God (AQA A-Level Religious Studies): Revision Notes

Christian Monotheism

Introduction

Christian monotheism refers to the belief in one God who is the omnipotent Creator and controller of all things. This God is understood as both transcendent (beyond space and time) and unknowable in essence, yet also revealed through Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ.

Key definitions

Monotheism: The belief that only one God exists, who typically possesses complete power and knowledge.

Omnipotent: Having unlimited or all-encompassing power.

Transcendent: Existing above and beyond the physical universe and space-time, as opposed to immanent (existing within the created order).

Covenant: A formal agreement between God and his people. Biblical covenants include those made with Abraham, Moses and David. Some covenants were conditional (bringing blessings or curses based on obedience), whilst others were unconditional.

Shema: From the Hebrew word meaning 'to hear'. Refers to the prayer in Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One" - a central declaration of Jewish and Christian monotheism.

The development of monotheism in the Old Testament

Early understanding

Israel's belief in one God developed gradually over time:

• Initially, other gods were believed to exist but were seen as powerless compared to Israel's God
• Exodus 15:11 asks: "Who is like thee, O LORD, among the gods?"
• Psalm 86:8 declares: "There is none like thee among the gods, O Lord..."
• The Hebrew term Elohim (a plural form meaning 'gods') was used, suggesting God was viewed as head of a divine council
• Each nation was thought to have its own deity, with these gods forming Yahweh's Council, called the 'sons of God'

Developed monotheism

A clearer monotheistic understanding emerged through the Israelite prophets, particularly in Isaiah 40-55:

Ethical monotheism

Christian monotheism is fundamentally ethical, meaning belief in one God is inseparably linked to moral behaviour.

Old Testament foundation

• The covenant between God and Israel required moral and religious obedience in return for God's special relationship (Exodus 19:5-6)
• The Law given to Moses, centred on the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), formed the basis of this covenant
• Good moral conduct was essential to maintaining the covenant relationship

New Testament affirmation

Jesus reinforced this ethical dimension:

• He quoted the Shema in Mark 12:29: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One"
• He taught that the greatest commandments were to love God completely and to love one's neighbour as oneself (Mark 12:28-31)
• Jesus warned that weakening obedience to God's commandments would result in being "least in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:19)

Many Christians view these teachings as morally authoritative, though interpretations vary depending on views about biblical authority and approaches to ethics.

Salvation and moral obedience

• Moral obedience is understood as central to salvation
• Jesus' appearance as God's Son is part of 'Salvation History' - God's unfolding plan to save humanity from sin and death
• Jesus' ethical teaching shows Christians how to be saved into the Kingdom of God
• Only God has the complete power, authority and love to save humanity from sin

God as omnipotent Creator

Omnipotence defined

Since God is the only God, Christians have concluded he must be omnipotent (all-powerful):

• Matthew 19:26 states: "with God all things are possible"
• However, Christians disagree about what omnipotence means:

Theories of God's creation

Most Christians believe an omnipotent God must be the Creator of everything that exists. However, there are different understandings of how God created:

Ex Deo (from God)

• The universe comes from God's own being
• Most Christians reject this view because it implies God and creation are the same thing
• This contradicts the belief that God is transcendent and 'wholly other' from the material world

Ex nihilo (from nothing)

• Most Christians believe God created the universe literally 'from nothing'
• This suggests the universe is a kind of mental construct by God
• Theologians point to Genesis 1 where God 'brings forth' the universe by creative words: "Let there be..." (verses 3, 6, 9)

Creation from pre-existing chaos

• Some Christians accept that God created by ordering already-existing chaotic matter
• This view is closest to the actual text of Genesis
• Process theologians also hold this view, believing God and the material universe have always existed together

Creation and the problem of evil

The question of God as Creator raises challenges regarding evil:

• If God is the all-powerful Creator of everything, did he create evil?
• Augustine addressed this by denying evil exists as a thing in itself
• Others argue that humanity creates evil, so God isn't the sole creator of evil
• Hick suggests what we perceive as evil provides opportunities for spiritual development

God as controller of all things

The belief that God created and is omnipotent naturally leads to the view that God controls everything.

God as King and Sovereign

• God is described as 'King' or 'Sovereign' with total control over everything (Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 Timothy 6:15; Hebrews 1:3)
• The key idea is that God sustains the universe - holding it in existence and preserving it from destruction

Ways God sustains the universe

Preventing chaos: God preserves the universe from collapsing back into the watery chaos from which he ordered creation. This theme appears frequently in Psalms:

• Psalm 89:9-10 describes God ruling the sea and crushing Rahab
• Psalm 104:5 states God "set the earth on its foundations, so that it should never be shaken"

Sustaining morality: God maintains human morality by providing the code Christians should live by - the Ten Commandments and Jesus' teachings.

Divine omniscience and human freedom

Christians disagree about the extent of God's control:

Why this matters

The question of free will is crucial because many believe that without it, moral actions are meaningless - we would be nothing more than 'moral robots'. This issue is important throughout Religious Studies.

The limits of human understanding

Many Christians acknowledge we cannot fully understand God's nature or mind. Some regard claims to completely know God's mind as presumptuous for any created being. This connects to the belief that God is transcendent and unknowable.

God as transcendent and unknowable

What transcendence means

To say God is transcendent means God exists above and beyond the space-time universe.

God's nature

For Christians who hold this understanding:

• God is not a thing or object
• God is not made of anything
• God doesn't exist in time or space (which would limit him)
• God is eternal, with no beginning or end
• God is his own existence - God's essence is simply to exist
• The Catholic doctrine of God's aseity states that nothing is responsible for God's existence; God was neither created by something else nor did he create himself

Biblical support for transcendence

Several biblical passages emphasise God's transcendence:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

"No one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God." (1 Corinthians 2:11)

Numinous experience

Rudolf Otto described religious experiences of God as encounters with the 'wholly other'. The narrative of Moses' call (Exodus 2:23-4:17) illustrates this - God tells Moses to remove his shoes because he stands on holy ground (3:5).

God's unknowable nature

The doctrine of the Trinity and its importance

Understanding the Trinity

Trinitarian doctrine doesn't replace monotheism - it interprets it in light of historical revelation:

• In the Old Testament, God is encountered as Father, Creator and Judge
• In the New Testament, God is encountered as the human Jesus
• The Holy Spirit's revelation becomes explicit - Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35) and the Spirit descended on him at baptism (Luke 3:22)
• In the ongoing Church, God is experienced in all three persons

Biblical basis

A clear Trinity doctrine doesn't appear fully formed in the New Testament but is perceived within it:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Matthew 28:19)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)

The classical doctrine

After centuries of theological development, the formal Trinity doctrine affirmed:

• Father, Son and Spirit are one God in three persons
• Each person is fully God, equally possessing divine characteristics like omnipotence and omniscience
• Each person differs from the others only in their relationships: the Son differs from the Father only in being the Son and not the Father (and similarly for the Holy Spirit)
• Technically: God exists as one substance in three persons (hypostases)
• All three persons are eternal and uncreated

The Shield of the Trinity

This diagram illustrates key Trinity relationships:

Perichoresis

This Greek term (meaning 'rotation') describes the relationship between the three persons, often translated as 'mutual indwelling':

• The Father is in the Son
• The Son is in the Father
• Each person dwells in the others

John's Gospel shows this perichoretic understanding when Jesus says: "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee" (17:1), following from John 16:14 where the Spirit brings glory to the Son.

Why the Trinity doctrine matters

1. It explains Christian beliefs about sin, atonement and redemption

Many Christians believe Adam and Eve's original sin affected the God-humanity relationship, making an atonement necessary. The Trinity explains this coherently:

• God sent the Son as the atonement to redeem humans from sin (Galatians 4:4-5)
• The Son is fully human (as well as fully God), enabling him to make atonement through his death and resurrection (1 Peter 3:18-19)
• The Holy Spirit gives new birth in Jesus (Titus 3:5), offering hope of eternal life

2. It enables personal relationship with God

There's a tension between God's transcendent and immanent nature:

• Transcendent: God as Creator, controller of everything, wholly other, unknowable
• Immanent: God answers prayer, performs miracles, intervenes in history, relates to persons

3. It provides a model for human personhood and relationships

The Trinity models loving relationships:

• The relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is characterised by love, since God is love
• Humans are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27)
• Personal relationships between people should therefore reflect this Trinitarian love
• Theologian Jürgen Moltmann emphasises the Trinity as a community of mutual self-giving and receiving love
• This provides a model emphasising both giving and receiving, and accepting difference alongside sameness

Jesus as the Son of God

The significance of the question

Whether 'Son of God' is understood literally or metaphorically has major implications:

• Trinitarian view: Jesus is literally the Son of God, so his authority is God's authority
• Liberal view: Jesus was 'a son of God' - an exceptional or godly human, so his authority is merely human

This affects how Christians view Jesus' moral teachings. Following Jesus' ethical commands means something very different if he's God versus if he's just a remarkable human being.

John 10:30 - "I and the Father are one"

Context: During the Feast of Dedication at the Jerusalem Temple, Jews asked Jesus: "If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus concluded his reply with this statement.

Arguments against:

• Hen might simply mean harmony about Jesus' mission, not oneness in essence
• Jesus uses hen in John 18:11 asking for 'oneness' between himself and his Apostles - clearly not oneness in essence
• In his reply (John 10:36-38), Jesus seems to say he's the Son of God simply because he's doing God's work

Challenges in interpretation:

• Jesus spoke Aramaic but the Gospel is in Greek - translation may have changed the original meaning
• We can't be certain Jesus' words were remembered accurately
• John's Gospel is likely the latest Gospel, possibly reflecting John's interpretation reached years after the events

1 Corinthians 8:6 - One God, one Lord

Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Context: Paul was addressing the Corinthian Church (around 57 CE - earlier than John's Gospel) about eating meat offered to idols. Paul affirms there is only one true God and one true Lord, despite the many so-called gods and lords in polytheistic Corinth.

Paul's parallelism:

• One God, the Father: from whom are all things / for whom we exist
• One Lord, Jesus Christ: through whom are all things / through whom we exist

Arguments against:

• The Greek kurios (Lord) has many meanings: 'sir', 'owner', 'husband' - it doesn't necessarily mean the Lord (God)
• The translation "Lord" with a capital L might read more into the text than is justified
• Describing Jesus as the one "through whom" all things exist suggests he's God's instrument in creation, not identical with God

Conclusion: This text has a credal quality - like a confession of faith. It may represent a stepping stone towards the fully developed Nicene Creed (381 CE) rather than a complete Trinity doctrine. As with John 10:30, you must weigh the evidence yourself.