When Christians express a reason for believing in God, they are using Natural Theology and they are giving a reason for believing in a certain type of God. We can think of this as an argument for believing in a Philosophical God.
But Christians are not philosophers, they are religious believers, who have faith in a God who has revealed himself through human history in particular times and places.
If their religious belief is to be rational, then there must be a reason for thinking that the (philosophical) God of Natural Theology is the same one as the God revealed in the Bible and by the person of Jesus Christ as recorded by the Church.
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Tradition vs. Scripture: The Catholic and Protestant Divide Explained | The Truth About Tradition
What the apostles handed down, how Sacred Tradition differs from the Church’s changeable customs, and why Tradition is needed to interpret Scripture.
Why Scripture and Tradition? | Catholic Faith Made Simple | Episode 6
An illustrated lesson for children and families on how the apostles handed on one Gospel through Scripture and Tradition.
The Philosophical God and the God of Scripture
We can see that this is the case, by comparing the following descriptions of the (Philosophical) God, with the God revealed in Scripture. The following table maps the philosophical attributes of God from natural theology directly to some matching scriptural passages:
Natural Theology God
Biblical God
Scriptural Reference
Natural Theology God
God is immutable (unchanging)
Biblical God
“For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6);also “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Natural Theology God
God is eternal
Biblical God
“From everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (Psalm 90:2);also “The eternal God is your refuge” (Deuteronomy 33:27).
Natural Theology God
God is perfect
Biblical God
“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4);also “This God - his way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30).
Natural Theology God
God is omnipotent
Biblical God
“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2);also “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).
Natural Theology God
God is omniscient
Biblical God
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me... You understand my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:1–2);also “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight” (Hebrews 4:13 / echoing Jeremiah 23:24 “Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord).
Natural Theology God
Incorporeal (spirit, without a physical body)
Biblical God
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24);in the Old Testament, “Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not spirit” (Isaiah 31:3),and the strict prohibition against making idols stems from the truth that Israel saw no form when God spoke to them at Horeb (Deuteronomy 4:15–16).
How does God reveal Himself?
Catholics believe that God has revealed himself in time and space in order that we might know him more clearly and understand that he is not a distant and disinterested God, but one who loves us and who has gradually revealed himself more fully through human history.
Catholic theology teaches that God’s revelation is a unified whole. It originates from one source - God Himself - and is transmitted through two distinct modes:
Sacred Scripture
The Word of God written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.Sacred Tradition
The living transmission of the Word of God, handed down from the Apostles through the life, worship, doctrine, and apostolic succession of the Church.
As the Second Vatican Council document Dei Verbum explains:
“Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church.”
A living transmission
The New Testament writings did not drop from heaven fully formed; they emerged out of the living community of the early Church. The Church existed, preached, celebrated the Eucharist, and lived the faith for decades before the New Testament canon was even finalised. Tradition is the atmosphere in which Scripture was written and is correctly interpreted.
Tradition encompasses the Church’s universal liturgy, creeds, moral teaching, prayers, and the consistent consensus of the Church Fathers. It ensures that the faith is not just a static text on a page, but a living relationship and a continuous reality handed down unbroken from the Apostles.
Sacred Scripture: the inspired written Word
Scripture holds a uniquely venerated place as the written Word of God.
Inspiration and inerrancy
Catholic theology teaches that the human authors of the Bible were true, active authors who used their own styles and backgrounds, yet were simultaneously inspired by the Holy Spirit so that they wrote down precisely what God wanted communicated for the sake of our salvation.Requires interpretation
Because Scripture was written in ancient languages, cultural contexts, and literary genres, it requires a careful, prayerful interpretation. It cannot simply be read in a vacuum; it is properly read within the living context and tradition of the community that produced and preserved it.
Scripture and Tradition together
Scripture and Tradition are mutually interdependent and deeply intertwined:
Tradition interprets Scripture
Tradition provides the orthodoxy and the framework (such as the Creed and the consensus of the Church) to ensure Scripture is read correctly and not twisted into private interpretations.Scripture tests Tradition
Any authentic development of Tradition must always be in absolute harmony with Sacred Scripture. Scripture acts as a vital anchor, keeping the Church tethered to its apostolic roots.