1/5. As I write my Intro to Xian Theol, I'm forced to think about how doctrines affect one another & to look for recurring motifs running thro various docs. One theme of the bk is that the doc. of God materially affects all other doctrines. In this thread I spell this out a bit.
2/5. The doc. of Divine transcendence is necessary in order to have a doc. of creation ex nihilo. So the nature of God determines in a fundamental way our doc. of creation. Any doc. of creation not founded on creation ex nihilo will be sub-Xian & will result in a diminished hope.
3/5. The doc. of Divine aseity grounds the doc. of grace. God is gracious in both creation & red. He did not need to create but graciously willed to do so. He did not need to redeem sinners but graciously willed to do so. He did not need to justify himself, but still does so.
4/5. God is Pure Act. All change in the world depends on a causal chain stretching up to the unactulized actualizer. Since only the actual can actualize potential in creatures, Pure Actuality must exist or the causal chain would not exist. So, God upholds creation in existence.
5/5. Even within the constraints of Twitter, it is apparent that all other Xian docs are materially shaped in decisive ways by the doc. of God: creation, prov, salvation, eschatology & all the others as well. A good Intro. must make this clear in its description of doctrines.
