Announcement

Collapse

Christianity 201 Guidelines

orthodox Christians only.

Discussion on matters of general mainstream evangelical Christian theology that do not fit within Theology 201. Have some spiritual gifts ceased today? Is the KJV the only viable translation for the church today? In what sense are the books of the bible inspired and what are those books? Church government? Modern day prophets and apostles?

This forum is primarily for Christians to discuss matters of Christian doctrine, and is not the area for debate between atheists (or those opposing orthodox Christianity) and Christians. Inquiring atheists (or sincere seekers/doubters/unorthodox) seeking only Christian participation and having demonstrated a manner that does not seek to undermine the orthodox Christian faith of others are also welcome, but must seek Moderator permission first. When defining “Christian” or "orthodox" for purposes of this section, we mean persons holding to the core essentials of the historic Christian faith such as the Trinity, the Creatorship of God, the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Christ, the atonement, the future bodily return of Christ, the future bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, and the final judgment. Persons not holding to these core doctrines are welcome to participate in the Comparative Religions section without restriction, in Theology 201 as regards to the nature of God and salvation with limited restrictions, and in Christology for issues surrounding the person of Christ and the Trinity. Atheists are welcome to discuss and debate these issues in the Apologetics 301 forum without such restrictions.

Additionally and rarely, there may be some topics or lines of discussion that within the Moderator's discretion fall so outside the bounds of mainstream orthodox doctrine (in general Christian circles or in the TheologyWeb community) or that deny certain core values that are the Christian convictions of forum leadership that may be more appropriately placed within Unorthodox Theology 201. NO personal offense should be taken by such discretionary decision for none is intended. While inerrancy is NOT considered a requirement for posting in this section, a general respect for the Bible text and a respect for the inerrantist position of others is requested.

The Tweb rules apply here like they do everywhere at Tweb, if you haven't read them, now would be a good time.

Forum Rules: Here
See more
See less

The Attributes of God

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • The Attributes of God

    I've been thinking about the attributes of God: love, righteousness, holiness, just, true, etc.

    To listen to many people today, one would think God had only one attribute: love.

    I suppose they would say that love is God's most important or primary attribute.

    To get some other prespectives on this, I submit the following three questions:

    1. Does God have a primary or most important attribute?
    2. If the answer to 1 is yes, what is it?
    3. What is the impact of the emphasis on love?

    My answers:
    1. No. All of His attributes are balanced in His personality.
    2. If I had to pick one attribute as most important, I would go with holy.
    3. We are developing an incomplete concept of God and how He works in our lives.
    "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

    "Theology can be an intellectual entertainment." Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

  • #2
    Existence.

    Comment


    • #3
      Omnipotence

      Beyond that, Hebrews 1 describes Christ as the exact image of God.
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Sparko View Post
        Existence.
        I see what you mean. If God didn't exist, then nothing would exist including you, me, and (shudder) TWeb. So without God's existence, there would be no existence. That's pretty important.

        Yet God could exist and He could have not bothered creating the world. He could have created the world and then let in run. He could be a cruel and malvolent God to His creation. Humanity could be just mere entertainment to Him. So existence is important but in this case you get no idea of who God is.

        This is sort of the agnostic view of God.

        (I will concede in the age we currently live in, it has become more important to proclaim that God exists. In the past, I think God's existence was more of a given in society.)
        "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

        "Theology can be an intellectual entertainment." Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Thoughtful Monk View Post

          My answers:
          1. No. All of His attributes are balanced in His personality.
          2. If I had to pick one attribute as most important, I would go with holy.
          3. We are developing an incomplete concept of God and how He works in our lives.
          I tend to agree, but wouldn't we say that His love overrode His sense of justice by making a way of salvation for sinners?
          Atheism is the cult of death, the death of hope. The universe is doomed, you are doomed, the only thing that remains is to await your execution...

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbnueb2OI4o&t=3s

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by seer View Post
            I tend to agree, but wouldn't we say that His love overrode His sense of justice by making a way of salvation for sinners?
            Overrode is a little strong for me. I would say His love caused Him to create a way of salvation for sinners that also satisfied His justice. That a lot of the story of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.
            "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings." Hosea 6:6

            "Theology can be an intellectual entertainment." Metropolitan Anthony Bloom

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Thoughtful Monk View Post
              I see what you mean. If God didn't exist, then nothing would exist including you, me, and (shudder) TWeb. So without God's existence, there would be no existence. That's pretty important.

              Yet God could exist and He could have not bothered creating the world. He could have created the world and then let in run. He could be a cruel and malvolent God to His creation. Humanity could be just mere entertainment to Him. So existence is important but in this case you get no idea of who God is.

              This is sort of the agnostic view of God.

              (I will concede in the age we currently live in, it has become more important to proclaim that God exists. In the past, I think God's existence was more of a given in society.)
              I don't think God could be evil or not care. The Ontological argument says that God has to be the greatest being we can concieve or he is not God. We can conceive of a better God than one that is evil or just doesn't care about his creation so any God that exists must be perfect, good and omnipotent, and loving.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Thoughtful Monk View Post
                I see what you mean. If God didn't exist, then nothing would exist including you, me, and (shudder) TWeb. So without God's existence, there would be no existence. That's pretty important.

                Yet God could exist and He could have not bothered creating the world. He could have created the world and then let in run. He could be a cruel and malvolent God to His creation. Humanity could be just mere entertainment to Him. So existence is important but in this case you get no idea of who God is.

                This is sort of the agnostic view of God.

                (I will concede in the age we currently live in, it has become more important to proclaim that God exists. In the past, I think God's existence was more of a given in society.)
                John Stott mentioned this. Several decades ago, he wrote Basic Christianity as a handbook for new/potential converts. Shortly before his death, he said that he had taken for granted that his audience would have no problem acknowledging God's existence because almost everybody did, but if he were rewriting the book today, he wouldn't have done the same.
                "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Thoughtful Monk View Post
                  Overrode is a little strong for me. I would say His love caused Him to create a way of salvation for sinners that also satisfied His justice. That a lot of the story of the Death, Burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.
                  No matter the mechanism it would still be the case that love won, not justice.
                  Atheism is the cult of death, the death of hope. The universe is doomed, you are doomed, the only thing that remains is to await your execution...

                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbnueb2OI4o&t=3s

                  Comment

                  Related Threads

                  Collapse

                  Topics Statistics Last Post
                  Started by Thoughtful Monk, 03-15-2024, 06:19 PM
                  35 responses
                  166 views
                  0 likes
                  Last Post Cow Poke  
                  Started by KingsGambit, 03-15-2024, 02:12 PM
                  4 responses
                  49 views
                  0 likes
                  Last Post Thoughtful Monk  
                  Started by Chaotic Void, 03-08-2024, 07:36 AM
                  10 responses
                  119 views
                  1 like
                  Last Post mikewhitney  
                  Started by Cow Poke, 02-29-2024, 07:55 AM
                  14 responses
                  71 views
                  3 likes
                  Last Post Cow Poke  
                  Started by Cow Poke, 02-28-2024, 11:56 AM
                  13 responses
                  59 views
                  0 likes
                  Last Post Cow Poke  
                  Working...
                  X