AQA A-Level Religious Studies - God

Explain monotheism.

The belief that only one God exists and is worthy of worship.

Is there evidence of multiple gods in the Old Testament?

Yes, other gods were believed to exist but they did not have any power.

Give evidence for multiple gods in the OT.

'There is none like thee among the gods, O Lord…'

• 'Elohim' - Hebrew word meaning 'gods'

How was God separated from the rest of the gods?

God was seen as the head of a pantheon of gods and the Sinai covenant makes it clear that God alone should be worshipped.

Give evidence for monotheism.

'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.'

Explain ethical monotheism.

• good moral behaviour is at the heart of the covenant between Israel and God - the laws given to Moses mark the agreement (10 commandments)
• Jesus sets out that whoever breaks these commandments will be last to heaven, so Christians believe they have a moral duty obey such laws
• God provides humans with laws to be followed
• monotheism: God is one and so his moral laws should be obeyed
• God loves and cares for his creation and through Jesus' atonement, humans can be saved

Define salvation history.

The unfolding of God's plan throughout history to save the human race from sin and death.

Explain God as omnipotent.

• God is all powerful:
• some believe God can do the logically impossible (e.g., make 1=2), others believe God can only do the logically possible
• God is the creator

What are the 2 versions of creation?

1). creation 'ex nihilo'
2). creation 'ex deo'

Explain creation 'ex nihilo'.

The universe was created by God out of nothing. Supported by the Revised Standard Version's translation of Genesis:
'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth… the earth was without form and void…'

Explain creation 'ex deo'.

'Out of God's out being', but most reject this idea as it limits God and goes against God's transcendent quality.

Explain God as the controller of all things.

• Biblical references to God as King express the belief that everything is subject to God's control
• God sustains the universe and all that it contains: he prevents it from returning to the chaos and God sustains human morality (ethical monotheism)
• God is omniscient

Explain God's omniscience and the two views that correspond to it.

All-knowing:

1). theological determinism - God knows past, present and future and he controls everything that goes on in the universe, including human actions
2). Aquinas - God exists beyond space/time, God sees all times and the choices that we will make but he does not cause them

Explain God as transcendent and unknowable.

• transcendent - outside of space/time
• God is eternal and limitless
• Catholic belief: God aseity - God is his own existence and it is his essence to exist
• God's nature is unknowable

Give evidence of God's transcendent and unknowable nature.

• the call of Moses: Moses asked to know God's name and the reply was 'I am who I am'
  = no human can understand who God is/what it is like to be God

Briefly explain the Christian doctrine of the Trinity.

God exists as one substance but in three persons.

• the Father
• the Son
• the Holy Spirit
  Each person is God and possesses equal measures of divinity. All three persons are eternal and uncreated.

Give NT evidence of the Trinity.

'Go make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.'
'I and the Father are one.'

Define hypostases.

God exists as one substance but in three persons.

Define perichoresis.

'mutual indwelling': the Father is in the Son, the Son is in the Father ect. Used to describe the relationship between the persons of the 'Godhead'.

Explain why the Trinity is important in bringing together the truths of Christianity concerning sin, atonement and redemption.

• original sin: affected the relationship between humans and God
• atonement was required
• God: sent the Son as the atonement, to redeem humans from sin
• the Son: fully human and because of this, is able to make the atonement through his death on the cross and his resurrection
• the Holy Spirit: gives new birth in Jesus so that humans have the hope of eternal life

Explain how the Trinity allows humans to have a personal relationship with God.

• God is immanent (within space/time) and he answers prayers, performs miracles, relates to persons and intervenes in history
• examples from the Bible - e.g., Jesus healing leprosy
• whist God is transcendent in his nature, the Trinity allows humans to have a personal relationship with him
• e.g., the Father is thought of as the personal creator - who is known and loved by his creation
• e.g., the Son - God incarnat
• e.g., the Holy Spirit - transforms human life and represents the indwelling in the human spirt

Explain how the Trinity is seen as a model of personhood.

• as God is love, the relationship between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is one of love
• humans are made 'imago dei' - personal relationships between people are modelled on Trinitarian love and are of immense value

Explain views that Jesus is the Son of God.

• mainstream Christian Churches accept the Trinitarian view that Jesus was literally the 'Son of God' - Jesus' authority is God's authority
• 'liberals': Jesus was simply a son of God - Jesus' authority is simply human
• '…the Word was with God, and the Word was God.'

What is an issue with viewing Jesus' authority as human?

Why should Jesus' moral teachings be followed if Jesus' authority is merely human.

Give a quote from John 10:30 that supports the Trinitarian view of the Son of God.

'I and the Father are one.'

What are the multiple interpretations of this quote?

• 'hen' is Greek for one
• some believe Jesus is claiming to be one in essence with God
• others believe Jesus is saying he and God are one in harmony about his mission

Give a quote from John 8:58 that supports that Jesus is claiming to be one with God.

'… before Abraham was, I am.' - Jesus was pre-existent and 'one' with God.

What is the significance of 1 Corinthians in terms of explaining Jesus' authority?

• 1 Corinthians is seen as one of the earliest books written for the NT, therefore, much closer to the time of Jesus himself
• Paul is affirming to the Corinth Church that there is one God - God the Creator and there is also one Lord, Jesus - God's instrument in creation

What are the multiple interpretations of Paul's writings?

• some argue Paul is claiming that Jesus is God and support this using the Shema prayer
• others believe Paul is suggesting Jesus is God's instrument in creation and not necessarily God himself and support this using a more updated translation where the Lord is referring to 'husband/sir'

Define anthropomorphism.

The practice of attributing human characteristics to non-human entities. Linked to God: describing God in human terms.

Give biblical evidence of anthropomorphism.

• God 'rested' from the work of creation (Genesis)
• Adam and Eve hear God 'walking' in the garden of Eden

Outline several problems of using anthropomorphic language to describe God.

• reduces God to a human level and questions his omnipotence
• how can such a limited God save humans from sin?
• how can such a God be the creator of the universe when AL suggests he is part of it

Explain God as Personal.

• God can be 'related to' a person: God can answer prayers and give people REX
• God is immanent within creation - the Son and Holy Spirit
• the Trinity offers a model for human personal relationships
• moral standards are given by God

Explain God as Father.

• patriarchal sense
• OT references: God creating the universe and setting the standards of behaviour

God exercise justice, rewards obedience and punishes misdemeanours

• NT references: ideas of both protective love and power
• Jesus often referred to God as the Father - e.g., Jesus tells his disciples that their Heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him and teaches them a prayer that addresses God as 'our Father'
• evidence in the Apostles' Creed

Explain God as love.

• God is omnibenevolent - all loving
• God's love is the basis of the covenant between God and Israel
• God's love is encapsulated by the suffering and death of Jesus
• God is love and this is the basis for loving others
• love describes the relationship between the persons of the Trinity and so love should be the basis of human relationships also - 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself'
• agape love - unconditional Christian love

Explain God as King.

• the Bible contains lots of God's kingly titles - Majesty, Lord, King of the whole earth - used as a metaphor
• in his vision in the Temple, the prophet Isaiah saw God seated on a throne - the vision is one of God's power over everything, including life and death

Outline the response to anthropomorphic language being gender-specific.
(use of gender-neutral language)

• women feel excluded by the use of gender-specific language found in the Bible - this reinforces patriarchal stereotypes of male superiority
• new translations of the Bible have been developed with the use of gender-neutral language
• e.g., man -> humankind, son -> child, father -> parent

However, what issue still remains despite efforts to remove gender-specific language from the Bible?

• feminists highlight that the God portrayed in the Bible is a male figure and have all of the male attributes of power

What are some divinity faculties doing instead to try to resolve the issue?

They are encouraging the use of 'God'/ 'Godself' instead of masculine pronouns.

Explain how some feminists believe the Bible depicts God as having feminine qualities.

• evidence found in scripture: a medieval mystic referred to God lying on a maternity bed and giving birth

Why are some Christians against the use of gender-neutral language in the Bible?

The Bible would lose many insights into the culture at the time in which it was written. The Bible should be analysed/understood in that context.