CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES

1. According to Christian thought, what is God’s relation to the world? How does this concept
differ from monism, dualism, polytheism, and deism?

- God’s relation to the world is that He is our creator. He created everything in the world.
The greatest difference that sets apart the religion of God from others is that He is our one
and only living God and that everything depends on Him. Other religion have different
gods for different aspects of our life, there are even gods that aren’t so powerful. That’s
what separates the Christian God from other gods.

2. What do the following divine attributes mean and what question(s) does each raise:
omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience?

- Omnipotence is an attribute of God that means He can do everything. Omnipresence is an

attribute of God that means He is present everywhere anytime. Omniscience is an
attribute of God that means He knows everything.
- These are the common questions about the attributed of God. Omnipotence raises the
question that if God can do everything then He can also do things that doesn’t make
sense. Omnipresence is also questioned during the times when God appeared to people in
human form. And lastly, Omniscience is questioned as such that if God knows everything
then all is predestined to happen and there is really no freedom of choice.

3. What do these divine activities involve: providence, prophecy, and miracle?

- Providence is God’s sustaining grace given to a person to be able to continue to exist.

Prophecy is the revealing of God’s plans or future events so that His people can be
prepared for an upcoming event. Miracle is God’s intervention to make the impossible
possible.

4. What is the evidence for and against the idea that God somehow changes?
- God changes when it comes to judgement, one good example of this is God’s change of
heart to not destroy the city of Nineveh during the time of prophet Jonah when the people
and even the king of Nineveh repented from their sins when they knew about the
judgement that is to come upon them if they didn’t repent. But when it comes to His love
 for us, He never changes. The most solid evidence of His unconditional love was when
He died on the cross for our sins.

5. What is the essential meaning of the doctrine of the trinity and how did this doctrine develop?
- Trinity is the answer to theological confusion that has risen from early study of the bible.
One of the events that has led to this question was when Jesus was baptized. After He was
baptized, the heavens opened and God the father spoke to Jesus and a dove-like spirit
descended from heaven. Another event was during the creation of the world when God
was talking to another divine being and even said “Let US make man in OUR own
image.” The idea of trinity explains this events that there are 3 divine beings collectedly
referred to as GOD. That’s why the belief of Trinity was adopted in Christian doctrines.