In the Context of World Religions

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The Doctrine of God

In the Context of World Religions

MAT 210

Student Manual

Rev. Allen Vander Pol, D.Min.

MINTS International Seminary

14401 Old Cutler Rd.

Miami, FL 33158

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The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful advice

which he received regarding Lesson One

from the following students:

Mr. David Marks

Mr. Brendan Rao.

All quotations from Scripture come from:

The English Standard Version. Wheaton: Crossway, 2001.

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INTRODUCTORY INFORMATION

The Doctrine of God

In the Context of World Religions

PREFACE

COURSE INTRODUCTION

A.Justification

B.Objectives

C.Requirements

D.Benefits

E.Class Record

PART A: DIVINE TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE

LESSON ONE: DIVINE TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE (1):

THE VIEW OF WORLD RELIGIONS

INTRODUCTION

A.INTRODUCTORY EXPLANATIONS OF WORLD RELIGIONS

1.The Polytheistic Perspective on Reality

2.Ideas of Transcendence and Immanence

B.The god of Animism: THE POWER OF THE UNIVERSE

1.Immanence in Animism

2.Transcendence in Animism

3.Summary of Animist Transcendence and Immanence

C.The god of Hinduism: THE SPIRIT OF THE UNIVERSE

1.Brahman, the Transcendent One

2.Brahman, the Immanent One

a.Immanence through Lesser Gods

b.Immanence through Atman

3.Summary of Hindu Transcendence and Immanence

D.The god of Buddhism: THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE UNIVERSE

1.Immanence in Buddhism

2.Transcendence in Buddhism

3.Summary of Transcendence and Immanence in Buddhism

E.The god of Eastern Religions: THE LIFE OF THE UNIVERSE

1.The God of Confucianism and Daoism

a.Their Contrasts

b.Their Agreements

1)Dao

2)Chi

3)Yin and Yang

4)Summary of their Agreements

2.The Gods of Eastern Religions

F.The god of Islam: THE JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

1.The Transcendence of Allah

2.The Practical Immanence of Allah

3.Summary on Allah’s Transcendence and Immanence

Summary

LESSON ONE QUESTIONS

LESSON TWO: DIVINE TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE (2):

THE CHRISTIAN VIEW AND THE CONTRAST TO IT

INTRODUCTION

A.CONTRASTS IN TRANSCENDENCE/IMMANENCE

B.THE MEANING OF GOD’S TRANSCENDENCE

1.Theological Definitions of God’s Transcendence

2.The Biblical Teaching of God’s Holiness

C.CONTRAST IN WORLDVIEWS

1.Two-ism and Personhood—Romans 1:1-4, 17-18

2. Two-ism and Ethics—Romans 1:19

3.Two-ism and Knowledge—Romans 1:2, 19

4.Two-ism and the Cosmos—Romans 1:20

5.Two-ism and History—Romans 1:20

6.Two-ism and Human Aspirations—Romans 1:21, 25

7.Two-ism and Human Sexuality—Romans 1:26-28

8.Two-ism Provides a Reason to Live—Romans 1:15-16

9.Summary of the Implications of God’s Transcendence.

D.INTRODUCTION TO GOD’S attributes

1.Our Basic Perspective on God’s Attributes

2.The Relationship Between the Two Kinds of Attributes

CONCLUSION

LESSON TWO QUESTIONS

PART B: THE GOD WE CAN DESCRIBE

LESSON THREE: THE GOD WE CAN DESCRIBE (1):

GOD’S INCOMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES

INTRODUCTION

A.God’s Attributes and His Simplicity

B.The Meaning of the Incommunicable Attributes

1.God’s Aseity

2.God’s Immutability

a.The Bible on God’s Immutability

b.Process Theology on God’s Immutability

3.God’s Infinity

4.God’s Eternity

5.God’s Immensity

6.God’s Omnipotence

C.LEARNING FROM GOD’S INCOMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES

Summary

LESSON THREE QUESTIONS

LESSON FOUR: THE GOD WE CAN DESCRIBE (2):

GOD’S COMMUNICABLE ATTRIBUTES

INTRODUCTION

A.God’s Intellectual Attributes

1.God’s Knowledge

a.General Teaching about God’s Knowledge

b.The Theory of “Middle Knowledge”

c.The Question of God’s Ignorance

2.God’s Wisdom

3.God’s Truthfulness

B.God’s Moral Attributes

1.God’s Goodness

a.How we Define God’s Goodness

b.How God Manifests His Goodness

c..How We Understand Common Grace

d.Why We Call God Good

2.God’s Love

3.God’s Holiness

4.God’s Righteousness

C.God’s Sovereign Attributes

1.God’s Sovereign Will

a.Distinctions in God’s Will

1)Antecedent and Consequent Wills

2)Decretive and Preceptive Wills

b.The Bible’s References to God’s Will

c.A Question Regarding Three Wills

d.The Question Regarding God’s Will that None Should Perish

2.God’s Sovereign Power

a.Scripture’s Teaching of God’s Omnipotence

b.Definition of God’s Omnipotence

c.Proposed Distinctions in God’s Omnipotence.

d.The Pastoral Effect of Omnipotence

D.God’s Spirituality

CONCLUSION

LESSON FOUR QUESTIONS

PART C: THE GOD WE CAN KNOW

LESSON FIVE: THE GOD WE KNOW (1):

DIVINE REVELATION AND CREATION

INTRODUCTION

A.MANKIND’S KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

1.Everyone knows God.

a.We cannot understand God fully.

b.Christians know God.

c.All mankind knows God.

d.Calvin’s discussion of this knowledge

2.God Reveals Himself

a.God’s revelation in creation

1)Psalm 19:1-6

2)Romans 1:19, 20

3)Romans 2:14, 15

4)General revelation

b.God’s Revelation in Scripture

1)The inspiration of Scripture

2)The Spirit’s use of Scripture

3.Summary on God’s Revelation

B.GOD’S CREATION OF THE WORLD

1.Creation as an independent act of the true God.

a.Creation by the Triune God

b.Creation according to God’s will and for His glory

1)God’s choice to create

2)God’s goal for creation

c.The creation of visible and invisible things

2.Creation out of nothing

3.Creation of a distinct, yet dependent, universe

4.Issues which result from the doctrine of creation

a.The creation days

b.Creation and ecology

5.Summary of the doctrine of creation

LESSON FIVE QUESTIONS

LESSON SIX: THE GOD WE KNOW (2):

PROVIDENCE AND GOD’S DECREE

INTRODUCTION

A.GOD’S PROVIDENCE IN THE WORLD

1.The Doctrine of providence

a.Definition of providence

b.Three parts of the doctrine of providence

1)God’s preservation of the creation

2)God’s concurrence with the creation

3)God’s government over the creation

2.Providence and world religions

3.Providence and miracles

4.Summary of the doctrine of providence

B.GOD’S DECREE

1.Introduction

2.Definition of God’s Decree

3.The Bible’s teaching of God’s Decree

a.Biblical words which refer to God’s decree

b.An example of God’s decree: Christ’s crucifixion

c.The Bible’s general teaching on God’s decree

4.The Doctrine of Predestination

a.The doctrine of election

1)Romans 9:1-5 - Paul’s sorrow and confusion

2)Romans 9:6-13 – Did God’s word fail?

3)Romans 9:14-18 – Does God treat people unjustly?

4)Romans 9:19-29 – May God accuse us of sin?

5)Other passages which teach election

b.The doctrine of reprobation

c.Predestination and God’s foreknowledge

6.Summary on God’s Decree

LESSON SIX QUESTIONS

PART D: THE PERSONAL GOD WHOM WE CAN TRUST

LESSON SEVEN: THE PERSONAL GOD (1):

THE TRINITY AND GOD’S PERSONAL NAMES

INTRODUCTION

A.GOD AS TRIUNE

1.God as One

2.God as Three Distinct Persons

aHistorical Developments which Led to the Doctrine of the Trinity

1) The Issue of Monarchianism

a)Dynamic Monarchianism

b)Modalistic Monarchianism

2)The Issue of Arianism

3)The Issue of Macedonianism

b.Biblical Teaching of the Doctrine of the Trinity

1)Three Distinct Persons

2)All Three Persons

3)Three Divine Persons

c.The Economic Trinity

1)The Role of the Son

2)The Role of the Father

3)The Role of the Holy Spirit

4)Summary of the Economical Trinity

B.GOD’S PERSONAL NAMES

1.The Reason for God’s Names

2.God’s Proper Names

a.El, Eloah, Elohim, Elyon, Theos

b.El Shaddai, Shaddai

c.Adon, Kurios

d.Ab, Pater

e.YHWH, YHWH Sabaoth

3.Reflection on God’s Proper Names

Summary

LESSON SEVEN QUESTIONS

LESSON EIGHT: THE PERSONAL GOD (2):

GOD’S PERSONAL SPEECH, MESSAGE, AND SON

INTRODUCTION

A.GOD’S PERSONAL SPEECH

1.The Bible’s Association with This Teaching

2.The Bible’s Demonstration of This Teaching

B.Paul’s PERSONAL Message to the Athenians

1.The Setting of Paul’s Message (Acts 17:16-18)

2.Observations Concerning Paul’s Message

3.The Content (Acts 17:22-31)

a.What Greeks Remembered

b.What Greeks Accepted

c.What Paul Proclaimed

1)God’s Transcendence

2)God’s Immanence

d.What Paul Commanded

4.The Athenians’ Response (Acts 17:32-34)

5.Summary of Paul’s Approach

C.GOD’S PERSONALITY AND JESUS CHRIST

1.The Divine Personality of Jesus

2.Jesus Became Man

SUMMARY

LESSON EIGHT QUESTIONS

PREFACE

Every teacher and preacher in the church should know the topics which a traditional course on the Doctrine of God includes. Like other courses in biblical doctrine, a course on the Doctrine of God will help the teacher form assumptions and an understanding about God which help insure that teaching and preaching in ministry conform to general biblical teaching.

Similarly, every teacher and preacher in the church should understand how the Bible’s presentation of God contrasts to the ideas in society about God. The church needs to understand these contrasts. Knowing the difference between truth and false teaching will alert Christians to pagan ideas which can enter the church; it will also equip Christians in their witness to people of their society. So we need to know what the bible teaches and what the world teaches.

This course intends to present the doctrine of God with some of these contrasts in mind. We focus on one set of contrasts primarily—how the Bible and non-Christian religions speak about the transcendence and immanence of the Supreme Beings whom they serve. This author has spoken to Christians whose societies worship idols; some Christians could not tell me any ideas which the dominant pagan religions in their society teach. This unawareness does not help Christian ministry. Hopefully this course will assist leaders such as them in their investigation. On the other hand, the author knows very well how little he has learned on the subject of world religions. The course makes only a small beginning in contrasting Christian teaching about God to false teachings about pagan ideas of the Supreme Being. We hope that MINTS students will develop additional ways to show the difference between the gods of world religions and the Triune God whom we know in Jesus Christ.

We believe that the church of Christ needs to study courses similar to this one. To present the Gospel clearly, Christians need to know what the world thinks about the divine; this will help Christians clarify for non-Christians the difference between the true religion and false teaching. So in presenting the doctrine of God, this course also has an apologetic purpose.

This course follows a simple plan. We have divided the eight lessons into four parts. Part A attempts to give the contrast between non-Christian religions and Christianity concerning the transcendence and immanence of God. Non-Christian religions claim to end up with a god whom we cannot describe or know, and who has no personality. So Parts B, C and D seek to present the Reformed Doctrine of God in the context of addressing these non-Christian ideas about God. Though this approach, which seems new to the author, may have flaws, we hope that it will encourage the reader to advance the project further in our effort to learn about God and to present His gospel meaningfully to the lost world.

COURSE INTRODUCTION

A.Justification

We believe that Christians need to learn the biblical Doctrine of God. They also need to proclaim this doctrine to their societies. So Christians must understand how their own societies represent their Supreme Beings (gods). We hope that this course will assist students in gaining such understanding.

B.Objectives

This course attempts to accomplish the following:

1.Give students a presentation of the Doctrine of God which faithfully presents the teaching of Scripture. (We believe that the Reformed understanding of God most faithfully reflects the teaching of Scripture.)

2.Teach students some of the general themes which reappear in non-Christian religions.

3.Encourage students to read about the doctrine of God.

4.Provide students (within the context of Biblical teaching) an opportunity to read about what non-Christian religions teach.

5.Encourage students to engage in research which helps them become convinced of the uniqueness of the Christian understanding of God.

C.Requirements

To receive credit for the course, students must complete the following requirements:

1.Attendance (15%). Students must attend at least 15 hours of class time under the supervision of the MINTS Study Center’s coordinator.

2.Homework (15%). Students must write answers to the questions as the end of each lesson. They must hand them to their coordinator for the coordinator to grade the work.

3.ReadingReport (25%).

a)Bachelors students must read 300 additional pages of related material; Masters students must read 600 additional pages. They must write reading reports—one page of report for each 100 pages of reading. They must hand their written reports to the coordinator, who will grade them. Students will also give a spoken report on their reading to the class. We suggest that at least one-third of student reading for this course cover the Biblical doctrine of God or topics which belong to this doctrine. We suggest that students read at least 50 pages (100 pages for Masters) which treat the beliefs of non-Christian religions.

b)To assist students in selecting reading materials, we give the following list which suggests what student can look for:

SystematicTheologies on the Doctrine of God

Bavink, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics. Part II, The Triune God and Creation.

Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology. Part One, The Doctrine of God.

The MINTS website ( makes a digital copy available

Bray, Gerald. The Doctrine of God. Contours of Christian Theology.

Frame, John. The Doctrine of God. Any part of the book.

Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: And Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Part 2: The Doctrine of God.

Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. Part 1. Any of the chapters.

Horton, Michael. The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. Parts 1, 2 and 3.

Topics in Doctrine of God

Flavel, John. The Mystery of Providence.

Leahy, Frederick S. The Hand of God: The Comfort of Having a Sovereign God.

Letham, Robert. The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship.

Pink, Arthur W. The Sovereignty of God.

Sproul, R. C. Chosen by God.

Sproul, F. C. The Holiness of God

Works on Non-Christian Religions

Cooper, Derek. Christianity and World Religions: An Introduction to the World’s Major Faiths.

Hodge, Charles. Systematic Theology. Part 1, Chapters II and III.

McDowell, Bruce A. and Anees Zaka. Muslims and Christians at the Table: Promoting Biblical Understanding Among North American Muslims.

Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions.

Tennent, Timothy C. Christianity at the Religious Roundtable: Evangelicalism in Conversation with Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.

Van Rheenen, Gailyn. Communicating Christ in Animistic Contexts.

Zaka, Anees and Diane Coleman. The Truth about Islam: The Noble Qur’an’s Teachings in the Light of the Holy Bible

4.Essay (25%). Bachelor’s students write an 8-10-page essay; Master’s students write a 15-page essay. Students should select a topic which the course describes; they should compare the biblical view on that topic with the view of a non-Christian religion. Essays should include Title Page, Essay Outline, Body of the Essay, Citation of sources when the paper relies on outside sources, and Bibliography.

5.Exam (20%).

D.BENEFITS

All the course activities together will challenge the student to learn about the Biblical Doctrine of God. It will also clarify for students how Christianity compares to other non-Christian religions. This will help equip students for all forms of the ministry of the word.

E.Class Record

The coordinator will log Students’ work by recording the following.

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PART A

PART A: DIVINE TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE

As its title states, this course presents the biblical doctrine of God in the context of world religions. This means that we hope to explore both what world religions teach about their gods and what the Bible teaches about the true God. But this course deals primarily with the Bible’s teaching about the true God. We will discuss other religions of the world mostly to see the contrast between their views of the divine and the Christian view of God.

Lessons One and Two give most attention to summarizing the different views of divine transcendence and immanence.[1] Lesson One seeks to summarize how world religions summarize the transcendence and immanence of their Supreme Beings. Lesson Two shows the difference between them and the Bible’s teaching concerning the transcendence and immanence of the true God. Though we will describe seven religions, we will see that only two basic religions really exist.

Since the world pursues many religions, we can choose only a small number of them to represent the rest of them. We have chosen animism, a family of religions which originally had almost exclusive influence over Africa, North and South America and Europe. We include Hinduism and Buddhism, religions which rose up in Southeast Asia. And we discuss Confucianism and Daoism, which emerged first in China. Each of these religions has unique features. However, they all share basic beliefs about the divine.

We also include Islam, whose influence continues to grow significantly. In the list of religions that we present, only Islam has undergone some influence from the Bible. As a result, Islam has a few beliefs about Allah which resemble the Christian view of God. But, as a non-Christian religion, Islam’s views also resemble the views of the divine which other world religions profess.

We believe that Lesson One will prepare the student to read Lesson Two. These two lessons will help students understand the rest of this course on the Biblical view of God. We hope that the contrast will enable students to appreciate the profound uniqueness of the Bible’s teaching concerning the true God.

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LESSON ONE

LESSON ONE: DIVINE TRANSCENDENCE AND IMMANENCE (1):

THE VIEW OF WORLD RELIGIONS

INTRODUCTION

When the Apostle Paul preached in Athens, he responded to what he had just learned about the religion of the people there. Acts 17:16 says that “his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” So, when he preached to the crowds, he began by saying, “As I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you” (Acts 17:23). Then Paul presented, in very basic form, his doctrine of God.

Near the end of this course we will look at what Paul taught the Athenians. Yet we want to notice here that, when Paul spoke, he stressed differences between the pagan view of God and the Bible’s presentation of God. For example, Paul said,