Chapter 9: The Doctrine of God
9
The Doctrine of God
In the first eight chapters of this book, we have been considering the historical development of Christian theology, as well as some issues of sources and methods. While questions concerning history and method will be a recurring feature of the remainder of this work, this third part of the volume is primarily devoted to questions of theological substance. We shall use the structure of the traditional Christian creeds as a framework for our exploration of the leading topics of Christian theology. As all these creeds open by declaring faith in God, we shall begin this final section by considering the Christian doctrine of God.
The present chapter will explore a range of important questions relating to the doctrine of God. Although many traditional themes will be explored, we shall also pay attention to a series of questions of particular relevance to the modern period – such as concerns raised by the rise of feminism, a new concern for the suffering of the world, and increased anxiety concerning the environment. Readers should note that two later chapters will deal with the person and work of the Holy Spirit and the distinctively Christian doctrine of the Trinity, perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of Christian theology – yet also one of the most rewarding.
We begin our discussion of the Christian doctrine of God by turning to a question of gender
that has become increasingly important in western culture since the 1960s. Is God male? Indeed, can one speak of God as having a “gender” in the first place? As this question is so important to so many people, it seems a highly appropriate place to start our explorations.