Discussing God humbly
I'm enjoying reading a collection of 16 essays, entitled The New Evangelical Subordinationism?, edited by Dennis Jowers and Wayne House.
Here's a vital reminder from the opening page of Scott Horrell's chapter:
“How do we approach speaking of God’s ultimate reality without hubris? Some in Trinitarian discussion consider themselves defenders at all costs of an orthodoxy of their own making. The aggression around the theme of this book calls for humility. Sometimes even those theologically ‘right’ may be attitudinally ‘wrong’.” (Page 339)
Quite.
Two more short extracts:
“When saints spoke of God in his absolute being, they often trembled in fear. Who are we? What is humanity? Our finitude, our conditionedness, and our sinfulness stand between us and the Creator. Ever since Adam and Eve hid in the Garden, the beginning of wisdom—and of knowledge itself—has been the fear of God. He is a fool who does not recognize the danger and the awfulness of speaking about the infinite I Am. For in speaking about God, we also speak in the presence of God.” (Page 341)
“The Bible sets forth the paradox that God reveals himself and invites us to know him, yet he also stands beyond us in hiddenness. The Lord God requires that we respect his otherness, his mystery.” (Page 341)
And yet, wonderfully, God has revealed himself because he wants us to know him.
“While God exists outside our limited categories, he does not speak falsely or with masks or anything that is not finally accurate to who he is. We are not left grovelling in unknowing. … And most remarkably, the infinite perfect God is comfortable and satisfied with the terms by which he has made himself known. We are invited to have faith in his revelation.” (Page 342)