God as transcendent, eternal, merciful and judge
God as transcendent
Judasim teaches that God is transcendent. This is the belief that God is not part of the world that we know and cannot be fully grasped by human beings. This is because he is above and beyond the earthly things that we know of.
'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord.
God as eternal
The faith teaches that God is eternal. This means that he has always existed and always will do. He is not, like humans, limited by time or space.
God as merciful
The idea of a merciful God refers to the belief that God will not always punish people who do wrong. Unlike the attitude of some people today who might believe that wrong-doers should "get what they deserve", being merciful means to take on a more understanding role. Judasim teaches that God is forgiving, and that although he knows of the sins people have committed he does not always punish them accordingly.
God as judge
When Jews describe God as a judge they are referring to the belief that God is responsible for:
- punishing
- rewarding
- forgiving
They may believe that God will punish or reward his people depending on how they acted during their time on Earth. When Jews carry out acts that might be considered wrong, they may ask for God鈥檚 forgiveness, as the belief is that God has a forgiving nature.
Many Jews believe God is judging humans every moment of every day and he cares how people treat one another. With this knowledge, they may strive to act in a good, kind way to one another and carry out good deeds and obey the mitzvahA commandment or a good deed. The plural is mitzvot..
Law-giver
Judaism teaches that God has given laws that Jews have to observe and these can be found in the TanakhThe collected 24 books of the Jewish Bible. There are three sections: Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim (TaNaKh). May also be spelled Tenakh. . The belief is that God demands that Jews follow his instructions and show their appreciation of him visibly.
The faith teaches that Abraham / IbrahimWidely regarded as the father of Christians, Jews and Muslims. He was the first person to teach that there is only one God. His story is told in the biblical book of Genesis and also in the Qur鈥檃n, where he is named Ibrahim., NoahA Hebrew patriarch who saved humanity by building an ark when there was a great flood. The Qur'an lists him among the prophets of God. and MosesThe man chosen by God to save the Jews from slavery and take them to the promised land. In the Qur'an he is a messenger chosen by God to give the revelation of the Torah to the Israelites. entered covenantAn agreement or promise. with God. As part of these special agreements, God would teach people how to live. The other side of the covenant was that Jews would worship only one God and obey his commandmentA law or instruction believed to have been given by God.. These commandments are known as mitzvot.
Question
Explain what Judaism teaches about God.
Judaism teaches that there is only one God. Believing in one God is known as monotheism. The belief is that God created the world and everything in it because it is stated in Genesis. Judaism teaches that God is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere. The faith also teaches that he is omnipotent, meaning he is all-powerful, and also that he is omnibenevolent, meaning he is all-loving. The belief is that God is transcendent, which is the idea that he is outside human understanding. Judaism also teaches that he is merciful, meaning that he has a forgiving nature and that he will judge humans on the actions taken during their lifetime.