The Nature of God
(Last Updated 10/9/2009)
Of all the religions topics that can be discussed, I believe that the topic of “Nature of God” (or Concept of God) is the most fundamental topic to any religion or religious denomination. It forms the foundation on which all other beliefs build.
The material covered on this and other web pages about the Nature of God is a summary and reworking of letters that were exchanged between me and a family member from 2000 to 2006. The combined page count between the two of us in all letters was about 2,500 pages. I personally cited 137 books, 110 articles, and countless biblical references.
When I discuss the Nature of God, the natural reaction is to immediately determine if something is RIGHT or WRONG. However, there is another conclusion: PLAUSIBLE. Why? Some points of discussion might be a matter of opinion or interpretation. Or given all the availible information, there may be several possibilities. Given this fact, a conclusion can be: While I am presenting my information to show the truthfulness of my beliefs, we must always remember that no spiritual truth can actually come as the result of pure logic and reason. The Bible clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit is the one who will teach us spiritual truth. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." I invite all to read through the information, to ponder it, and then to ask God if it is true. God, through his holy prophets and apostles, has said that he would reveal the truth to us through the Holy Spirit. Therefore, from the purely logical point of view a conclusion can be Correct, Plausible, or Incorrect. But from a spiritual point of view, a conclusion is either Correct or Incorrect.
1. Correct
2. Plausible
3. Incorrect
(1 Cor 2:11-14, KJV)
The Nature of God -- The Big (World) Picture 
Different views about the Nature of God exist in the various world cultures, races, and people. Below is a table that summarizes the some of the largest world religions.
Religion | Approximate Adherents* | % of World Population | View of God |
| Bahai | 7,500,000 | 0.1% | One God who is unknowable |
| Buddhism | 375,000,000 | 6% | An impersonal oneness (Monism) |
Chinese Traditional: | 394,000,000 | 6% | Confucianism: No God Taoism: Two opposing but interacting and balacing forces |
| Christianity | 2,100,000,000 | 33% | Montheistic (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) |
| Hinduism | 875,000,000 | 13% | An impersonal oneness (Monism) called "Brahman." Beyond Brahman other gods exist. |
| Primal-Indigenous: Local, ethic, tribal, animistic, or shamanistic religions | 300,000,000 | 5% | Generally: One supreme Being who is monistic (an impersonal oneness) and far removed from creation of being known. Local spirits and/or gods intercede and have power over human affairs and nature. |
| Islam | 1,500,000,000 | 21% | Montheistic (Single and Indivisible Allah) |
| Jainism | 4,500,000 | Less than 0.1% | An impersonal oneness (Monism) |
| Judaism | 15,000,000 | 0.2% | Montheistic |
| Shinto | 3,500,000 | Less than 0.1% | Many gods (Polytheistic) |
| Sikhism | 24,000,000 | 0.4% | An impersonal oneness (Monism) |
| Zoroastrianism | 2,600,000 | Less than 0.1% | Two opposing gods |
| Atheist / Non-Religious / Secular | 1,100,000,000 | 16% | No God |
Below, I rearranged the table a bit and grouped the religions together by their general belief about the Nature of God.
View of God | Approx. % of World Population | Religions |
| No God | 16% | Atheist / Agnostic / Non-religious / Secular Confucianism |
| An impersonal oneness (Monism) | 6% | Buddhism Jainism Sikhism |
| Montheistic | 54% | Bahai |
| One Supreme God with other gods | 18% | Hinduism Primal-Indigenous |
| Two Gods | 6% | Taoism Zoroastrianism |
| Many gods | 0.1% | Shinto |
While it would be interesting to explore all of the various world religions and compare and contrast their views about the Nature of God (and other beliefs), I will be focusing on the Christian concept of the Nature of God. However, for those interested in exploring the beliefs of the various World religions, here are a few links:
Some people might ask why I included the information in the “Big Picture”. It was to show three things:
- The variety of beliefs about the Nature of God. It ranges from no God (atheism) to many gods (polytheism).
- That only about 16% of the world’s population does not believe in some type of supernatural or divine Being.
- The The most common belief, about 54% of the world’s population, for the Nature of God is monotheism. However, exactly how this monotheism is understood varies greatly. More on that later.
Basic Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Monotheism
When I ask: what is monotheism? Most will answer something like “the belief in one God.” However, what is meant by “one God.” Now this may seem like a dumb question, but it’s not. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all claim to be “monotheistic” and to worship “one God,” but they all understand this “one God” differently.
Now, my current goal is not to discuss “What is monotheism” in detail – I’ll do that later. Right now, I just want to do a general overview of how Christianity, Judaism, and Islam understand monotheism or the belief in “one God”.
Christianity:
Most Christian believe in the Trinity or the tri-unity of the Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
Most explain the Trinity as one God in three persons.
Here is how some Trinitarians define the Trinity:
The Trinity is the term employed to signify the central doctrine of the Christian religion -- the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another.
(“The Blessed Trinity”, Catholic Encyclopedia)
"God eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and there is one God."
(Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, pg. 226).
"In the one Divine Nature, there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Fathers is not the Son, the Son is not the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost is not the Father: no one of the Persons is either of the others. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God. There are not three Gods but one God."
(F.J. Sheed, God: Unity and Trinity, pg. 56)
“The Trinity is classified as one of the greatest mysteries of the [Christian] church. It is regarded as a truth that man cannot fully understand. Roman Catholics further teach that God is an infinitely perfect spirit, an immaterial being without parts of bodily form, who is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.”
(Christian Churches of America, pg. 10).
Judaism: In Judaism, God is Yahweh. Yahweh is a single “entity” that cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes. Here is how some Jewish adherents define Yahweh: 1. There is only one God. No other being participated in the work of creation. 2. God is a unity. He is a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes. Any attempt to ascribe attributes to God is merely man's imperfect attempt to understand the infinite. 3. God is the only being to whom we should offer praise. God is “a single, whole, complete indivisible entity. He cannot be divided into parts or described by attributes” (Tracey Rich, “Judaism 101: The Nature of God”)
Islam:
In Islam, God is Allah. And Allah is a single and indivisible deity. Allah is the only deity, the transcendent creator of the universe, and the judge of mankind.
Here is how some Muslims define the Allah:
The fundamental pillar of faith in Islam is to declare that "there is no deity worthy of worship except the One True Almighty God" (in Arabic: "La ilaha ill Allah")….Islam is based on the concept of Tawhid, or Unity of God. Muslims are strictly monotheistic, and fiercely reject any attempt to make God visible or human.
("God in Islam," About.com)
There is no denying that the Muslim view of God and the Christian view of God have many similarities. Both view God as absolutely sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, just, righteous. Both Islam and Christianity believe in one God who is the Creator of everything in the universe. So, yes, in this sense, Christians & Muslims worship the same God. At the same time, there are also important differences between the Christian and Muslim view of God. While Muslims view Allah as possessing the attributes of love, mercy, and grace; Allah does not demonstrate these attributes in the same manner as the Christian God. The most important difference, though, between the Muslim and Christian view of God is the concept of incarnation. Christians believe that God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Muslims believe this concept to be the ultimate blasphemy. Muslims can never accept the idea that Allah would become a man to die for the sins of the world.
(What is the nature of God for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam?”, www.answers.yahoo.com)
Conclusion:
While 54% of the world’s population is listed as “monotheistic,” how this monotheistic God is understood by the 3 prominent monotheistic religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—varies. The only common thing I found among all three religions is that the “one God” is the Creator.
Allah seems to be more powerful and more remote than Yahweh, whereas Yahweh closely follows and protects the Israelites. The Christians see the relation between God and man as the relationship between a son and a loving father.
Muslims and Christians assign various characteristics to God such as Creator, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, holy, righteous, etc. However, the application of these characteristics toward mankind can differ. In Judaism, the attempt to “ascribe attributes to God is merely man's imperfect attempt to understand the infinite.”
Muslims and Jews reject that God could be divided in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Both Muslims and Jews see this “division” of God as a clear violation of monotheism.
“Whether Christians are accused of being polytheists or tritheists and whether or not it is admitted that the Christian concept of the Tri-unity is a form of monotheism, one element always appears: one cannot believe in the Trinity and be Jewish. Even if what Christians believe is monotheistic, it still does not seem to be monotheistic enough to qualify as true Jewishness.”
(“Jewishness and the Trinity” by Arnold Fruchtenbaum)
“Trinitarianism, however, the belief that there are three to the essence of God, is a belief accepted by all contemporary Christians. Judaism strongly disagrees. It stands firm in maintaining that God is One – without partners, self-sufficient, and indivisible.”
(Rabbi Benjamin Blech, The Complete Idiots Guide to Judaism, pg. 9)
Summary Table
| Christianity | Islam | Judaism |
| God is Divisible | Yes. Three Persons | No | No |
| God is Creator | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| God can be ascribed attributes | Yes | Yes | No |
| God is Remote | No | Yes | No |
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