Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed On God: Book 1 Notes

Maimonides Guide to the Perplexed On God Book 1

Chapter LVIII

Negative attributes of God are the true attributes; they do not include incorrect notions or deficiency.
Positive attributes imply polytheism and are inadequate.
Attributes do not exclusively belong to one object; they can qualify other things.
Negative attributes circumscribe the object by excluding what would not otherwise be excluded.
Positive attributes describe a portion of what we desire to know, either essence or accidents.
Negative attributes do not directly tell us what the essence of the thing is, except indirectly.
God's existence is absolute and includes no composition.
We comprehend only the fact that He exists, not His essence.
It is a false assumption to hold that He has any positive attribute.
God does not possess existence in addition to His essence.
Negative attributes direct the mind to the truths we must believe concerning God.
Negative attributes do not imply plurality and convey the highest possible knowledge of God.
When we say of a being that it exists, we mean that its non-existence is impossible.
We call such a being incorporeal because it is unlike the heavens, which are living but material.
We say it is the first, expressing that its existence is not due to any cause.
God has power, wisdom, and will, meaning He is not feeble, ignorant, or hasty, and does not abandon His creatures.
By saying God is not feeble, we mean His existence can produce the existence of many other things.
By saying God is not ignorant, we mean "He perceives" or "He lives."
By saying God is not hasty and does not abandon His creatures, we mean that all creatures preserve order and arrangement.
There is no other being like unto God; He is One, i.e., there are not more Gods than one.
Every attribute predicated of God denotes the quality of an action or the negation of the opposite.
Negative attributes must not be formed and applied to God except in a specific way.
We can obtain no knowledge of the essence of the heavens, and we can only describe the heavens in terms expressing negative properties.
All we understand about God is the fact that He exists.
He is a Being to whom none of His creatures is similar, who has nothing in common with them, who does not include plurality, who is never too feeble to produce other beings, and whose relation to the universe is that of a steersman to a boat.
This is not a real relation, a real simile, but serves only to convey to us the idea that God rules the universe.
In the contemplation of His essence, our comprehension and knowledge prove insufficient.
In the examination of His works, our knowledge proves to be ignorance.
In the endeavor to extol Him in words, all our efforts in speech are mere weakness and failure.

In summary: our attempts to understand the divine remain inherently limited; thus, we must approach such profound subjects with humility and reverence, acknowledging the vastness of what lies beyond human comprehension. In addition, we must recognize that divine attributes cannot be fully articulated, as they transcend our linguistic capabilities, leaving us to grapple with the ineffable nature of God. This realization compels us to foster a sense of awe and to seek knowledge through a lens of faith, understanding that the ultimate truths regarding divinity may remain elusive to our rational inquiry.

Chapter LIX

Since there is no possibility of knowing the true essence of God and all positive attributes are inadmissible, what is the difference among those who have obtained a knowledge of God?
Those who have obtained a knowledge of God differ greatly from each other.
By each additional negative attribute, you advance toward the knowledge of God.
One who is convinced that a certain quality must be negatived in reference to God is closer to the Almighty than someone who doubts or positively ascribes it to Him.
Every time you establish by proof the negation of a thing in reference to God, you become more perfect.
With every additional positive assertion, you follow your imagination and recede from the true knowledge of God.
Only by negations must we approach the knowledge of God.
By affirming anything of God, you are removed from Him in two respects: whatever you affirm is only a perfection in relation to us, and He does not possess anything superadded to this essence.
Even that knowledge of God which is accessible to man cannot be attained except by negations.
All people declare that God cannot be the object of human comprehension, that none but Himself comprehends what He is, and that our knowledge consists in knowing that we are unable truly to comprehend Him.
All philosophers say, “He has overpowered us by His grace, and is invisible to us through the intensity of His light.”
“Silence is praise to Thee” (lxv. 2).
Whatever we utter with the intention of extolling Him, contains something that cannot be applied to God and includes derogatory expressions.
A certain person reading prayers in the presence of Rabbi Ḥaninah, said, ‘God, the great, the valiant and the tremendous, the powerful, the strong, and the mighty.’—The rabbi said to him, Have you finished all the praises of your Master?
Had Moses not mentioned them in the Law, and had not the men of the Great Synagogue come forward subsequently and established their use in the prayer, we should not have applied the three epithets, ‘God, the great, the valiant and the tremendous’ to God.
There was once an earthly king, possessing millions of gold coin; he was praised for owning millions of silver coin; was this not really dispraise to him?
If we had only to follow our reason, we should never have composed these prayers, and we should not have uttered any of them.
The Torah speaks in the language of men.
The Creator has been described to us in terms of our own perfections.
The principal lesson to be derived from this passage is that there are two reasons for our employing those phrases in our prayers: first, they occur in the Pentateuch; secondly, the Prophets introduced them into the prayer.
We ought not to mention and employ in our prayers all the attributes we find applied to God in the books of the Prophets.
We cannot approve of what those foolish persons do who are extravagant in praise, fluent and prolix in the prayers they compose.
They describe God in attributes which would be an offence if applied to a human being.
If slander and libel is a great sin, how much greater is the sin of those who speak with looseness of tongue in reference to God, and describe Him by attributes which are far below Him.
Men who understand the fault of such compositions, and, nevertheless, recite them, may be classed among those to whom the following words are applied: “And the children of Israel used words that were not right against the Lord their God” (2 Kings xvii. 9); and “utter error against the Lord” (Isa. xxxii. 6).
Do not listen in any way to them, much less utter what they say, and still less compose such prayers.
There is no necessity at all for you to use positive attributes of God with the view of magnifying Him in your thoughts.
The glorification of God does not consist in uttering that which is not to be uttered, but in reflecting on that on which man should reflect.
All these attributes, whatever perfection they may denote according to your idea, imply defects in reference to God, if applied to Him in the same sense as they are used in reference to ourselves.
“For God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few” (Eccles. v. 2).

In summary: the true worship of God lies in understanding and contemplating His nature, rather than in meaningless expressions. Recognizing the limitations of human language when describing the divine is essential, as it can lead to misconceptions and inadequacies in our perception of God's perfection. Engaging in sincere reflection and study enables individuals to draw closer to God, fostering a deeper relationship grounded in truth rather than ritualistic formalities. This understanding challenges believers to seek wisdom and clarity, encouraging a pursuit of knowledge that transcends superficial practices, thereby allowing them to experience a more profound spiritual connection that is intellectually and emotionally fulfilling.

Chapter LX

It is better to form as many negative attributes as possible and that it isnt right to ascribe to God any positive attributes.
In the same manner you will come nearer to the knowledge and comprehension of God by the negative attributes.
You must be careful, in what you negative, to negative by proof, not by mere words.
On the other hand, there is a great danger in applying positive attributes to God.
Every perfection we could imagine, even if existing in God in accordance with the opinion of those who assert the existence of attributes, would in reality not be of the same kind as that imagined by us, but would only be called by the same name.
You thus necessarily arrive at some negation, without obtaining a true conception of an essential attribute; on the contrary, you are led to assume that there is a plurality in God, and to believe that He, though one essence, has several unknown attributes.
You are, as it were, brought by the belief in the reality of the attributes, to say that God is one subject of which several things are predicated; though the subject is not like ordinary subjects, and the predicates are not like ordinary predicates.
This belief would ultimately lead us to associate other things with God, and not to believe that He is One.
God cannot be a compound, and that He is simple in the strictest sense of the word.
He whose knowledge concerning a thing is insufficient, understands one part of it while he is ignorant of the other.
Those who admit the attributes of God, do not consider them as identical with His essence, but as extraneous elements.
Those who do not recognize, in reference to God, the negation of things, which others negative by clear proof, are deficient in the knowledge of God, and are remote from comprehending Him.
The smaller the number of things is which a person can negative in relation to God, the less he knows of Him.
The man who affirms an attribute of God, knows nothing but the name; for the object to which, in his imagination, he applies that name, does not exist; it is a mere fiction and invention, as if he applied that name to a non-existing being, for there is, in reality, no such object.
If such a simple, absolutely existing essence were said to have attributes, as has been contended, and were combined with extraneous elements, it would in no way be an existing thing.
As to those attributes of God which occur in the Pentateuch, or in the books of the Prophets, we must assume that they are exclusively employed, as has been stated by us, to convey to us some notion of the perfections of the Creator, or to express qualities of actions emanating from Him.

In summary: these attributes are not to be understood in a literal sense, but rather as metaphorical expressions intended to help humans grasp the divine nature within the limits of human comprehension. This approach emphasizes the significance of allegorical interpretation in religious texts, inviting readers to engage deeply with the philosophical implications of divine attributes rather than accepting them at face value. This perspective encourages a more profound understanding of God's nature, prompting individuals to reflect on the limitations of human language when describing the divine, and ultimately guiding them towards a more nuanced, philosophical appreciation of spirituality.

On The Law and Truth

Chapter XXVIII

Scripture teaches the chief points of true principles that lead to man's perfection and demands faith in them.
Scripture teaches the Existence, Unity, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Will, and Eternity of God, but they can't be fully understood without much prior knowledge.
Scripture demands belief in truths indispensable for regulating social relations, like God's anger towards disobedience.
Belief in these truths leads to fear and dread of disobeying God.
Other truths about the Universe form the basis of speculative sciences for verifying the principles above.
Scripture implies belief in these truths through the commandment