TTH 620 01 -- DOCTRINE OF GOD Instructor: Jack Cottrell
Course Assignments -- Fall 2009 Three Credit Hours
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is a study of the nature and attributes of God as manifested in His works of creation, providence, and redemption.
A. RATIONALE. The fundamental framework of any world view is its concept of God (or lack thereof). This is certainly true of the Biblical world view. The doctrine of God taught in the Bible is the framework within which all other facts fit and which gives meaning to every aspect of life. It is, in a word, the starting point for all other academic and practical pursuits. Thus it is inevitable that such a course must appear in the curriculum of a theological seminary and be part of the requirements for all degree programs in Bible doctrine.
B. OBJECTIVES. Upon completion of this course the student should --
1. Understand the Bible's teaching about the nature and works of God, and be able to explain this teaching on different levels and in varying formats (e.g., children's lessons, adult sermons, periodical articles).
2. Be able to explain the difference between the Biblical doctrine of God and the concepts of God found in non-Biblical systems of belief.
3. Have an increased personal awareness of the presence of God in every aspect of life and the world.
4. Be able to interpret and adjust all other aspects of belief and practice (e.g., ethics) so that they are consistent with the Biblical concept of God.
C. GENERAL INFORMATION.
1. Class Sessions. This course meets on Mondays, 6:30 – 9:10 p.m., from August 24 to December 14, 2009. Each day the student should bring to class (a) a Bible (NASB or ESV preferred but not required); (b) the course outline, available online; and (c) the textbook currently under discussion, if possible.
2. Absence Policy. The student is expected to attend every class session. If an absence is necessary, the student should make arrangements to tape the class and listen to the tape. Three absences: extra work may be required. Four absences: possible exclusion from the course.
3. Grade Determination. Completed readings ---- 20%
Read & Report assignment ---- 20%
Examination ---- 30%
Final paper ---- 30%.
4. Deadline for Written Work. Each paper must be submitted on or before the date due, no exceptions.
5. Required reading for the course will be taken from the following volumes:
a. Jack Cottrell's three volumes on God, published in College Press's "What the Bible Says About" series: God the Creator (1983), God the Ruler (1984), and God the Redeemer (1987). These are reprinted in paperback format by Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR.
b. Jack Cottrell, “Understanding God: God and Time,” in Evangelicalism and the Stone-Campbell Movement, Vol. 2, Engaging Basic Christian Doctrine, ed. William R. Baker. Abilene, TX: ACU Press, 2006. Pp. 64-85.
c. Jack Cottrell, “The Nature of the Divine Sovereignty,” in The Grace of God, the Will of Man: A Case for Arminianism, ed. Clark Pinnock. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989. Pp. 97-119.
d. Bruce Ware, ed. Perspectives on the Doctrine of God: Four Views. Nashville: Broadman
and Holman, 2008.
6. The professor reserves the right to change any part of this course plan if deemed necessary.
7. How to contact the professor: (a) Mailing address: Cincinnati Bible Seminary, 2700 Glenway Avenue, Cincinnati, OH 45204; (b) Phone numbers: CBS – 513-244-8166; home – 812-637-9628. (c) E-mail: CBS -- ; home – .
D. READ & REPORT. Read the assignment and submit a report that includes a good solid paragraph on
each of the following 16 items:
1. Four things from the book that were a new or different way of thinking for me, and why.
2. Four things from the book that were somewhat disappointing to me, and why.
3. Four things from the book that I still have questions about, and why.
4. Four things from the book that will be quite useful to me in my ministry, and why.
E. FINAL ASSIGNMENT. Each student must prepare a formal research paper, using proper form and style, on this subject: “Divine Foreknowledge: A Comparison of Open Theism and the Bible.” Length: c. 2,500 to 3,000 words. Put word count on title page.
E. SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS.
Aug. 24 -- First class session.
Sept. 7 -- Labor Day: no class.
Sept. 14 -- Read God the Creator, chs. 1-6. SUBMIT READING REPORT.
Sept. 28 -- Read Cottrell, “God and Time.” SUBMIT READING REPORT.
Oct. 12 -- Read God the Ruler, chs. 1-5, 7-8. SUBMIT READING REPORT.
Oct. 19 -- Mid-term Examination.
Oct. 26 -- Read Cottrell, “Nature of Divine Sovereignty.” SUBMIT READING REPORT.
Nov. 9 -- Read Ware, Perspectives, and submit a READ & REPORT.
Nov. 16 -- Read God the Redeemer, ch. 8. SUBMIT READING REPORT.
Nov. 23 -- Thanksgiving Recess; no class.
Dec. 7 -- SUBMIT research paper on Divine Foreknowledge.
Dec. 14 -- Final class session.
DOCTRINE OF GOD
Selected Bibliography -- Spring 2009
Cincinnati Bible Seminary
[One * = generally useful; two ** = recommended for purchase. Names in bold print indicate sources relevant for the open theism debate.]
I. GENERAL WORKS
Bavinck, Herman. The Doctrine of God, tr. William Hendriksen. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951; reprint, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth. Scholarly Calvinistic classic. [In this kind of study one’s Calvinism will affect several crucial aspects of the doctrine as a whole. Otherwise it may be quite sound.]
Bloesch, Donald G. God the Almighty: Power, Wisdom, Holiness, Love. “Christian Foundations,” vol. 3. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1995. Bloesch is about halfway between Evangelicalism and Neoorthodoxy.
*Bray, Gerald. The Doctrine of God. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1993. “Contours of Christian Theology” series.
Bright, Bill. God: Discover His Character. New Life, 2000.
*Brunner, Emil. Dogmatics, Vol. I: The Christian Doctrine of God, tr. Olive Wyon. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1950. Readable Neoorthodoxy with many good insights. Volume I of his threevolume systematics.
Callen, Barry L. God as Loving Grace: The Biblically Revealed Nature and Work of God. Nappanee, IN: Evangel Publishing House, 1996.
Carman, John B. Majesty and Meekness: A Comparative Study of Contrast and Harmony in the Concept of God. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994. Compares the Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Moslem views of God.
Clark, William N. The Christian Doctrine of God. New York: Scribner’s, 1909. An example of classic Liberalism.
Cooper, John W. Panentheism—The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006. Origin, history, influence, & critique of this philosophical view.
**Cottrell, Jack. What the Bible Says About God The Creator/Ruler/ Redeemer (three volumes). Joplin, MO: College Press, 19831987; now published by Wipf and Stock, Eugene, OR.
Craig, William Lane & Walter Sinnott-Armstrong. God: A Debate Between a Christian and an Atheist. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Curry, Allen. The God We Love and Serve. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1991. A brief survey of God’s character and works. Reformed.
*Davis, Stephen T. Logic and the Nature of God. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983. Philosophical defense of the Biblical concept of God. Philosophical theology.
**Erickson, Millard J. God the Father Almighty: A Contemporary Exploration of the Divine Attributes. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.
Feinberg, John S. No One Like Him: The Doctrine of God. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2001.
Flamming, Peter James. God and Creation. Nashville: Broadman, 1985. Brief study of not only creation but also the will of God, miracles, predestination, etc.
*Frame, John M. The Doctrine of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 2002. Reformed.
Geisler, Norman L. Systematic Theology, Volume 2: God, Creation. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2003.
Grenz, Stanley J. The Social God and the Relational Self: A Trinitarian Theology of the Imago Dei. Louisville: WestminsterJohn Knox, 2001. Vol. 1 of projected 6vol. systematic theology.
Hanson, R. P. C. The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy 318-381. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2006 (pb. ed.; first published 1988). 952 pp.
*Highfield, Ron. Great Is the Lord: Theology for the Praise of God. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008. A Restoration Movement author.
Huffman, Douglas S., and Eric L. Johnson, eds. God Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001. A critique of openness theology.
*Henry, Carl F. H. God, Revelation, and Authority, 6 vols. Waco: Word, 19761983. The magnum opus of the dean of evangelical scholarship. Combines studies of theological method, the doctrine of Scripture, and the doctrine of God. Insightful, wordy, and Calvinistic where relevant. Henry is always worth consulting.
Humphreys, Fisher. The Nature of God. Nashville: Broadman, 1985. A brief survey by a Southern Baptist.
Ingram, Chip. God: As He Longs For You to See Him. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004.
Jewett, Paul K. God, Creation, and Revelation: A NeoEvangelical Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991. Scholarly, substantial.
*Kaiser, Christopher B. The Doctrine of God. Westchester, IL: Crossway, 1982. Brief survey of the Biblical doctrine and its historical development.
Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. The Doctrine of God: A Global Introduction. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004.
Kennard, Douglas. The Classical Christian God. Lewiston, NY: Mellen Press, 2002. Defense of classical theism.
*Lewis, Gordon T., and Bruce A. Demarest. Integrative Theology, Vol. I: Knowing Ultimate Reality; The Living God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. The first volume of a conservative systematic theology.
*Lightner, Robert P. The God of the Bible: An Introduction to the Doctrine of God. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978 (reprint of The First Fundamental: God (Nelson, 1973). A small but wellwritten volume.
Lightner, Robert P. The God of the Bible and Other Gods: Is the Christian God Unique Among World Religions? Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1998.
McCormack, Bruce L., ed. Engaging the Doctrine of God: Contemporary Protestant Perspectives. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008. Miscellaneous essays, e.g., on God’s hiddenness, sovereignty, aseity, wrath, compassion.
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*Morey, Robert A. Battle of the Gods: The Gathering Storm in Modern Evangelicalism. Southbridge, MA: Crown Publications, 1989. A defense of the traditional Biblical doctrine of God, contrasted with what are perceived to be some current mediating views.
Morris, Thomas V. Our Idea of God: An Introduction to Philosophical Theology. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1991. An evangelical, introductorylevel philosophical discussion of the nature of God.
Morris, Thomas V., ed. The Concept of God. New York: Oxford, 1987. Some contemporary philosophical discussions of the traditional Biblical concept of God.
**Nash, Ronald. The Concept of God: An Exploration of Contemporary Difficulties with the Attributes of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983. A brief, welldone philosophical defense of the Biblical view of God, in response to attacks by unbelieving philosophers.
Oden, Thomas C. The Living God: Systematic Theology, Vol. I. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987.
Owen, Huw Parri. Christian Theism: A Study in Its Basic Principles. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1984. Philosophical essays on miscellaneous aspects of theism.
Owen, Huw Parri. Concepts of Deity. New York: Herder & Herder, 1971. A useful survey of the main philosophical concepts.
**Packer, J. I. Knowing God, new ed. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1993 (1973). A very readable Biblical study of God. Calvinistic where relevant. Minimal changes in the new edition.
*Phillips, J. B. Your God Is Too Small. New York: Macmillan, 1964. A popular-level “makes you think” study of popular parodies of God.
*Pratney, Winkie. The Nature and Character of God. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1988. A rather substantial, nonCalvinistic study.
Scharlemann, Robert P., ed. Naming God. New York: Paragon House, 1986. Comparative study of different religions’ views of God.
Spencer, Aida B.; and William D. Spencer, eds. The Global God: Multicultural Evangelical Views of God. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998. A Bridgepoint Book.
*Swinburne, Richard. The Christian God. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. Philosophical theology; defends the Christian view.
Swinburne, Richard. The Existence of God. Second edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Vardy, Peter. The Puzzle of God. San Francisco: Harper, 1992. A light and liberal examination of different ideas of God.
Wallace, Stan W., ed. Does God Exist? The Craig-Flew Debate. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2003. By William Craig, a leading evangelical philosopher, and Antony Flew, who recently accepted the validity of intelligent design.
Ward, Keith. The Concept of God. Oxford: Blackwell, 1974.
**Ware, Bruce, ed. Perspectives on the Doctrine of God: Four Views. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2008. Paul Helm presents the classical Calvinist view; Ware, modified Calvinist; Roger Olson, classical Arminian; John Sanders, Open Theist.
Wright, Christopher J. H. The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009.
II. GENERAL REVELATION AND OUR KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
Baillie, John. Our Knowledge of God. New York: Scribner’s, 1939. A classic Barthian (Neoorthodox) work.
Baillie, John. The Sense of the Presence of God. New York: Scribner’s, 1962.
Berkouwer, G. C. General Revelation. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955. A scholarly, conservative work in the Calvinistic tradition.
Charnock, Stephen. Knowledge of God. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1985. Reprint of a lesserknown work by this wordy Puritan theologian.
*Demarest, Bruce A. General Revelation: Historical Views and Contemporary Issues. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982. Scholarly and thorough.
Frame, John M. The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1987. A major work on the subject by a Van Tillian Calvinist.
Jewett, Paul K. God, Creation and Revelation. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishing, 2001..
Templeton, John M.; and Robert L. Herrmann. The God Who Would Be Known: Revelations of the Divine in Contemporary Science. San Francisco: Harper, 1989. Not necessarily the Biblical God.
III. STUDIES OF GOD’S NAMES AND ATTRIBUTES
Benton, John. How Can a God of Love Send People to Hell? Welwyn: Evangelical Press, 1985. Distributed by Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed.
*Charnock, Stephen. The Existence and Attributes of God, 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979. One of many reprints of this wordy but useful work by this seventeenthcentury Puritan Calvinist.
Carson, D. A. The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2000.