kreeft4 nature god

8/3/2019 Kreeft4 Nature God

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/kreeft4-nature-god 1/18

CHAPTER 4:

THE NATURE OF GOD

POCKET HANDBOOK OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS (2003)

PETER KREEFT & RONALD TACELLI

Tuesday 22 November 2011



The proofs suggested in the

previous section all are based on

something familiar to us - e.g. theidea of morality. They then

encourage us to ask real ‘good’

questions about what is familiar -

such as how does the materialworld exist? The problem is that

some of the answers are not to be

found in our experience of this

world, in what is familiar and finite -

so the problem then becomes that

we are going to end up answering

in ways and ideas that are

unfamiliar to us.




Language about God

If God is so mysterious how can

language which refers to the world

we know, adequately be used of

him?

The good thing is that God is the

answer to these questions - He

being the cause of such phenomena,

and by meditating on the effects wesee, we can then get some light

about God from them, even if it is

only a pinpoint of light at that.




For example in physics some

recurring effects are seen and what

produces them are given names -the cause is not directly observed

but still what causes the effect is

named and ascribed certain

properties too.We cannot take this too far as

things like gluons and muons are

part of the physical world - God

created it! God does not exist in

physicality like the world we live in

does - in fact it is the properties we

observe that make us ask the

questions about him.




For example in physics some

recurring effects are seen and what

produces them are given names -the cause is not directly observed

but still what causes the effect is

named and ascribed certain

properties too.We cannot take this too far as

things like gluons and muons are

part of the physical world - God

created it! God does not exist in

physicality like the world we live in

does - in fact it is the properties we

observe that make us ask the

questions about him.

Gluons are elementary particles which actas the exchange particles (or gauge bosons)

for thecolor force between quarks, analogousto the exchange of photons in theelectromagnetic force between two charged

particles.

The muon is an elementary particle similarto the electron, with a unitary negative electric

charge and a spin of½. Together with theelectron, the tau, and the three neutrinos, it is

classified as a lepton. As is the case with otherleptons, the muon is not believed to have anysub-structure at all (i.e., is not thought to be

composed of any simpler particles).


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tau_(particle)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_charge


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elementary_particle


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charged_particle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_force


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_force

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(physics)












http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gauge_boson





































This is more than saying God is outthere, or that God is always there

(though those are true). God is the

source of being for all things. For

every creature there is a differencebetween their essence and their

existence - a difference between

the fact that things are and what

they are. Limited things by their

essence are existential zeros - they

have a need for being that they

cannot supply themselves.




This is more than saying God is outthere, or that God is always there

(though those are true). God is the

source of being for all things. For

every creature there is a differencebetween their essence and their

existence - a difference between

the fact that things are and what

they are. Limited things by their

essence are existential zeros - they

have a need for being that they

cannot supply themselves.

God exists Absolutely




If God is the answer to the needfor being then he cannot suffer

from the same need - thus there

is no space between the fact

that God is and what he does.

He is not caused by some other

being - in effect being belongs

to him. God must be identicalwith the fulness of his being.




God is infinite

Any finite being is limited and

needs another condition orcause for its existence.

God, therefore, cannot be

finite or limited.

God is infinite, utterly

limitless.




If God is infinite there cannot

be many Gods - there can only

be one. God exists without limit

therefore there cannot be

another outside of him - soGod must be one

God is one




That is he is not a material

being - being material

means having a body,

which in turn would be

limited and subject tochange .

God is spiritual




God is not subject to time - for he is

the creator of all things that change,in fact all things that are subject to

change question their own being -

God does not.

The Incarnation shows this, God, inChrist, took on human nature

(including choosing to be limited by

time and space). - e.g. only if a bird

flies in the air (and doesnt swim inthe sea) can it then dive into the sea,

that is enter into the sea. In the same

way because God is not temporal he

can enter into time.

God is eternal


G



God cannot be a part of the universe - if

he were he would be limited by the other

parts of it - as creator of all things he gives

being to everything. God being other than

his creation is what is meant by the

transcendence of God.However at the same time God is present

in all things - they cannot be set over and

against him for then he would be limited

by them.Note that this does not men God is

everything (Pantheism) nor does it go

towards deism where God is distant from

creation, allowing it to run its own course.

God is transcendentand imminent




God is the creator and

sustainer of all things -

chemical elements, all physical

beings etc. These all haveintelligible structure and fit into

intelligible structures around

them. Therefore all the

intelligible structure is part of

the work of intelligence, the

work of the creator - who must

in turn be intelligent.

God is intelligent


G



There are no real barriers to God’s knowing

or acting - after all he created everything

and sustains it, so how can there be

something he doesn’t know, or doesn’t have

power over? God’s will cannot be thwarted -unless God himself chooses to allow that,

as in allowing humans to choose to sin.

Even there it presupposes omnipotence and

is not an argument against it.

More could have been said - for example

about God’s love - but that is not the

intention here.

God is omniscientand omnipotent




Kreeft says that most Christians

agree God is not a ‘he’ as;1. He does not have a physical body

2. Women are not essentially inferior

to men.

So, should we defend the use of themale pronoun for God?

- are we allowed to change the

names given in the Bible and used

by Christ? Is the Bible to beinterpreted culturally in this way?

CS Lewis “Christians believe that

God himself has told us how to refer

to him.”

Is God a HE?




Historical precedent defends the

use of he - only Judaism of all theancient religions only had God

revealed as male - in the imagery

man enters a women to make her

pregnant, so God impregnates our

souls with grace or supernatural

life from without - a woman

cannot impregnate herself, theuniverses cannot create itself and

the soul cannot redeem itself.




The three religions descending from

Abraham all have this in common -

the transcendent God creating nature

out of nothing and a refusal to call

God a “she” - though the Bible has

some verses referring to feminine

attributes;

- Isa 49:15, Isa 66:13, Isa 46:3

So a masculine pronoun protects us

from the idea that nature is born from

God as a woman rather than created,and, the grace of God against the

idea that we might save ourselves -

both of these ideas have been

inevitable and ubiquitous in religion

kreeft4 nature god

Documents