The God Who Acts in History: The Significance of Sinai
Overview
Did the decisive event in the history of Israel even happen?
The Bible presents a living God who speaks and acts, and whose speaking and acting is fundamental to his revelation of himself. God’s action in history may seem obvious to many Christians, but modern philosophy has problematized the idea. Today, many theologians often use the Bible to speak of God while, at best, remaining agnostic about whether he has in fact acted in history.
Historical revelation is central to both Jewish and Christian theology. Two major events in the Bible showcase divine agency: the revelation at Sinai in Exodus and the incarnation of Jesus in the gospels. Surprisingly, there is a lack of serious theological reflection on Sinai by both Jewish and Christian scholars, and those who do engage the subject often oscillate about the historicity of what occurred there.
Craig Bartholomew explores how the early church understood divine action, looks at the philosophers who derided the idea, and finally shows that the reasons for doubting the historicity of Sinai are not persuasive. The God Who Acts in History provides compelling reasons for affirming that God has acted and continues to act in history.
- Explores how the early church understood divine action
- Provides compelling reasons for affirming that God has acted and continues to act in history
- Examines the place of historical revelation in Jewish and Christian theology
- The Puzzle
- The Problem Explored
- Moses Maimonides, Judah Halevi, and Michael Wyschogrod
- Thomas Aquinas and Classical Theism
- Divine Agency Problematized 1: Spinoza
- Divine Agency Problematized 2: Immanuel Kant
- Colin Gunton, Classical Theism, and Divine Action
- Models of Divine Action
- Special Divine Action at Sinai? An Exploration of Exodus 19–24
Top Highlights
“For Irenaeus, the divine economy is one history because it is the work of one person, the Father. The Son and the Spirit are the Father’s two hands by which he does what he does. Irenaeus’s statements about the Son and the Spirit are fairly simple and straightforward.” (Page 146)
“A theology of language should recognize that words are part of God’s good creation, and that God has empowered certain humans to use words to speak truthfully about him.” (Page 152)
“‘the one God is a conversation.’32 Language is the possibility of historical being; address and response is its actuality.” (Page 152)
“If we take seriously the opening remark of Hebrews that Christ is ‘the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being,’ then it follows, according to Gunton, that something like Scotus’s view should in fact be the case. A theology of language is at stake here, and Gunton expresses amazement that classical theism has developed without consideration of how the Spirit empowers language to be what is was created for.” (Page 151)
“If the negative way is pushed, one ends up with the unknowable God of Kant. ‘In certain essential respects, Kant’s theology is but that of Aquinas radicalized. Kant is the fate of the negative theology transposed into a mechanistic world.’39 To see God as pure intellect risks denigrating the materiality of creation and takes the focus away from the knowledge of God that comes to us through the narratives of God’s involvement with Israel climaxing in the incarnation.” (Page 153)
- Title: The God Who Acts in History: The Significance of Sinai
- Author: Craig G. Bartholomew
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Publication Date: 2020
- Pages: 248
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Topic: Theology