Tag Archives: Orthodoxy

What do we mean when we say “God”?

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This quarter we are going teaching on the Foundations of the Christian Life. We are using C. Michael Patton’s book, Now That I’m a Christian, as a guide (see review here). I also used Thomas Oden’s Classic Christianity as a reference.

This week we examined the topic of God and tackled the question: What do we mean when we say God?

A.W. Tozer (in Knowledge of the Holy) writes:

What is God like? If by that question we mean ‘What is God like in Himself?’ there is no answer. If we mean ‘What has God disclosed about Himself that the reverent reason can comprehend?’ there is, I believe, an answer both full and satisfying. For while the name of God is secret and His essential nature incomprehensible, He in condescending love has by revelation declared certain things to be true of Himself. These we call His attributes.

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It would seem to be necessary … to define the word attribute …an attribute of God is whatever God has in any way revealed as being true of Himself. … If an attribute is something true of God, it is also something that we can conceive as being true of Him. God, being infinite, must possess attributes about which we can know. An attribute, as we can know it, is a mental concept, an intellectual response to God’s self-revelation.

but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me that I am the LORD – Jeremiah 9:24

In this class we primarily tackled the Essential attributes of God and how we can know them.

We come to know God by:

  • Examining His actions
    • Studying Creation (Rom 1:20)
    • Sending His Son reveals how much God loves people and wants them to be saved (John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:4)
  • Studying the statements made by Prophets
    • you cannot tolerate wrongdoing (Habakkuk 1:13)
    • I the Lord do not change (Malachi 3:6)
  • Examining the Life of Christ
    • Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (John 12:45; 14:7-9)
    • The more clearly God is seen in Christ, the less ambiguously God is seen everywhere else. – Thomas Oden
  • Studying the Names of God
    • El-Roi (God who Sees) highlights God’s omnipresence and His care for us in troubles first used by Hagar in the wilderness (Gen 16:13)
    • Yahweh-Jirah (The Lord provides) highlights God’s care and provision for us first used by Abraham when a ram was provided as a substitute for Isaac (Gen 22:14)

Attached are the slides used in class for those that are interested (Foundations God)

8 of the Best Features of Calvinism (or Christianity)?

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Tim Challies, noted author and blogger, wrote a post called “8 Features of the Best Kind of Calvinism“. In this post he examines Ian Hamilton’s new short booklet What Is Experiential Calvinism? (amazon). The answer is that Calvinism is much “deeper and richer” than TULIP. Another reviewer (link) of this work writes:

Calvinism has sadly been reduced to five points and characterized as a cold academic system of thought. Ian Hamilton has set out to recast it in a light that is more true to its heritage and intent.

Challies’ post goes on to list 8 features of experiential Calvinism. Many of these “marks of experiential Calvinism”, listed in Challies’ post, are captured in “Heart-Warming Calvinism”, an article by Ian Hamilton (link).

I offered my thoughts as a comment and repost them, with some additions, here.

I often hear Calvinists express frustration along the lines that Calvinism is a view that means more than TULIP. As someone who does not adhere to Reformed doctrines, I still would heartily agree; Calvinism is much more than TULIP. There is much common ground between Calvinists and non-Reformers. That can be seen in these features, however, because most of them are not exclusively Calvinism. They are Christian. Continue reading →

An Ancient Theologian takes an ironic look at Judgment Day

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497px-TertullianTertullian closes out his work, Prescription against Heretics, reminding his readers that we all will stand at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:10). In his mind he imagines all of the excuses that the heretics and those they deceived will offer to Christ for their rejection of Him.

Allowing his imagination to continue, Tertullian, with unmistakable sarcasm, paints a picture of what judgment might look like for the disciples of Christ who endured in their faith should the heretics prevail in their argument and be given entrance into the kingdom. Each biting comment is a jab at one of the false doctrines that were prevalent during his time. The text (in italics) that follows is an excerpt from the concluding chapter of his book.

If, however, any, being mindful of the writings and the denunciations of the Lord and the apostles, shall have stood firm in the integrity of the faith, I suppose they will run great risk of missing pardon, when the Lord answers: Continue reading →