identity, expressing common/ecumenical consensus, and serving as a pledge of allegiance to the gospel, Christ, and the church.

What was NOT one of Inbody's three functions of creeds?

Releasing ordinary Christians from the responsibility of interpreting Scripture.

What is Inbody's understanding of omnipotence in dialectical theism?

Omnipotence does not mean omnicausality; God does not directly cause or determine every creaturely action.

Which classical attribute remains essentially unchanged in Inbody's dialectical theism?

God as Creator.

What is Inbody's criticism of classical theism's understanding of perfection?

Its emphasis on static perfection can make biblical descriptions of God's relationship, responsiveness, and change difficult to explain.

How does Inbody reinterpret divine immutability?

God is immutable in essence and character while still being capable of responding to changing creatures in history.

How does Inbody reinterpret divine impassibility?

God can genuinely be affected by creation while remaining secure in divine character.

What does Inbody's statement that love involves God's ability to be affected by creation mean?

Genuine relationship with a beloved involves the possibility of being affected by that relationship.

What are Inbody's three affirmations about the Trinity?

The Trinity summarizes the biblical concept of God, describes the church's experience of God's activity, and corresponds to God's eternal being and activity.

What was NOT one of Inbody's three affirmations about the Trinity?

The Trinity is a useful metaphor for an essentially incomprehensible being.

What is the relationship between the economic and immanent Trinity according to Rahner's rule as presented by Inbody?

The economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity, and the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity.

What does “God is not less than what God does” mean?

God's activity in history genuinely reveals something about God's eternal identity.

What does Catherine Mowry LaCugna emphasize about God's essence?

God's essence is relationship, characterized by self-giving, self-receiving, love, freedom, and dynamic life.

What did Arius teach about the Son?

The Son was subordinate to the Father.

What did Athanasius teach about the Son?

The Son is fully divine and equal in divinity with the Father.

What does homoousios mean?

Of the same substance or essence.

What does “begotten, not made” mean?

The Son is eternally related to the Father and is not a created being.

What are the three problems represented by Tritheism, Subordinationism, and Modalism?

Tritheism threatens unity, Subordinationism threatens equality, and Modalism threatens differentiation.