Theology 1 - Morgan - Exam 1

General Revelation

Indirect revelation; the idea of being able to see something of God through nature, for example.

Special Revelation

A direct and personal supernatural revelation of God through the Word of God (story of Christ) and Scripture

Progressive Revelation

a gradual uncovering of God and truth to His people over time

Apophaticism

talking about God in terms of who He is NOT

Limitations of understanding/receiving revelation

human language and definitions are not correct, refers to human understanding, not divine.

Positive Knowledge

we can know things about God, but it is not exhaustive

Wesleyan Quadrilateral

Scripture, Tradition, Reason, Experience

Rule of Faith

fundamental truths of Christianity, core dogma, main narrative of Scripture

Vincent's Canon

(how do we determine what's right/wrong?) Antiquity, universality, and consent (everywhere, always, by all)

Canon

a standard, a measurement of the truth

Criteria for Canonization

1) Apostolic Authorship

2) Antiquity: dating back to the 1st century

3) Orthodox

4) Catholicity (universally agreed upon)

5) Traditional Use

Divine Inspiration

involves the work of the Holy Spirit who acts upon the author in some form.

Dictation

a theory of divine inspiration, scribe, no real role for the author, basically just using a hand

Plenary

a theory of divine inspiration, verbal = full words, every single word is inspired and dictated by God

Dynamic

a theory of divine inspiration, God helped unpack ideas and allowed human authors to just write. The message is inspired, the words are human.

Illumination

a theory of divine inspiration, a Biblical author had an encounter with God. "What God told/did in the past with someone is different than what God tells me now."

Infallible

free from error; absolutely dependable

Inerrant

without error

Nature of Faith according to Calvin

God's goodness is the subject of faith

Relationship b/w faith and science according to Augustine

use of the 'secular,' not the main source of wisdom, but provides growth, enlightenment, and enhances our perspective of God

Reason for similarities in religions according to Lewis

We should not be surprised by other religions having small nuggets of truth or aspects of the Light.

John 1 - the Word is the true Light and brought illumination to the whole world.

If people are seeking truth, they are bound to then run into the Truth. God has ways of being discovered, and not just limited to Christianity.

Communicable

(literally means contagious) the attributes of God we can share in: such as His love, joy, forgiveness, and holiness.

Incommunicable

the attributes that are above humanity, incapable of being possessed by mankind, such as His impassibility (incapable of suffering), omnipotence, and eternality.

Deism

clock-maker god, winds the clocks, then steps back to watch the world run. never intervenes

Pantheism

nature/universe is as divine as God (identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God)

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Polytheism

Belief in many gods

Creation ex nihilo

creation out of nothing

Role of creation in revelation (Edwards & Newman)

God revealing Himself to us through His creation

Young Earth Theory

God created the universe in 6 literal days; the earth is only 6,000 - 10,000 years old

Day Age Theory

God created the universe in 6 eras; the earth is OLD

Restoration/Gap Theory

there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. During this gap, demons invaded, bringing chaos, God fixes.

Theistic Theory

God built an evolutionary process into the created order (adaptation)

Progressive Creationism Theory

long eras of vegetation and animals preceding humans, a preparation of sorts

Literary Framework

Genesis 1 is structured to paint a theological portrait; not science or history

Divine Sovereignty

God can do as he pleases, He is not bound to what we think He should or should not do (God's intervention in human history)

Human Freedom

God gives Humanity the free will to choose Him or deny Him because He loves us so much

(Basil) Theodicy

- The vindication of divine goodness in the light of the existence of evil

Nothing happens outside of God's will

2 kinds of evil:

- Genuine (caused by humans)

- Seeming (caused by God for just reasons)

- God cannot "create" evil because evil does not have a substance

Types of Evil

- Moral Evil

- Natural Evil

Early Views of Trinity

1) Monotheists - one God AND Jesus as Lord

2) Triadic Language - Father, Son, Spirit invoked in worship & prayer, salvation

Subordinationism

The Son and the Spirit are less than the Father

Tritheism

worship of three separate gods

Partialism

1/3, 1/3, 1/3. God has 3 separate parts

Modalism

God wears 3 different masks/modes

Spiritual Relevance of the Trinity

- Memory, understanding, will = picture of the Trinity

- Inseparable but distinguishable

Practicality of the Trinity for Christian life

1) Community

2) informs prayer language

3) imago dei - individual vs. person

4) doctrine of grace becomes intelligible - helps us know how to live graciously

ousia

Substance or essence

hypostatis

"persons"

hamartiology

study of sin

hamartia

missing the mark, sin

parabasis

crossing the line/boundary (transgress) (James 4:17)

adikia

perverting what is right (a state of unrighteousness)

anomia

lawlessness/rebellion (condition/state)

asebeia

unlike God in character

Image of God after the Fall

our image is inwardly warped and twisted, sin has infected our nature

Intentional sin

purposeful sin, missing the target on purpose

Unintentional sin

without motivation, aiming to hit the target but still missing it

Pelagius

* Denied original sin

* Sin is the disobedience to Christ's law

* Salvation is found in MY works, MY choice, MY obedience, MY self-discipline

* Human will is neutral; that is, it can go in either direction, toward good or toward evil

* It is possible to avoid sin altogether and never sin

* Not many will make it

Augustine

* We as humans are inherently sinful (and this is inherited: generational sin)

* Sin is disobedience, but also a deep infection within our very nature

* Salvation is only possible by GRACE

* Human will, what I naturally desire, is corrupted

* Graces has the ability to change my will

* It is NOT possible NOT to sin

* Augustine agrees with Pelagius in this regard: not many will make it (there is an elect, aka predestination)

Wesley

Wesley sought to confront secular anthropology (both ancient and modern (his modern, as in 18th century)) with biblical anthropology

Wesley is Augustinian in that he sees NO good in humanity

Any good deeds found in humanity is due to grace

Hell is the absence of God, literally God withdrawing from your presence to the point you are left completely to yourself for all eternity.

Reason and general revelation can give knowledge of God, but no actual acquaintance

PRIDE AND SELF - comes from misdirected love, leads to sin

Jesus heals and restores our condition

Original sin shows how much we need a savior

Ends his sermon on O.S. with Philippians 2:5, that you may have the mind of Christ

Key thought: Wesley has a pessimistic view of human nature and an optimistic view of grace and salvation

Open Theism

* God does not know the future because He chooses not to know

* God changes His mind and adapts His plans based on how humans exercise their freedom

* It is possible that God may not win in the end - evil may continue to endure

Meticulous Determinism

* God causes every single thing that occurs

* Every event ultimately glorifies God

* God cannot be sovereign unless He determines everything

* God as micro-manager

Limited Determinism

* God could cause and control everything, but He voluntarily limits what He causes and controls

* God determines somethings and permits others

* God graces us with freedom and allows room for it to operate

* God as macro-manager

Immutability

- unchangeable

- no mutation

Impassability

- absolute independence

- not affected by others

- human & divine are not the same

Aseity

Another name for the attribute of God's independence or self-existence

Doctrine of Scripture

All that the Bible teaches us about the Bible

Bible as both divine & human

Doctrine of Inspiration - While humans wrote the Bible, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit so that what they wrote wasn't from their own will but it was God who guided them in it

Bible as sacramental

Channel in which that points us towards God

Biblical Inspiration

The process by which God, through the Holy Spirit, assisted a human author in writing a book of the Bible - the Bible is a vehicle to get us to God

Christ revealing divine attributes

- Trying to determine if JC is the fullest revelation God & in Scripture

- How is this revealed?