Give an Account of the Christian Doctrines of God.

The main Christian belief in God is that he is a personal God. The word 'person' comes from the Latin word 'persona', meaning 'mask'. This may suggest, therefore, that God isn't actually personal, but merely adopts this image at certain times. This can be applied to the idea that He is transcendent yet appears personal to us. The idea of God being personal is clear-cut throughout the Bible. It is much more obvious in the New Testament, as Jesus preaches the loving nature of God, but in the Old Testament it is still clear He has a limited number of personal attributes. The most obvious of these is that God is suggested as being male ('and He created us in His image'), which is a human quality. The term given to ascribing human qualities to God is known as anthropomorphism. Applying human qualities to God is a very controversial issue, as it would mean He would have to act as a human, removing the idea of transcendence, a major philosophical ideal of God. Also, anthropomorphism can be seemed as a demolition of the idea of the Trinity - God being three persons, not one, as anthropomorphism would suggest. However, to say God is "a person" does not imply anthropomorphic properties to God; instead, it just suggests God is willing to relate to others. Also, the word "person" has changed significantly over time, which means there is a difference between the statement that God is three persons, and, God is a person.

Dialogical Personalism can be applied to the idea of a personal God. Instead of a one way 'I-It' relationship between God and man, there is an 'I-Thou' relationship, which essentially is the encounter of two mutually active subjects - in other words, using the example of worship, worship to God is two-way, in which God is seen as either an active person or force to which prayers are offered, and subsequently can act on this worship, or a one-way relationship, such as the worship of an idol which has no reality behind it, which can do nothing.

Outline and Comment on the implications of the Christian Teachings of God for His Relationship to the World.

If God is personal, as Christian doctrines claim, then His relationship to the world can be regarded as a two-sided argument. On the positive side, God being personal allows the idea of a more loving, understanding God, and it is because of the idea of God being loving and understanding that has brought about the idea of reconciliation. Reconciliation, after all, is the idea of two people being brought together through the pardon of one of them by the other. In other words, we are brought closer to God by asking for forgiveness of sins. Since God is all-loving, it is impossible for Him to not forgive us, and therefore we are constantly brought closer and closer to Him. On the other hand, if God is a personal God then He has to act within our idea of time and space. This is a problem in itself as it removes the idea of being at more than one place at any one time. If it is taken one step further, however, and anthropomorphic ideals are ascribed to God, then it means God cannot do miracles, be at more than one place at any one time, or in fact acts in any major way in our life.

If God is transcendent, however, then it is quite possible for Him to be all-powerful, everywhere at once, or at any time, and it is possible for the idea of God to do miracles. However, if God is above our idea of time and space then it is impossible for Him to act within it - thus removing the idea of a loving God, or one that could actually perform miracles, though the idea is plausible.

Overall, therefore, the Christian doctrines of God suggest that it is required that God is a combination of both a personal God as well as being transcendant in order for Him to be able to have a loving relationship to the world, in which it is possible to act, possibly more than one place in time.