These pages are for the class TH101 Basic Bible Doctrines for The Haggard School of Ministry. Each subpage here include the questions from each Discussion assignment with places to leave student responses. (These will be deleted at the end of the course).
Theology is the study of God and all things God.
Doctrine is teachings and beliefs of values and principles of our Christianity
“Self-giving” love means to love without expectation of return. There is nothing withheld
God is Dialogical means the God has communication with the Godhead. God has omnipresence and omniscience.
The significance of Gods freedom is that we can make voluntary choices in our relationship with God. This to me means our selfless acts of love are a by product from which we chose out of love for God. Also, because he loves us, he lets us choose him.
Love! Gods triune nature is other-oriented. The triune works together because he is love. The relationship between the Father and Son are that it is deeper than the human version but it he first true model at which we follow.
God’s Holiness: he is Holy and he wanted his people to be holy then and he wants us to be holy now. He wanted to share that holiness by what he did at Sinai with the commandments. He also sent his son Jesus to show us the way to become as holy as we can and made right through Jesus’ sacrifice. It’s through the covenants that God has tried to reach us and show us how to be holy. God is our source of holiness.
Good thoughts, Cory. On the idea of God’s freedom, I think it is important to note that all human freedom is derived, and that there is no inherent free will in humans. God is still sovereign, but allows us to make choices, even the choice of salvation. This is where we as Wesleyans would differ from the Reformation and Calvin. When God’s sovereignty is emphasized over freedom, then God determines arbitrarily who will be saved and who will not.