Anthropology
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For Systematic Theology sites click on the following ST-1 ST-2 ST-3 ST-4 ST-5 ST-6 ST-7 ST-8 ST-9 ST-10
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For a list of Theological terms click on the following Glossary Dict-1 Dict-2 Buck's. Other resources click here Resources
For a "Glossary" of the terms in this course click here Glossary
To search the Bible for a particular word in this study, just click on the following link Concordance and type in the search word or words you wish to find; for example "God," and then what you want to use to help your search, for example; KJV with "Strong's Numbers," and then what part or all of the Bible you wish to use to search in; for example the "whole Bible," and then click "Find." After the verses are pulled up, just click on the word you are searching for, for example "God", in the verse to get its definition and even hear it pronounced in biblical Hebrew and Greek.
Session 3
Anthropology (The Study of Humanity)
Humanity’s Constitution
1. Adamic we all have a common heritage from the same original parents
Adam and Eve (Gen.1:26,27).
Therefore we have a shared nature. "And God said, Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female
created He them." (Gen.2:7)
"and the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
The Hebrew word for Adam
means “reddish” or from the root word for blood. Eve
means “mother of all the living”. The woman proceeded from the
man (Gen.2:21,22).
The Hebrew word for Man and Woman are ish = man / isha = woman. The word for
Woman means “bride.” This is to be a type or foreshadowing of
the Godhead's relationship with humanity, one of bride and groom (Eph.5:23-32).
2. Image of God (Imago Dei) "Theology
of the Body" (Gen.1:26,27).
What does it mean to have been created in the image of God? We share with
God certain moral attributes, but not non-moral attributes. We also share
a physical bond with God, we are able to procreate. The Holy Spirit resides
in us (I
Cor.3:16, 6:19).
3. Moral / Conscience (Rom.2:15) is the human conscience innate, or developed? It is universal that humanity is able to make “moral choices.” But do we all share a common sense of what is right and wrong? Is the conscience like the idea of instinct, something that is innate, or must it be “educated?” The Bible speaks of the idea that each person has a conscience and that ones conscience can be severed or darkened. Therefore, the conscience is something innate in a human that must be educated.
4. Accountable / Free Will (Rom.3:19, 14:11, 12, II Cor. 5:10). The issue as to how much humans are “free moral agents” has divided the theological and philosophical worlds. If a person is NOT a free moral agent, then how can they be held accountable? The Bible presents the idea that humans are “judged” based on “their choices,” and our own judicial system supports that.
How does God interact with our free will? If God is sovereign, then how does that take into account humanity’s free will? Can humans divert the will of God? Can we freely choose to love and obey God, or disobey Him, or are we just robots? For love to be love it must be given out of ones own free choice.
The two schools of thought in theological circles differ between what Martin Luther and John Calvin taught against what the Catholic Church taught and what a Protestant named James Arminius taught on Predestination.
Humans are "not free" to do whatever they please. We are not free "from" God, but are given freedom by God to make choices confined to who we are. God is ultimately sovereign. See page 3 on "Theology" under C. God's Works and Knowledge."
5. Trichotomy / Dichotomy The Scriptures teach that God formed the body of man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul. According to this account, man consists of two distinct principles, a body and a soul/spirit: the one material, the other immaterial; the one corporeal, the other spiritual. It is involved in this statement, first, that the soul of man is a substance; and, secondly, that it is a substance distinct from the body. So that in the constitution of man two distinct substances are included. The Bible also speaks of 3 parts; body, soul and spirit (Heb.4:12). We are judged based upon what we have done in our body, and in our soul and spirit. The Bible uses the words spirit and soul of man hundreds of times separately as if they are separate.
6. Eternal Soul Is the soul eternal? Is eternal life something that is given, or are humans eternal upon their creation? Does the body and soul cease to exist after death and can it be annihilated? In (Gen.3:22) it states that after they had sinned that God made them leave the garden, “Behold the man is become as one of us, knowing good and evil: now therefore lest perhaps he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever; therefore God took them from the garden.” Was God keeping humans from living eternally in a corrupted body, or was he saying that humanity is not eternal? The Church teaches that humans are eternal beings and that they can NOT be annihilated, but live eternally in or out of God’s presence. All will be judged based upon what we freely did (Rev.20:11-15) .
To take a test on the various doctrines click here Test
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