God as personal

• Evidence for God as Father

  - jesus refers to God as father in his prayers. The word 'abba; meaning daddy is used by jesus. When addressing God it is seen as an intimate moment when the believer and God are one

  - bible describes God as father because he is the creator of the human race

  - in ancient societies the male had sole charge. Political, economic and moral power. Uses father as a metaphor
• Evidence for God as anthropomorphic and personal

  - anthropomorphism is the practice of attributing human characteristics to God

  - another side of God who is not transcendent but immanent and knowable

  - Bible describes God in human terms eg 'rested', 'walked', 'changes his mind'

  - God who answers prayers or gives people religious experiences is the kind of God who is experienced in a personal sense

  - it is possible to use anthropomorphic language about God because Christians believe that Jesus was God incarnate
• Evidence for God as King

  - god's kingdom is present and future reality

  - Jesus is on earth to bring about the kingdom of God. The kingly reign is announced by john when he announces Jesus' arrival by shouting 'repent for the kingdom of god is at hand'

  - isaiah had a vision of God sitting on a throne

  - the psalmist describes God as king almighty
• Further evidence for God as King

  - enthronement psalms: 24,27,93,95-99. Hymns celebrating Yahweh's kingship

  - Jesus announces the kingdom of God: some interpret it as the new relationship between God and humanity brought by Jesus as the messiah, who dies and then is resurrected to atone for the sins of humanity. Some see the kingdom as the ongoing reality inseparable from Jesus and the life of the church. Some see it as future event heralded by the 'second coming' of Christ, when the forces of evil are defeated and the dead are raised to eternal life
• Evidence for God as love

  - god is love. It says in the bible 'let us love one another, for love is of God'

  - God's love is the basis of a covenant with the nation Israel

  - god's love for the world is demonstrated in the suffering and death of Jesus. Fact that God is love requires love to be the basis for all personal relationships

  - Jesus demands that we offer agapeic love