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Theology Survey I Final Exam Study
guide
Theology Survey I (Liberty University)
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M. Bird, “Evangelical Theology”
Theology 201
8-31-16
Quiz Friday on Top Hat
1) Why “do” Theology”?
a) Allows us to understand the unity of the Bible
i) gives us the whole picture, we aren’t looking directly at the details (Exegeses) but
what is meant by the whole testimony of scripture.
b) To respond to contemporary challenges… new things come up in our culture every day.
c) To become a deeper disciple- how much do we know about God (cognitive)
i) Ex: marriage- the more you know the deeper the relationship
d) To guard and defend the faith- Apologetics
e) To understand our stories in light of God’s story
2) What is “theology”?
a) Def- Study of God… Theos= God and Logos= word (in the Greek.)
i) God is personal so we can’t approach theology as an object, but deepening of
knowledge and relationship to our God… (back to the marriage analogy)
3) Goal of theology
a) Christian theology seeks to:
i) Understand who God is as revealed in the Bible
ii) Provide a Christian understanding of creation, human beings and their condition,
and God’s work in His creation.
iii) Be transformed and act as agents of transformation in God’s world
4) Nature of theology
a) Theology is (Erickson):
i) Biblical- we have to wrestle with the whole of it, historically and in context.
ii) Systematic- breaking of theological knowledge into sections… Bibliology,
eschatology, etc.
iii) Cultural- you’re affected by your surroundings and it differs from time to time, place
to place, person to person, etc. (we are like fish swimming in the water of culture)
(1) Ex: much more individual now in east than the corporate culture of the
ancient near east.
iv) Contemporary
v) Practical- application of knowledge individually and collectively
vi) Narratival- stories of historical figures and how they inform theological thinking… or
looking at the whole narrative of the bible and where each story and person fits
vii) Theology informs not just what we know, but also how we live and interact with the
world around us.
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Theology 201
8-31-16
1) Why “do” Theology”?
a) Allows us to understand the unity of the Bible
i) gives us the whole picture, we aren’t looking directly at the details (Exegeses) but
what is meant by the whole testimony of scripture.
b) To respond to contemporary challenges… new things come up in our culture every day.
c) To become a deeper disciple- how much do we know about God (cognitive)
i) Ex: marriage- the more you know the deeper the relationship
d) To guard and defend the faith- Apologetics
e) To understand our stories in light of God’s story
2) What is “theology”?
a) Def- Study of God… Theos= God and Logos= word (in the Greek.)
i) God is personal so we can’t approach theology as an object, but deepening of
knowledge and relationship to our God… (back to the marriage analogy)
3) Goal of theology
a) Christian theology seeks to:
i) Understand who God is as revealed in the Bible
ii) Provide a Christian understanding of creation, human beings and their condition,
and God’s work in His creation.
iii) Be transformed and act as agents of transformation in God’s world
4) Nature of theology
a) Theology is (Erickson):
i) Biblical- we have to wrestle with the whole of it, historically and in context.
ii) Systematic- breaking of theological knowledge into sections… Bibliology,
eschatology, etc.
iii) Cultural- you’re affected by your surroundings and it differs from time to time, place
to place, person to person, etc. (we are like fish swimming in the water of culture)
(1) Ex: much more individual now in east than the corporate culture of the
ancient near east.
iv) Contemporary
v) Practical- application of knowledge individually and collectively
vi) Narratival- stories of historical figures and how they inform theological thinking… or
looking at the whole narrative of the bible and where each story and person fits
(1) Theology informs not just what we know, but also how we live and interact with
the world around us.
9-2-16
5) The source for Theology
a) Theological knowledge is derived from
i) Nature
(1) beauty and order in creation, General vs. Special, intelligent Design, etc.
(2) Ex: Innate desire in culture to protect life, protection Laws- speaks to humanity,
we want to care for the world we are in,
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M. Bird, “Evangelical Theology”
ii) Tradition/church history- protestant reformation
(1) 5 Solos came from this… we are still bound by tradition… make it a good one!
(a) Solos Deo Gloria
(b) Solos scriptura
(c) Solos fides
(d) Solos gratia
(e) Solos Christus
iii) Scripture- the canonical 66 books… OT and NT
iv) Experience- your own personal
i. Which is Primary? Scripture
ii. Any others? Culture
v) Culture and Christianity (H.R. Niebuhr) Pop culture- media, music, games, TV
(1) Christ against culture
(2) Christ and culture in paradox- now/not yet paradigm
(3) Christ transforming culture- convert culture to Christian norms
(4) Christ above culture- appropriate through Christianizing
(5) Christ of Culture
vi) Method of Theology
(1) Contextual interpretation of scripture (keep it in context)> Narrative
development of Revelation (big story)> “Dialogue” with other thinkers/sources
(talk it out)> Reflect on implications and applications (contemplation)> repeat…
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Theology 201:
9-9-16
1. Revelation
a. God takes the initiative to make himself known
i. Apocolupsis- or apocalypse… making something unknown known or
revealed.
b. Human knowledge of God is partial and imperfect (ontology vs. Epistemology)
i. Ontology- God in all of his nature and essence
ii. Epistemology- All we can know about God
1. As humans we cannot possibly know all about God
2. Deuteronomy 29:29- God gives law to Israel, and we are to take
what is given to us so that we can take and use it and apply
3. Isaiah 65:1- God reveals himself to those who do not seek Him,
taking the initiative, to create relationship (in context with Israel)
c. Revelation refers to God disclosing or revealing himself to humans
i. Multiple sources or modes of revelation
1. Natural revelation- something known from our environment or
nature accessible to everyone
2. Supernatural or special revelation- comes from a supernatural or
spiritual means
a. All revelation is somewhat supernatural
ii. Natural/ General revelation- Includes the natural world, history, human
identity (morality, human relations, logic, etc.)
1. If we didn’t have the bible, what might we know of God?
a. Beauty, Truth, Reason, Order, Proofs, Goodness
b. But these are not without interpretation- the lenses which
you look at facts through… It can be somewhat subjective.
i. Natural world is affected by the fall
2. These impressions are sometimes formulated as theistic “proofs”
a. Cosmological argument- origin of the universe, cause and
effect.
i. Kalam argument…
b. Ontological- Necessary Being
c. Teleological- Order and Design demands a intelligent
Creator or Designer
d. Moral argument- C.S. Lewis… innate moral standard
demands a moral law giver
e. Truth- all truth is not relative bc that would then be a truth
i. Law of Non-contradiction
f. Consciousness- physical is always changing but the inside
is looking for something beyond
g. Desire- Joy which is the longing for something beyond
ourselves that is wanted more than the desires we achieve
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i. God Shaped Hole
h. Experience
3. General revelation in ‘Pop culture’?
a. Good vs. evil
b. Harmony and drawing to move
4. Value and Limitations of Natural Revelation
a. Creates impressions about the experience and attributes
of God
b. Universally available
c. Produces ‘generic’ theism- belief in intelligent creator god
d. Not relational intuitions on a large scale
e. Subjective and effected by the impact of sin
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Theology 201
9-16-16
1. Inerrancy
a. Inspiration- what was the source of the Bible (human agency though the
direction of God?)
b. Inerrancy- is the Bible true and trustworthy?
i. Presuppositional (theology) vs. Evidential/ Historical (Apologetics)
1. Evidential is great for the core but there’s no extra biblical
evidence for every verse in the bible
2. Degrees of Inerrancy
a. A e: The Bible contains completely accurate scientific and historical data
i. The geocentric earth theory was supported using bible as well as flat
earth… which can happen when one takes a literal translation instead of
a literary one based on genre and style
b. F l: The Bible is completely accurate, but contains phenomenological
descriptions
i. Being described based on perception as they are seen… read in context of
the genre
ii. > “if one thing in the bible is wrong then it all is” A slippery slope fallacy!
c. L d: The Bible is Completely accurate concerning matters of doctrine
3. C Statement
a. Holy Scripture is inspired
i. To reveal God through Jesus as his witness to himself
b. Written by men and prepared and superintended by his Spirit
c. Infallible divine authority
i. Believed, obeyed, and embraced
d. Holy Spirits authenticates and opens our minds
e. Scripture is without error or fault in its teaching
f. Authority of Scripture is impaired if we limit or disagree with text
g. Modern technical precision, irregularities of grammar or spelling, phenomenal
descriptions (perception), reports of false statements, topical arrangement,
seeming discrepancies
i. Look at it in context
ii. Ex: Gospel are ancient biographies organized by topic, synoptic
h. Total precision is not expected nor aimed at
i. Chronological snobbery is what we do by expecting
i. Absolutely precise by modern standards, making good on its claims
i. Look at intentions and judge accuracy based on that
4. Summary of Chicago Statement
a. S is inspired therefore reliable and authoritative
. S is wi error in its teaching
c. S truthfulness is judged by its intent and context rather than
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i. Scriptures truthfulness is not questioned by literary devices,
phenomenological language, or unintended precision are involved
1. Ex: rounding numbers, Hyperbole
5. Apparent Contradictions (Mark 6:8; Matthew 10:9-10)
a. Mark 6:8- take nothing
b. Matthew 10:9-10- take nothing but something (a walking stick, sandals, etc.…)
i. Harmonization- not contradictory just different descriptions
ii. Lack of information- Luke’s description of quirenius as Governor during
time of census near Jesus Birth but Josephus describes a different time.
1. Maybe more than one term, normal in those days
iii. Authorial Intent- what are they each trying to emphasize
iv. Contextual Interpretation
6. Theologically and Historically important
7. Not a matter of salvation
8. Not of Creedal importance, but historically affirmed
9. May create temptation for absolute certainty
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Theology 201
9-19-16
1. Authority
a. The Bible contains God’s message and thereby carries His authority
i. Scripture reveals a God worth obeying
1. Is God Just? Yes
2. He takes on the suffering of brutal death for us
ii. The Spirit of God convicts the need to trust and obey the God it reveals
1. Human limitation, sin’s conviction
2. Obedience- He’s giving us the boundaries that we are to stay
inside, because when we leave those things are bad for you.
a. It’s setting parameters for us
iii. Divine authority is ultimately relational
1. Creator creature & Father Children
2. Covenant- a relational agreement to try to stay within parameters
3. Don’t tell others what to do and try to point out others faults,
because unless they’re in the covenant with God it means nothing
to them… it’s the relationship then the obedience and knowledge
a. Don’t be a Bible thumper, point toward God
iv. Divine Illumination
1. This does not guarantee correct interpretation
a. Importance of Hermeneutics
i. (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13)
ii. John Jesus to disciples preparing them for time
after His death so they know they have the HS even
though they don’t have Christ anymore to lead
them and tell them what to do… ‘emind them of it
1. Learn & then the spirit recalls and convicts
2. The Spirit does not just give you everything
you need to know on its own
v. The authority of a particular command in Scripture must be contextually
interpreted and applied carefully
1. Comparing comparability of circumstances
2. Ex… Corinthians with: Speaking in Tongues, Head Coverings, etc.
vi. Scripture does not simply present true-propositions about God or
authoritative-commands from God
1. Scripture is Fundamentally a narrative: The Story of God and his
World
a. Vanhoozer (following Balthasar) refers to this as a ‘Theo-
drama’: a divine drama invites its hearers into participating
in its acts
i. Ex: Speech-Act Theory
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2. Q’s to answer
1. First level: You can hear sounds, but they
mean nothing to you
2. Second Level: Then there is meaning given
to the sounds and you understand
3. Third Level: Actions that result from our
understanding
a. “God does not play the world drama all on his own; he
makes room for man to join in the acting”
b. Bible is script, doctrine is theatrical direction… etc.
2. Ex of Theo-dramatic Act:
i. Jonah- Negative Theo-drama
ii. Parable of the Talents, or any parable- give us a
truth to live out
iii. Women at the well…
b. 3 he had in mind that are all connected
i. Communion- taking in the death of Jesus
ii. Baptism- new life
iii. Cross- death, resurrection, life
c. The Cross and cruciformity
i. The other-serving love of God… Seek to understand
them and put others above yourself
1. A good marriage
ii. The bible’s authority is thus not merely
propositional, or imperatival, but narratival and
missional
d. The Story both shows us how to ‘act’ and propels us to
action
a. In what way is the bible authoritative?
b. Where does bible derive authority?
c. How is authority of bible applied to human beings?
d. How do narrative and mission inform our understanding of the bible’s authority?
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Theology 201
9-23-16
1. Metacognition- after you think
a. What is the difference between studying and learning?
i. We want to learn not study… don’t just simply memorize short term
b. How do we learn?
i. Application, Teaching it back
c. Who’s responsible for learning in the classroom?
i. Both are in a cooperative relationship
d. Difference between Memorization vs. Cognition (knowing vs. understanding)
e. Is intelligence: Fixed or Fluid?
i. “I don’t do well on tests” vs. “In the past I haven’t, but…”
f. Study Process:
i. Preview- start thinking before class
ii. Attend- Be present & take notes on what you see and what is said
1. Don’t just write what is written on slide, miss the explanation
iii. Review- After class ask: what did we discuss? What new information was
presented? What do I still not understand?
iv. Assess- can I accurately summarize the material in my own words?
1. Teaching it back to another
g. How did your preparation compare with your expectation?
i. Consider ‘eflective writing… go beyond memorization and ask Questions.
h. Reflective analysis contributes to:
i. Cultivating the ability to question rather than accept
1. Critical thinking… you start with a framework, critique, create own
2. This comes from asking good questions
ii. Form, articulate, and accept responsibility for our views
1. Create ownership of your views with reasons for believing
iii. To discriminate between and evaluate a range of options
iv. To develop an increasing self-awareness
i. What does this have to do with Jesus… Bloom
i. In the ancient world:
1. Teachers taught through ‘’chreiai” (sayings)
a. Bc Jesus was a teacher and itinerate preacher he probably
said things on many occasions
b. The prodigal son is given in more than one context
i. Multiple teaching?
ii. Disciples applying it like good students in different
ways?
2. “Learners” (disciples) were to:
a. Recite the teachings of their Rabbi (memorization)
b. Inflect (say differently)
c. Expand (recite with addition)
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d. Condense (Recite with concision)
e. Comment (make positive remark)
f. Object (make critical remark)
g. Refute (argue against)
h. Confirm (argue for)
1. Blooms taxonomy… the levels of learning from
Top to Bottom
a. Create
b. Evaluate
c. Analyze
d. Apply
e. Understand
f. Remember
3. A theology of learning by Higton
a. The disciples learn not by accumulating their own
knowledge but by being those who can give away what
they learn on their own… knowledge is not something to
accumulate but something we are entrusted with to use
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Theology 201
9-26-16
1. Who is God?
a. View of God is culturally influenced
i. You don’t have to let it determine it but beliefs are often inherited
ii. America’s 4 God’s
Angered by sin?
a. Agree Disagree
God is involved in the world? Agree Authoritarian (53%) Benevolent
Disagree Critical Distant
b. How do we avoid culturally-determined view of God vs. biblically informed one?
i. Hermeneutically informed reading of scripture
ii. Conversation with the creeds and awareness of church history
iii. Critical engagement with cultural biases
1. Cultural exegesis- reflect on values of culture
c. The God who acts
i. CreationRelationCovenantExodusKingdomExileRestoration
1. Created so we could relate to him as his image bearers entering
into a covenant relationship with him... lots of covenants1 made
in OT, God frees Israel and makes new covenant, forms the
kingdom, they disobey and are exiled until God restores them.
2. The God of Exodus and Sinai is unique and the Awesome one: God
is able to be Holy and love the outcasts and struggle for justice.
a. God giving Moses a glimpse of his glory
2. Immanence and transcendence
a. Immanence- God is among us and with us
b. Transcendence- God is separate and apart from us in the world… He is other
c. Is God involved in the world or removed from it?
i. Scripture attests that God is both wholly-other from His creation and also
intimately involved with it
1. Isaiah 55:9 & Deuteronomy 4:7
a. Isaiah- God is superior and Transcendent
b. Deut- God is so near
i. They work together, he is both of those things
d. What does God’s immanence tell us about how he is at work in the world today?
i. Expect the miraculous
1. we think we are so advanced in the west that we often reject the
spiritual world thinking we’ll figure it all out.
2. We tend not to truly expect the miraculous bc it should be able to
be explained
ii. God works throughout all creation (Not just Christians)
1. David Hume
iii. God’s presence in the world reinforces its worth
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iv. God’s immanence means He is knowable to all people
1. Natural revelation
e. What does transcendence tell us about how he is at work in the world today?
i. Don’t always expect the miraculous
ii. There is a transcendent reality beyond the physical world
1. We often struggle dealing with this
2. The armor of God from Paul’s letter is so we can protect ourselves
from the principalities of darkness
iii. God can’t be exhaustively known
f. Transcendence and immanence are divine attributes
i. Not just what God does (Creator, Savior) but who God is.
1. They can’t be separated; He can’t act contradictory to his
character
ii. They are permanent or intrinsic qualities which cannot be gained or lost
1. Erikson pg.84
3. The nature of God and the Christian life
a. Considering:
i. God made the world
ii. God made humans to cultivate it (we have a purpose & job)
iii. God is present within it
b. What does this entail for how Christians live in God’s world?
i. We do more destruction than cultivating
1. Tree hugger (overboard) Vs. Creation care (thoughtful & routed)
ii. We often polarize and separate our belief from our ‘life’
1. We have meaning and are to conduct business until His return
2. We often think this only applies to ministering to others (verbal)
3. We live our everyday lives as an example for God as His image
bearers
a. How does the vocation we are doing tie into God’s
intention for us to do things for God’s glory
b. We conduct ourselves for god in everything as moral lights
for him.
iii. Comfort in the fact that God is still present in the bad
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Theology 201
9-28-16
1. Divine Greatness and Goodness
a. 3 nouns predicated (statements made) about God in Scripture:
1. They are not titles or adjectives
ii. God is Spirit
iii. God is Love
iv. God is Light
1. These are found in the gospel of John, and other places like Paul’s
letters
b. The divine life and work is manifested in the mutual relations of Father, Son, and
Spirit…
i. In other words, the unity of the Godhead is found in the shared divine
essence (nature) which unites and binds the relation of Father, Son, and
Spirit
c. ‘God is spirit’ is to affirm something about the divine essence not the HS
1. John 4:24 & 2 Corinthians 3:17 entails:
2. Life, self-existence, Holy (otherness), and Eternality (Not limited)
d. God is light (1 John 1:5) Entails:
i. Truthfulness, Purity, and revelation
e. God is love (1 John 4:8) Entails:
i. Benevolence, Personalness, and self-givingness
f. In a heuristic sense, all of the divine attributes can be tied to these three
essential predications about the nature of God
i. Spirit
1. Eternality, spirituality, life, constancy, self-existence, freedom,
power
ii. Love
1. Self-giving, mercy, patience, faithfulness, personalness
iii. Light
1. Purity, truthfulness, revelation, holiness,
[They are all connected to those 3 main ones]
g. How are these attributes of God represented in the narratives of scripture
(through God’s actions)?
i. Truthfulness, knowledge, authenticity, power, holiness, purity,
benevolence, eternality, spirituality, self-existence, freedom, constancy,
faithfulness, self-giving, mercy, personalness, life, love
h. How does understanding God as love, light, and spirit inform the Christian life?
i.
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Theology 201
10-3-16
1. The Trinity
a. Some Christians have denied or been suspicious of the doctrine of the Trinity
because “The Trinity” is not explicitly mentioned in scripture
i. Has been debated for centuries, dating all the way back to the time
surrounding the text- you get an extreme spectrum of thoughts
b. Why is this problematic?
i. Just bc you don’t see the phrase referred to directly in scripture doesn’t
mean the doctrine isn’t still located in the canonical text
1. Inerrancy doesn’t show up in the text, neither does hypostatic
union… these are terms Christians use to describe the scriptures.
2. Whatever God is doing in scripture so is the trinity, they are all
involved and participating in each divine work
c. Scripture gives two affirmations in tension with one another:
i. God is one/ there is only one God to worship
1. (Deut. 6:4 [the Lord is one], Exod. 20:2-4 [have no other gods
before me], 1 Cor. 8:4-6 [Jesusizing of the shemah], James 2:19
[even the demons know, you need more])
ii. The Father, Son, and Spirit in various ways are affirmed as having divine
properties and receiving glory/ worship
1. (1 Cor. 8:4-6 [Jesusizing of the Shemah], Phil. 2:5-11 [humbled and
given ‘the name’ above every name- YHWH], Acts 5:3-4 [you lied
to the spirit you have lied to God], Matt 28:19 [baptizing in the
name, one name, of Father, Son, & Holy Spirit], 2 Cor. 13:14
[grace of Jesus, love of God, and fellowship of Spirit])
d. The new testament also contains narratival affirmations of the Trinity:
i. Jesus’ Baptism (Matthew 3:16-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22)
1. Son being baptized, Spirit descending like a dove, Father is
speaking
ii. Jesus’ Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-12)
1. Spirit is driving Jesus into the wilderness and empowering Him as
He wrestles with Satan over what the Father has said
iii. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20)
e. The resolution to this tension in historic, orthodox Christian theology is the
doctrine of the Trinity.
i. If there are three persons presented as divine (Father, Son, and Spirit) yet
one God worthy of worship (or else, idolatry) there must be a way to
affirm the oneness of God represented in these three divine persons
f. Trinity History
i. The relation between the Father, Son, and the Spirit was one of the most
controversial issues in the early church
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1. Creates things, cults, such as modalism… he’s all 3 and is one at a
time!
ii. The discussion was largely promoted by the spreading of teaching
deemed heretical (Arianism, Modalism, tri-theism, adoptionism,
Apollinarism, doctrinism, Pneumatomochianism, monotheism, and
Nestorianism)
iii. The creeds were the result of much discussion and reflection by the early
church fathers
1. The Heresies were developing and as they did that’s what
prompted the response.
iv. What are some of the early Christian Creeds?
1. Nicaean Creed- (lengthened at Council at Constantinople for
second one), Apostles Creed, & Athenacian creed
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1. The Trinity (History)
Theology 201
10-5-16
a. The Apostles Creed (2nd-3rd Century)
i. “I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth…
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting, amen.”
ii. Doesn’t really give any reason just affirms it
b. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (325 & 381)
i. Affirmations about God as father, son and spirit are worshipped and
glorified together! These are clarifications but not focused.
ii. Christ (The son)-Begotten of the father before all ages
iii. Begotten not made
iv. One essence
v. HS- Proceeds from the father
c. The Chalcedonian Creed (451)
i. Jesus fully possessed two natures: fully God and fully man
1. Begotten before all ages
2. Only Begotten
d. The Athanasian Creed (500- part 1)
i. We worship One God in Trinity
ii. Trinity in Unity
iii. Neither confounding the person nor dividing the essence
1. They are fully distinct but not separable
iv. Such as the father is, such as the Son, such as the HS
1. The father, son, and HS are uncreated
2. The father, son, and HS are Unlimited
3. The father, son, and HS are Eternal
a. Not 3 eternals but 1 eternal
4. One created and one infinite almighty God
5. Not 3 Gods but 1 God- 3 persons distinct but in one divine essence
a. They all fully share in this divine essence, they are not
above each other but equally eternal and God
6. It’s about the relationship between the Father to the Son and the
Son to the Holy Spirit… all connected
a. Has to do with the begotten in the Gospel of John
i. How the father and son relate to each other
through begotten
ii. Not a language of creation but relation
7. They say it is a matter of salvation as far as belief in this or not.
e. Why trust the Creeds? (catholic means universal Church in these creeds)
i. Solos scriptura?
1. They are reminders and memorable summations of the text…
a. The scripture was not widely distributed and only in
churches or gatherings honestly
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2. The creeds are rooted in scripture taking all of it into
consideration- they hold the core beliefs of the faith
a. Other systems were influenced by other modes of
thought… example: gnostic gospels
3. Chronological snobbery- we are farther in time then everyone else
so we know better than everything else… we are really just
ignorant of history more often than not.
ii. The bible itself is creedal
1. (Deut. 6:4-5; Rom 10:9; 1 Cor. 8:6; 1 Cor. 12:3; 1 Cor. 15:3-6; Phil
2:6-11; 1 Tim 3:16)
2. Short expressions of belief people were expected to memorize
and retain and pass on.
iii. Creeds preserve doctrinal standards
1. They can give us a sense of unity that the church is bigger than
our denominations
2. W church is Latin, Eastern is Greek
2. Trinitarian Heresies
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1. Trinitarian Heresies
a. The Trinity is not…
Theology 201
10-10-16
i. Adoptionism- Jesus was a man who was adopted as “Son of God”
1. Deification
a. but Philippians 2- existed before a human
ii. Arianism- “there was a time when the Son was not”
1. (Jesus was created, not co-eternal)
a. Arius… the man who proliferated this creed as a chant
2. Divine Creation
iii. Modalism- There is one God who takes on three forms
1. Shape-shifter
a. Jesus baptism in John seems to counter very apparently
iv. Pneumatomachianism- The Holy Spirit is not a distinct divine person
1. Binitarianism
v. Partialism- The Godhead is made of three ’parts’: father, son, & Spirit
1. Voltron- 5 lions into 1 or Captain Planet- 5 rings into Cpt.
a. The Trinity is…
i. Based upon creedal affirmations, historic, Orthodox Christianity affirms:
1. One God- one divine essence
2. Three distinct persons (distinct but not separable)
3. The three persons do not make up’ the Godhead, but are each
fully God
a. Not Voltron or captain planet- God
4. Jesus Begotten
a. Not made but relates to the Father as Son
5. Holy Spirit proceeds
a. Not made but relates to the Father and Son
6. Trinity in Unity
ii. Trinitarian relations
1. Historically Jesus’ submission viewed as a function of incarnation
2. Jesus in His humanity submitted to the Father
3. Jesus in his Divinity is co-equal
4. Distinction on relations and roles, not in nature (economic Trinity)
i. Distinction is between what they do but not what
they are
b. Revelation: originates in Father, Proceeds through Son
(ultimate culmination of revelation), Completed in Spirit
i. The co-op with different roles to play
c. Salvation: Originates in the Father, accomplished by the
Son, Applied by the Spirit
d. Creation: Originates in the Father, through the Son,
perfected by the Spirit
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e. Prayer: Directed to the Father, through Son, in power of
Holy Spirit
f. Spiritual gifts: From the Father, by the Son, in the Spirit
5. Erikson cites Augustine and Calvin
a. The will of the Father that the Son came to do was actually
the decision of the three persons that the Son needed to
come
iii. The Trinity and the Christian Life
1. Unity and Diversity
a. The most segregated hour is 11am on a Sunday morning
b. There are distinctions in Humanity be we are to function
together in Unity
c. Unity doesn’t mean sameness… but being together despite
distinctions
2. Self-giving Love
a. A relational term so there needs to be people relating
b. You can’t affirm God as loving before the World in other
religions…
1. There has to be something to Love
2. He creates and then He loves
ii. The Trinity has an internal relationship of love
3. Community (perichoresis- Mutual indwelling)
4. Missio Dei
a. The mission of God…
i. It is participatory within the trinity, cooperatively
ii. Each have a unique role and they work together for
what God intends to accomplish
iii. He is inviting us into covenant with him as well
1. We are to participate as God already is
2. This challenged us to do these 4 things
5. Christopher hall- adding up the trinity
a. The personal relational nature of the Trinity
6. Thiselton
a. A well-known secular shortcoming is the aim of
‘independence’ and ‘self-sufficiency.’ Even God allows
himself to become interdependent with his intra
Trinitarian life.
iv. Questions to Answer
1. Look at picture on Phone
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Theology 201
10-14-16
1. God’s plan
a. What is your story?
b. What’s your story in light of the Bible’s story?
i. Narratives create worlds for us
1. They create a particular world, in the bibles case, is the
representation of the true world
a. What we are supposed to be about
ii. Bible presents itself as a story with a metanarrative connecting the books
together: the over-arching story
1. Creation Fall Redemption
a. What’s missing?
i. Genesis 4- Malachi
ii. Individualistic instead of cosmic
1. Focuses on sin and personal salvation
iii. Consummation…
c. Creation Fall Israel Jesus and Kingdom New creation
1. The OT frames what the gospels are about and why Jesus came
and why He did the way that He did
2. NT scholars agree that Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom of
God
a. Not only about salvation
i. Humans made in God’s image to rule over creation
ii. Sin introduces destruction and chaos instead of Shalom
3. Peace & goodness
4. Not just a personal consequence but messes up the whole world
through total depravity
iii. God calls a people (Abraham Isaac Jacob Moses David) to
restore the nations to knowledge and worship of God
5. Abrahamic Covenant
6. Jacob and Esau
7. They are sent to Egypt and Moses comes to lead through exodus
8. They leave and get the law, they are to look different, be a
kingdom of priests- Israel is to minister to the world… it’s their
vocation!
iv. God’s people are unfaithful and exiled
a. The kingdom is going to reign forever, they have the Assyrian
and Babylonian exile for each of the two parts or a divided Israel
b. Israel starts to return from exile but they don’t have the
restored kingdom like from the time of David and Solomon
v. Jesus (a Jew) restores and completes the divine plan
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a. God doesn’t give up on Abrahamic covenant as he is a
descendant of Abraham and David and this establishes the
eternal kingdom
vi. Jesus defeats the powers (sin, death, etc.) and inaugurates new
creation
a. The kingdom of God is here in restoration but the fullness of the
kingdom isn’t present yet…
b. This will come with the new heaven and new earth… new
Jerusalem that comes to earth
c. Goes back to genesis with the tree of life again in the new world
d. This restoration and fulfillment of the covenants and sin sets up
the consummation and solution for the whole world- not the
individual alone
d) The plan moves forward in the bible through covenants (Abrahamic Mosaic
Davidic New)
(i) This is setting to right the entire world… look at bigger story
b) Does God determine everything that happens?
i) Cancer? Abuse? Holocaust
ii) Foreknowledge- God knows everything before hand…
iii) Predestined/Foreordained- what does God determine
iv) Election- does God chose certain people to be saved
v) Reprobate- God knows who will choose and who won’t
vi) Sovereignty
vii) Free will
c) Spectrum of the debate
i) God foreknows and determines all vs. God foreknows and determines nothing
(1) Hard Calvinism/ Determinism
(a) Soft Calvinism/ Compatibilism- leaves room for free will
(i) Arminianism
1. Open Theism- God limits His foreknowledge and can’t know it all
a. Process Theology- God is learning along with us, growing and
learning
d) Models for divine Sovereignty
i) God is the Omni cause (determinism)
ii) God overpowers and empowers (calvinianism)
iii) God is voluntarily self-limited (free-will theism)
iv) God is essentially kenotic (love constrains sovereignty; open theism)
v) God sustains as an impersonal force (Pantheism)
vi) God is creator and observer (Deism)
vii) God’s ways are not our own ways (fideism)
(1) God has exhaustive foreknowledge…
(2) We have tension between God’s sovereignty and free will
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1. Creation in ANE Context
Theology 201
10-21-16
Non-essential= accidental
a. ANE= Ancient Near East
b. Four Major Elements
i. Assigning a function (bringing order to creation)
1. Doesn’t mean they aren’t bringing things into existence but God is
giving it a purpose
ii. Ordering of Temple (making a place for God’s presence to dwell)
1. Language in Gen. 1&2 is about God creating a temple for God to
dwell and Adam and Eve are given priestly duty to take care of
iii. Polemic against another ANE stories (God not capricious)
1. Attack against another ANE creation account like epic at
Gilgamesh… Gen. offers a counter narrative to other accounts
2. There is a petty war for dominance between the gods, they seem
to be very human
a. God is good and dominant, there is one God- not group
iv. Created as image bearers (humans reflect God and his work)
1. The ANE has humans to serve the gods and do their dirty work,
we are not created in the image of God with dignity like in Gen.
2. Creation vs. Evolution/Science
a. Thinking apologetically… defense of the faith
i. They aren’t asking and answering the same questions we are today
ii. This debate has come as a result of the Enlightenment
iii. People often don’t get conversion out of our view of Creation, has
presuppositions and assumptions… that’s what needs to be addressed
b. Naturalism the problem… make a distinction between evolution and naturalism
1. Naturalism says that all that exits is the material world
2. Evolution is a method of creation
ii. This Naturalism doesn’t account for: consciousness, physical constancy,
intentionality, fine-tuning, trust in cognitive faculties, morality, evil, love,
beauty, etc.
1. If we are totally random then how are we the same person we
were 20 years before, physically and mentally
2. We have a will to make decisions
3. Water in body, gravity, distance to earth of sun… all have to be
specific for life to have to exist
4. Things would just be what they are, ‘it is what it is’
5. (Planegas arguments)
3. Approaches to creation, major Christian camps
a. Young earth
i. Earth is young and we can look at genealogies
1. Apparent age- things were created full and whole already
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b. Progressive
i. Should we ignore science or account for it, bc nature is a source for
theology we can’t ignore this factor
1. Gap theory- literal days with gaps in between the days
2. Day age theory- day could be a thousand years, like when they say
in the psalms that a day is like a thousand to God
3. Framework hypothesis- says that maybe this is just a framework
ii. The earth is really old and we still need to think about Adam a historic
person
c. Theistic evolution
i. Genesis isn’t speaking to this question and the world came about by
evolution as God superintended
4. Problems for each of the 3 major views
a. Young earth creation
i. the star light doesn’t have time to travel to earth
ii. There is light and plants before the sun
iii. Accounting for basic scientific facts…
b. Progressive Creationism
i. Possibly the problem of death
ii. Some don’t hold to historical Adam and Eve
iii. These things are not apparent from the text, humans making space and
reading into this…
c. Theistic evolutionist
i. Death before creation of humanity, its prior to sin
ii. Adam isn’t a historical figure?
5. Elements of a doctrine of creation
a. Ex Nihilio (Gen. 1:1? Eph. 1:4, Heb. 1:10)
1. Universe came into existence at the will of God, ‘out of nothing’
2. Cosmological argument- universe came into existence so what
was the cause… The uncaused cause
3. God is not dependent upon creation
ii. Everything distinct from God was made (demons, Satan, etc.?)
1. These were created by God
iii. God’s creation was (and is, and will be) good
1. Now there is tension between our fallen world and his goodness
iv. The Trinitarian persons each played a part (1 cor. 8:6; john 1:3; Heb. 1:10)
b. Ex Amore
i. Created out of God’s love
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Theology 201
10-26-16
1. Metacognition
a. Preview
b. Attend
c. Review
d. Assess
2. The Problem of Evil
a. Star-wars has a dualistic view- we want the good guys to win but because of the
world they are in neither good nor bad will truly win…. More pantheistic
b. If Good-why evil?
i. David Hume- God is all willing but not able, or able but not willing?
1. He is all powerful and all good so why the problem
2. Give up on God’s goodness or his omnipotence
c. Spectrum of responses
i. Process theology- perhaps God is not omnipotent
ii. Some form of determinism- God is not good
iii. Atheism or Skepticism- God does not exist, or we aren’t sure
iv. Pantheism and some eastern religions- evil doesn’t exist
1. Evil is only there as much as you allow it to
2. Seems to fail and go against our intuitions and human nature
d. What is the theist to do?
i. 2 branches of the problem
1. Natural evil- those kinds of things that occur in nature that cause
destruction like natural disasters… something wrong with the
world (catastrophe)
2. Moral Evil- things that humans do like: Murder, Kidnapping,
terrorism… etc.
a. Often from viewing things from a distance
3. Existential evil- things happen specific to us and confront us… we
personally experience evil
a. Creates theological Questions but also evokes deep
emotions or responses
b. Their personal experience can sometimes create a barrier
for people to believe in a good God… goes beyond logic
e. The fall… but what about the snake?
i. Sin is part of the problem and wrecking the world… it’s part of the moral
evil spinning the world into evil
ii. The snake already existed before the fall and he tempted Adam and Eve,
the evil is already present
iii. A Theodicy Philosophical framework to address the problem that has
some form of biblical correspondence… normally dealing in the realm of
ideas
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1. One solution doesn’t always necessarily take us all the way- it’s a
theodicy not the theodicy because multiple approaches.
2. We take a layered response to the problem of sin just like the
Bible does
f. Canonical approaches to evil (D. Rishmawy)
i. Retributive (what goes around comes around; Deuteronomist Lit)
1. In acts Ananias and sephirah lie to God and are immediately killed
ii. Sapiential (evil teaches us; Proverbs)
1. Good can come from evil and we can learn from it, wisdom
iii. Eschatological (God will deal with it; prophets, Paul, revelation)
1. End times and things to come… God will deal with and vanquish
all evil someday
iv. Mysterious (We can’t understand it; Job)
1. We can still ask questions but since we are humans we are limited
v. Communion (God is with us during it)
1. Shown in the cross when God enters human flesh and dies/
suffers for humanity… He comes and takes evil upon Himself
g. Major Christian theistic approaches
i. Soul-making defense
1. God allows evil to further us and let us grow more because we
learn from it (Sapiential)
2. Athletics you have to train and workout- there are days you love it
and days it’s hard but if you don’t shock and work your muscles
then you don’t get strong… of no challenged how will you grow
3. Evil forms our character through how we respond to it
4. Possible drawbacks and problems...
a. Does this make evil necessary?
b. Are there any evils we can’t conceive sufficient good of?
i. Holocaust
ii. Genocides in Africa
iii. Terrorism
1. We don’t seem to be able to justify this evil
ii. Divine Command Theory
1. Addresses an aspect of the problem… framed as the youthafrow
dilemma (A dialogue with Plato)
2. “Is something good because God commands it, or does God
command it because it’s good.”
a. This says that God’s command makes it good…
i. Natural evil vs. Justice
ii. We often don’t understand this
3. Weakness…
a. This seems to make goodness arbitrary
i. Free will theodicy
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1. This one seems to get us the farthest, plantinga is one of the
modern proponents
2. The largest evils we see in the world are moral evils and God
deemed it good to create creatures that are good, so even
knowing evil would result of their freedom it was outweighed by
good of having the ability for love of God through free will and
choice.
a. He knew they would both use and abuse the freedom
given
ii. The cross and Resurrection
1. This should be at the center of how we think about this
theologically
2. He is personal and became a man to die (Philippians 2) He does
this to deal with the evil of the world… God detests the evil
enough to take it on and die for us
a. He doesn’t just say He’s opposed but he’s already taken
action and that’s how we know God will take evil out in
the end eventually
b. Gives us picture of the end when we are raised in victory
over death and life (1 Corinthians 15)
c. If Jesus wasn’t raised, then God’s promises are empty
i. But that’s not the case… Jesus is our hope
h. Major common threads
i. Finite, free creatures will inevitably choose evil
i. Evil only ‘exists’ with the good
1. Can’t explain either of these from a naturalist’s approach
2. Good and evil’s existence points to a theistic worldview
ii. God works good, not evil
1. He is not the cause of evil, He’s working to bring good
a. There’s an extent of ourselves and limitations that we
have to accept in this view- job
iii. Can’t fully solve/ answer it bc we don’t have God’s perspective
iv. The cross and resurrection ultimately defeats it
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Theology 201
9-7-16
Dr. Chris Gnanakan
1) Context- CH2… Contextualizing the Christian Message
a) 2 Spheres of contextualization
i) Retaining content and meaning (there and then) of message and applying it to our
present life-settings
ii) Relevance and application (Here and Now)
(1) 3 Lessons todays culture/ context
(2) 3 approaches to “contextualization”
(3) 4 theories: elements of permanence… how things work
(4) 5 criteria for doctrinal permanence
(5) The nature of contextualizing “Truth”
(i) How to be faithful to the text and consider/respect the context
b) Contextualizing is making the biblical message understandable to us today
i) A text without it’s context becomes a pretext
ii) Difficulty of doing 21rst century theology
(1) Translation/communication: “say what?!”
(2) Transportation: Gone in 60 seconds! ->>>
(a) Going to take time, effort, and contextualization
(b) Not transactional but relational… The gospel is God’s love letter to us
(3) Trade and Commerce: it’s all about the bucks
c) We need unity but at what price? Closer look at our contemporary “Context”
i) Lifespan of schools: St. Augustine B. McLaren
(1) This is where we get theology and we change with the times keeping roots
ii) Systems/ schools of thought vs. independent thinker
(1) Calvinistic, reformed… splitting church
iii) Commit: Absolute Truth vs. Situational Ethics
iv) Issue: Relevance vs. Tolerance Compromise?
v) Uniformity, homogeneity, diversity… Syncretism
d) Preaching as ex..
e) It’s a whole new world, it’s shrunk; we’re all wired together
i) The challenge of contextualization
(1) To make God’s unchanging and revealed word of truth (text) relevant and
applicable to our always changing complex world. (contexts)
(a) 3 Contextual spheres
(i) My messy world
1. Mesiocentric culture- it’s all about us
(ii) The biblical world- Greek, look at antiquity
(iii) The other nations- the center of the being
(2) Who is a cross-cultural missionary? 3B’s…
(a) You are crossing boundaries in contextualization…
(i) Geographic, socioeconomic, language,
(b) Penetrating barriers
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(c) Become a bridge, a living bridge
(i) People walk all over you
(3) Culturalization is building, becoming, and being bridges
(4) Ancient text contemporary text
(5) Effective communication
(6) Biblically faithful yet culturally sensitive.
f) 3 approaches to contemporalization
i) Presenter- don’t say the word, let the word
ii) Transformers- change all to make sense
iii) Translators- nothing is ‘lost in translation’
(1) Dynamic equivalence… stay as close to original text while being understandable
(2) Danger- dilutes, disillusions,
