What Can We Know About God by R.C. Sproul

Book: 
What Can We Know About God
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Reviewer: 
Joseph J. Adrian

Religion and Theology-—What is the distinction between these two studies? Religion is man-made and usually has to do with, ". . . the worship practices of human beings in particular environments." Theology is concerned with "The Study Of God." Religion is natural and theology is supernatural (above nature). One thing that most people will (or at least should) concede is that God is incomprehensible. God is infinite and we are not, so we cannot possibly have a comprehensive knowledge of God. We can never fully know all that God is, in addition to that God's ways and thoughts are not like ours -"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Though God cannot be fully known, the fact remains that He can be known to some degree.

What we can know about God is that which He has been pleased to reveal about Himself. If God doesn't reveal certain things about Himself we could not know them. The triune nature of God is something that God has revealed about Himself. "God is one essence in three persons." There are things that God reveals that are difficult to understand, but the issue for believers is not "Do I fully understand what God's revelation tells us about Him," but "Do I embrace and believe what God has revealed about who and what He is." There are limitations to how much we understand of things that God lets us know about Himself-—"We cannot conceive of how one being could be contained in three persons and still be only one being." If in fact, God has revealed this aspect of His being, our attitude should be, "Let God be true and every man a liar." If we are convinced the Scriptures teach this, then we must believe it, no matter what men say.

The greatest distinction between us and God is that we are created beings and God is not. "In Him we move and live and have our being." We are dependent upon God for our existence and for our continued existence. God is completely independent-—"He has the power of being in and of Himself."

What Can We Know About God? is one of the books in the "Crucial Questions Series." It is a very helpful introduction to what the Scriptures teach about knowing God.