The biblical standpoint on the view of God may be summed up in two verses, “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (Exodus 34:6-7) This clearly indicates the attributes of God as merciful and just, forgiving and stern. A god without the perfect balance of these two extremes would not be omnipotent, as the biblical God is. In fact, God's power is infinite, making Him the transcendent being over the whole universe. (Jeremiah 32:17) All attributes of God are infinite, such as His love, mercy, presence, and supremacy.
However, the twentieth century view of God has diminished His biblical attributes in many ways. Philosophy was the driving vehicle for cultural thought, and most philosophers incurred an innate sense that the meaning of the word 'God' is empty. As Francis A. Schaeffer describes, “But this finally brings them to the place where the word God merely becomes the word God, and no certain content can be put into it.” (How Should We Then Live? 176) Art had once been a reflection of the beauty of God's creation, as with Rembrandt van Rijn. However, the twentieth century hosted a plethora of artists who understood art as absurdity. For example, Marcel Duchamp would simply sign his name to a toilet, and considered it art. (How Should We Then Live? 188) This fragmentation of art reflected twentieth century man's diminished view of God and His creation.
The view of God from the Bible's perspective represents God as tru...
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When viewed as a whole, it is stunning to see the twentieth century's deviation from the biblical worldview. The word 'God' turned into merely a word during the twentieth century, ascribing no divine meaning that had once belonged to it. Man sees truth as insignificant; that there is not really any truth at all. Man is what he chooses, comes from 'goo', and is heading towards divinity. But no unity of thought is associated with the whole thought of twentieth century man. As a result, man is headed for the pit, with no chance of saving himself. However, the biblical worldview provides an insurmountable basis for the salvation of man. The creator of the universe, whose word is absolute truth, created man in His holy image, in order that man may serve Him. This is God, and He is the only power that can save twentieth century man or any man in the future.
Art has always been considered the effervescent universal tool of communication. Art does not require a concrete directive . One sculpture,drawing or written creative piece, can evoke a myriad of emotions and meaning . Artistic pieces can sometimes be considered the regurgitation of the artist's internal sanctum. In Richard Hooks graphic painting,Adoption of the Human Race, the effect of the imagery,symbols ,color and emotional content projects a profound unification of a spiritual edict.
Coming from a family greatly involved in art dealing, Vincent van Gogh was destined to have a place in the world of art. Van Gogh’s unique techniques and use of color, which clashed and differed greatly from the masters of the art world of his time, would eventually gain him the recognition as one of the founders of modern art. Van Gogh’s early life was heavily influenced by the role of his father who was a pastor and chose to follow in his footsteps. Although he abandoned the desire to become a pastor, van Gogh remained a spiritual being and was strong in faith. Plagued with a troubled mind and poor health, van Gogh’s life became filled with torment and isolation that would influence his career in later life as an artist. In his late twenties, van Gogh had decided that it was God’s divine plan for him to become a painter. His works would express through thoughtful composition and vibrant color, the emotions that he was unable to manifest in the real world. Van Gogh’s perception of reality and his technique would face harsh criticism and never receive full acceptance from his peers as a serious artist during his brief career. In a collection of correspondence entitled The Letters of a Post-Impressionist, Vincent confirmed these thoughts while writing to his brother Theo, “It irritates me to hear people say that I have no "technique." It is just possible that there is no trace of it, because I hold myself aloof from all painters” (27). His technique would later be marveled and revered by the art world. Vincent van Gogh’s legacy would thrive as it challenged the way the world envisioned modern art through his unique brush strokes and profound use of color as seen in his works The Sower and The Night Café. A brief look into...
There is evil. 3. So, God does not exist”. Since there is evil, then that means God does not exist. So there is no loving and powerful God. However, if there is a God then he is not all loving and powerful. Daniel Howard-Snyder states in his article “God, Evil, And Suffering,”: “We would have to say God lacks power and knowledge to such an extent that He can 't prevent evil. And there lies the trouble. For how could God have enough power and knowledge to create and sustain the physical universe if He can 't even prevent evil? How could He be the providential governor of the world if He is unable to do what even we frequently do, namely prevent evil?” (5). This statement argues that God is not all powerful because he is unable to prevent evil in the world. Daniel Howard-Snyder then argues that: “Would a perfectly good being always prevent evil as far as he can? Suppose he had a reason to permit evil, a reason that was compatible with his never doing wrong and his being perfect in love, what I 'll call a justifying reason. For example, suppose that if he prevented evil completely, then we would miss out on a greater good, a good whose goodness was so great that it far surpassed the badness of evil. In that case, he might not prevent evil as far as he can, for he would have a justifying reason to permit it” (5). Even if God had a reason to allow evil, he who is all loving and powerful would want the least amount of people to suffer and feel pain. Since God knows
After creating a pure and perfect world which he declared “good,” God experienced His first disappointment in humans. When He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and instructed them not to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Adam and Eve made the decision to disobey God and eat from it. According to the Old Testament, this decision gave Adam and Eve’s descendants (all humans) their sinful human nature, which as a result separated those who did not repent from God’s grace. Eventually the world was full of wickedness and a new side of YHWH came out. The God of unconditional love who is often thought of tended to be a God ...
Worldview is how you view certain views from a certain perspective, such as a Christian worldview would be how you view certain views from a Christian perspective. Everything in life is affected by worldview and everyone has one. As Christians, our worldview is using the Bible for our starting on our views. An example of a worldview is, according to the article “What is a Christian Worldview?”, “Christianity as taught in the Bible is itself a worldview.” 77 words.
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
Art is something that has been around since humans have roamed the earth. It has been created by millions of different people, and has been influenced by many things. One incredibly big influence on art has been religion. Artists usually create work to express feelings and convey different meanings. It is no surprise that religion plays a significant role in this creation.
The biblical narrative is one that is still going on to this day. The biblical narrative tells the story of God and how he reveals himself to us. Rhodes points out that “God comes to each through a historical event or series of events” (2). It is in this way that God reveals himself to us and this maintains the relevance of the biblical narrative in our lives. God reveals himself through formative stories in the bible such as Creation, Adam and Eve, the Fall of Man, The Flood, God’s Covenant with Noah, and the Tower of Babel. From the very beginning of the biblical narrative we see that God relates to us on a personal level. He created us, he formed us, he created the world in which we live, and he has been an active participant in the narrative since before it began.
When you read chapter one of Genesis you have the feeling that God is perfect. God holds all power and control. God turns chaos into order. "God said 'Let there be light.' And there was light, And God saw the light, that it was good" (Gen 1. 3). God's word is action, God's word is law in the universe. When God creates something, he ends it with God seeing that's its good. This is in effect giving support to the perfect nature that is God and the creations God has made. "God does not play dice" (Armstrong 9), God has order and a purpose for what he makes. An important aspect to God is seen while he is creating the world. He separates water from land. Light from Darkens, Day and Night, Male and Female. This shows that boundaries are important to God. We see examples where God put boundaries on mankind with their language by mixing the language up so confuse man and killing off the evil from the good.
...id and Job, both of these things are not applied. In this manner, the stories very often violate the same commandments meant to bring not only justice, but also morality, and other such virtues to a society and its people. Further, it is often God himself, in whose image man was created, who violates his own commandments, and due to this, can man be expected to adhere to the same commandments broken by God if he has been created in God's image? God is explicitly unjust, vengeful, and jealous, particularly in the story of Job. If God is to be an example for the ideal being, then how is it that his nature can express the same things he denounces in his guide, The Bible? All of these questions ultimately lead into one main question, which is in regards to whether or not a people who are led by an unjust God truly have the capability of developing a "just society".
Dadaist artist Marcel Duchamp has been quoted as saying “Dada was an extreme protest against the physical side of painting. It was a metaphysical attitude.” Dadaism focused more on the concepts displayed in artworks than their visual characteristics. Dadaism subverted conventional definitions of art, and was so radical that it managed to expand our views on what art is. Art has become so broadly defined that Marcel Duchamp can place a urinal in a museum, as an art installation, and it is still art. Because of this, it can be difficult to distinguish what exactly art is, and to draw the line between what is art, and what is not. Artists like Duchamp have expanded our views, so that art can now be found objects; not made, but chosen by an artist. This can be seen in his “Readymades”, which were everyday found objects, designed and displayed as art. He is quoted as arguing “An ordinary object (could be) elevated to the dignity of a work of art by the mere choice of an artist.” Marcels ‘Readymades’ challenged the idea that art has to be beautiful, and showed that art can be conceptual rather than solely
Throughout the history of , which is arguably the length of time held within the universe, not much has been distorted. Art, along with is an incredibly difficult subject to comprehend, due to the varying nature of themes, opinions, and judgments. Not to cite all the societies, time periods, ethnicities, age and gender biased opinions. It is neither a science, nor a philosophy. It is both. within itself is a beauty, which will forever perplex the minds of the world. Art, placed in the neighborhood of philosophy and science reveals its innate inclination, (although undefined) to forever intrigue and perplex both the scientific and philosophical minds.
Art is important to religion in many different ways. Perhaps none has analyzed how art and religion have influenced and affected each other through the ages. Pictures painted of past events that help to bring back the feeling and importance of the past have been forgotten by some. To the one’s that haven’t forgotten are able to see the event’s as the bible says they happened. Not only can you see the events, but it also allows the younger students of the church to understand the events. The use of images of God became widespread after the second century. This religious art has defiantly been around for centuries and plays an important role to the history of religion as well as the future.
The concept of God being found and described in art is a very interesting concept. God can be much easier understood and explained by the concepts of art. This is not a common idea, although it actually makes a lot of sense. In Joseph Kupfer’s essay The Art of Religious Communication he discusses his ideas of God in relation to art. His essay discusses all of the different ways in which God can often be looked at through art in a much more realistic way. Often in the world of art things can be explained in ways that other things cannot be. In Kupfer’s essay, he explains God’s existence and transcendence, as being something only understood though art. Art has a way of explaining things that science and logic cannot.
We all know God is love and it is shown everywhere in the Bible. To be merciful means to have broad grace. To be just means to be respectably good and fair. These two attributes seem to contradict each other because how can a merciful God judge a person for their wrongdoing or how can someone who hates sin have mercy on the people who do evil? Many atheists question how could a merciful God be just? The answer to this question is Gods mercy is expressed to us through His love. God is a perfect God meaning his justice and mercifulness is also faultless. This paper will focus on comparing and contrasting the attributes God is just and merciful by pointing out the similarities, differences, and by showing ways in which God demonstrates them to mankind.