
Contents
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Biblical Basis of Divine Aseity Biblical Basis of Divine Aseity
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John’s Prologue John’s Prologue
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Paul’s Letters Paul’s Letters
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Two Theological Questions Two Theological Questions
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Teaching of the Church Fathers Teaching of the Church Fathers
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The Sole Agenētos The Sole Agenētos
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Properties and Numbers Properties and Numbers
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Logos Christology Logos Christology
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Perfect Being Theology Perfect Being Theology
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Conclusion Conclusion
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2 God: The Sole Ultimate Reality
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Published:October 2016
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Abstract
The biblical and patristic witness to the doctrine of divine aseity and God’s status as the only uncreated (agenētos) being is expounded in detail through a careful exegesis of original texts. The Prologue of the Gospel of John reflects the intellectual heritage of Middle Platonism, with its Logos doctrine of creation. The similarities between John’s doctrine and that of Philo of Alexandria are particularly striking. Middle Platonists like Philo located the realm of abstract objects solely in the divine Logos. Because John’s emphasis is soteriological rather than metaphysical, he does not reflect on the pre-creation role of the Logos, but his language is entirely consistent with the Middle Platonic view. Similarly, in several of his epistles Paul reflects a Middle Platonic background, replacing the Logos or Wisdom with Christ. The Ante-Nicene Church Fathers held emphatically that there is but one agenētos from which all else derives, a conviction that comes to expression in the Nicene Creed. Arguments based on perfect being theology reinforce the traditional doctrine that God alone is uncreated. For if God depends for His deity upon His abstract, independently existing nature, then God does not exist a se.
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