Classical Theism Debate: The Concept Of God

Classical Theism Debate Student’s Name Instructor Course Title Date Classical Theism Debate Elizabeth Johnson argues that the concept of God being holy, mysterious and beyond the human imagination is one of the main factors that attracted her attention. The concept of God and the way people speak and think about him has been a hotly contested topic. The definition of God as a supernatural being has also gone through different interpretations, particularly as a result of the influence of different religious leaders, scholars, and other critics. In her book entitled “Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God,” Elizabeth Johnson analyzes the evolution of theology and its impact on understanding the ‘living God’, a process she refers to as modern theism. Another popular religious scientist is Frank Collins, who published a book entitled “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.” Collins argues that scientific discoveries present people with an opportunity to worship. He refers to his beliefs as BioLogos, and they are based on theistic evolution, also known as evolutionary creation. Collins attempts to examine the scientific basis of God’s existence. It is evident that both Johnson and Collins believe in the existence of God, with most of the evidence presented by Collins having both scientific and religious attributes. This paper seeks to examine the concept of God as presented by the two scholars, and how human beings use this concept to establish God’s relevance in their lives.[Elizabeth A. Johnson, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God. (New York: A&C Black. 2007) 14] [Lael Weinberger, Harmony and Discord. (Journal of Creation. 21(1). 33-37).] As a renowned professor of theology, Johnson based most of her works on a wide range of sources, including the writings of Augustine, Aquinas and Scotus, Calvin and Luther, Vatican II up to the idea of transcendence by Karl Rahner.Johnson argues that people may think that the quest for the living God can end simply by tracing the origins and divine revelations of religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. However, the traditions of such faith are founded on the ideology that self-disclosure of God took place during the historical events that are written in their holy books. However, the open-endedness of the search for the living God is based on three basic factors. The first one is “the very nature of what is being sought is incomprehensible, unfathomable, limitless, ineffable, and beyond description.”This implies that it is not possible to compare God to anything or any person in this world, and doing so implies that divine reality is being reduced to an idol. The second factor is that the search for God never ends since human beings have an insatiable heart. The human spirit has always been adventurous, always seeking to understand God and the deeper meaning of people’s lives in this world. Third, human cultures have gone through constant changes throughout history, with the God’s experience continually being meditated in people’s lives. This implies that whenever situations change, there is always a shift in the divine experience in terms of intellectual constructs, images, and rituals.[Jill Raitt. Elizabeth A. Johnson, Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the theology of God. New York: The Continuum International Publishing. http://catholicbooksreview.org/2008/johnson.htm] [Johnson 12] As the head of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins bases most of his theological beliefs on science, arguing that the DNA of living things is the language of God to express the complexity and elegance of the human body as a reflection of God’s plan. Collins was not a religious individual in the past, and he was actually an atheist before converting to Christianity. He says, “Science’s domain is to explore nature. God’s domain is in spiritual world, a realm not possible to explore with the tools and language of science.”He adds that to understand God and his purpose, the human mind, heart and soul should be examined, and the mind should be able to embrace both the science and God’s domain. It can therefore be argued that both realms usually coexist in a way that enlightens and enriches the experience of human beings. Collins argued that Christians should be able to integrate their religious faith to modern science in order to understand the significance of scientific ideas and their relationship to their faith. Science is essential in analyzing the natural world since its tools can be used sufficiently to understand material existence. However, Collins says that science becomes insignificant in understanding issues such as the origin of the universe, the purpose of existence of human beings, and where a person goes after death.[Francis S. Collins, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006) 6] The views of both Elizabeth Johnson and Francis Collins, when it comes the analysis of theology and understanding God’s purpose,have a huge correlation. To start with, Johnson attempts to start the journey to understanding God by first enabling people to realize that God is incomprehensible. This is because he is not a mere human being or a mortal soul that can be analyzed based on human understanding. She says that “People are discovering God again, not in the sense of deducing abstract notions, but in the sense of encountering the divine presence and absence in their every experience of struggle and hope, both ordinary and extraordinary.”It is from this ideology that people are able to understand God’s divine presence and the blossoming nature of his powerful grace. This resembles the Collins’ analysis of God’s nature when he says that Christianity should have the capacity of merging their belief and the abilities of science. He says that “The consideration of such weighty matters can be unsettling,”and human beings should have a deep longing of establishing the truth and avoid distractions from mundane activities. The belief of the two religious scientists holds that people should accept their mortality and have a serious consideration on external issues of human existence.[Johnson 14] [Collins 7] Nevertheless, it is evident that there are certain pertinent views of theology expressed by Johnson that tend to differ from those expressed by Collins. To start with, Johnson’s views on theology tend to steer clear of science, and she solely expressed her deep conviction on God’s incomprehensibility. She ponders that modern theism and the departure understand God “In a fascinating way it compromises both the transcendence and immanence of God as honed in classical Christian theology.” She believes that the existence of God can be reasoned starting from the natural world utilizing a process of inference. This enables people to develop a theology where God is understood as the highest level of the intellectual process. It is from this perspective that it can be argued that Johnson tends to differ from Collins since she does not pay tribute to the force of science when one embarks on a journey to understand God. Although both scholars believe that God is all powerful and beyond the perception of the mortal human beings, it can be argued that Johnson’s theological philosophy transcends the definitions and descriptions that can be given by a man. This can be translated to mean that science does not have the capacity of defining God, just as Collins had said that “….science is powerless to answer questions such as ‘where did the universe come into being?” It can also be argued that although Collins believes that science is an essential factor when it comes to enhancing human understanding, Johnson believes that God cannot be effectively comprehended by man’s creation.[Johnson 15] [Collins 6] Johnson argues that there are ground rules that should be adhered to when it comes to exploring and understanding God. She argues that there are three ground rules of engagement and they play a critical role in the enhancement theism. Johnson argues that “The most and most basic prescript is this: the reality of the living God is an ineffable mystery beyond all telling.”Whereas this statement is closely associated to what has been stated above, what Johnson means is that the ‘Holy One’ goes beyond human understanding, or in essence, worldly understanding. According to Johns...