No

One

Like

Him

foundations of

evangelical theology

the doctrine of god

John S. Feinberg

John S. Feinberg, General Editor

CROSSWAY BOOKS

A MINISTRY OF

GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS

WHEATON, ILLINOIS

No One Like Him

Copyright © 2001 by John S. Feinberg

Published by Crossway Books

a ministry of Good News Publishers

1300 Crescent Street

Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Unless otherwise marked, Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible® Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission.

Scripture references marked niv are from the Holy Bible: New International Version.® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the
United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

The Scripture reference marked rsv is from the Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1946, 1953, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

The Scripture reference marked nrsv is from the New Revised Standard Version. Copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Published by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.

Scripture references marked kjv are from the King James Version.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Feinberg, John S., 1946–

No one like Him : the doctrine of God / John S. Feinberg.

p. cm. — (The foundations of evangelical theology)

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN 1–58134-275–6 (alk. paper)

1. God. I. Title. II. Series.

BT103 .F45 2001

231—dc21 2001001912

In Memory of

My Wonderful Mother

Anne Priscilla Fraiman Feinberg

One of the First

To Teach Me about God

Contents

Foreword by Harold O. J. Brown

Introduction by General Editor

Preface

List of Abbreviations

Chapter 1 Introduction

PART ONE:

CONCEPTS OF GOD

Chapter 2 God—The Very Idea

What Sort of Reality is God/Does God Have?

God as Mental Projection

God as Being-Itself

God as a Being

God Without or Beyond Being

What Role(s) Does God Play in Our Universe?

Biblical Images, Motifs, and Metaphors for God

The Transcendence and Immanence of God

Several Models of Christian Theism

Three Understandings of the Metaphysics of Christian Theology

How Should We Understand Language about God?

Chapter 3 What Happens to God in Contemporary Thought?

What Is Modernity?...