INTRODUCTION TO THE ARTICLE
OF THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
The Bible
begins with God. Its initial declaration is "in
the beginning God" (Gen. 1:1).
No attempt is made to prove the existence of God, though certainly it contains
many proofs. It proceeds on the basic presupposition that God exists, and its
central affirmation is that "the
Lord hath spoken" (Exod. 19:8;
Isa. 1:2; Heb. 1:1-2). Thus it brings the sinner immediately into the
presence of God.
The substance of this article is theology, a
discussion about God. The word theology is a compound word derived from the
Greek language, made up of the word "theos"
meaning God, and the word "logos"
meaning word or discussion. So theology is in essence a discussion about God.
In a limited but real sense, every person is a theologian. For the moment he
formulates one mental concept about God he has entered the realm of theology.
Since men are rational beings, it is only
natural for them to organize their thinking. Consciously or unconsciously, men
organize their thinking as naturally as they speak prose, declares one great
theologian. "This organizing principal
is a part of our constitution. The mind cannot endure confusion or apparent
contradiction in known facts." So the tendency to harmonize and unify
its knowledge appears as soon as the mind becomes reflective. There are some
men who decry theology. But you may be sure that the very disease they disclaim
is one with which they are afflicted. For “every
man has as much theology as he can hold." The unfortunate thing is
that in such situations they suffer from false and inadequate ideas. As Ezekiel
puts the matter, they "prophesy out
of their own heart" (Ezek. 13:17).
And these ideas always lead to consequences.
Theology was once regarded as the queen of
the sciences, because it incorporated in its discipline not only an article of
the divine essence, but also the whole range of relations of God with His
universe: creation, preservation, providence, and redemption. Conservative
theologians regard the Bible as the textbook. To any person who knows the
Bible, he is aware that it touches upon every aspect and area of reality. This
includes the natural sciences, the biological sciences, the physical sciences,
and the science of man.
In our day, the science of
theology has gradually narrowed down to a discussion of God in His essence and
relation to mankind in redemption. But this does not mean that there are not
overtones which reach out to every other aspect of knowledge and area of
reality
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