THE IDENTITY of GOD Modern and Biblical Theological Notions of God
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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DSpace at VU VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT THE IDENTITY OF GOD Modern and Biblical Theological Notions of God ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. L.M. Bouter, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de faculteit der Godgeleerdheid op woensdag 16 juni 2010 om 15.45 uur in het auditorium van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Csongor-Szabolcs Bene Geboren te Tirgu Mures, Roemenië promotoren: prof.dr. A. van de Beek prof.dr. E. Talstra 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ....................................................................................................... 7 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 9 Under the line ............................................................................................................................. 9 What is theology? ..................................................................................................................... 11 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 14 Going about the work ............................................................................................................... 15 FIRST PART MODERN RELIGIOUS SCIENTIFIC AND THEOLOGICAL NOTIONS OF GOD CHAPTER 1. – THE LOSS OF THE ‘TALK OF GOD’ AND THEOLOGY ................. 17 1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 17 1.2. The established order of knowing ................................................................................ 18 1.2.1. Experience, knowledge and rationality ................................................................ 21 1.2.2. A theory of knowledge and the scientific method ................................................ 23 1.3. The impossibility of theology ...................................................................................... 25 1.3.1. Classic theology and the demands of the modern scientific method ................... 25 1.3.2. The complete loss of the ―talk of God‖ ................................................................ 26 1.4. The relationship between Religious Science and Theology ......................................... 27 1.4.1. Religious science as a valid scientific alternative for classic theology ................ 27 1.5. The issue of reductionism ............................................................................................ 28 1.5.1. Theology in its ‗rightful‘ place ............................................................................. 28 1.5.2. The Christian‘s unfortunate awareness ................................................................ 29 1.6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 30 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 32 CHAPTER 2. - THEOLOGY AND THE ‘TALK OF THE NAME OF GOD’ ................ 33 2.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 33 2.2. Miskotte‘s theological anthropology and the ‗fourth man‘ .......................................... 34 2.2.1. The Times of the fourth man ................................................................................ 34 2.2.2. The profile of a new man, of a new humanity ..................................................... 36 2.3. Miskotte‘s theological considerations .......................................................................... 38 2.3.1. The primacy of the Old Testament ....................................................................... 38 2.3.2. The Torah ............................................................................................................. 39 2.3.3. Revelation and the Name ..................................................................................... 40 3 2.3.4. The Name ............................................................................................................. 43 2.4. Miskotte Today ............................................................................................................ 48 2.4.1. Miskotte‘s intuition .............................................................................................. 48 2.4.2. Miskotte and talking about God ........................................................................... 49 2.5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 49 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 51 SECOND PART BIBLICAL THEOLOGICAL NOTIONS OF GOD CHAPTER 3 – THE IDENTITY OF GOD IN EXODUS 3:14 .......................................... 54 3.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 54 3.2. Exodus 3: a biblical theological approach .................................................................... 54 3.2.1. The absence of God .............................................................................................. 54 3.2.1.1. The absence of God in the narrative ................................................................. 54 3.2.1.2. The absence of God as a human experience..................................................... 57 3.2.2. The identity of God .............................................................................................. 59 3.2.2.1. Prelude to the revelation of the Name .............................................................. 59 3.2.2.2. Moses: What is His Name? .............................................................................. 63 3.2.2.3. God: ‗I am who I am‘ ....................................................................................... 65 3.2.3. Conclusions ......................................................................................................... 67 3. 3. Exodus 3:14 through the ages, a short reception history .............................................. 69 3.3.1. The church fathers: Athanasius (296-373) ........................................................... 71 3.3.2. Thomas Aquinas and pre-modernity .................................................................... 73 3.3.3. Calvin and the Reformation period ...................................................................... 77 3.3.4. Modernity and Barth ............................................................................................ 79 3.3.5. Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 84 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 84 CHAPTER 4 - THE IDENTITY OF GOD IN THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL ..................... 87 4.1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 87 4. 2. Judgment and the absence of God .................................................................................... 90 4.2.1. The perceived absence of God ................................................................................... 91 4.2.2. The negative history of Israel or ‗the Exodus pattern‘ ............................................... 93 4.2.3. The departure of the kābôd from the temple .............................................................. 95 4. 3. Restoration and the presence of God ................................................................................ 97 4.3.1. The kābôd in Exile ..................................................................................................... 98 4.3.2. For the sake of the Name .......................................................................................... 100 4.3.3. The restoration of Israel‘s heart................................................................................ 101 4 4.4. The Name and the identity of God in the prophecies of Ezekiel .................................... 102 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 103 CHAPTER 5 - JESUS AND THE NAME OF GOD ......................................................... 105 5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 105 5.2. Paul and the Letter to the Philippians ......................................................................... 106 5.3. The Hymn in Philippians 2:5-11 ................................................................................ 108 5.3.1. Equality with God - morfh, qeo,u ......................................................................... 109 5.3.2. Equality with humanity- morfh, dou/lou .............................................................. 112 5.3.3. Jesus Christ is LORD ......................................................................................... 113 5.4. The interpretation of