This is seen in the Bible when miracles occur and also when god punishes the world. This suggests that this concept of god may be subject to change and that he is affected by the world. God is also changed by prayer as he is happier with his creation when they live peacefully, and they pray to and worship God. The Prime mover contrasts sharply. He is self-contemplatory therefore does not think about the world and is transcendent, hence he is not subject to cause and effect.
Calvin’s idea of predestination suggests that some people are God’s ‘elect’ and that, after death, these ‘elect’ will join God in heaven. Believers in predestination claim that our actions, whether ‘elect’ or ‘damned’, are predestined or decided by God; meaning that we have very little, if any at all, free will in our decision making or actions. This theory of predestination often leads people to believe in a God ‘who favours some but not all of his creation’, which would be intrinsically linked to miracles in the sense that, regardless of what we do, God has already decided whether he will interact with the world or perform a miracle. Miracles, in this sense, are seen not as unsystematic breaches of natural law but rather as the eternal intention of God for the world. For this reason, people who agree with Calvin in believing in predestination often find it difficult to understand why miracles aren’t common occurrences.
The two definitions of omniscient each raise different problems, the former raises questions about God’s omnipotence, as one needs to assess if the laws of nature can limit an omnipotent God. The latter raises problems as, if He exists outside of time as an eternal creator and knows the past, present and future simultaneously, do we still have free will? Problems to God’s omniscience highlighted in Book 5 is Molina who states that God does not interfere with humans choices or decisions, but merely observes all possible outcomes and thus sees the past, present and future simultaneously, fitting with an eternal God. Aquinas gives the image of a man standing on a mountain and witnessing the whole road and everything that happens on it and the various paths we may take. However, it is important to note how the man on the mountain does not influence any choices and so just because one sees what is happening, this does not mean that it in any way influences the decisions made.
God also makes a promise to Jacob and doesn’t give him a mission like he does with Moses, emphasising that with different visions come different messages. The actuality of the image of God appearing before man also raises people’s attentions and also suggests that this is definitely a vision from God because according to the bible Christians are not supposed to see the God as a human figure until they reach heaven. The previous examples also highlight that not all visions are the same; they can happen in different ways, such as dreams or physical experiences. In the case of Hildegard
The divine life makes us divine in the sense that we share God’s life. It does not make us divine in the sense that we become God or ‘part God’. Such an idea would be absurd. Even in heaven, seeing and loving God face to face, we shall never lose our identities, our individuality, and our complete dependence on God. When, in the fullness of time,” God sent the long promised Redeemer, he sent not merely a human empowered to teach and act in his name, but his only-begotten Son.
Paul Tillich argues against the literal theologians and the social scientists as well. He says that “religion has rediscovered its true place in man’s spiritual life, namely, in its depth, out of which it gives substance, ultimate meaning, judgment and creative courage to all functions of the human spirit.” (Tillich 9) In my opinion and it may be clouded by my religion, which is Christianity, is that God does exist and one will not
To what extent can God reveal himself through sacred writings? God reveals himself through many mediums including through sacred writings, personal revelations and general revelations, like the general beauty and order in the world. In sacred writings God always either reveals rules and orders, propositional revelation or he reveals himself through, non-propositional e.g God is all loving as he created earth and sent Jesus to earth to die for our sins ; this is where sacred writings are up for debate as it is unclear and open to interpretation as to whether god wishes to reveal himself or propositions by which we should live our life; this straight away limits the extent to which God can reveal himself as people always believe there is a general message behind a sacred writing which is propositional. As well as revealed theology e.g. sacred writings, according to Thomas Aquinas we as humans can use reason to determine god’s attributes without divine intervention, this is called natural theology “The existence of God and other like truths about God, which can be known by natural reason, are not articles of faith, but are preambles to the articles; for faith presupposes natural knowledge, even as grace presupposes nature and perfection the perfectible.” So according to Thomas Aquinas natural theology consists of attributes and natures of god that we can understand e.g.
Tozer emphasizes the power of worshiping God. He criticizes a large number of Christians for their substitutes for worship. The reason for man’s existence is to worship God for how loving he is. What man does in the day must be somehow focused toward worshiping God in order to fill the role in his creation. Humans lack true worship for a few reasons.
Things that should guide people towards repentance could potentially keep their focus looking inside themselves. Once a person can truthfully see how sinful their thoughts and lives are, it can and will hopefully lead them to depend on God. While Crabb is relying on God for answers, Rogerian theory states that “no other human being can possibly determine what the correct or incorrect behavior is for any other individual. Because of this, Kensit says that therapists must keep this in mind and use non-directive but yet supportive therapy. (Kensit, 2000).
God is the center of our amazement, God is the mystery of our heart and God is the creative power. There is really no evidence as to why people are evangelistic about evolution, but more so it personal and it has to do with your emotion and your spiritual sustenance. You have to grow to understand and to trust your personal relationship with God. With this you don't need evidence to prove why you are evangelistic about evolution; instead you are looking BEYOND EVIDENCE and finding the truth and inner belief to this question. Your communication with God is what will help you to reach this point of your evolutionary