Monotheism, Omnipotence and transcendence

God

Monotheism

* Only one God exists and is worthy of worship
* Old Testament: Israelites developed this understanding= other gods exist but are fake

Biblical monotheism

= ethical monotheism

* Old Testament:  covenant between God and his people (Israelites), special relationship (mutual)


* New Testament:  Jesus – follow the moral law of the OT, moral obedience is linked to salvation, saved by works and faith

God as omnipotent creator

* If only one God = must be omnipotent (can do everything that is logically possible)


* If God is omnipotent, then he must be the creator of everything that exists
* Creation:   **ex deo** (out of God’s own being, God and creation are one) and ex nihilo (out of nothing, God and creation are separate)

God as the controller

* Follows from the ideas of God’s omnipotence and creation
* God as King: king = who has control over his subjects
* God sustains the universe ashe holds it in existence and
* he preserves the universe from falling back into chaos by giving it a strong foundation and a moral code (10 commandments, etc.)

God as both omnipotent and omniscient

* God is omnipotent but also omniscient
* Omniscient (Knows past, present and future = the future is already fixed, unavoidable)
* God is timeless, sees all as one, sees the results of future free choices but does not control them

God as transcendent

Transcendent = above and beyond space, time

God’s aseity (the absolute self-sufficiency, independence, and autonomy of God):

* God is the omnipotent creator
* Nothing is responsible for his existence
* God was not created by something else
* God did not create himself
* God is his own existence
* God’s essence is to exist

God’s true nature

* God’s true nature is unknowable
* God is the creator, cannot be categorized, known or understood by any other being