6 minute read

Lesson Nineteen: A Philosophical View of God by A.W. Tozer

LESSON NINETEEN

A PHILOSOPHICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF GOD

Advertisement

BY A.W. TOZER

Overview

Genesis 1:1 opens with four words "In the beginning, God." The biblical text gives no detailed descriptions of God in the Hebrew Bible, nor does it make an argument for God's existence. The assumption is that God is self-existent. In its entirety, the Hebrew Bible portrays God (Elohim) as the main character. Genesis, Chapters 1 and 2 portray God as the omnipotent (allpowerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere at the same time) Creator, speaking into existence the heavens, the earth, and all the earth’s creatures out of nothing. In this lesson, students will examine the concept of the self-existence of God from a passage from A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy, Chapter 5.

Objectives: Students will:

• show how writers in diverse cultures and ages drew from the Hebrew Bible to present their own ideas and literary works. • discuss distinct attributes of biblical characters • determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text. • determine the meaning of key words and phrases in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone. • edit writing to correct errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• determine the main idea in written passages of literature accurately and with depth of thought. • use context clues to determine the meanings of words. • show how writers in diverse cultures and ages drew from the Hebrew Bible to present their own ideas and literary works. • discuss distinct attributes of biblical characters. • edit writing to correct errors.

Academic Initiatives for Biblical Literacy in Secondary Education

129

A Philosophical Characterization of God by A.W. Tozer

Duration: 2-3 hours

Materials:

• A computer with internet access • A dictionary • Video: The Knowledge of the Holy- A.W Tozer (Ch. 5) Pt 1The Self Existence of God https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=AwrDQ3LWmfRh3gQAmjE0nIlQ;_ylu=c2VjA 3NlYXJjaAR2dGlkAw-;_ylc=X1MDMTM1MTE5NTcwMARfcgMyBGFjdG4DY2xrBGNzcmNwdmlkA1hSQ0dBRE V3TGpHcWVKMHVZSDc0U3dEbE1qWXdNUUFBQUFDUVdqRGQEZnIDeWhzLXB0eS1w dHlfZm9ybXMEZnIyA3NhLWdwBGdwcmlkA0RMZEgyQm54U0ppaW1FQlAuLlNFcUEEbl9 yc2x0AzYwBG5fc3VnZwMwBG9yaWdpbgN2aWRlby5zZWFyY2gueWFob28uY29tBHBvcw MwBHBxc3RyAwRwcXN0cmwDBHFzdHJsAzM2BHF1ZXJ5A2Eudy4lMjB0b3plciUyMEdv ZCdzJTIwc2VsZi1ldmlkZW5jZQR0X3N0bXADMTY0MzQyMDE4OA-?p=a.w.+tozer+God%27s+self-evidence&ei=UTF8&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av%2Cm%3Asa&fr=yhs-pty-pty_forms&hsimp=yhspty_forms&hspart=pty&type=fm_appfocus1_cr-win-%7E202119%7E&param1=20210503&param2=9766caf4-c28a-44ca-9b604d4f19b54a71&param3=forms_%7EUS%7Eappfocus1%7E&param4=d-ccc4-lp0-dsf_formscp_12887637018-tst1--bb9%7EChrome%7EChapter+5+%E2%80%93+The+Selfexistence+of+God%7EB85D33B8065844214F83D8BF914F5AEC%7EWin10#id=1&vid=d22a 4890a44fbee63cff060cf6b46b62&action=view

Procedure:

• View the video: The Knowledge of the Holy- A.W Tozer (Ch. 5) Pt 1The Self Existence of

God. • Read the passage below taken from A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy, Chapter 5. • Respond to the study questions. • For future assessments, note the key points in the lesson. • Write a paragraph (5-8 sentences) about Tozer's philosophical ideas about God's selfexistence. Tell why you support or refute his statements. Use credible sources to complete the assignment. Edit writing to correct errors. Post the reflection on the discussion board.

Reading Comprehension Passage

Directions: Read the passage and respond to the study questions. (In the fifth chapter of The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer discusses the “Self-existence of God.”)

“The child, by his question,” Where did God come from?” is unwittingly acknowledging his creature hood. Already the concept of cause and source and origin is firmly fixed (planted) in his mind. He knows that everything around him came from something other than itself, and he simply extends that concept upward to God. The little philosopher is

Academic Initiatives for Biblical Literacy in Secondary Education 130

A Literary Study of the Book of Genesis by Wilma J. Brown-Foreman, ED. S

thinking in true creature-idiom and, allowing for his lack of basic information, he is reasoning correctly. He must be told that God has no origin, and he will find this hard to grasp since it introduces a category with which he is unfamiliar and contradicts the bent toward origin-seeking so deeply ingrained in all intelligent beings, a bent that impels them to probe ever back and back toward undiscovered beginnings.

To think steadily of that to which the idea of origin cannot apply is not easy, if indeed it is possible at all. Just as under certain conditions, a tiny point of light can be seen, not by looking directly at it but by focusing the eyes slightly to one side, so it is with the idea of the Uncreated. When we try to focus our thoughts upon One who is a pure, uncreated being, we may see nothing at all, for He dwelleth in light that no man can approach unto...since all corporeal and sensible images are immeasurably remote from God.” The human mind, being created, has an understandable uneasiness about the Uncreated. We do not find it comfortable to allow for the presence of One who is outside of the circle of our familiar knowledge. We tend to be disquieted by the thought of One who does not account to us for His being, who is responsible to no one, who is self-existent, selfdependent and self-sufficient.”

Study Questions

Directions: Indicate whether the following statements are (A) CORRECT or (B) INCORRECT. 1. Tozer implies that children are interested in what causes something to exist. 2. The writer seems to object to children asking questions about God. 3. "A bent" is a "tendency" to do something.' 4. Tozer maintains a harsh tone in discussing the child's questions about the origin of God. 5. Tozer portrays a youngster's questions about God as a natural part of childhood. 6. "The little philosopher" refers to the youngster who asks the questions about God. 7. The expression "thinking in true creature-idiom" allows the boy to speak like a normal child. 8. The statement "...it introduces a category with which he is wholly unfamiliar and contradicts the bent toward origin-seeking so deeply ingrained in all intelligent beings..." implies that people readily ask questions about God's origin. 9. Tozer indirectly proposes that people avoid the subject of God's origin because the unfamiliarity of the topic makes them uncomfortable. 10. The expression, "...for He dwelleth in light...," refers to God. 11. The writer portrays God as too pure describe. 12. Tozer's statement: "...corporeal and sensible images are immeasurably remote from God" means that material things are far away from God. 13. According to Tozer, God is not accountable to humans. 14. "One who is pure" refers to the child mentioned in the passage. 15. Tozer implies that God is too invisible to comprehend. 16. In the video, Tozer proposed that origin is a word that can only apply to things created. 17. Based on Tozer's premise, when one thinks of anything that has an origin, he or she is not thinking of God.

Academic Initiatives for Biblical Literacy in Secondary Education 131

A Philosophical Characterization of God by A.W. Tozer

18. Tozer said that God is self-existent, while everything else “was created by Someone who was made of none.” 19. Tozer supposed that whatever exists in the world has a cause for being in existence. 20. He proposed that anything of lesser significance cannot produce something greater than itself.

For reflection

Explain the expression: “…was created by someone who was made of none.” (5-8 sentences) Justify or refute Tozer’s position on the self-existence of God. Use credible sources to support your argument. Use the MLA or APA formats to document sources. Edit writing to correct errors. Post your reflection on the discussion board. Label the post: A Reflection on Tozer’s View of the Self-Existence of God.

A Closing Thought:

"We can never know who or what we are till we know at least something of what God is.”

-A. W. Tozer

Commented [IW26]: Source of this quote is missing.

Academic Initiatives for Biblical Literacy in Secondary Education 132

This article is from: