The nature of God

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  • Created by: Sc1602
  • Created on: 04-01-20 11:11
What does it mean to say that God is impassible?
he experiences no human feelings
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What does it mean to say that God is immutable?
he is unchangeable
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The Old Testament reveals a God who transcends all that exists, so nothing...
can cause a change to his inner emotional state
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however, in the Old Testament, God seems to...
show a range of emotions (e.g. love, grief, compassion)
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The New Testament reveals a God...
incarnate in Jesus Christ
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Jesus is a human, so unlike the Father he is...
passible
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Jesus' passibility doesn't affect the...
impassibility of his divine nature (it had always been God's plan to overcome suffering with resurrection)
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Some Christians have questioned this traditional view, asking if...
Christians can have faith in a God who is immune to suffering (genocide, war, violence?)
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Jurgen Moltmann argued that...
God suffers with humanity
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Jurgen Moltmann's book
"The Crucified God" (1972)
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What 2 ideas did Moltmann purport to answer?
1. Jesus' cry from the cross 2. What the cross means today
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Mark 15:34
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
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Moltmann argued that Christian hope based on resurrection cannot be liberating unless...
it "apprehends the pain of the negative"
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Moltmann saw Christian identity as...
identification with the crucified Christ
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Did Moltmann say that God does or does not suffer?
God suffers with those who suffer
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Moltmann argued that we must truly understand...
what the cross symbolises
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He said that the Catholic offering of Mass...
denies the finality of Christ's death
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What did Moltmann conclude the meaning of Jesus' cry to be?
In the cross, the Father and the Son are divided
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What did Moltmann say happened at the resurrection?
The Father and the Son are reunited in intimate friendship
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Moltmann argued that we should not forget that the crucified Jesis is...
God
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Moltmann argued that God is not greater than...
he is in his humiliation on the cross
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What does Moltmann say about Protest Atheism?
The issue is resolved in the cross, as God himself protested against evil through death)
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What does Moltmann dismiss as Docetism?
The heresy that Christ didn't suffer because he was not human
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What did Moltmann conclude that the cross means today?
The cross was the start of the divine process where the death of the Son and the grief of the Father leads to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit
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Do Christians traditionally believe that God is male or female?
No, God exists in a form that defies male and female categories
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In both the Hebrew and Greek languages of the Bible, God is consistently referred to as...
"Father" (and use masculine pronoun "he")
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Jesus, who was God incarnate, was...
male
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what pronoun is traditionally used when talking about the Holy Spirit?
"He"
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God is likened to a human Father, which highlights that he... (3)
provides, loves and disciplines
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Although Jesus was a man whilst on earth, John 1:1 highlights...
"the Word was with God and was God," suggesting that Jesus is neither male nor female
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What 2 ideas does God's Fatherhood convey in the New Testament?
1. He is creator of the world (lordship over creation) 2. The relationship that Jesus has with the Father (approachable and personal deity, Jesus encouraged his disciples to call God "Father", loving kindness)
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Name 3 places in the Bible that God is portrayed in female terms
1. Isaiah 66:13 (God as a comforting mother) 2. Matthew 23:37 ("as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings") 3. Luke 15:8-10 (God as a woman searching for a lost coin)
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John 4:24
"God is Spirit"
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Galatians 3:28
"There is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus"
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If God is not male or female, can he identify with us?
He can identify with the needs of all people as he created imago dei (Gen 1:27)
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Who is Sallie McFague?
an American theologian who writes from an ecofeminist perspective
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What was the title of McFague's book?
Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language (1982)
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McFague argues that all language about God is...
Metaphorical (ways we think about God e.g. Father, King etc)
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What 4 issues does McFague point out about the metaphors we use to describe GOd?
1. Say very little about God's true nature 2. Often turn into idols 3. Miss the mark 4. Become outdated with time
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McFague wants to provide...
new metaphors which are relevant today
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Some would argue that masculine language conveying God's unilateral, sovereign rule has led to...
the abuse of the natural world and dominion by men
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McFague says that if we called God "Mother," the world would not be ruled by God, but...
the world would be part of God's body or womb
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What is pantheism?
The belief that to harm nature is to harm God
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McFague says that the image of God as Mother gives rise to...
female (not feminine) images of God (e.g. birth, nursing, caring) which highlight reliance on God
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McFague goes on to develop three metaphors to replace the traditional Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These are...
Mother, Lover and Friend
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What does it mean to say that God is immutable?

Back

he is unchangeable

Card 3

Front

The Old Testament reveals a God who transcends all that exists, so nothing...

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

however, in the Old Testament, God seems to...

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

The New Testament reveals a God...

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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