God has revealed Him in Scripture, warts and all, which of course are not flaws, because God is flawless. If we reject God’s revelation because it conflicts with our view of God, have we not stylized God? Thus to say this scripture does not actually mean what it says, because that is inconsistent with my stylized view of God’s attributes and attitudes, is to say we cannot trust God’s revelation, and we must nullify whatever is inconsistent with my stylized view of God.
So how can we nullify the clear teaching of scripture to create our stylized view of God? First we must conflate the various revelations concerning God, and create generalized encapsulations, i.e. God is all knowing according to at least four scriptures, so lets not refer to them, lets say our stylized God is “omniscient.” All the verses that teach God is all-powerful are lumped together, and God is “omnipotent.” Similarly, all the verses that teach God is everywhere are distilled into God is “omnipresent.”
Now we can nullify a passage of revelation saying it does not actually mean what it says, it is poetry, or a parable, or anthropomorphic and on and on because it is inconsistent with our stylized view of God. If we have a holier than thou mindset, we can even say it demeans God to claim scripture means what it says.
Lets take a look at some of these stylings.
We know that God is spirit, i.e. non-physical, and therefore has no actual eyes, face, arms or hands. Verses which refer to “the hand of God” and such are anthropomorphic, thus not teaching God has physical hands, but teaching God does touch and alter people and circumstances in the physical realm. He is not like an idol, fixed implacably in stone. If you throw out what is being revealed about God, dismissing the whole revelation on the basis it was illustrated anthropomorphically, you are stylizing God.
Was eternity, i.e. before God created physical time, without spiritual time, i.e. everything happens at once so everything has happen. Or is there an attribute of God, i.e. spiritual time, which provides for sequence and occurrence and decision and decree? Did God choose us in Him before the foundation of the world, or because of God’s omniscience, were those chosen always chosen? Can we make revelation to no effect by the traditions of stylization?
The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) teaches God did not decree some of what He foreknew. Thus a branch of Calvinism, at least back near 1600, believed the future was not fixed, and therefore taught open theism. Can we deny this and say the future is fixed because of a stylized view of God, or must we stick with what scripture actually says. Is God the God of confusion, or is confusion the result of the autonomous thoughts of men? Is God the author of sin, tempting us through the lusts of our flesh such that our sinful choices were predetermined? Do some thoughts enter God’s mind, or can we deny inspired revelation because it is inconsistent with our stylized view of God.
Food for thought.
So how can we nullify the clear teaching of scripture to create our stylized view of God? First we must conflate the various revelations concerning God, and create generalized encapsulations, i.e. God is all knowing according to at least four scriptures, so lets not refer to them, lets say our stylized God is “omniscient.” All the verses that teach God is all-powerful are lumped together, and God is “omnipotent.” Similarly, all the verses that teach God is everywhere are distilled into God is “omnipresent.”
Now we can nullify a passage of revelation saying it does not actually mean what it says, it is poetry, or a parable, or anthropomorphic and on and on because it is inconsistent with our stylized view of God. If we have a holier than thou mindset, we can even say it demeans God to claim scripture means what it says.
Lets take a look at some of these stylings.
We know that God is spirit, i.e. non-physical, and therefore has no actual eyes, face, arms or hands. Verses which refer to “the hand of God” and such are anthropomorphic, thus not teaching God has physical hands, but teaching God does touch and alter people and circumstances in the physical realm. He is not like an idol, fixed implacably in stone. If you throw out what is being revealed about God, dismissing the whole revelation on the basis it was illustrated anthropomorphically, you are stylizing God.
Was eternity, i.e. before God created physical time, without spiritual time, i.e. everything happens at once so everything has happen. Or is there an attribute of God, i.e. spiritual time, which provides for sequence and occurrence and decision and decree? Did God choose us in Him before the foundation of the world, or because of God’s omniscience, were those chosen always chosen? Can we make revelation to no effect by the traditions of stylization?
The Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) teaches God did not decree some of what He foreknew. Thus a branch of Calvinism, at least back near 1600, believed the future was not fixed, and therefore taught open theism. Can we deny this and say the future is fixed because of a stylized view of God, or must we stick with what scripture actually says. Is God the God of confusion, or is confusion the result of the autonomous thoughts of men? Is God the author of sin, tempting us through the lusts of our flesh such that our sinful choices were predetermined? Do some thoughts enter God’s mind, or can we deny inspired revelation because it is inconsistent with our stylized view of God.
Food for thought.