After the Fact: Is God Incomprehensible? with Ronnie Kurtz
Oct 11, 2024
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Ronnie Kurtz, Assistant Professor of Theology at Cedarville University and author of "Light Unapproachable," dives into the complex topic of divine incomprehensibility. He explains how God, while ultimately unknowable, accommodates our understanding through accessible language, Scripture, and Christ. Kurtz provides helpful definitions to clarify this concept and discusses its implications for faith and church practices. He encourages listeners to embrace the mystery of God while seeking deeper theological insights.
The concept of divine incomprehensibility highlights the limitations of human intellect in fully grasping God's nature, promoting awe in theological exploration.
Divine accommodation illustrates how God communicates His essence through accessible language, allowing believers to genuinely know and experience Him despite human limitations.
Deep dives
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Understanding Divine Incomprehensibility
The concept of divine incomprehensibility emphasizes that while humans strive to understand God, there are inherent limitations due to the finite nature of human intellect. This doctrine suggests that the divine essence cannot be fully encapsulated by human understanding, as exemplified by the distinction between the finite and the infinite. Dr. Ronnie Kurtz elaborates that, despite these limitations, the beauty of God's nature can never be exhausted, and therefore, believers should embrace the journey of theological exploration as an enriching experience. This theological view encourages a sense of awe and wonder rather than discouragement, acknowledging that God, while incomprehensible, has made Himself approachable through His revelations.
The Role of Divine Accommodation
Divine accommodation refers to the notion that God conveys His essence in ways that are understandable to humanity, despite the inability to fully comprehend Him. By employing creaturely language and analogies, God reveals Himself in a manner that resonates with human experience, making theological concepts accessible. Dr. Kurtz illustrates this idea with the analogy of communicating with a child, where adult understanding must be simplified for better grasp, demonstrating God's willingness to engage with human limitations. This accommodation reassures believers that, although they cannot fully encompass God's reality, they can still genuinely know and experience him through His word and actions.
Kyle Worley is joined by Ronni Kurtz to answer the question; what does incomprehensibility mean and is God incomprehensible?
Questions Covered in This Episode:
What does incomprehensibility mean?
Is God incomprehensible?
How would you encourage someone who is trying to comprehend who God is?
Helpful Definitions:
Immutable: God can’t change.
Incomprehensibility: There is an intellectual limitation by virtue of our being creatures that will not allow us to wrap our mind fully around God as He is as a Creator.
Comprehend: To surround.
Divine Accommodation: God reveals himself to us in creaturely language.
Guest Bio:
Ronni Kurtz serves as an Assistant Professor of Theology at Cedarville University.
He is the author of Fruitful Theology: How the Life of the Mind Leads to the Life of the Soul; Proclaiming the Triune God: The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Life of the Church; and Light Unapproachable: Divine Incomprehensibility and the Task of Theology.
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
Exodus 33
“Light Unapproachable: Divine Incomprehensibility and the Task of Theology” by Ronni Kurtz
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