God's Way of Being God

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GOD'S WAY OF BEING GOD
We are living in a scientific age. The prevailing theory of our age presupposes that everything must have a logical scientific explanation. Thus, in the 1800s Charles Darwin popularized a theory on the origins of the species. Many so called enlightened minds have taken this theory as fact, and evolution has become the premise upon which much of modern scientific speculation is built. Darwin was a product of the European enlightenment from whence developed the scientific revolution.

Some of Darwin’s most influential intellectual contemporaries were those who called themselves “students of the Book”–theologians. These theologians felt that the Bible should not be immune from scientific scrutiny. In fact, not even God himself qualified for immunity–nothing and nobody was “sacred.” Using the principles of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophies, these theologians set out to understand God. The result of these inquiries can be seen in the “God is Dead” movement of recent decades, and the decline in societal morals as God is existentialized by each individual, and thus becomes a scientific non-reality. Such is the outcome of trying to place God under a microscope and recreate him in human’s image and likeness.

Much to the dismay of the pseudo-scientists who wish to declare God illogical and consequentially non-existent, God continues to be God. In fact, billions of people around the globe call on his name every day as a living testimony the existential skepticism of the scientists of hopelessness has done nothing to alter the experiential faith of these celebrants of hope. In this study we will humbly investigate GOD’S WAY OF BEING GOD.
QUESTIONS
1. In our scientific age, people tend to reject everything that cannot be proven. What warning does Zophar in the book of Job give us about scientific approaches to proving the existence of God?
> Job 11:7-8

> See also Isaiah 55:8-9 and Genesis 1:1
2. It is sometime hard for humans to embrace concepts that are beyond understanding. There appears to be an inherent yearning to comprehend everything that comprises our reality. The need for concrete explanation was probably behind Moses’ request for God to reveal his name. How did God respond to Moses’ inquiry about his identity? What are the implications of his response?
> Exodus 3:13-14

(note: In the original Hebrew, God responds with the words “iyeh asher iyeh” which can be translated as “I am who/what I am” or “I will be who/what I will be.”)
3. It has become vogue among intellectuals to question the relevance of the belief in God in our post-modern age. How does the Bible describe the person who denies the existence of God?
> Psalm 14:1

> Psalm 53:1
4. To my knowledge, noone alive today has ever seen God. Indeed, it is for this very reason why some reject the concept of a Supreme Being. How can a person come to the acceptance of the existence of God?
> Hebrews 11:1-3

> Psalm 19:1

> Psalm 8

> Romans 1:19-20
5. Many societies are described as “polytheistic.” This basically means that they believe there are many gods. Does the Bible recognize any other deities? If so, how many of these deities can be regarded as an authentic Supreme Being?
> Deuteronomy 6:4

> Exodus 20:3

> 1 Chronicles 16:26

> 2 Chronicles 2:5

(note: As with most African cultures, the ancient Israelites recognized that although people could make national or family gods out of ancestors, angels or trees, there can only be one Supreme Being in whose presence all other gods become significant.)
6. Many people are intimidated by the concept of an all powerful God. Over the years, theologians and others have depicted him as an unapproachable ogre. Read the following text, and in one paragraph state how God expects humans to relate to him?
> Revelation 14:7

> Psalm 148:1-4

> Psalm 150

> Acts 5:29

> 1 Samuel 15:22
7. In spite of what God may want from humans, we are all free moral agents who can do whatever we please. Why should humans respond to God’s desires?
> Genesis 1:26-27

> Psalm 148:5-14
8. God is an all powerful entity who did not earn his position through a democratic process. Given his unrivaled position, he does not have to be concerned about our personal desires. In spite of his awesome strength, what type of relationship does God want to have with humans?
> Isaiah 1:18

> James 2:23