Theology_Chapter Two

Gods self communicating love mediated through creation, human experience, and salvation history, culminating in Christ and continuing into the present through the Holy Spirit

• the bible
• nature
• Gods creation shows us something about who we are

Beauty of Creation -->Beauty of God--->Beauty of Ourselves

God reveals through all people and events

• Old Testament:
• bible, before christ. history of israel, jewish
• New Testament:
• Moses
• exodus event (led out of slavery in egypt to promise land)
• Mt. Sinai: Moses receives 10 commandments
• covenant - agreement with israel

an ethical guide to relate to God and neighbor

Love of God and love of neighbor as self

• Faith is our experience with God.
• Beliefs are the expression of that relationship with God
• When faith has been communited through public beliefs it builds a community of faith

through words, stories, image, symbols, etc..

• Revelation cannot occur without faith
• Faith allows for openness and response to god
• you must receive and acknowledge God in order to say that the process of revelation has occurred

• God is unattainable and indescribalbe
• humans can never fully grasp or define the infinite reality of God

• Human quest for something more can never be satisfied
• human spirit will always hunger for greater meaning and deeper union with God

• Human culture is constantly changing
• When life circumstances change, new discoveries about God emerge

an intense personal commitment that involves the whole person

it is rooted in trust and freedom

• Precious gift
• our capacity to create who we are as a person
• capacity to create the person we will be for all eternity

the acheivement of :

autonomy and communtion with others

desire to be independent and self sufficient

• becoming an individual
• discovering yourself, your talents and gifts
• standing true to value
• Self knowledge

• desire for belonging and connection
• social being; relationall lives

• capacity to form bonds of affection
• give and receive love
• ability to trust

their desire to find purpose and meaning in life

faith is the  human capacity to believe the answer is out there to be disvoered

it is based on trust so it can be limited by hurtful experiences

• hurt can cause us to feel unlovable and inferior
• cause an inability to trust anyone, even God

the basic direction and underlying attitude that guides the important decisions in our life

yes or no to Godself

Yes: love openness, positivity, respect for self, God, others

No: self destructive habits, no ambition, crime

human faith is an intense personal commitment that involves the whole person. it is our capacity to create who we are as an individual

• Religious faith is  a personal commitment to God
• yes response to Gods presence and action in our life

they are distinct but not separate

human faith provides the structure in which religious faith can grow and develop

you must have a sense of self esteem and trust in yourself and in others in order to have a relationship with an intangible God.

there is unity in the love of God and love of neighbor as thyself. if you are blocking love, how can you accept God

Our love of neighbor expresses our love of God

• Faith is not knowledge
• cannot prove the existence of God through empiracl evidence
• we use our imagination / knowledge of this world to talk about God

• Christ is God of all people
• the spirit of God is present and active everywhere.
• it cannont be confined by any of the world religions

• all revelatin is historically mediated.
• ones religioius belief is based on particular historical circumstances such as the people and events that take place.

each religion is rooted in a unique experience of God