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Sovereignty Of God
The attributes of God are specific characteristics of God discussed in Christian theology. Christians are not monolithic in their understanding of God's attributes. 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). 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." 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. Millard Erickson calls these categories God's ''greatness'' and ''goodness'' respectively.Millard Erickson, ''Chr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Property (philosophy)
In logic and philosophy (especially metaphysics), a property is a characteristic of an Object (philosophy), object; a red object is said to have the property of redness. The property may be considered a form of object in its own right, able to possess other properties. A property, however, differs from individual objects in that it may be instantiation principle, instantiated, and often in more than one object. It differs from the logical/mathematical concept of class (set theory), class by not having any concept of extensionality, and from the philosophical concept of class (philosophy), class in that a property is considered to be distinct from the objects which possess it. Understanding how different individual entities (or particulars) can in some sense have some of the same properties is the basis of the problem of universals. Terms and usage A property is any member of a class of entities that are capable of being attributed to objects. Terms similar to ''property'' include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eternity Of God
God and eternity are important concepts in theology. Theists say that God is eternally existent. How this is understood depends on which definition of eternity is used. God may exist ''in'' eternity or outside the human concept of time, but also inside of time. Definition In William Rowe's review of Nelson Pike's ''God and Timelessness'' the two common definitions of eternity are given. The first is timelessness, which could be described as a timeless existence where categories of past, present, and future just do not apply. The second definition is of God existing in all time dimensions such as past, present, and future. In this case, God would have already existed for an infinite amount of time and will continue to do so. Pike mainly wonders if God could be timeless and all knowing. He argues that if God knows all, then he will know what a person will do in the future and that will be the only thing they can do because that's what God knows will happen, so there's only one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace (Christianity)
In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.Gregory (Grabbe), Archbishop. ''The Sacramental Life: An Orthodox Christian Perspective.'' Liberty TN: St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1986 As an attribute of God it manifests most in the salvation of sinners and Western Christianity holds that the initiative in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Evil God Challenge
The evil God challenge is a philosophical thought experiment. The challenge is to explain why an all-good God should be more likely than an all-evil God. Those who advance this challenge assert that, unless there is a satisfactory answer to the challenge, there is no reason to accept that God is good or can provide moral guidance. Origin Papers by Stephen Cahn, Peter Millican, Edward Stein, Christopher New, and Charles B Daniels, explored the notion of an "anti-God"—an omnipotent, omniscient and all evil God. The evil God challenge was developed at length and in several formats by the philosopher Stephen Law. Supporting the greater likeliness of an omnimalevolent creator, in 2015, John Zande published an extended argument for the evil God thesis, arguing that the irresistible, self-complicating nature of this universe not only resolves the problem of good, but establishes unignorable theological evidence for the wicked disposition of the Creator. Stephen Law noted this work to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Problem Of Evil
The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,The Problem of Evil, Michael TooleyThe Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,, Nick Trakakis There are currently differing definitions of these concepts. The best known presentation of the problem is attributed to the Greek philosopher Epicurus. It was popularized by David Hume. Besides the philosophy of religion, the problem of evil is also important to the fields of theology and ethics. There are also many discussions of evil and associated problems in other philosophical fields, such as secular ethics, and evolutionary ethics. But as usually understood, the problem of evil is posed in a theological context. Responses to the problem of evil have traditionally been in three types: refutations, defenses, and theodicies. The problem of evil is generally formulated in two forms: the logical probl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omnibenevolence
Omnibenevolence (from Latin ''omni-'' meaning "all", ''bene-'' meaning "good" and ''volens'' meaning "willing") is defined by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as "unlimited or infinite benevolence". Some philosophers have argued that it is impossible, or at least improbable, for a deity to exhibit such a property alongside omniscience and omnipotence, as a result of the problem of evil. However, some philosophers, such as Alvin Plantinga, argue the plausibility of co-existence. The word is primarily used as a technical term within academic literature on the philosophy of religion, mainly in context of the problem of evil and theodical responses to such, although even in said contexts the phrases "perfect goodness" and "moral perfection" are often preferred because of the difficulties in defining what exactly constitutes "infinite benevolence". Usage The term is patterned on, and often accompanied by, the terms ''omniscience'' and ''omnipotence'', typically to refer to concept ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercy
Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French ''merci'', from Medieval Latin ''merced-'', ''merces'', from Latin, "price paid, wages", from ''merc-'', ''merxi'' "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and legal context, mercy may refer both to compassionate behavior on the part of those in power (e.g. mercy shown by a judge toward a convict), or on the part of a humanitarian third party, e.g., a mission of mercy aiming to treat war victims.Sarat, Austin and Hussain, Nasser. ''Forgiveness, mercy, and clemency'', 2006 pp. 1-5Menke, Christopher. ''Reflections of equality'' by Christoph Menke 2006 p. 193 Definition "Mercy" can be defined as "compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power"; and also "a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion." "To be at someone's mercy" indicates a person being "without defense against someone." Law ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Divine Grace
Divine grace is a theological term present in many religions. It has been defined as the divine influence which operates in humans to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation; and as an individual virtue or excellence of divine origin. Buddhism While many schools of Buddhism emphasize self-discipline and effort as the path to enlightenment, something akin to the concept of divine grace is present as well. One of the most prominent examples of this is the doctrine of the Jōdo Shinshū branch of Pure Land Buddhism, founded by the 12th-century Japanese monk, Shinran. In Buddhism, the concept of "merit" refers to the power of good karma built up over time through meditation, effort and spiritual practice- in Japanese, "Jiriki," or "self-power." This merit can be transferred to other sentient beings by a spiritual adept or bodhisattva, motivated by compassion for all beings cultivated through attaining bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love
Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the love of a mother differs from the love of a spouse, which differs from the love for food. Most commonly, love refers to a feeling of a strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment.''Oxford Illustrated American Dictionary'' (1998) Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection, as "the unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another" and its vice representing human morality, moral flaw, akin to vanity, selfishness, amour-propre, and egotism, as potentially leading people into a type of mania, Obsessive love, obsessiveness or codependency. It may also describe compassionate and affectionate actions towards ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kindness
Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistant or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Kindness is a topic of interest in philosophy, religion, and psychology. Kindness was one of the main topics in the Bible. In Book II of "Rhetoric", Aristotle defines kindness as "helpfulness towards someone in need, not in return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped". Nietzsche considered kindness and love to be the "most curative herbs and agents in human intercourse". Kindness is considered to be one of the Knightly Virtues. In Meher Baba's teachings, God is synonymous with kindness: "God is so kind that it is impossible to imagine His unbounded kindness!" History In English, the word ''kindness'' is from approximately 1300, though the word's sense evolved to its current meanings in the late 1300s. Over time, it has acted in part of a personality trait as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Louis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof (October 13, 1873 – May 18, 1957) was a Dutch-American Reformed theologian whose works on systematic theology have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States, Canada, Korea and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century. Personal life Berkhof was born in 1873 in Emmen in the Netherlands and moved in 1882 with his family to Grand Rapids (Michigan). About the time he graduated from the seminary he married Reka Dijkhuis. They had four children before her death in 1928. He then married Dena Heyns-Joldersma who had two daughters. Education and career Berkhof entered the Theological School of the Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids at the age of 19, in which the studies included a 4-year literary course (expanded into Calvin College) and a 3-year theological course (expanded into Calvin Theological Seminary). During this period, he learnt under Hendericus Beuker who introduced him to the works of Abraham Kuyper a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Good And Evil
In religion, ethics, philosophy, and psychology "good and evil" is a very common dichotomy. In cultures with Manichaean and Abrahamic religious influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which good should prevail and evil should be defeated. In cultures with Buddhist spiritual influence, both good and evil are perceived as part of an antagonistic duality that itself must be overcome through achieving ''Śūnyatā'' meaning emptiness in the sense of recognition of good and evil being two opposing principles but not a reality, emptying the duality of them, and achieving a oneness. Evil is often used to denote profound immorality. Evil has also been described as a supernatural force. Definitions of evil vary, as does the analysis of its motives. However, elements that are commonly associated with evil involve unbalanced behavior involving expediency, selfishness, ignorance, or neglect. The modern philosophical questions regarding good and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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