are strongly in-line with Natural Law. Many Christians adopt deontological positions and think we should act according to God's design or purpose for our lives. They may be less influenced by Aquinas in this, and Protestants tend to be less sure about moral absolutes. However, there is still a strong sense of following rules within most Christian denominations. Aquinas said: “Consequently, law must needs concern itself mainly with the order that is in beatitude.” From this we can see that the Bible played a big part in the development of Natural Law; this proves that Christians make moral decisions through a multiple of different ways.
Placher finishes by saying that if we really believe and trust in the Bible, we should be willing to put the effort in to better understand the Bible. “Is the Bible true?” In William C. Placher’s article, “Is the Bible true?” he begins his argument by stating his claim that the Bible is indeed true, but also by trying to find a different way of explaining how the Bible is true. He proceeds to point out that his thesis entails two main claims: what the Bible means is true and we can trust the Bible as a guide. By exploring these two claims thoroughly, Placher has broadened the understanding of the importance of knowing how culture has changed over time and how people would have read and interpreted scripture throughout history.
However, it appears that the shift in focus can drastically change the interpretations in the Bible. Ultimately, fundamentalists accept as true the inerrancy of the Bible as rationale. However, Wesleyans tend to take away that “the proof of the gospel resides primarily in its being lived, in transformed life, not in logic and argumentation.” Two entirely different understandings of the same Bible, exemplifies another key contrast among fundamentalists and
1. After reviewing pages 454-459, 432-436 of your textbook, respond to the following: * Identify the differences between deductive and inductive arguments. * Additionally, explain how misleading reasoning is used to influence others. * Then, select a topic of interest to you and explain how you would come up with a reliable sample for obtaining peoples' opinions. 2.
2 EXPERIENTIAL APOLOGETICS One form of apologetics is called “Experiential Apologetics”. This method of apologetics asks “Have we experienced God?” We know God exists because we have been able to 3experience His being around us. This is very much the same as fideism, which is reliance on faith rather than reason in the pursuit for religious truth (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Experiential apologists could use their personal testimony, which is a vital
Tillich defined God as the ‘ground of being’ and ‘our ultimate concern’ because God is the basis of all that exists and also the meaning behind all that exists. Therefore a sense of participation in God does not alienate us from the nature of this world; neither do our sense experiences in this world alienate God from us. In fact symbols are a very experiential idea, for example “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9.5) uses the symbol of light which empirically
Alan Torrance, in his article titled ‘Being of One Substance with the Father,’ discuses a very important topic concerning Jesus and God the Father. Through his article he hits on many theological points that have very heavy meanings. There are three points that seem to come through throughout the paper; Jesus being one with the father, the Athanasius and Arius debate, and Jesus fully human yet fully divine. The very first sentence of this article describes the first point Alan is trying to make in his article, “At the very heart of the Nicene Creed stand the affirmation that Jesus Christ is ‘God from God, Light from Light, true God form true God, … God came not merely in a human being but as a human.’ This is a resounding topic that Alan keeps driving home throughout this paper; Jesus is fully human and fully divine. We see examples of Jesus being fully human and fully divine all over the New Testament, but we find out that some people only regard the New Testament as “functional” rather than “ontological.” Alan then goes on to tell us that this claim has been shaped differently in the last thirty years so as to say that homoousion exemplifies forms of Christianity that are
This leads to the famous objection that he uses the existence of God to establish his doctrine of clear and distinct ideas, and that he uses his doctrine of clear and distinct ideas to establish the existence of God: his argument is circular. It seems that Descartes says that firstly “I am certain that God exists only because I am certain of whatever I clearly and distinctly perceive” but secondly
Professor Barbara C. Sproul REL 205 Section 001 5 February 2013 Being or Not-Being Paul Tillich’s “Religion as a Dimension in Man’s Spiritual Life” is his argument against two groups of people, the Literal Theologians and Social Scientist. The Literal Theologians believe that Religion is given by God and he does exist as a being. While the Social Scientist argues that Religion is a man made and God is a being who does not exist. Tillich in the middle of this has a side that he supports and that side is neither. Paul Tillich argues against the literal theologians and the social scientists as well.
Summary In the book, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, Entwistle examines two disciplines that share an interest in how human beings function. He goes in depth about the worldviews, models of integration, and philosophical foundations that shape the relationship between psychology and theology. Both disciplines are very helpful in understanding human beings and can be integrated as long as the methodologies and fundamental teachings do not contradict each other. Whether we find the truth through psychology or the Bible “all truth is God’s truth, so that where and however truth is discovered, its author is God” (Entwistle, 2010 p.13). Many people would not agree that Christianity and theology cannot be integrated, but in actuality it can.