‘Nature is God.’ Discuss. - 16 November 2009 |
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Here are some more of the questions for week 6 of the Guided Reading Course.
Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, ch. 3
1. ‘We do not name God; he names himself’ (p. 98). What does Bavinck mean by this? Why is it important? (Cf. p. 99).
2. Are you surprised by the scriptural descriptions of God recounted on pp. 100-101? Why? Have any of these descriptions changed how you think about God?
3. How do Bavinck’s quotations from Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Thomas, Bonaventure and Calvin illuminate what he has said so far (pp. 101-103)?
4. How should ‘a reverent mind’ understand Calvin’s astonishing statement that ‘nature is God’ (p. 103; quoting Calvin, Institutes, I.v.5)?
5. What is the ‘peculiar intellectual difficulty’ (p. 104)? How, according to Bavinck, should it be resolved? What consequences would follow if we were to maintain that it is impossibly to speak of God using human language?
6. What kind of knowledge of God is available to us (pp. 105-107)?
7. What is meant by the distinction between ‘archetypal’ and ‘ectypal’ knowledge of God? What two false extremes does this distinction enable us to avoid (pp. 107-110)?
8. What sorts of questions, considered by Bavinck on pp. 112-118, have these issues caused theologians to consider? How are they addressed by the doctrine of divine simplicity (p. 118)?
9. ‘God reveals himself in many ways, but at the heart of God is love.’ Why might someone argue this? Is there any sense in which you would agree? Why might such a statement be misleading?
10. What is meant by the Christian conception of God as ‘being’ (pp. 120-124)? How does the Christian idea differ from the pagan notion that goes by the same name?
11. What kinds of distinction can be made between God’s attributes (pp. 124-128)?
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Posted by Steve Jeffery · Topics: Guided Reading Course, Minister's Blog