Nature Of God Flashcards
Transcendent definition
God is distant and removed
Omnipotent Definition
God is all powerful
Omniscient
God is the source of all knowledge and knows everything
Omnipresent
god is always present everywhere at the same time
Omnibenevolent
God is all good and the source of everything good
Immanence
God is close and near
Knowable
A god that is personal, often described with anthropomorphic language
Unknowable
A far-off, distant and removed god
Monotheism
Belief in a single god, e.g Islam
Polytheism
Belief in multiple gods, soft polytheism applies to Hinduism
Outline the nature of god in Christianity (5)
- One God is worshipped in Christianity, making it monotheistic. However god is understood as a Trinity.
- The Father (God) is the creator. Nothing exists without him. The Son (Jesus) is the saviour, coming to earth as god in human form to save humanity. His crucifixion is believed to have redeemed the sins of the world. The Holy Spirit is gods love and power given to humans as a gift following Jesus’ ascension.
- Christians view god as personal through anthropomorphic language in the bible, “Jesus wept” and by praying to him through Jesus
- He is omniscient
- He is omnibenevolent
Give three reasons why Christians pray
- Help (petition) in their own lives
- Intercession in other people’s lives
- Intimacy, to improve and build relationship with god
Dangers of holding this anthropomorphic viewpoint
Denigrates God’s character and holiness
If god exists, he is impersonal. Agree or disagree (5)
- Christians believe that God is personal to them (anthropomorphic language)
- In Islam, Allah is considered impersonal and transcendent (in Qur’an, 99 names for Allah not 100 bc he isn’t truly knowable)
- Brahman is unknowable. He didn’t create the human soul and isn’t responsible or connected to humans
- Atheists believe god doesn’t exist, but considering theist viewpoints if he existed he would be transcendent because of the lack of evidence of his influence on Earth
- I believe if God existed he would be impersonal because he is a God that humans can’t understand
Hindu understanding of the nature of god (5)
- Hindus also believe in one God or Supreme Power called ‘Brahman’ however Hinduism is described as ‘soft polytheism’ since Hindus worship many gods who are aspects of Brahman
- Brahman revealed himself through thousands of lesser gods and goddesses and when Hindus worship these gods they are really worshipping Brahman
- Brahman is the source of all life
- Brahman is everywhere (omnipresent) And in everything
- Brahman has no gender because Brahman is not a human being or like anything else in creation (transcendent) Therefore it is impossible for human beings to understand Brahman (unknowable)
How Muslims understand god and his nature (5)
- Shahadah is the most important belief of Islam and emphases that Allah is One. Muslims call this ‘tawhid’ or the ‘oneness of god’
- The Arabic word for god is Allah, which has no gender nor has a plural form.
- It is impossible for humans to understand what Allah is like (99 names instead of 100 in Qur’an) so he is revealed something of himself to prophets
- By following the teachings of the Qur’an and example of Muhammad the prophet (pbuh) muslims can love in a way that is pleasing to god
- the Qur’an contains 99 names for god, each telling Muslims something about what God is like e.g God is a The Creator
Advantages of describing god as:
- Immanent
- Personal
- Transcendent
- Impersonal
- Proves to theists that god is active and involved in creation, easier to see God’s influence and reinforce faith
- Personal Gods are easier to understand and can be comforted by the knowable nature through prayer
- Transcendent gods are distinct and not controlled by the limits of the universe which makes them appear powerful
- This makes god seem extremely holy and inspires worship of a being so separate from humanity
Disadvantages of describing god as:
- Immanent
- Personal
- Transcendent
- Impersonal
- If He is involved in creation he is involved in creation of suffering and disease
- Denigrates gods character and his holiness
- Difficult to understand because they transcend time
- An impersonal God seems sympathetic towards humanity and unknowable which could drive theists away when they need comfort
