Today, we will finish up our series on terms and concepts needed to pull together a Trinitarian doctrine. We look at reasons for God, His attributes, an alternate view of God, and finish up by looking at a recent chart of world religions
Process Theism: Trying to Work things out. God in loving cooperation with the world. developed from the philosophy of Alfred North. Integrating philosophy with physics, Whitehead’s seminal Process and Reality (Macmillan, 1929) based ultimate reality on the primacy of what he called occasions (or “events”). God is the process that carries the memory of the past and is in process with the world.
- The “ideal” character of God is transcendent; but the reality of God is in becoming (approaching that ideal) through process with the world.
- God is Love: Love necessarily gives room for genuine choices of the other. God is persuasive, not coercive; humankind is absolutely free before the force of love.
- God’s purpose is to promote the creatures’ own enjoyment. Since God is not in control, divine love is not contradicted by the great amount of intrinsic evil, or “disenjoyment,” in the world.
- The exemplary man Jesus is one who actualized the divine Lover’s aim for his life; his death on the cross is utterly meaningless.
- The future is contingent on the world’s response. There are no guarantees of any Omega Point. The world could destroy itself.!
Simplicity (Divine); Divine Oneness: a harmony within the divine nature rather than dichotomies, tensions or contradictions (e.g., love vs. holiness). “This means he is wholly and totally involved in everything that he is and does, and his nature, goals, plans, and ways of acting do not change, either for the better (for, being perfect, he cannot become better than he is) or for the worse.” everything in God’s nature exists in undivided coherence. Unity (oneness) Each of the three persons shares precisely the same characteristics because, together, they constitute the one infinite God. That is, there is full unity of nature. All that the Triune God does is in the fullness and harmony of the divine attributes. West begins with nature, East begins with relationship.
Sources for Doctrine of Trinity: the Scriptures as God’s inspired revelation; the acts of God in history (such as the resurrection); apostolic and Christian tradition as the Nicene Creed; and the threefold experience of the Christian God. All these sources are important, as are other contributing factors. Nevertheless, the Bible itself is foundational
Teleological Argument: The apparent purpose, order and design in the universe would necessitate an intelligent Creator. centers on intelligent design. Intelligent design demonstrates an Intelligent Designer (thus a personal Creator) who has made himself known.
Tetragrammaton (YHWH) – “LORD, I AM; Jehovah,” probably from (rooted) the verb “to be,” it is found 6,828 times in the OT. Generally it is God’s personal name in covenant with his creation (Gen 2:4) and his people, especially Israel (Exod 3:13-15). In the LXX and NT, it is typically translated Lord, related to “I AM” in Ex 3:13-15; cf. John 8:58). translated “LORD”, or “Jehovah.” rooted in the verb “to be, become” indicating existence or development, perhaps “He Is”; it is the standard verb for “to be” in biblical Aramaic. Whereas Elohim normally denotes the more universal idea of God, YHWH designates God’s personal name in covenant with creation (Ge 2:4) and especially with Israel (Ex 3:13-15). It reflects God’s power to work on behalf of his people and to keep his covenant with them. Self-existent, ever active
Trinity: Definition – The one true God eternally exists as three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each equal in nature, equal in glory, and distinct in relations.
World Religions Pie Chart (percentages) This chart was published in April of 2014 in an effort to show the world population and the breakdown of different religions around the world. (Please note, there appears to be an error [or its just not easy to read] in the Islam number with where the comma is placed. The correct way should be (at least) 1,660 million, or in other words 1.6 billion)
