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Chapter 1: God is ...
Section 1: ... what?
Does God exist? At the beginning of our investigation,
the only answer we can give is: perhaps.
But before we can discuss God's existence, we have to
be sure we know what we are talking about. If there is a
god, what is he like?
This introduction looks at the idea of God. It assumes there is only one God, who is referred to as "he".
(In later sections, we'll look at the notion of polytheism - many gods - and at
God's gender.)
Our image of God comes from many sources,
including scriptures (religious writings such as the Bible and Koran), believers who claim to have experience the deity, and thinkers who have reflected on God's nature.
These sources suggest that God is:
a spirit – he does not have a physical body
transcendent – he exists both within and outside the universe
self-existent and eternal – he was not created
and he has no beginning or end
the creator of the universe
omniscient – he knows everything
omnipotent – he is all-powerful
and can override the laws of nature
omnipresent – he is everywhere at all times.
Most believers would add that God is:
knowable - men and women can experience God
directly, although they can only perceive part of him and his nature
theistic – he is interested in and participates in his creation
the source or essence of good
the ultimate judge and jury - he decides our fate in the afterlife
compassionate – he is deeply aware of and sympathetic to the suffering of
his creation, particularly human beings.
Not every believer agrees with the last five points. Some claim
that God is unknowable - we cannot define or
imagine him. Some also claim
that he is uninvolved - although he created the universe, he has
no interest in it. His lack of involvement means that he is not compassionate and
he will not judge us after we die.
What do the scriptures - the Bible, the Koran and other
texts tell us about religion? Why does God say one thing
and do another? What are the contradictions at the heart
of faith?
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Let's agree for the moment on the first seven characteristics and focus on the second group.
The disagreements there mean that -
in addition to being a transcendent omniscient omnipotent spirit who created the universe - God is:
1. knowable, compassionate and actively involved in human affairs
OR
2. unknowable, but compassionate and actively involved in human affairs
OR
3. unknowable and without compassion, interest or involvement in
human affairs.
If God is knowable, how can we know him? Through personal experience and scripture.
Some believers say that the scriptures - the Bible, Koran, whatever
- give only a general picture of God's nature.
Other believers - fundamentalists - say that God is clearly defined by their
particular scripture.
If God exists and is unknowable, this is the closest we can come to him.
At this point it's not important which scripture may reflect God's word, but the general principle is valid.
That means we have to revise our options as follows:
If God exists, he is a transcendent omniscient omnipotent spirit who created the universe. He is also:
1. knowable, compassionate, actively involved in human affairs and clearly defined by one body of scripture
OR
2. knowable, compassionate and actively involved in human affairs; religious writings give a general idea of his nature
OR
3. unknowable, compassionate and actively involved in human affairs
OR
4. unknowable, has no compassion and is not interested or involved in
human affairs.
We've made a start and we've seen that if God exists, his nature may be one of several possible options.
With these options in mind, let's see how the idea of God relates to faith and religion >>>
next section
