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Faith: Understanding God and Belief in Him

Explore the study of God and the importance of belief in Him, delving into faith, the existence of God, and reconciling suffering with God's goodness.

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Faith: Understanding God and Belief in Him

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Presentation Transcript

  1. Faith I believe in God Basic Theology, Part 1

  2. What is Theology? • Theology is the study of God • Our primary source is Holy Scripture • Through theology we discover who God is and why God matters

  3. What is Theology? • The 3 Legged Stool • Scripture • Reason • Tradition • Scripture is the source of theology • Reason and Tradition are the tools of theology

  4. I believe in God • What does it mean to believe in God? • Is it simply an intellectual assent to a particular set of facts? • Or, does it also involve personal commitment?

  5. I believe in God “Faith is not only the assent of our minds to doctrinal propositions: it is the commitment of our whole selves into the hands of a faithful Creator and merciful Redeemer” -William Temple (1881-1944)

  6. What is faith? • The content of faith vs. the act of faith • Fides quae creditur (the faith we believe) • An objective set of beliefs • Fides qua creditur (the faith by which we believe) • Refers to a subjective act of trust or assent by which individual believers accept and appropriate the basic ideas of the Christian faith

  7. What is faith? • Fides quae creditur • Understanding the mechanics of how a parachute works • Fides qua creditur • Jumping out of the airplane

  8. What is faith? • Faith involves an attitude of informed trust in God

  9. Can God’s existence be proved? • The existence of God is something that reason cannot prove conclusively. Yet the fact that the existence of God lies beyond reason does not mean that the existence of God is contrary to reason • Certain excellent reasons may be put forward for suggesting that God exists; these do not, however, count as “proofs” in the sense of “rigorous logical demonstrations” or “conclusive scientific experiments.” • Faith is about trust in God, rather than just accepting that God exists.

  10. Can God’s existence be proved? • Thomas Aquinas • Pointers towards the existence of God • “General Revelation” • The world mirrors God, as its creator • Thus, something of God’s nature can be known from the creation • Specifically, it is the ordering of the world that is the most convincing evidence of God’s existence and wisdom

  11. Can God’s existence be proved? • The argument from movement/change • For every motion there is a cause • Each cause must also have a cause • Therefore, there must be a single cause or “Prime Mover” at the origin of the series

  12. Can God’s existence be proved? • The teleological argument • The world shows obvious traces of intelligent design • William Paley’s watch

  13. Are proofs of God’s existence of any use? • Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) - 2 major concerns • These “proofs” present an abstract philosophical “god” rather than the God of the Old and New Testaments • These “proofs” assume that God was known primarily through reason, but for Pascal, belief in God comes through our heart. • Thus the existence of God cannot be proved, but it also cannot be disproved.

  14. Faith is beyond reason by not contrary to reason • Pope John Paul II • Faith and reason are not mutually exclusive, but rather can work together • “The truth made known to us by Revelation is neither the product nor the consummation of an argument devised by human reason.” • At the same time, faith is not blind trust

  15. Faith is beyond reason by not contrary to reason • John Polkinghorne • “Faith is not a question of shutting one’s eyes, gritting one’s teeth, and believing the impossible. It involves a leap, but a leap into the light rather than the dark.”

  16. Martin Luther Faith is fundamentally trust Fiducia - Confidence Faith is about trusting a God who makes promises and whose promises may be relied upon Faith and God’s promises

  17. Faith and God’s promises • 3 Points: • Faith has a personal, rather than a purely historical, reference. • It is not enough to just believe these things happened, it is about believing that they matter for you

  18. Faith and God’s promises • 3 Points: • Faith concerns trust in the promises of God • Faith is not merely believing that something is true; it is being prepared to act upon that belief, and rely upon it. • The foundation of one’s faith matters far more than its intensity

  19. Faith and God’s promises • 3 Points: • Faith unites the believer to Christ • Faith is not an assent to an abstract set of doctrines • Rather, it is the response of the whole person of the believer to God, which leads in turn to the real and personal presence of Christ in the believer

  20. If God is good, why is there suffering and pain in the word? How can the presence of evil or suffering be reconciled with the Christian affirmation of the goodness of the God who created the world? Faith and doubt: the problem of suffering

  21. Irenaeus of Lyons Human nature is a potentiality - something that emerges Spiritual maturing cannot happen without the experience of both good and evil Faith and doubt: the problem of suffering

  22. John Hick Human beings are created incomplete To become what God intends, they need to participate in the world Human beings were created to respond freely to God and the good Good and evil are thus necessary presences within the world, in order that informed and meaningful human development may take place Faith and doubt: the problem of suffering

  23. Alvin Plantinga Free will is morally important If human beings were forced to only do good it would be a denial of free will God must bring into being the best possible world Thus, God must create a world with free will This means that God is not responsible if human beings choose to do evil Faith and doubt: the problem of suffering

  24. Jurgen Moltmann The suffering of Christ on the cross is both the foundation and the criterion of an authentically Christian theology since the suffering of Christ is the suffering of God. The God who cannot suffer is deficient rather than perfect The suffering of God is the direct consequence of the divine decision to suffer, and the divine willingness to suffer God chooses to share the suffering of the world Faith and doubt: the problem of suffering

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