Click here for audio
Chapter 1: Who is God?
One of the most asked questions’
concerning theological things is, “Who is God?” or “Is there a God?” Maybe a
better question is “What do we mean when we say God?” or “How do we define what
we mean by God?” Why is it important that we ask the right question? Because
the question is always interpreted in what we already believe or what we have
been taught. Our basic understanding of God derives from a combination of
experience and education which means that we each reach this discussion from
potentially different places. And it is often this combination of things that causes
us to disagree. Maybe the better way to approach this question is to study the
history of God throughout humanity, something that might be too large for this
study. But we can summarize much of what we know. Every civilization and
culture has an understanding of God. The ancient people of the world addressed
God in many way: “The Great Spirit”, “Yahweh”, “Zeus”, “Odin”, and many others.
What sets Christianity or more specifically, Judaism, from the rest of the
world is this concept of “One God”. All other cultures have within their
understanding that there are many Gods, some greater than others typically with
one who is greatest of them all and all Gods are greater in power and wisdom than
humans. Some of the Gods are good while others are evil. And these Gods
interact with humanity, sometimes for the good of humanity and sometimes for
evil or mischief. What is important to understand is that there are three basic
definitions of God based on the number of Gods. One definition defines that
there are many Gods and is called polytheism. Another belief is that God exists
in all things and is in everything and this belief is called pantheism.
Monotheism is the belief in one god in whom all things are created and exist. We
can clearly agree that Judaism is rooted in the concept known as Monotheism and
Christianity, as an extension of Judiasm, falls in line with this.
Our understanding of God then is that
there is only one, one God to create us, the same God to redeem us and the same
God to sustain us. That from the beginning of time as we know it, there has
always been God and always will be God. Our God created the world and then us
in it. We get that from the foundation of our belief system, the Bible. I will
talk more about the Bible later, but let us define the bible at this point as
the story of God’s relationship with humanity from the beginning to the end of
time somewhere in our future.
In the ancient histories of people and
cultures that populated the earth, people looked for answers to the basic
questions: “How did we get here”, “Who made the world, the stars, etc.”, and
other basic questions of creation and existence. Truth is, we still ask those
same questions, if not openly, certainly in our minds. So it comes as no
surprise that early people would begin to define these answers in ways that
made sense to them. Scientifically we have come to learn that built within our
complex mind is an innate sense that there is some higher being; therefore God.
So the easiest answers point to a being more powerful and higher in existence
than ourselves. This being then has the ability to create the world, the
universe, the animals, and so on. Cultures clash when differing understandings
of creation and who and how the world was created become the source of argument
and discussion. How can we reconcile those differences? The ancient Romans
dealt with that by allowing for the “Unknown God”. Basically they said, we have
our Gods, you have your Gods, and we don’t see the inconsistency in that so we
will allow your understanding to coexist with ours. That is, until along came these
folks called the Christians.
In the earliest of Hebrew writings,
there has always existed this “One God” who created us. There are many similarities
between the early stories of ancient cultures and the Hebrew histories found in
the earliest book, Genesis. The story of creation, the story of the flood, and
the giving and receiving of the earliest rules for living are all a part of
ancient cultures in the Middle East and Mediterranean .
So what sets us apart? Primarily and most importantly the difference is this
concept of a single God in the world. What is important is that the early
records of Judaism also seem to acknowledge that there are other Gods’ in the
world. But all of these other Gods of other cultures are subordinate to the
Hebrews “One God”. In fact, as we read the story, we realize that at no time do
we see these other Gods actually perform, speak or do anything. Just simply,
the early Hebrew people seem to acknowledge that other cultures have Gods;
theirs is more powerful and intimate. In other words, the Hebrew God interacts
with the people, talks to them, heals them, fights wars for them and sets the
rules for them. Now in our simplest understanding, this radical difference
defines the Hebrew people and ultimately the Christian world. So when we speak
of God we are speaking of this being that was before the world existed and is
greater than anything we can imagine. The gender of God is a modern dilemma
that we have created for ourselves and will be addressed later in this chapter.
We in modern times have come to personify God so much that we begin to make God
human in our description of God. But when we look at the Biblical understanding
and focus on the Hebrew understanding we learn something else. To the Hebrew
people, there is no problem accepting that God exists. The real issue for all
of us should simply be that God does exist, that existence is often difficult
for us to accept and believe. How could the world have suddenly existed if
there is no force to create it? Is it circumstance? Are we truly creatures of
chance and chemical reaction? As a kid, I was an inquisitive person, often to
the point where adults got uncomfortable. I was once told by a preacher not to
ask questions about things I need to just accept. Maybe you are like me. If we
are creatures by chance and atoms split and started this big old universe, then
who created the atom?
The one thing that sets our God apart
from all other deities in the world is this concept of relationship. No other
deity in any other culture is interested in having a relationship with humanity
that is two sided but the God of Abraham. So this sets God apart from other
Gods in ancient cultures and also sets Judaism, Islam and Christianity apart
from the other world religions. So when we talk of God, we are addressing a
real being who is interested in a relationship with us. Again, food for great
discussion!
We will focus on this relationship
more as we progress through this course, but let us focus on some bullet points
that set the basis for our study of God:
·
We
accept that God exists as a matter of belief.
·
God’s
story of the relationship with humanity is laid out in detail in the Bible.
·
This
story outlines a relationship that is two sided, with God showing love for
God’s creation.
·
We
believe God to be a triune God.
·
We
believe that God is supreme, omnipotent and omnipresent.
·
We
believe that God is the source of all there is.
·
God
is the sustaining power of the universe
·
God
is eternal
·
God
is Holy
·
God
is personal
·
God
is present with us
·
God
is Redeemer
·
God
is spirit
·
God
is love
So
if we simply say that “God is”, then in truth we have defined God. To use any other
measure simply complicates our understanding. To the early Hebrew people, this
definition more closely aligns itself with their understanding of God. And if
we look at the list above, we see that God is so overwhelmingly difficult to
define, simply saying that “God is” fits.
Before leaving this topic I want to
explore the subject of gender. To the ancient Hebrew gender was never a topic
of discussion. Quite frankly, to the ancient Hebrew, God simply “IS”. And if
more of us understood God this way our world view of God would be better. To
answer this age old question of the gender of God I am going to simply give you
some scripture, show the Hebrew and its definition and then allow you to
discuss it if you desire.
The gender of God
NRS Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make humankind
in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps
upon the earth."
~d"²a' - literally means “mankind/
humankind” – noun common masculine absolute which can be either male or female
WnmeÞl.c;B. - literally means “in the image” – noun common masculine
Wnte_Wmd>Ki - literally means “according to our
likeness” – noun common
feminine
It would appear from this passage that God is neutral, neither male nor
female. Now we also see that there is a masculine aspect as well as a feminine
aspect of God. This might yet be the best definition of God when it comes to
gender.
NRS Proverbs 8:1 Does not wisdom call, and does not
understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights, beside the way, at
the crossroads she takes her stand;
3
beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries
out: 4 "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that
live. 5 O simple ones, learn prudence; acquire intelligence, you who
lack it. 6 Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips
will come what is right; 7 for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness
is an abomination to my lips. 8 All the words of my mouth are
righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. 9 They are
all straight to one who understands and right to those who find knowledge.
hm'îk.x' – literally means
“wisdom” – noun common feminine
From this
discussion, we see that wisdom, a unique characteristic of God, is feminine. So
is God feminine?
KJV Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me.
NIV Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken
me, the Lord has forgotten me."
NRS Isaiah 49:14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken
me, my Lord has forgotten me."
!AYàci – literally means “Zion ”
(what we would refer to as the city of God
hw"+hy> literally means “YHWH or Yahweh” –
noun, no gender
yn"ßdoaw: - literally means “my Lord or my God”
– noun, no gender
NRS John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the
Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all
that I have said to you.
Here we see God with no gender in the Old Testament and the clear masculine
gender in the New Testament.
Two other points – Jerusalem or Zion is the city of God
RUAH is the Hebrew word for spirit and is the word that used for the Holy
Spirit or Holy Ghost. It is a neuter noun or noun with no gender.
Questions:
1. How do we describe God from the
scriptures (Read Genesis 1: 1, 1: 26; Psalm 18:2-3; Isaiah 66:13, 2 Corinthians
1: 3-4 and Matthew 5: 43-48)?
2. How do you describe God?
a. To an adult?
b. To a child?
3. We believe as Christians that God is
revealed through scripture. How do you believe God is revealed in the world?
4. How does the historical story of God
in the world shape how you feel about God?
5. What would you say to a non-Christian
is the most significant thing about God?
No comments:
Post a Comment