Knowledge of God

name the two types of theology

natural and revealed theology

explain natural theology

• suggests humans can know god through rational methods (e.g. cosmological)

• relies on a point of contact between god and humans using our reason to find out ideas of god through it

• natural theologians would argue it is enough to know god and have a relationship with him but christians would say it’s not personal enough

• calvin refers to the sensus divinitas and the semen relgionis

what is the sensus divinitatis

sense of divinity

inbuilt into us all are the basics of religion- a sense of God

what is the semen religionis?

seed of religion

innate human inclination to pray and take part in religious practices

what does the catholic church think about natural theology? (including quote)

celebrates human ability to reflect on and recognise God’s existence

‘God never ceases to draw himself to man’- CCC

explain the link of natural theology and human openness to beauty and goodness

• humans have an innate sense of aesthetics- e.g. appreciating smells, sights, sounds, etc

• christians believe that it is because we have an innate sense of god and we can use our reason to recognise him in it

• truth, beauty, moral goodness and the conscience all make the person ask questions which allow us to form a personal knowledge of God from natural theology- e.g. natural law

• the conscience is an important point of contact between God and humans

• sunsets- show his beauty / evolution- shows his wisdom in creating an adaptable world

what did calvin say regarding beauty in the world and knowledge of god through natural theology?

‘the world is like a mirror for the display of divine goodness.’

what did calvin think about the impact of the fall on natural theology

it made humans unable to access their innate sense and created an epistemic distance (hick)

name 3 strengths of natural theology

1. if God has created humans then it makes sense he would provide ways of being able to discover him. He would have given all people the tools to know this. How would ancient greek people know without scripture?

2. Cicero- Universal Consent Argument
   So many people across the world believe in some sort of God and have similar practices like praying and worshipping so it must be an innate part of being human given by God

3. Reason is required to know God because claims that revealed theology and faith cannot be meaningful as they can’t be proven. You can have faith in a unicorn God but that doesn’t make it real. Natural theology provides evidence

4. Polking- Science and faith help us understand the world together, it’s not one or the other

name 2 limitations of natural theology

1. Freud- religion is more of a psychological deception of the mind and wishful thinking. Due to evolutiin, humans have developed a father figure who will protect us and be in control. This helps us deal with worry and fear in the world that we face. He believes religion helps us to feel the comfort and safety of infancy and so is a psychological construct

2. More athiests exist now in the world so Universal Consent Argument isn’t correct

   Counterpoint: do display some religious practices like praying when scared

3. Cannot understand God truly due to the distance between humans and God that the fall created. That ruined ability to reason properly- reference Barth and Brunner