GOD In polytheistic religions a god is regarded as a being possessed of supernatural qualities and powers, a higher intelligence controlling forces

of good or evil, or a personification of any of the forces of nature. When referring to a god in this polytheistic sense the word is spelled with a small g. The monotheistic God is distinguished from polytheistic gods by the use of a capitol G. This distinction is intended to show that the monotheistic God is not a minor polytheistic god, but the Highest God, before whom there can be no others (Ex 20:3; 20:22) Verses like Exodus 15:11, who is like Thee. O Lord, among the gods? do not lend support to polytheism, but expose the unreality and futility of the pagan deities.1 God is the Supreme Being, creator and ruler of the universe in most monotheistic religions, especially Judaism, Christianity and Islam. God is omnipotent, omniscient, infinite in time and space, immanent in the material world but transcendent over it; He is good, loving mankind, and righteous, demanding righteousness from His people. The normative Jewish conception of God is . . . as the creator and sustainer of the universe, whose will and purposes are supreme. . . He is absolutely one, admitting no plurality in his nature, and absolutely unique . . . This is essentially the picture of the biblical God as it was developed and understood in classical Jewish thought.2 The early Hebrew concept of God was that of a tribal deity. Under the prophets the concept became strongly moral, and the national God, named variously Adonai, Elohim, or Yahweh, in time became a God of righteousness and morality. Influenced by their increasing contact with other peoples, the Jews came to regard Yahweh as Lord of Nations, ruling the entire world, but having special care for the Jewish nation. This concept of God(or Jehovah as the Christians translated the name Yahweh)was adopted by Christianity which, however, emphasized the idea of God as a loving Father, and substituted the Christian Church for the Hebrew nation as the object of His special care. Islam, in turn, substituted the followers of the Prophet Mohammed. In most systems of monotheistic religion God is endowed with certain attributes that distinguish Him from other types of deities: Infinity, Unity, Incorporeality, Immutability, Impassability, Eternity, Omniscience, Omnipotence and Goodness. Gods Infinity, boundlessness, makes Him free from most human limitations. He is only infinite if He is limitless throughout the whole range of His existence. This is possible only if His essence is identical with His existence, what He is is identical with the fact that He is. Aquinas, who held this view said that the most appropriate name for God is the one disclosed to Moses in the book of Exodus, He Who Is. If God is boundless then He must possess all characteristics in a way that is limitless. He must be one, incorporeal, immutable, impassable, eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and good. In Judaism the belief that Yahweh is the only God(Deut 6:4;Isa 45:21;46:9)became an unquestioned axiom that was inherited by the Christians. Similarly, Muslims hold as a primary article of faith that, there is no god but God. This is the essence of the Muslim profession of faith (shahadah).3 But Christians differ from Jews and Muslims in
Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 643 ibid. p.670 3 Encyclopedia of Religion, p.26
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believing that the one God exists in a threefold form as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is one substance in three persons. For Judaism, the proof of Gods existence is incomplete unless it also establishes His absolute unity.4 As Supreme Being, Creator, and ruler of the universe, God can be regarded as creating the world as an aspect of himself, or unfolding the world from himself (Isa 44:24). Either of these conceptions requires one to think of Him materially. However the immateriality of God has constantly been taught by Jews, and then supported by Christians on the ground that matter, as a characteristic of limitation is incompatible with His perfection. Jewish philosophers of the Middle Ages came to the conclusion that the unity of God necessarily implies that He must be incorporeal.5 Gods nature cannot change because change would imply imperfection. Thus God is considered to be immutable. This was affirmed by the Old Testament (Mal 3:6) and reaffirmed by Christian theologians, especially Augustine. Impassability is also considered one of the characteristics of God. Though closely related to immutability, in this context it is held to mean that God cannot suffer pain. It has been maintained by some theologians that, although Christ experienced pain in his human nature, God cannot experience it in himself, for, being wholly perfect, he is without pain. For God must by definition be unchangeable, beyond pain, beyond pressures from his own creation . . .6 Moreover, God would not be perfect unless He possessed his whole being in a simultaneous act. Gods eternity signifies an everlasting endless time; or as Christians understood it, a timelessness (Isa 40:8; Ps 90:2). It is claimed that God is omniscient, knows everything, which is entailed by infinity (Jb 28:23-24; Jer 11:20; 16:17; Ps 7:10). This creates a unique problem. If God is omniscient He now knows future freely chosen human acts. There are two commonly held views regarding this problem. The first is that since God is timeless it would be a mistake to say God foresees events, and even if He does foresee them it does not necessitate predetermination, neither by God, nor by forces outside the persons will. That human action can be predicted does not mean the person is not active and responsible for those actions. The second view is that it is contradictory to say free choice can be foreknown. This perspective affirms that God has instituted the self-limitation of being ignorant of future human choices, and that he incurred this limitation to grant man free will. Mans freedom to resist or obey the will of God is a restriction of the Deitys power that is totally unknown in the physical universe. It must be added, however, that this restriction is an act of divine self-limitation.7 Also entailed by Gods infinity is His Omnipotence. This all-powerfulness is seen to manifest itself not in a God that can do anything, but rather a God that is the ruler of all things. This monotheistic God is seen as wholly good, or in the Hebraic tradition, wholly righteous. This righteousness, or moral order, has sometimes been interpreted in
Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 658 ibid., p.658-659 6 A Handbook of Living Religions, John R. Hinnells (ed.) (Penguin Books:London, 1984) 7 Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 649
4 5

nontheistic traditions as such abstract concepts as Rita (in India), Tao (in China), and Dike (in Greece). The gods of the Graeco-Roman polytheism were notoriously immoral, whereas this monotheistic God is completely good. As Aquinas asserted, God is sheer goodness, whereas other things are credited with the sort of goodness appropriate to their natures (In Boethiusm de Hebdaomadibus 5).8 This conception of God as omnipotent and wholly good is problematic. How do you explain the existence of evil in a world created by a God who is infinitely powerful and infinitely good. In response to this problem evil has been traced to the fall of man. God therefor allows unmerited suffering as a way to purify the soul for eternal life and thereby restoring man to his rightful place. Christians perceive God as displaying his omnipotence by overcoming evil through the ministry of Christ. In Judaism and Christianity, God is undeniably transcendent, wholly other than the world he made. This transcendence is emphasized by the prohibition of idols as expressed in the Ten Commandments told to Moses (Ex 20:4). All of these divine characteristics are manifest in the act of Creation. The world may be viewed as an emanation from, or self-expression of, God. This act of creation can also be viewed in multiple ways. One view perceives the world as pre-existent matter set in order by God. In the academic, Jewish translation of the first creation account there are implications that there was something, some pre-existent matter, before what Christians and Jews consider to be the beginning. In contrast to the pre-existent matter conception of creation Christians have held to a doctrine of creation out of nothing, creation ex nihilo. This conception of creation is meant to exclude the idea that matter pre-exists the moment of creation.

A Handbook of Living Religions, John R. Hinnells (ed.) (Penguin Books:London, 1984) 3

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God - In The Bible, Israel Abraham, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 642-652 God - In Hellenistic Literature Yehoshua M. Grintz, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 652-657 God - In Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Marvin Fox, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 6657-660 God - In Kaballah, Gershom Scholem, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 660-661 God - In Modern Jewish Philosophy, Marvin Fox, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 62-664 God - Attributes of God, Alexander Altman, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 664-669 God - Justice and Mercy of God, Lou H. Silberman, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 669-670 Conceptions of God, Marvin Fos, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Jerusalem; Encyclopedia Judaica; New York; Macmillan, 1971-72, v.1, pp. 670-673 God in the OT, Jouette M. Bassler, The Anchor Bible Dictionary. David Noel Freedman, editor-in-chief; associate editors, Gary A. Herion, David F. Graf, John David Pleins; managing editor, Astrid B. Beck. (New York; Doubleday, 1992), v.II, pp. 1040-1051 God in the NT, Jouette M. Bassler, The Anchor Bible Dictionary. David Noel Freedman, editor-in-chief; associate editors, Gary A. Herion, David F. Graf, John David Pleins; managing editor, Astrid B. Beck. (New York; Doubleday, 1992), v.II, pp1040-1051 God in the Hebrew Scriptures, S. David Sperling, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade, editor-in-chief; associate editors, Charles J. Adams . . . et al. (New York:Macmillan, 1987) v.6, pp. 1-8 God in the New Testament, Reginald H. Fuller, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade, editor-in-chief; associate editors, Charles J. Adams . . . et al. (New York:Macmillan, 1987) v.6, pp. 8-11 God in Postbiblical Judaism, Louis Jacobs, The Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade, editor-in-chief; associate editors, Charles J. Adams . . . et al. (New York:Macmillan, 1987) v.6, pp.11-17 God in Postbibilical Christianity, John B. Cobb, Jr., The Encyclopedia of Religion, Mircea Eliade, editor-in-chief; associate editors, Charles J. Adams . . . et al. (New York:Macmillan, 1987) v.6, pp. 17-26 A Handbook of Living Religions, John R. Hinnells (ed.) (Penguin Books:London, 1984) A Handbook of Living Religions, John R. Hinnells (ed.) (Penguin Books:London, 1984) Bible