a) Christians believe many different things about God’s nature; due to the huge spectrum of Christians that there are. However, as a general rule they perceive God as being one of the following four things:
• Personal – where God is represented as a human being. Christians believe this because it means they can directly relate to Him through one-to-one means. There are variations within this also: Some say that this Personal God is one human being that is always there for everyone, others believe that He is a different being for each person.
• Impersonal – an Impersonal view of God’s perception is that God is some form of spirit or force, not particularly there for you personally to relate to, but present nonetheless. Impersonality is often seen as the more logical of the two opposites (Personal & Impersonal), merely because the idea of a force follows the idea of God being omnipotent, and the spirit idea follows that of Him being present, but not in human state.
• Immanent – a belief that God plays an active role in our lives. This belief exists due to supposed ‘acts of God’, which are natural disasters, and also because of ‘miracles’. Therefore, Christians who believe God to be Immanent see Him as a being that actually causes things.
• Transcendent – the opposite to Immanency, believing that God is beyond the Earth, Time, and Space. This has links with Impersonality; believing God to be this omnipotent force, however Transcendency leans towards God not actually performing anything, but watching over everything.
The true nature of God (if He does exist) is constantly argued amongst Christians; and indeed many other religions, however there are a few things that they agree on universally: God is entirely unique, holy and extraordinary. Also, the general consensus is that God is omnipotent and omniscient.
b) Christians show respect for the Bible in daily life in a variety of ways. Depending on how strictly they follow Christianity, they will say ‘the Lord’s prayer’ each day, and most Christians go to church services every Sunday (Sunday is significant as it was supposedly God’s day of rest in the Creation story). As well as this, some Christians will read passages from the Bible frequently, recite them, and deep Christians may even try an...
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...that makes them believe beyond all doubt that God does exist. Others may say that the evidence of God’s existence is all around us everywhere, space, life, the Earth.
Intellectuals have ventured into other forms of potential evidence; a good example is ‘Newton and the Thumb’: Isaac Newton believed that thumbprints alone proved the existence of God. This is because the design on a person’s thumb is completely unique; nobody else’s thumbprint will be the same. This kind of intricacy and attention to detail Newton said; couldn’t have come about by some freak accident – and must have had a creator. Another example is ‘Paley and the Watch’: William Paley stated that the Earth is like a watch – it has an extremely complex design, and has to have a designer. He said that if you were to throw all the pieces of the watch up in the air, they could never fall into positions that would make the watch work, similarly he said that the Earth could not have come about by some random dispersal of matter, and that it had to have had a designer (just like a watch does). Obviously, both of these statements can be argued for and against, but regardless they are valid suggestions that God does exist.
God is self-sufficient, He needs no external cause for His existence and He does not change. God is all powerful as demonstrated in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth.” By showing God creating these
When speaking about God, we naturally tend to give God characteristics or attributes that otherwise would be considered un proper. Two approaches that we use when speaking about God are Analogical and Metaphorical. Analogical and Metaphorical approaches are all about giving attribution to thing, in this case God. There are three predications, univocal, equivocal, and analogy. The univocal approach talks about the same term for different subjects that have the same exact meaning. The equivocal approach takes the same term, but it has a different subject and meaning. An analogy is a comparison of two things, in this case God is going to be compared to different things. The analogical approach is also called proper proportionality. When speaking about God in the analogical (proper proportionality) approach, we use the same term, but a different subject. For the metaphorical approach when speaking about God, we compare God to something and give him characteristics that he would not normally have. For example, when talking about proper proportionality, I may say that God is heroic. Now God is heroic may seem simple, but if I replace God with the word George Washington, now I have George Washington is heroic. While George Washington may have been heroic, comparing him to God using the same term gives me a different proportion. Now when I talk about the Metaphorical approach of God, I am ...
In light of Craig Stern’s excerpts, from the book, A Higher Law by Jeffrey A. Brauch, he writes concerning four Christian ideas-doctrines “Four Christian ideas-doctrine in fact-are both especially important to that religion and especially important to the rule of law in the common law tradition.” Stern’s begin to explain what formulates the doctrinal belief of the Christian faith. “The first of these is the doctrine of God himself, that is, his being and his work.” By this, Stern’s means that God is the creator of all things he is the beginning and the end. “The Christian faith holds that God is the “I AM,” the uncreated creator of all that is, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” He is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God of relationship, of covenant. In this way, he is both transcendent and immanent.”
Just because there is not evidence does not mean that is evidence he does not exist. I do not believe that people believe in god, just because they do believe that god exist, but because it gives them something that others cannot. It brings people together and gives people hope in the worst of times, and it can fill voids in peoples lives that are rather impossible to fill. It also gives them a reason to live, and live moral ones at that. However, this is also a problem in the discussion of th...
In this paper, I will examine the ontological argument of Anselm for the existence of God. Anselm defines God as “that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought,” which means, at least for Anselm, that God must exist because he is the greatest being that can be conceived. Furthermore, he argues that all people, whether or not they believe in the existence of God, at least understand his definition, including the fool who denies that God exist. Anselm, in addition to that, describes two main differences between understanding the definition of God, and understanding God to exist.
The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that God is Spirit (John 4:24; 1 Timothy 6:15,16), He is not a man (Numbers 23:19; Hosea 11:9; Romans 1:22, 23), and has always (eternally) existed as God — all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present (Psalm 90:2; 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:28; Luke 1:37).
According to Larry, the traditional Christian God does not exist, as that God would be all good, all powerful, and all knowing. With these premises, the conclusion
... God and how He is related to us – how powerful He is to make everything in this world works; how He made everything almost perfect for us. I have also learned that believing He exist, makes me understand more about His existence, just like what St. Anselm said. I believe that believing He exists, is what makes Him exist. For me, Yes, God really exist.
Gerald Bray shares, “The Christian doctrine of God contains two distinct, though obviously related aspects. The first…what is God like? The second…who is God?” These questions impact the way I view God personally and practically, and the impact it has on my ministry application. The nature of God and how He is viewed from human beings’ perspective could have grave implications. More than often, our view of God limits His overall splendor, glory, and His association with the universe. From a personal standpoint, I have always viewed God as omnipotent, omnipresence, and omniscience. My limited mind cannot fully comprehend all there is to know about Him. However, when I open my mind to understand certain aspects of Him, His purpose and plans
There is only One God who is purely spiritual and does not take human form.
The concept of God becoming immanent, rather than transcendent, was discussed in some detail in class. In his article ‘Immanence and Transcendence’, Philip Leon defines an immanent God as ‘within… the Universe’ and defines a transcendent God as ‘supra machinam… Whatever happens, it is the same; it has no beginning and no end; it...
Many people state that they do not believe in any kind of god, that the world simply came into existence. However, this belief cannot hold true. Simply by examining nature and all of its intricate details, people stand unable to deny the presence of a Creator. Deep down, people cannot help but to feel that something greater than themselves exists. A Supreme Being- a god, but what kind of god exists? A god similar to Ares, the war-god of the Greeks? One who lusts for blood and destruction? Or a placid god, one parallel to Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace? Fabricated by mankind, these so called “gods” all bear flaws. The Bible, the Word of the Lord, remains the only book on earth that gives an account of the true God and His attributes. Through examination of the Word, readers will come to the realization that a just God exists, that He sends trials to his followers to develop their faith, and that He remains sovereign.
The mere claim, there could be a "Proof for the Existence of God," seems to invite ridicule. But not always are those right who laugh first and think later. Remember how all-knowing doctors/scientists laughed at every new discovery. They laughed when they heard for the first time about diseases that were supposedly caused by animals so tiny that you could not see them. They continued to laugh at virtually every discovery that challenged their previous believes in an attempt to preserve the status of "have-studied-for-years-and-must-therefore-know-everything-already."
From the discussion, it can be concluded that existence of God can be proved and developed by logical reasoning. They can be proved by seeking answers to our everyday questions like what can be bigger than our reason, who dictates solar system to act like an animate body. The evidence may not have physical existence but it is supported by the physical elements of nature.
Nothing has been capable of fulfilling a man’s heart completely, only God has infinitely. Believing in God encompasses courage and steadfast faith from human beings. Nothing happens to be extremely magical than hoping for the unseen in God. Thinking the best of God forms the truest foundation of devotion. Believing in God has an impact of glorifying him as a supreme ruler and creator of the entire universe. God is powerful and full of wisdom. Believing in him gives an opportunity to Christians to be Christ-like. Christ manifested unimaginable wisdom and ideal attributes that no human being has been capable of fulfilling. Believing in God enriches our souls with wisdom, power ad knowledge to tackle numerous issues in life. The belief in God encourages the implementation of a spiritual dimension in tackling the issues existent in life. Embracing the spiritual dimension in tackling situations ascertains the prevalence of peace, love, unity, humility, and benevolence (Lakhani