Worldviews, Part 7

Jumping off from my prior post, I'll now explore what Judaism & Christianity postulate about God in regards to my presuppositions about what God would be like, from my observations of and intuitive conclusions about nature.  There's no reason at this stage to consider things that are off-topic, not part of my presuppositional list, such as what the religions say about "the problem of evil", or "social justice", or structures of economics or government.  I don't care about those topics until I'm convinced that the religion in question has the nature of God correct.

Since Judaism and Christianity share some common holy writings, and a common theological heritage (up to a point), I'll treat them as combined at first and parse them later on.

In these religions, is God seen as:

• Creator (and thus Universal)?
• Personal (having preferences)?
• Consistent (over time, reliable)?
• Orderly (precise, complex)?
• A Lover of Beauty?
• A Source of Vitality?
• Allowing for Free Will choices?
• Relational in nature?

The answer to all these is a clear and unequivocal yes.  So far, so good, then.  I can establish that my presuppositions are all satisfied by the core Judeo-Christian religious tradition.  So, what else might these religions say regarding some other questions I raised in prior posts, like:  is God approachable by human beings?  is God actively involved with the created order?

The answer to these would also be yes, although here is where the two faiths might differ in the degree.  Judaism tends to see God as less personally approachable than does Christianity.  Accessible, yes, but not quite as easily.  Like Christianity, Judaism encourages kindness to others, holy living, personal prayer to God (as in thanksgiving and petitioning for aid), but there is little discussion in Judaism about the Spirit of God indwelling the participant and enabling these behaviors to happen.  That's a Christian distinctive.

Similarly, we could ask what kind of record of divine-human interactions do these religions claim to have?  Judaism sees God as historically involved with the created order, but more in the sense of intervention at critical points in history, and perhaps in the ongoing sustaining of nature.  Christianity (for the most part) is much more expectant about Divine Intervention (or Providence) happening frequently, even continuously at a personal level, and in some infrequent cases even seeing the intervention take the form of the miraculous (supernatural).

Christianity also emphasizes to a greater degree than Judaism the relational nature of God, particularly God's desire to have relationships with humans, both individually and corporately (in a faith community, be it global or local).  From Christianity, you get the sense that God is active in pursuit of people, doggedly working circumstances around so that people will respond and commit to relationship with God. 

The ultimate example of that pursuit is contained in the record of the life of Jesus Christ seen in Gospels and a few passages elsewhere in the New Testament.  On this point, the two religions diverge sharply.  A question to be asked, then, is: The picture of God painted in the New Testament, of a God who is freely accessible, desirous of intimate personal relations with us, and actively involved with the created order to the point of regular intervention (especially with the regular affairs of humans) - is this both intuitively pleasing and resonable given the evidence?

More on that after this break for some hot summer fun...