Notes for the Pre-final Exam

Philosophy of Religion
Philo 106 (2017-18, 2nd Sem) ADDU
Edgar Rene M . Nartatez (Instructor)

This is for my Philo of Religion class only.

On the Judeo-Christian Worldview

Cosmos

According to the JC (Judeo-Christian) wv, we can say that there are 2 levels of reality- -

1. “Reality” with a capital R

2. “reality” with a small letter r

-“Reality” is Ultimate Reality, the Ground of Being (Paul Tillich), the origin and foundation of reality. It is Reality that
gives meaning, purpose and order to reality, and sustains its very existence.

-Reality is Personal i.e. God, Creator of reality.

-“reality” (or “realities”) refer to the created order; the world of creation. This involves the ff:

>>physical, the material universe we experience with our senses—from galaxies to atoms

>>spiritual, the world that’s non-reducible to the material, involving the ff:

 nonmaterial dimension inhabited by entities and realms not immediately accessible to sense experience

 the world of specifically human values (of good and evil), persons in relationships, human consciousness,
mind and reason, personality and freedom, meaning and purpose, faith and spirituality

In all the worldviews, the question of God (His existence and nature) or the non-existence of God is the critical key
that defines how everything else is understood, and from where practical implications are drawn out. In the Judeo-
Christian (JC) worldview (wv), God’s very nature and character determines and defines how the rest of the world is
understood, and how human life is to be lived, and how the human society is to be sustained.

Reality cannot be reduced to mere physics and chemistry.

Characteristics of God

God is Powerful: He is omnipotent (all powerful). However, to say that God is all powerful does not mean God can
do anything without qualification. God’s power is limited within the bounds of His nature and character (eg. truth,
goodness, love, justice). God cannot and does not do things that are by nature absurd e.g. make a square circle or

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make a triangle with 4 sides. Also, God cannot do things in opposition to His nature i.e. God cannot perform wicked
deeds--“it is impossible for God to lie.” Heb6:18

It is by the creative wisdom and power of God that all reality came to exist.

God is Holy: The primary meaning of holiness is “separation” or “cut-off” (from the Greek hagios); God is distinct
and separate from His creation (transcendent), even though He is also near and with His creation (immanent). This
means that God can and does get involve with His creation and His creatures.

God’s holiness also means that He is separate and removed from anything that is defiled i.e. things that are
spiritually and morally opposite to His character and nature. His response to unholy things is separation and
judgment.

God is Love: 1Jn4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1Jn4:16 “And so we know
and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” (NIV)

God is first and foremost a Being of love (not as law-maker or rule-giver). The laws and rules He gives originate from
that love.

A necessary ingredient for love to exist is relationship—relationship with a significant other. Love can only exist in
the context of relationship. So how can God be love? The Christian answer is in the concept of the Trinity. From
eternity, the Triune God (revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) existed in a perfect relationship of love.

“Only a God of love is fully personal. Thus the Trinity is crucial for maintaining a fully personal concept of God. As
theologian Robert Letham writes, “Only a God who is triune can be personal.... A solitary monad cannot love and,
since it cannot love, neither can it be a person.” Therefore it “has no way to explain or even to maintain human
personhood.” Nancy Pearcey
Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/author/11453-Nancy_Pearcey

The doctrine of the Triune Godhead—

-There is one God. (Monotheistic)

-Eternally existing as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

-God is one in essence and three in person.

In the Christian wv, life with God is all about love.

Mt 22:36-40 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the
second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets (the entire Old Testament) hang on
these two commandments."

A rational God and a rational creation: Creation is rational and orderly (not chaotic) because it is the creation of an
Intelligent Mind, i.e., God.

When Einstein was asked in an interview, “Do you believe in God?” he responded, "I'm not an atheist. I don't think I
can call myself a pantheist. The problem involved is too vast for our limited minds. We are in the position of a little
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child entering a huge library filled with books in many languages. The child knows someone must have written those
books. It does not know how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. The child dimly
suspects a mysterious order in the arrangement of the books but doesn't know what it is. That, it seems to me, is
the attitude of even the most intelligent human being toward God. We see the universe marvelously arranged and
obeying certain laws but only dimly understand these laws."

The Fall: The Entrance of Sin and Evil

Creation was intended to be good. Humanity, created with the capacity to make significantly free choices (and not
just driven by non-rational instincts, or as mere robots), was intended to grow into moral and spiritual excellence
through the right use of freedom (appropriate to humans as rational and moral agents, reflecting the image of its
Maker) in relationship to God.

But evil came to exist in this world when humanity chose to “do its own thing,” and asserted its own authority and
independence (the significance of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”) instead of choosing to submit to
the wisdom and authority of God. This is the doctrine of the Fall. The result was judgment, alienation and separation
from God, and death.

Self

The human being shares with the animal kingdom in its creatureliness, in its status as part of the created order.
However, the human person is sui generis (unique, a class of its own) for it is created in the very image of its
Creator.

Gen1:26 “Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea
and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth…"

This is the root and the foundation of the recognition of the inherent dignity and inalienable right of every individual.
This is explicitly expressed in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-
evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty…”

Since God is the archetypical Person, humans, made in His image, likewise possess full personality, possessing full
self-awareness and self-consciousness.

We are intelligent/rational, moral and spiritual beings because God is.

We are self-determining and creative beings for God is.

The Fall- Because of the Fall the human being has a bias toward sin and spiritual rebellion. We still carry with us the
image of God, but it’s a corrupted image. This is the reason why evil is a common phenomenon in human history and
experience. (Recall the Wallace article and the ‘Are People Born Good?’ video by Prager University videos.)

Because humans are spiritual beings as well, physical death does not end human existence. At death the person
passes from earthly physical existence into a spiritual state of either blessedness (with God) or judgment (separated
from God), awaiting a Final Reckoning at the culmination of human history when God Himself breaks into history and
transforms all things into a New Heaven and Earth.
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 Note what the Book of Revelation says,

Rev21 - 1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more.2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself
will be with them; 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and
pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’
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And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new… It is done! I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of
the water of life. 7Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my
children. 8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers,
the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second
death.’

Knowing

The human mind is rational, having the full capacity to reason. This rationality is a manifestation of God’s image in us.
Our intelligence reflects the creative mind of God. Knowledge disciplines (eg, science and philosophy) are possible
because humans are gifted with full intellectual and rational capacities. We are able to study and reflect on life and
the world because there is real meaning to life, and the world is real, rational, orderly and intelligent, reflecting
God’s Being--His creative and purposeful mind.

Humans have been given responsibility to take care of the earth (this involves understanding it through study).

Gen1:26, Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule… over all the earth, and
over all the creatures…”

Gen2:15, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

Knowledge of reality in 2 “books”—

The book of nature: General knowledge of God can be seen in nature, Ps 19:1 “(David) The heavens declare the glory
of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This is known as natural theology (knowledge of God’s existence
discovered in the created order), or natural revelation.

The book of Scripture: But human reason or the human capacity to comprehend God is finite and limited and can
even be distorted. It takes God’s self-revealing if humans are to know God intimately and personally. This is called
special revelation and is captured in the record of the Scriptures. The Scriptures contain the historical records of
how God is pursuing humanity to restore the human race and all of creation back to Himself.

The Bible then is the Word of God but expressed in the limitations of human language and knowledge (biblical
writers wrote the Scriptures using their own language, in their own historical, cultural and literary context, and
according to their literary abilities). The Bible testifies to spiritual (divine and human) realities and truths; it is neither
written according to the modern canons of historical writing, nor is it written as a scientific text.

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The Logos: Divine knowledge incarnate: The greatest of God’s self-revelation is the historical person of Jesus Christ.
Note what John says about this (Jn1:1-14),

In the beginning was the Word (Logos), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the
beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into
being… 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people… 10He was in the world, and the world came
into being through him; yet the world did not know him… 12But to all who received him, who believed in his
name, he gave power to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or
of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory,
the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.”

But even with such a great self-revelation of God in Christ, in the present time our knowledge of God and reality are
still very limited. Paul writes in 1Cor13:12 “For the present we see things as if in a mirror, and are puzzled; but then we
shall see them face to face. For the present the knowledge I gain is imperfect; but then I shall know fully, even as I
am fully known.” (WNT)

Community

God’s intention from the beginning of humanity is to create a family and a community of people made in His image,
reflecting of God’s inner reality of a being in community i.e. the Trinity. We see this in Adam and Eve, in God’s
promise to Abraham to give him a family of nations, in Israel’s assembly (the qahal) as the people of God , and in the
ekklesia (iglesia, church) as the community of believers.

All stand equal in this community, but roles and functions vary. There is unity in diversity.

Time

Time, however it is conceived, is a creation of God. It came into existence at creation. Time moves in a linear and
progressive way. Time and history are arenas where God accomplishes His purposes.

The JC faith is a historical faith, built on historical claims. Its central historical claim is that God entered time/history
and space and took on the status of a creature in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

The entire validity of the Judeo-Christian Faith is built on the historical claim that Christ literally rose from the grave.
Note what Paul said in 1Cor15:12-20 (writing in AD 55, from the city of Ephesus, within the generation of the life and
death of Jesus), addressing the circulating idea denying a future physical resurrection [influence from Greek dualism
that spirit is good and body is evil]),

“Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the
dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; and if Christ has not been
raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain… if the dead are not raised,
then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your
sins… we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits
of those who have died.”

Among those considered as great religious leaders in history, Jesus of Nazareth stands unique, due to this historical
assertion that he did not just teach inspiring ideas and stories, but that he confronted the greatest nemesis of
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humanity—death—and overcame it through His resurrection. Professor Gary Habermas (historian) makes the following
case for this assertion on the basis of the ff:
1. Jesus died by crucifixion.
2. He was buried.
3. His death caused the disciples to despair and lose hope.
4. The tomb was empty (the most contested).
5. The disciples had experiences which they believed were literal appearances of the risen Jesus (the most important
proof).
6. The disciples were transformed from doubters to bold proclaimers.
7. The resurrection was the central message.
8. They preached the message of Jesus’ resurrection in Jerusalem.
9. The Church was born and grew.
10. Orthodox Jews who believed in Christ made Sunday their primary day of worship (to commemorate the
resurrection).
11. James was converted to the faith when he saw the resurrected Jesus (James was a family skeptic).
12. Paul was converted to the faith (Paul was an outsider skeptic, a crusading anti-Jesus, anti-Christian Jewish scholar of
the day). [Summarized here http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/garyhabermas.htm.]

Humans too (you and me) have the capacity to impact and move the flow of history, for great good or great evil.

The Christian faith is both pessimistic and optimistic in terms of both humanity and history.

It is pessimistic in the sense that it does not see humanity being able to solve and overcome its own problems in this
present age (though humans are given responsibility to work for the good of the world). The biblical perspective of
time and history is that, since the Fall, the world has been engulfed by the “present evil age” where sin, destruction
and death rule.

But it is also very optimistic in its anticipation of the culmination of history where God himself comes and transforms
the old things into newness and brings justice and judgment to all. It anticipates the time when God breaks into
history and declares, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev21:5) History is relentlessly moving towards the fulfillment
of God’s ultimate purpose for creation and humanity.

The Hebrew prophets foresaw a time they called “the coming age” or the “new age” (NOT referring to the New Age
Movement), or the age of the “Kingdom of God” or the “Messianic age” where God breaks into history and
establishes His rule on the earth.

But something unprecedented happened. While anticipating this apocalyptic and eschatological “coming age,”
Jesus, in the midst of history, suddenly appears and announces that the Kingdom of God has come in his own life,
teachings and works (His power and authority over life and death demonstrated this). However, this is the initial
coming of the Kingdom of God (an inauguration). Jesus talks about a 2nd Coming when He returns not as a humble
servant but as Lord of Lords and King of Kings (the consummation of this present age). This will mean the End of the
present age and the dawning of the eternal ages. (The significance of the resurrection by NT Wright
http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/n-t-wright-on-the-significance-of-the-resurrection )

Value

God is the great absolute; absolute Truth and Goodness. Because God exists true truth exists, and objective
goodness also exists. Therefore, truth and goodness are not relative matters. Moral and ethical values are objective.
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Truth and goodness are revealed by God in 2 sources:

1) in the human conscience. We all have this inner sense of right and wrong; an inner judge applauding us to do good
and castigating us when we do bad. The Fall has rendered our conscience to be far from perfect but nevertheless it
still performs its basic duty of reminding us to do what’s good and warning us to not do the bad.

2) in God’s revelation in the Scriptures. Through the principles and examples in the Bible God shows us what is
pleasing to Him and what is displeasing to Him.

Failing God?

But what do we do when realize that we have failed God? As fallen beings we don’t have the capacity to save
ourselves; we can’t get rid of our guilt by our efforts.

“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up
like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isa64:6

We all deserve judgment (a just judge is responsible to establish justice, and justice requires judgment for those who
break the law).

But God is love, and He is merciful and gracious. “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and rich in
mercy.” (Ps 103:8) He offers us Himself in the life and death of Christ as His gift of forgiveness, and through His
resurrection He gives us the hope and promise of eternal life.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes (commits his/her life)
in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.”
(Jn3:16-18)

A Unique Feature of Judeo-Christianity

One critical difference that makes Judeo-Christianity different from all the other worldviews and world religions is its
concept of redemption (or on the hope and the promise of deliverance from sin, death and judgment).

What is common to all other religions is that redemption is to be earned by great effort. Each individual must earn
his/her way to merit redemption (or salvation or eternal rewards) by strictly—

-- obeying the laws (as in Judaism and Islam),

-- or by religiously following a particular way of life (spiritual principles eg, the 8-fold path of Buddhism)

-- or building up your good karma (Hinduism)

-- or by certain combinations of spiritual techniques (as in the NAM)

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And thus, if you are good enough, or achieve enough merit through good works then perhaps you will be granted
eternal rewards (depending on how each view would define it what that is).

Even in secularism, humanity is its own savior; it is by human effort and ingenuity that mankind will be able to
surmount all the problems it is facing, and so save itself.

In the Judeo-Christian perspective redemption is an impossibility humanly speaking. It is a God-size problem that
must have a God-size solution. This is the very reason why Jesus Christ, the God-man, came and willingly offered
Himself as that price for the ransom required that will reconcile and restore fallen humanity (and the universe itself)
back to God.

Notice the claims of Christ--

“For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does…For just as the Father raises the dead and gives
them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it… I tell you the truth, whoever hears my
word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from
death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of
the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son
to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:20-29
NIV)

Note that “those who have done good” here refers to the “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me
has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

The words of Paul are also crystal clear on the matter:

“Thus it stands written, "There is not one righteous man. There is not one who is really wise, nor one who is
a diligent seeker after God. All have turned aside from the right path; they have every one of them become
corrupt. There is no one who does what is right--no, not so much as one." "Their throats resemble an opened
grave; with their tongues they have been talking deceitfully." "The venom of vipers lies hidden behind their
lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet move swiftly to shed blood. Ruin and
misery mark their path; and the way to peace they have not known." "There is no fear of God before their
eyes." … For on the ground of obedience to Law no man living will be declared righteous before Him. Law
simply brings a sure knowledge of sin. But now a righteousness coming from God has been brought to light
apart from any Law… a righteousness coming from God, which depends on faith in Jesus Christ and extends
to all who believe. No distinction is made; for all alike have sinned, and all consciously come short of the glory
of God, gaining acquittal from guilt by His free un-purchased grace through the deliverance which is found
in Christ Jesus. He it is whom God put forward as a Mercy-seat, rendered efficacious through faith in His
blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness-- because of the passing over, in God's forbearance, of the
sins previously committed-- with a view to demonstrating, at the present time, His righteousness, that He
may be shown to be righteous Himself, and the giver of righteousness to those who believe in Jesus.”
(Romans 3:10-26 WNT)

“For by grace (undeserved favor) you have been saved (acquitted from guilt) through faith (trust), and this
is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians
2:8-9)
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In the cross of Christ, God’s justice, mercy, and grace all come together. And the resurrection gives humanity the
hope of a new beginning.