The following are questions with
answers taken from various Wikipedia articles. This is to
highlight some relevant points on the subject—"Conception of God
in Christianity"—which people should understand before
continuing the bible study. The answers are excerpt taken from
the full articles written on the subject. You can readily study
the full articles written on the subject by clicking on the
source link after each answer.
Note: The answers to the following religious questions are
taken from various Wikipedia articles due to their neutral point
of view principle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view
However, it is still highly recommend that you search the
internet for more information on the subject.
_________________
God
2A.1
What is a God?
From the
Wikipedia article on God, these are written:
God is a deity in theistic and
deistic religions and other belief
systems, representing either the sole
deity in monotheism, or a principal
deity in polytheism.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God
(as of Aug. 15, 2009, 13:58 GMT).
From the Free Dictionary by
Farlex:
God - the supernatural being conceived as the
perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and
ruler of the universe; the object of worship in
monotheistic religions
God is defined as
- God
is a deity in theistic religion, representing the
sole deity in monotheism.
- God
is the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and
omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the
universe; the object of worship in monotheistic
religions.
Monotheism
2A.2
What is Monotheism?
From the Wikipedia article on
Monotheism, these are written:
In
theology, monotheism (from Greek
μόνος "only" and
θεός "god") is
the belief that only one god exists.[1]
The concept of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the
concept of God in the Abrahamic religions, such as
Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Druze,
Source: Wikipedia,
Monotheism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism (as of Apr.
3, 2010, 19:52 GMT).
From
the Free Dictionary by Farlex:
Monotheism - The doctrine or belief that there is only
one God.
Source:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/monotheism
Monotheism is defined as;
The concept
of "monotheism" tends to be dominated by the concepts of God
in the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity
and Islam.
The
three great faiths called Judaism, Christianity, and
Islam were born of an event that each remembers as a
moment in history, when the One True God appeared to an
Iron Age sheik named Abram and bound him in a covenant
forever. Abram is the later Abraham, the father of all
believers and the linchpin of the faith, and indeed the
theology, from which the three communities of that God's
worshipers emerged. The history of monotheism had begun.
Peters,
Francis E.; Esposito, John L. (2006). The children of
Abraham: Judaism, Christianity, Islam. Princeton
University Press.
Monotheism in
Abrahamic religions
2A.3
How do monotheism in Judaism and Islam, differ significantly
with Christianity?
From several
Wikipedia articles these are written:
Monotheism: All three religions
claim to be monotheistic, worshiping an
exclusive God, though known by different
names.[18]
For all three, God creates, is one,
rules, reveals, loves, judges, and
forgives.[16]
However, Christianity's complex
Trinitarian doctrine conflicts with
Jewish and Muslim concepts of
monotheism. They reject the incarnation
of God in Christ—one of the distinctive
features of the Christian religion.
Although Christianity does not believe
in three gods, rather three
personalities in one "Almighty God,"[19]
the concept of Trinity remains a problem
for the other major Abrahamic religions.[20]
Notable differences in beliefs:
Some Christian beliefs about Jesus
Christ are incompatible with Judaism and
Islam. Many Christians[who?] see Christianity
without the incarnation of God as
meaningless and useless. For Muslims and
Jews the Christian belief in Jesus
Christ as God the Son, both human and
divine at the same time, is considered
incompatible with their understanding of
Idolatry.
Source:
Wikipedia,
Abrahamic religions,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religions
(as of Apr. 4, 2010, 15:17 GMT).
Abrahamic religions
In traditional Jewish thought, which
provided the basis of the Christian and
Islamic religions, monotheism was
regarded as its most basic belief.
Judaism and Islam have traditionally
attempted to interpret scripture as
exclusively monotheistic whilst
Christianity adopts Trinitarianism, a
more complex form of monotheism, as a
result of considering the Holy Spirit to
be God, and attributing divinity to
Jesus, a Judean Jew, in the first
century AD, defining him as the Son of
God. Thus, "Father, Son and Holy
Spirit".
Source: Wikipedia, Monotheism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheism
(as of Apr. 3, 2010, 19:52 GMT).
Judaism and
Christianity share the belief that there
is One, True God, who is the only one
worthy to be worshipped. Judaism sees
this One, True God as a singular,
ineffable, undefinable being. Phrases
such as "Ground of All Being,"
"Unfolding Reality" and "Creator and
Sustainer of Life" capture only portions
of who God is to Jews. While God does
not change, our perception of God does,
and so, Jews are open to new experiences
of God's presence. Christianity, with a
few exceptions, sees the One, True God
as having triune personhood: God the
Father, God the Son (Jesus) and God the
Holy Spirit. God is the same yesterday,
today and tomorrow, so Christians
generally look to the Scriptures (both
Hebrew and Christian) for an
understanding of who God is.
Source: Wikipedia, Christianity
and Judaism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_and_Judaism
(as of Apr. 5, 2010, 14:56 GMT).
The three
Abrahamic monotheistic religions differ
significantly as follows:
-
All three
religions claim to be monotheistic,
however, Christianity's complex
Trinitarian doctrine conflicts with
Jewish and Muslim concepts of
monotheism.
-
Some
Christian beliefs about Jesus Christ are
incompatible with Judaism and Islam.
-
Many
Christians see Christianity without
the incarnation of God as
meaningless and useless.
-
For
Muslims and Jews the Christian
belief in Jesus Christ as God the
Son, both human and divine at the
same time, is considered
incompatible with their
understanding of Idolatry.
-
In
traditional Jewish thought, which
provided the basis of the Christian and
Islamic religions, monotheism was
regarded as its most basic belief.
-
Judaism
and Islam have traditionally
attempted to interpret scripture as
exclusively monotheistic
-
Whilst
Christianity adopts Trinitarianism,
a more complex form of monotheism,
as a result of considering the Holy
Spirit to be God, and attributing
divinity to Jesus, a Judean Jew, in
the first century AD, defining him
as the Son of God. Thus, "Father,
Son and Holy Spirit".
-
Judaism and
Christianity share the belief that there
is One True God, who is the only one
worthy to be worshipped.
-
Judaism
sees this One, True God as a
singular, ineffable, indefinable
being.
-
Christianity, with a few exceptions,
sees the One, True God as having
triune personhood: God the Father,
God the Son (Jesus) and God the Holy
Spirit.
Monotheism in Christianity
2A.4
How do
monotheism
(belief in only one
God) in Christianity differ significantly?
From several Wikipedia
articles these are written:
Trinity or
Trinitarianism
The
Christian doctrine of the Trinity teaches the
unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons
in one Godhead.[1]
The doctrine states that God is the Triune God,
existing as three persons, or in the Greek
hypostases,[2]
but one being.[3]
(Personhood in the Trinity does not match the common
Western understanding of "person" as used in the English
language—it does not imply an "individual,
self-actualized center of free will and conscious
activity."[4]:pp.
185-6. To the ancients, personhood "was in some
sense individual, but always in community as well."[4]:p.186
Each person is understood as having the one
identical essence or nature, not merely similar
natures.) Since the beginning of the third century[5]
the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "the one
God exists in three Persons and one substance, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit."[6]
Source: Wikipedia, Trinity,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity (as of Mar. 29,
2010, 14:27 GMT).
Binitarianism
Binitarianism is a Christian theology of two personae,
two individuals, or two aspects in one Godhead (or God).
Classically, binitarianism is understood as strict
monotheism — that is, that God is an absolutely single
being; and yet with binitarianism there is a "twoness"
in God. . . . . . . . . . . While binitarianism is
sometimes used self-descriptively[1][2],
it is also used to denote Christian error or heresy[3]
as are the following related terms: "Bitheism", a
belief in two separate beings in one "God family" who
are in perfect harmony/agreement with each other/one
another, composed of the Father and the Son as two
distinct Gods, and the Holy Spirit as not a God, but
rather as the living power of God that flows/emanates
between both the Father and the Son.
Source: Wikipedia, Binitarianism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binitarianism (as
of Apr. 3, 2010, 17:40 GMT).
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Nontrinitarian Christian theology
which teaches belief in the single personality of God,
in contrast to the doctrine of the Trinity (God as three
persons).[1]
According to its proponents, Unitarianism reflects the
original God-concept of Christianity. . . . . . .
Beliefs: Unitarians believe in the teachings of
Jesus Christ as found in the New Testament and other
Early Christian writings. Adhering to strict monotheism,
they maintain that Jesus was a great man and a prophet
of God, perhaps even a supernatural being, but not God
himself. They believe Jesus did not claim to be God, nor
did his teachings hint at the existence of a triune God.
Unitarians believe in the moral authority, but not
necessarily the divinity, of Jesus.
Source: Wikipedia, Unitarianism,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarianism
(as of
Apr. 3, 2010, 18:05 GMT).
Monotheism in Christianity generally refer to
three contrasting theologies, all professing belief in One God, but with
different concept of God.
-
Trinitarianism -
The doctrine of the Trinity teaches the unity of
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead.
- The doctrine states that God is the
Triune God, existing as three persons, but one being.
- Since the beginning of the third century
the doctrine of the Trinity has been stated as "the one God exists in
three Persons and one substance, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
-
Binitarianism - is a Christian theology of two
personae, two individuals, or two aspects in one Godhead
(or God).
- Classically, binitarianism is understood as strict
monotheism — that is, that God is an absolutely
single being; and yet there is a "twoness" in God.
- It is
related to the term "Bitheism", a belief in two
separate beings in one "God family" who are in
perfect harmony/agreement with each other/one
another, composed of the Father and the Son as two
distinct Gods, and the Holy Spirit as not a God,
-
Unitarianism - is a Nontrinitarian Christian theology
which teaches belief in the single personality of God.
-
Unitarians believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ
as found in the New Testament and other Early
Christian writings.
- Adhering
to strict monotheism, they maintain that Jesus was a
great man and a prophet of God, perhaps even a
supernatural being, but not God himself.
- They
believe Jesus did not claim to be God, nor did his
teachings hint at the existence of a triune God.
Note: The use of
the terms, trinitarian, binitarian, or unitarian in this
website are not intended to refer to any religious
organization but only to denote
religious orientation
in order to simplify the way of presenting the
different concepts of God.
_____________________________
|
