Topic 2.docx - Friday Origins Ultimate Reality Who is God...

Friday, January 15, 2016
Origins: Ultimate Reality
Who is God and what is He like?
Ultimate Reality Obstacles
Origins? Proof? Afterlife? Suffering Different from us
How Factual evidence Hell? Evil Morality?
Silent? Freedom?
Origins Reflection
 Intro
 Summary Gen 1-2
 Interpretation
 Impact on the world
 Conclusion
 1-3 Resources
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Cont. Origins: Ultimate Reality
How do we know Ultimate Reality?
 We cannot know anything with certainty?
 We must create our own ideas?
 We must experience something we cannot explain?
 We must receive communication from a divine being?
How do we answer this question?
 Options: monotheism, polytheism, deism, pantheism, ect.
 Criteria: evidence, faith, ect.
Divine Revelation (The way theist should think)
 Only way to know God truly
 Question “Who is God?” becomes…
 “Who has God reveled himself to be?”
Who is God?
 Divine Revelation
 New question, based on revelation
 “Which source accurately records God’s self-revelation?”
 Christians point to 2 sources:
 General Revelation
 What God reveals about himself using general means.
 Special Revelation
 What God reveals about himself using special means.
Sources of Revelation

 General Revelation: Creation
 Natural universe (Psalm 19:1)
 Reasoning
 Special Revelation: Word of God
 Bible- personal, recorded revelation of God (2 Peter 1:21)
 Jesus- personal, relational revelation of God (John 1:1)
What is God like?
 God is:
 Eternal Creator of Everything
 Omnipotent (All-Powerful)
 Omniscient (All-Knowing)
 Spirit& Omnipresent
 Sovereign (In Control)
 Transcendent (out there) & Immanent (all around)
 Relational
Friday, January 22, 2016
Prayer
 What is prayer?
 A form of communication between God and humanity, with the implicit belief that God
hears and responds to human requests.