Frequently Asked Questions

about Jewish Concepts of God

What is God?

What is God? How far are we allowed to go in asking this question? How does theism differ from deism? How can we use words to describe God?

 

Is God one? Understanding the nature of God

Is God "one?  The unity of God. Dialectical ways of understanding God's nature

(i) Mystical vs. Rationalist

(ii) Immanent vs. Transcendent

(iii) Omnipotent vs. Limited Theism: What do people mean by saying that God is "omnipotent" or that God is "limited"?

 

Divine Providence - How does God act in the world?

Although many people say that they believe in divine providence, we find that this term has been used to connote at least five distinct positions; thus we must take great care to precisely define what we mean by this term.

 

What are 8 possible views of God that follow from these positions?

The three dialectical tendecies described above generate eight distinct theological positions.  They are briefly described here, and examples of well known rabbis are given for each category.

 

More detailed answers about God's nature

Neo-Aristotelian rationalism; Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism); Hasidic Kabbalah: Panentheism; Limited theism; Process theology (neoclassical theism); Religious naturalism and religious humanism.

 

Process theology: Between supernaturalism and naturalism

 

Footnotes and sources

 

Copyright 2000, Robert D. Kaiser. I retain copyright on the essays and FAQs on this website, including their organization and editing, and all the original material therein. However, the copyright on all quoted material within said essays and FAQs within belongs to whoever originally wrote them, which I have attempted to denote as accurately as possible.

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