To what degree can sinful and finite human minds know God? 40 marks
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Course
2. The existence of God (H573)
Institution
OCR
Detailed bullet-point essay revision plan answering the question 'To what degree can sinful and finite human minds know God?'. Written by a student aiming for top grades and includes a personal thesis statement and synoptic links to other topics. Includes quotes, Biblical references and references...
To what degree can sinful and finite human minds know God? 40 marks
Intro:
• Belief in sinful + finite human minds - derived from historical interpretation of the
Fall.
> Augustine’s Doctrine of Original Sin.
> The Fall created distance between humanity + God - we have become corrupt.
• Christians can attempt to know God through Natural + Revealed Theology.
> Distinction made in the Middle Ages.
> RT does not require reason, unlike NT.
Thesis:
• From an atheist perspective - it is logical to assume that Christians can gain some
knowledge of God.
> You must be able to say something about the Creator from the Creation.
> Compatible with the Christian view of God’s nature.
• However - this is very limited given the Christian transcendent nature of God.
> NT + RT can provide limited basis for knowledge of God’s existence.
> But faith has to go beyond this - acknowledged by Aquinas.
> Lack of sufficient reasoning evident in different denominations/religions.
> If humans could know more about God than superficial knowledge about His nature,
then we would all be Christians.
Calvin - ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion’:
• We all have an innate sense of God - result of a ‘sensus divinitas’ towards God.
> This world is like a mirror - God sometimes increases and decreases the human
capacity to know God.
> The SD is “inscribed in the hearts of all people” - there is a seed of religion within us
all.
> All people recognise a divine higher power - remote tribes worship a God.
• Supported by St Paul - God’s invisible qualities are plain to see.
> eg, omnipotence/holiness/transcendence.
> God is angry at those who ignore them.
• Supported by C.S Lewis/Newman/Butler - all reference an innate sense of guilt.
> Guilt can be take as evidence of God’s existence.
• Logical that everyone has somewhat of a capacity to know God because He created it +
sustains human life.
> However - lack of evidence for SD + can be explained in other ways.
> If everyone has a sense of the divine, how are there so many completely different
religions/denominations.
> Surely we would all come to at least similar conclusions.
> Feeling of innate guilt lacks evidence + can be explained in other ways.
> eg, feeling a lack of purpose in the human life/feeling humbled by feelings of awe +
wonder expressed towards the natural world.
> Humans are naturally egotistical beings.
God can be known through Natural Theology:
• Observing nature.
> Psalms - the beauty of the world reveals truths about God.
> Swinburne - order in creation = evidence of God’s existence.
> Paley’s Design argument - ‘Natural Theology’
> Maintained that the world is good - “shoals of the fry of fish frequent the river
margins”.
> We can learn of God’s care in design.
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