God, as Understood by Monotheism

I originally wrote this for a college paper back in 2013. But I've been thinking a lot about the nature of God lately so I thought I'd revisit my old writing. I hate having word limits on my papers because I always I'm compromising on material for the sake of an arbitrary number, and I really think this paper needed a bit of a face-lift so I did do a lot of editing and some additions that I was unable to do three years ago. I hope this helps someone with any questions or thoughts they might have.

The question of the identity and purpose of God has been discussed by Kings, Philosophers, Prophets, Magicians and Peasants for thousands of years. The answers of course have varied considerably over time and perhaps all have merit when considered on a grander scale than the simplistic lives of mankind. Some suggest that God is an essence, intangible and omnipresent, spread throughout all creation; others say that God is a King among other gods; and some insist that there is no "God" but a natural sense of logic or mathematics instead. When looking at monotheism as a whole, the belief is that there is only one actual God; but the details are frequently disagreed on and argued.



Monotheism boldly declares that God is the source of all that is good. The presence of God is felt throughout all creation and by every human heart, and some beliefs point to that doctrine as proof that God is an intangible spirit. That presence might actually not be God specifically but only a reflection or emission from God . For example: if a room is well lit would we say that the light came from nowhere and that it simply exists? No, the light always has a physical source such as a light bulb or a candle. God is the same way. The goodness felt everywhere comes directly from a central source that is God’s own identifiable being. Scholars frequently argue about the nature of that singular source: if it is a physical body or an intangible core of impersonal energy, with those debates lasting centuries. Those details aside, one thing is generally agreed upon by scholars of Monotheism: God, whether embodied or unembodied, is supposed to be all-knowing and all-powerful.

This doctrine has been painful for people who have endured difficult times and not seen tangible evidence of God’s intervention on their behalf. The question would often be: "If God is so powerful and knows everything couldn't he/she have spared a few minutes to save me from going through this?". Answers to questions like that are not easy to find and may not always be able to sooth a broken heart. But let's assume that there may be a difference between what God can do and what God should do. If God always interfered with human existence, solved every problem, prevented every crime, accident, illness etc. would that influence actually make life better or worse? It is possible that God does not always intervene because the effect of his involvement could create an even worse situation for the present or the future. Consider the frequently repeated rule in Sci-Fi shows and movies against using Time-Travel to influence the past, "unforeseen consequences" is the king of excuses why characters should not interfere in the past, no matter how terrible the outcome might be. You never know when you might accidentally make things worse. True, God is supposed to be all-knowing and all-powerful but it is that exact unlimited power that allows him (or her) to see ALL the different possible outcomes of action or inaction, including which choices would lead to more severe outcomes or would prevent future good outcomes. Reality is not as simple as a straight line like the Timeline's we see in History textbooks, instead it is a vast web of interacting choices and conditions and any powerful being with the ability to alter that web at will has to be extremely careful not to break it.

That brings me to my next point: Power itself should never be used as a club, or in other words: using blunt force to get what you want is not always a good plan. Power should always be used wisely, the right amount of power in the right place, at the right time and even in the right shape. Sometimes, instead of acting directly, God uses that intangible "good feeling" we talked about as a tool to nudge a person into doing a deed that God would like done. That deed is often small and seemingly insignificant actions like an unexpected neighborly or friendly visit to someone who needs a shoulder to cry on, or other behaviors that help someone else's life. That "good feeling" came from God but is not the same as God's person. Could you imagine the shock and how ineffective it would be if God personally suddenly appeared, in all of his (or her) brilliance and power, to anyone and everyone who needed comfort? Such appearances would be overkill for the situation and would actually be distracting for the person needing help and comfort. It would be like only being hungry for hamburger and being bombarded with a ten course meal. That danger and effect is made even stronger when you talk about potentially life altering events such as death, serious injury, violence or other forms of abuse, etc. God's presence might actually do more harm than good to the situation and that is something God has to always consider. God is wise enough to know when and how to use, or not use, divine power to influence any given situation.

In Monotheism, God is literally expected to be one unique being (in some way, whether physically or metaphysically), but Christian scripture describes God as the "King of Kings" or the "Lord of Lords". What does that mean? Are there other gods over whom this main God presides and wouldn't that be Polytheism? Polytheism is the religious system where multiple individual gods are worshiped simultaneously and as a group. However in a monotheistic system there is only one individual "god", but that does not mean God is alone. There are other beings drawn to God’s goodness and power and wisdom who share those same values and who live to serve that God, in some religions these beings are God's children and in others they are allies or unique creations separate from God's children but either way these beings also have great power and knowledge. But how does the relationship between God and these other beings work? Let's use the light bulb idea again: a well lit room could have just one light bulb or candle but that light might not be enough to fill the entire room; so instead let's imagine that there is one very large and bright light surrounded by several other smaller lights (they might even all be different colors) scattered across the room. Each of these other, smaller, lights would represent beings who are often referred to as "Angels" in modern society. It might be interesting to compare various polytheistic religions and all of their gods with a monotheistic religion like Christianity to see what overlap exists between the "lesser gods" of a Pantheon (a polytheistic group of gods) with the "angels" of monotheism.

Angels do not operate on their own or their own advancement but instead seem to serve God in every way. Each Angel however, has a different role to perform and a different personality to accompany that mission, just like how we saw lights of different sizes and colors in our imagined "well-lit room". The word Angel comes from the Greek word "angelos" which means "messenger". Now, why would God, who is supposed to be all-knowing and all-powerful, need to have servants to work for him (or her)? We already discussed that God must be very careful when it comes to using power, that there is the danger of making matters worse by simply being "too powerful"; but Angels are by default weaker than God and some might be able to work in more delicate situations that would require less power. Being all-knowing, God would of course understand the idea of using the right tool at the right time. A surgeon would never use a saw when a scalpel was needed; God would never use blunt or direct personal power when a messenger was needed.

But there is another possibility I want to mention briefly. Perhaps God keeps the Angels as servants or assistants not because God needs to, but because he wants to. Could God not need weaker associates to do delicate tasks God is too powerful to do himself? What if God's goal was to teach and train these Angels to become more powerful and more like God in every way. I think this is an interesting idea since it shows a more compassionate and more mentor-like God than any other theory. Instead of saying that God is "too powerful" or the equivalent of a surgeon's saw as compared to a scalpel, perhaps God is the ultimate multi-tool and can in fact do everything personally with the right amount of power and skill for the situation. Believe it or not this is not the same thing as being "all-powerful" or "all-knowing", instead it would be described as "all-capable". So if God is in fact "all-capable" what purpose do the Angels serve? They would be students, looking to improve their skills and their power as well as their wisdom through following the instructions of the most capable, powerful and wise being in the universe, God. But why would God allow Angels to improve their power and skills in the first place? A better question would be: Why wouldn't God allow it? Only a tyrant would be afraid to share power with others, and God is no tyrant. God is the King of Kings but why would the ultimate King of Goodness be afraid of the power or skill of the servants of Goodness? Why would God not want those Angels to know all they can about promoting good works throughout all creation? There is no logical reason that would fit the reality of a good and pure God.

Logic and reason are often referred to by people who do not believe in the existence of either a single God or in many Gods. When the exact nature of Godhood is misunderstood it's easy to agree with them that a belief in the Divine is illogical or without reason. Far too often the identity of God and the efforts the Angels are thought to contradict the general laws of nature by their very existence. God does not fight nature and God’s work does not destroy nature because nature is also a part of God. Isn't God credited in religion with the creation of the universe and the laws of nature and mathematics are part of that universe? How could God’s existence or work be contrary to the laws he himself created (or used to create his work)? A perfect example would be the work of miracles, whether performed by people in God’s name or by Angels or by God himself. Miracles seem to contradict the natural order of things by accomplishing what is inexplicable or considered impossible; the truth of a miracle is that it does not contradict the laws of nature but instead uses other laws within nature to accomplish its task. A scientific example would be the reality of flight. The law of Gravity seems to prevent an object to do anything other than fall straight to the ground, but the combination of other laws (such as lift, aerodynamics etc.), when applied correctly, allow birds and planes to fly. Miracles work the same way thanks to God's unlimited knowledge and wisdom.

The identity of God is without a doubt a complex question to which we do not have all the answers. But if humanity presumes that it is not the highest form of life it stands logically that a higher power must exist elsewhere. Using the example of light logic suggests a single primary source while allowing for the complexity of lesser and variable companions. Logic also presumes that such a God would not contradict nature but instead use it to its ultimate potential. God may be one but God is not alone and neither is humanity.