VIEWS of GOD

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VIEWS of GOD
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The way a person views God affects how they view
life and the way they live it.
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How do you View God?

• Does He exist?
• Does he seem close and intimate or distant and
  removed?
• How does his existence affect morality?
• How do we interact in society with others?
• How does his existence affect my prayer life?
• How does his existence affect the meaning of
  Church?
• Does my life have meaning? If so, what?

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1 - PANTHEISM
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PANTHEISM
God / World
The total of everything physical in the universe
is God
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Pros?Cons?

• What are good and bad things about this view?

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Some thoughts

• Native Americans Buffalo
• Classical Hinduism Buddhism

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2 - DIVINE CLOCK MAKER
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Divine Clock Maker
God
World
God builds us and winds us up And then sets us
in motion like a clock.
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Pros?Cons?

• What are good and bad things about this view?

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How might this person view sin?
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Moral Autonomy

• I am the arbiter of right and wrong.

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MORAL AUTONOMY

• Good or bad?

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3 - MONARCHICAL
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MONARCHICAL
God
World
God is a distant king the world is his kingdom
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Pros?Cons?

• What are good and bad things about this view?

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How might one view sin and morality in this view?
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MORAL HETERONOMY

• Morality is imposed on me.

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MORAL HETERONOMY

• Good or bad?

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How one might view Church, prayer?
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4 - CHRISTIAN RELATIONAL
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CHRISTIAN RELATIONAL
God
World
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Other Names

• Trinitarian
• Incarnational - God reveals himself through the
  person of the Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. In
  this way, the truth is not a what, but a who.
  

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Other Names

• Sacramental - Since God chose the incarnation,
  then God also reveals himself through the created
  universe and through physical beings. Hence, the
  Church is sacramental. Our salvation is obtained
  through the sacramental life of the Church
• God as King - But a king who serves. Jesus
  washed his disciples feet at the last supper.

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Characteristics of this model

• Gods Presence - Omnipresent (Everywhere) He
  permeates his creation, yet transcends it. He is
  a distinct being. Yet there is no where that he
  is not present.

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Characteristics of this model

• God created us out of nothing.

God has always existed. But out of Divine Love,
he creates us out of nothing. Without God, or at
his whim, we would cease to exist.
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Characteristics of this View

• GOD IS TRINITY. God is a communion of three
  distinct persons. Each person is God God the
  Father, God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ and
  God the Holy Spirit. The nature of the three
  persons is Love.

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Characteristics of this View

• You can only love in a relationship. The members
  of the Trinity are in a relationship that is
  mutual, reciprocal and one of total self-giving
  to other. We are called to share in this
  communion

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Characteristics of this View

• Creation - All creation is good. God is the
  greatest good, but Man is created in his image
  and likeness. We have a certain dignity.

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Characteristics of this View

• EVIL - The lack of the good that ought to be
  there.
• SIN - To place the goods that God created out of
  their proper order. (e.g. to put an object
  before a person or to treat person like a thing)

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PARTICIPATIVETHEONOMY

• I choose to participate with God because through
  reason I see that it is what will lead to my
  ultimate happiness

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Characteristics of this View

• Church - We are the Body of Christ . Christ is
  the source of grace - Gods love infused into our
  soul. It helps lead me to God.

If anyone says, I love God, but hates his
brother, he is a liar 1 John 420
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Characteristics of this model

• Prayer - Communication which opens myself to the
  will of God.

• What is Gods will for me?
• How can I serve others?
• How is God speaking to me through others?
• In what ways am I rejecting God or ignoring his
  will?
• Am I listening to God?