Picturing Theology

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P i c t u r i n g T h e o l o g y

God’s Sovereignty and Universal Revelation (continued)

C. Questions concerning general revelation 1. Is it accessible to everyone? 2. Can we all understand the implications of it? 3. Does its content actually reveal God’s purposes to us? 4. Can we respond to it in saving faith?

II. The Reality and Efficacy of General Revelation: Is it Legitimate and Effective? A. “Natural Theology” 1. Basic assumption #1: God has made himself known in nature. a. It is objectively verifiable. b. It is basically intact. 2. Basic assumption #2: The effects of the fall or the natural human limitations of human beings prevent them from perceiving this revelation. 3. Basic assumption #3: The order of the human mind corresponds to the order of the universe. a. Congruity of the mind and the world b. The sufficiency of the laws of logic c. The basic adequacy of reason alone B. Thomas Aquinas : Natural Theology’s theologian par excellence (Erickson, p. 35)

1. Cosmological argument (Erickson, p. 35) 2. Teleological argument (Erickson, p. 35) 3. Anthropological argument, (Immanuel Kant) (Erickson, p. 36) 4. Ontological argument, (Anselm) (Erickson, p. 36)