Part Two: Who is God?
Here we are, questioning the existence of God, and we have come to a place where we see the need for a god. However, we are not yet at a place where the Judeo-Christian God is palatable. It may be thought that the “who” question is not yet pertinent. That would be a fair critique. Nonetheless, this will be our next part. If a more extended title were in order, this part in our journey could be restated like the following: “Who does god need to be for god to be God?” What do I mean by this, you may ask? I mean that if we need a god, what would he be like in order to be philosophically sound?
In Eastern religions, such as the conglomerate of religions encapsulated under the banner of Hinduism, there is a large pantheon of gods. Ancient Greek, Roman, and Mesopotamian cultures also believed in a large pantheon of gods. Some argue that Christianity and Judaism are types of pantheism as well. One could write many vast volumes on these religions’ rich history and origin, but as promised, this series is to be succinct. Therefore, I will be brief. If pantheism were true, there would be countless gods, for there would need to be another god to begin at the place where the last god left. The argument becomes circular and, therefore, without end. This is a philosophically dead concept. Therefore, we need a monotheistic god.
Regarding Christianity and Judaism being pantheistic, the answer is simple and a part of what makes the religions so beautiful. Unlike any other religion, the God of the Bible, YAHWEH, has multiple forms of his existence, but he is one god: in Judaism, this is a duality of the human version of YAHWEH and the spiritual version; in Christianity, this becomes a trinity of essences in that the Holy Spirit is added to the mix. You have likely heard the saying, “God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” This belief may seem insignificant, but the entire Christian religion, as well as the plausibility of Christianity itself, weighs on the belief in the Trinity. The Bible is as good as dead if we can disprove the Trinity.
For there to be a god and a corresponding belief structure that is philosophically sound, it must meet the following criteria: 1) it must satisfy total power, knowledge, and whereabouts; 2) it must satisfy the need for justice (good and evil); 3) it must be personal and intentional; 4) it must satisfy the concept of forgiveness. I should add some context to my list of requirements: this list is to satisfy the philosophical need for a god that fits within our world as we experience it. I could quickly come up with a list that is shorter with a god that is disengaged with his creation, such as a machine, but that does not serve to quell the desire in all humans towards something transcendent. A god that is not personally involved, loving, and just would fail to meet the human need for a god. Any god other than one that meets my criteria would be of no benefit to us, and therefore, there would be little reason to try to know about him; atheism would be a legitimate belief system with no different consequences than any other belief system.
Total power, knowledge, and whereabouts. This can also be called omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God must meet this criterion because if he is not all-powerful, we would need another god to pick up where he left off; if he is not all-knowing, the door is open for someone to know more than him or at the very least make the argument that he simply does not know and, therefore, cannot make a decision on something. He must be omnipresent because he would cease to know all or exert his power in all places. Without these traits, we could poke holes into the concept of god and cripple the belief system and, therefore, invalidate it.
Justice or the problem of good and evil. God would be disingenuous if he were to make rules but not be just. We, humans, need a higher power to adjudicate for us; otherwise, the entire system falls on its face, for no human is of higher authority than the other. Suppose god is not the adjudicator of both the concept of good/true as well as the concept of bad/evil. In that case, he is disingenuous and disengaged and, therefore, philosophically worthless to humans. He is not a god we want or the god we need.
Personal and intentional. Humans need a personal and intentional god to fulfill our demand/calling to lead a purposeful, meaningful, and significant life. Yes, we can find temporary avenues for these things, but we cannot find permanence in them, as discussed in the last part of this series. If god is not personally involved in our lives in an intentional way, then he is of no use to us, for he does not quell the existential questions of mankind.
Forgiveness. A god that is just but not forgiving is a god that sentences everyone to hell. He cannot be both just and send everyone to heaven because that is not justice. If we have all trespassed against him (an argument I will make later), he must either forgive us or send us all to hell. If he were to send us all to hell, then we yet again have no purpose for him; curse him because the result would be all the same to us.
Now, let us discuss the God of the Bible, YAHWEH. How does he fill out this criterion?
God is Just:
Isaiah 9:7: 7 ⌊His dominion will grow continually, and to peace there will be no end⌋ on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and sustain it with justice and righteousness now and forever. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.[1]
Matthew 13:40-43: 40 Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear![2]
Matthew 25:31-46: 31 Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world! 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something* to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something* to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me as a guest, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you cared for me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,* or thirsty and give you something* to drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you* as a guest, or naked and clothe you?* 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ 40 And the king will answer and* say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did it* to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it* to me.’ 41 Then he will also say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed ones, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 For I was hungry and you did not give me anything* to eat, I was thirsty and you did not give me anything* to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me as a guest, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not care for me.’ 44 Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and not serve you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it* to one of the least of these, you did not do it* to me.’ 46 And these will depart into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”[3]
Revelation 20:11-15: 11 And I saw a great white throne and the one who was seated on it, ⌊from whose presence⌋ earth and heaven fled, and a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and each one was judged according to their deeds. 14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.[4]
God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present:
Psalm 135:6: 6 All that Yahweh desires, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths. [5]
Matthew 19:26: 26 But Jesus looked at them* and* said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”[6]
Jeremiah 32:17: 17 ‘Ah Lord Yahweh! Look, you made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. ⌊Nothing⌋ is too difficult for you,[7]
Psalm 33:13-15: 13 From heaven Yahweh looks; he sees all the children of humankind. 14 From his dwelling place he gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions altogether their heart, he who understands all their works. [8]
Hebrews 4:13: 13 And no creature is hidden in the sight of him, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him to whom ⌊we must give our account⌋.[9]
Psalm 139:7-10: 7 Where can I go from your Spirit, or where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, there you are, and if I make my bed in Sheol, look! There you are. 9 If I lift up the wings of the dawn, and I alight on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand would lead me, and your right hand would hold me fast.[10]
God is personal:
John 3:16: 16 For in this way God loved the world, so that he gave his one and only Son, in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world in order that he should judge the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him. 18 The one who believes in him is not judged, but the one who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.[11]
God forgives:
1 John 1:9: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our* sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.[12]
Summary:
By now, I suspect the foundations of God you have been taught are either affirmed or cracking. We have come to see the need for a god, the traits that he must exhibit, and how the Judeo-Christian God meets those traits. Next, we will discuss some aspects of this part in more detail as we discuss what God is and, consequently, what we are as his creation. Though I have covered it briefly, this topic can be immensely deep. To those who want that depth, this is not the place for it, but I would love to discuss it with you via email. You can contact me via the “Contact” link. For those who find my briefness to have left you with questions, the same goes for you: please, contact me, and we can discuss your questions.
[1] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Is 9:7.
[2] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 13:40–43.
[3] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 25:31–46.
[4] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Re 20:11–15.
[5] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ps 135:6.
[6] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 19:26.
[7] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Je 32:17.
[8] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ps 33:13–15.
[9] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Heb 4:13.
[10] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Ps 139:7–10.
[11] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jn 3:16–18.
[12] The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), 1 Jn 1:9.