Attributes of God

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Attributes of God in Christian theology
Aseity Eternity Graciousness Holiness Immanence Immutability Impassibility Impeccability Incorporeality Jealousy Love Mission Omnibenevolence Omnipotence Omnipresence Omniscience Oneness Providence Righteousness Simplicity Transcendence Trinity Veracity Wrath
v · God in Islam. The Attributes of God in Christian theology are those characteristics of God revealed in the Bible. Classification Many Reformed theologians distinguish between the communicable attributes (those that human beings can also have) and the incommunicable attributes (those that belong to God alone).[1] Donald Macleod, however, argues that "All the suggested classifications are artificial and misleading, not least that which has been most favoured by Reformed theologians - the division into communicable and incommunicable attributes."[2] Many of these attributes only say what God is not - for example, saying he is immutable is saying that he does not change. The attributes of God may be classified under two main categories: His infinite powers. His personality attributes, like holiness and love. Enumeration The Westminster Shorter Catechism's definition of God is merely an enumeration of his attributes: "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth."[3] The Westminster Larger Catechism adds certain attributes to this description, such as "all-sufficient," "incomprehensible," "every where present" and "knowing all things".[4] This answer has been criticised, however, as having "nothing specifically Christian about it."[5] Aseity The aseity of God means "God is so independent that he does not need us."[6] It is based on Acts 17:25, where it says that God "is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything" (NIV). This is often related to God's self-existence and his self-sufficiency. Graciousness The graciousness of God is a key tenet of Christianity. Holiness The holiness of God is that he is separate from sin and incorruptible. Noting the refrain of "Holy, holy, holy" in Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8, R. C. Sproul points out that "only once in sacred Scripture is an attribute of God elevated to the third degree... The Bible never says that God is love, love, love."[7] Immanence The immanence of God refers to him being in the world. It is thus contrasted with his transcendence. Immutability Immutability means God cannot change. James 1:17 refers to the "Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" (NIV). Impassibility The doctrine of the impassibility of God is a controversial one. It refers to the inability of God to suffer. Impeccability The impeccability of God is closely related to his holiness. It means that he cannot sin. Incorporeality The incorporeality or spirituality of God refers to him being a spirit. This is derived from Jesus' statement in John 4:24, "God is spirit." Robert Reymond suggests that it is the fact of his spiritual essence that underlies the second commandment, which prohibits every attempt to fashion an image of him."[8] Incomprehensibility The incomprehensibility of God means that he is not able to be fully known. Louis Berkhof states that "the consensus of opinion" through most of church history has been that God is the "Incomprehensible One". Berkhof, however, argues that "in so far as God reveals Himself in His attributes, we also have some knowledge of His Divine Being, though even so our knowledge is subject to human limitations."[9] Infinity The infinity of God includes both his eternity and his immensity. Isaiah 40:28 says that "Yahweh is the everlasting God," while Solomon acknowledges in 1 Kings 8:27 that "the heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you". Infinity permeates all other attributes of God: His love is infinite, his powers are infinite... Jealousy Exodus 34:14 makes the surprising statement that "Yahweh, whose name is Jealousy, is a jealous God." "God is love" in Greek on a stele in Mount Nebo. Love 1 John 4:16 says "God is Love." D. A. Carson speaks of the "difficult doctrine of the love of God," since "when informed Christians talk about the love of God they mean something very different from what is meant in the surrounding culture."[10] Carson distinguishes between the love the Father has for the Son, God's general love for his creation, God's "salvific stance towards his fallen world," his "particular, effectual, selecting love toward his elect," and love that is conditioned on obedience. Mission While the mission of God is not traditionally included in this list, David Bosch has argued that "mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God."[11] Omnibenevolence The omnibenevolence of God refers to him being "all good". God's goodness encompasses his grace, love, mercy and patience. Omnipotence The omnipotence of God refers to him being "all powerful". C. S. Lewis clarifies this concept: "His Omnipotence means power to do all that is intrinsically possible, not to do the intrinsically impossible. You may attribute miracles to him, but not nonsense. This is no limit to his power."[12] Omnipresence The omnipresence of God refers to him being present everywhere. Berkhof distinguishes between God's immensity and his omnipresence, saying that the former "points to the fact that God transcends all space and is not subject to its limitations," emphasising his transcendence, while the latter denotes that God "fills every part of space with His entire Being," emphasising his immanence.[13] In Psalm 139, David says, "If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there" (Psalm 139:8, NIV). Omniscience The omniscience of God refers to him being "all knowing". Berkhof regards the wisdom of God as a "particular aspect of his knowledge."[14] Romans 16:27 speaks about the "only wise God". Oneness The oneness of God refers to his being one and only. See Monotheism and also Trinity. Providence While the providence of God usually refers to his activity in the world, it also implies his care for the universe, and is thus an attribute. A distinction is usually made between "general providence," which refers to God's continuous upholding the existence and natural order of the universe, and "special providence," which refers to God's extraordinary intervention in the life of people.[15] Righteousness The righteousness of God may refer to his holiness, to his justice, or to his saving activity. Simplicity The simplicity of God means he is not partly this and partly that, but that whatever he is, he is so entirely. It is thus related to the unity of God. Sovereignty The sovereignty of God is similar to his omnipotence and providence, yet it also encompasses his freedom. The Shield of the Trinity diagram symbolising aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity. Transcendence Transcendence is that God is outside space and time, and therefore eternal and unable to be changed by forces within the universe.[16] It is thus closely related to God's immutability, and is contrasted with his immanence. Trinity The Trinity of God refers to him being three in one. God is understood to be a unity of Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Veracity The veracity of God means his truth-telling. Titus 1:2 refers to "God, who does not lie." Wrath Moses praises the wrath of God in Exodus 15:7. Later in Deuteronomy 9, after the incident of The Golden Calf, Moses describes how: 'I feared the furious anger of the LORD, which turned him against you, would drive him to destroy you. But again he listened to me.' (9:19) In Psalm 69:24, the psalmist begs God to: 'consume' his enemies 'with your burning anger'. In the New Testament, Jesus says in John 3:36, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." See also Cataphatic theology Catholic Concept of the Divine God in Christianity Open theism Theodicy References ^ Herman Bavinck, The Doctrine of God. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1979. ^ Donald Macleod, Behold Your God (Christian Focus Publications, 1995), 20-21. ^ Westminster Shorter Catechism, Question and Answer 4. ^ Westminster Larger Catechism, Question and Answer 7. ^ James B. Jordan, "What is God?," Biblical Horizons Newsletter, No. 82. ^ D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan), 1996. ^ R. C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Scripture Press Foundation, 1986), 38. ^ Robert L. Reymond, A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith (2nd ed., Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1998), 167. ^ Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (London: Banner of Truth, 1949), 43. ^ D. A. Carson, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 2000), 10. ^ David J. Bosch, Transforming Mission (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991), 390. ^ C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (Fontana, 1966), 16. ^ Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (London: Banner of Truth, 1949), 61. ^ Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (London: Banner of Truth, 1949), 68. ^ Providence in The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. ^ J. Gresham Machen, God Transcendent. Banner of Truth publishers, 1998. ISBN 0851513557 External links Attributes of God According to Thomas Aquinas at PhilosophersAnswer.com Articles on God at PhilosophersAnswer.Com Attributes of God, Enjoying God Ministries Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая? divine (corporation) Divine Bradley Look at other dictionaries: ATTRIBUTES OF GOD —    those characteristics uniquely applicable to the divine BEING. Two classical ways of arriving at the attributes of God have been    1) the way of negation, via negativa rather than saying what God is, say what He is not; e.g. God is unlimited… …   Concise dictionary of Religion attributes of God —  Атрибуты Бога …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов Nature and Attributes of God —     The Nature and Attributes of God     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Nature and Attributes of God     I. As Known Through Natural Reason     A. Infinity of God     B. Unity or Unicity of God     C. Simplicity of God     D. Divine Personality… …   Catholic encyclopedia attributes of God, absolute —  Атрибуты Бога абсолютные …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов attributes of God, communicable —  Атрибуты Бога передающиеся …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов attributes of God, émanant transitiv —  Атрибуты Бога истекающие …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов attributes of God, immanent intransitive —  Атрибуты Бога имманентные …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов attributes of God, incommunicable —  Атрибуты Бога непередающиеся …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов attributes of God, moral —  Атрибуты Бога моральные …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов attributes of God, natural —  Атрибуты Бога природные …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. 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