Travis Fentiman
Puritan Board Sophomore
Does God have emotions? People often respond to sincere inquirers with a blanket "No", and end up ignoring or denying as much truth as they affirm.
The reformed orthodox terms were that God has affections and perfections. The affections that are attributed to God in Scripture, they held, were metaphors, which were not wholly characteristic of God, and yet were in some respect, having an eternal foundation in his nature, or perfections. The perfections of God, those proper properties of his nature, are infinite and never change.
Git rekt by the reformed scholastics on this often neglected, though very important topic:
A few years ago Dr. Scott Oliphint put forward the thesis that God, upon creation, assumed certain 'covenantal properties'. I believe both he, and his controverters on the other side, did not describe the issues as accurately and in as much of an orthodox manner as the reformed orthodox did in the now, near-lost distinction between God's Absolute & Relative Attributes.
Further, what does God 'desiring' the conversion of his sinful creatures in the Gospel call mean? All sides, I believe, can be satisfied by the dominant reformed scholastic answer of Rollock, Rutherford and Pictet, On God’s Expressions of Desire. There is a newly translated excerpt from Rutherford's Treatise on Providence.
And lastly, see why it is that many through Church history have taught That Wrath & Hatred are Not Properly in God.
May God bless you with a greater sight of Himself.
The reformed orthodox terms were that God has affections and perfections. The affections that are attributed to God in Scripture, they held, were metaphors, which were not wholly characteristic of God, and yet were in some respect, having an eternal foundation in his nature, or perfections. The perfections of God, those proper properties of his nature, are infinite and never change.
Git rekt by the reformed scholastics on this often neglected, though very important topic:
A few years ago Dr. Scott Oliphint put forward the thesis that God, upon creation, assumed certain 'covenantal properties'. I believe both he, and his controverters on the other side, did not describe the issues as accurately and in as much of an orthodox manner as the reformed orthodox did in the now, near-lost distinction between God's Absolute & Relative Attributes.
Further, what does God 'desiring' the conversion of his sinful creatures in the Gospel call mean? All sides, I believe, can be satisfied by the dominant reformed scholastic answer of Rollock, Rutherford and Pictet, On God’s Expressions of Desire. There is a newly translated excerpt from Rutherford's Treatise on Providence.
And lastly, see why it is that many through Church history have taught That Wrath & Hatred are Not Properly in God.
May God bless you with a greater sight of Himself.
