God

• Monotheistic God

  1. One God
  2. Omnipotent creator
  3. Controller of all things
  4. Transcendent and unknowable
• God as personal

  1. God as Father
  2. God as Love
  3. God as King
  4. Anthropomorphic language
• Process Theology

  1. Panentheism
  2. Not the creator
  3. Not omnipotent - can only persuade creation towards order
  4. Ex materia
• The Trinity

  1. God as three persons
  2. Importance for Christians (link to original sin)
  3. Immanent - model for human relationships
• God as Father

  1. Role of patriarchal Father
  2. Exercises justice against Adam and Eve
  3. Sacrifices his life: incarnation
  4. Jesus refers to God as abba
• God as love

  1. Covenant between God and the people: eg Noah in Genesis
  2. Second covenant with Abraham
  3. Love through the Trinity
• God as King

  1. Enthronement psalms
  2. Belief in Kingdom of God
  3. Jesus as King / Eschatological King
• Anthropomorphic language

  1. Problem - God is not human
  2. Masculinity of Old Testament - ancient societies ideas
  3. New Testament problem - Jesus
  4. Problem of Christianity in practice - worship / alienates women
• Omnipotent creator

  1. Differences in Christian opinion: logically impossible or only possible?
  2. Ex deo, ex nihilo and ex materia interpretations
  3. Link to evil
• Controller of all things

  1. Biblical evidence
  2. Omniscient: Calvin, Augustine, Aquinas interpretations of predestination
  3. Ethical monotheism
• Transcendent and unknowable

  1. Definition
  2. Catholic doctrine
  3. Religious experience examples
  4. Discussion with Moses
• One God

  1. Early polytheism / development to monotheism
  2. Biblical evidence
  3. New Testament
• Jesus is the son of God

  1. Different interpretations on Jesus’ authority
  2. John 10 v 30
  3. 1 Corinthians 8:6
• ’God is personal’

  1. The incarnation —> God is mysterious
  2. Knowable and immanent (trinity) —> process theologians claim that God does not intervene
  3. God is love, father king —> feminist interpretations
• ’God is knowable‘

  1. Incarnation —> impossible
  2. God reveals himself through commands —> Euthyphro dilemma
  3. God reaches out to humanity for a relationship —> God said to Moses ‘I am who I am’
• ’Monotheism is credible‘

  1. Biblcal teaching from Abraham —> polytheism embedded in early Christianity
  2. World created ex nihilo —> some believe that the universe required many creators (Hume)
  3. Trinity: one substance three persons –> trinity is a human made theory