Jesus <3 nerds
One (Particular) God
We believe in one God…
One of the things I have most appreciated about my academic study of religion is a newfound appreciation for Christianity’s Jewish background. My first religion course in college was on Judaism, actually— “Early Judaism,” i.e. Judaism of the Second Temple period, that time after the exile and before 70 CE. Of course, my college New Testament introduction and my later seminary courses also emphasized the stories of ancient Israel and the significance of this religious background for Jesus and his Jewish community.
In particular, I have found it fascinating to ponder the enormity of the Jewish commitment to monotheism. In seminary I learned that some scholars believe Israel was originally henotheistic—worshipping only one god but accepting the potential existence of many. Over time, they say, Israel increasingly emphasized that YHWH was not only the stronger god or the proper god to worship, but YHWH was indeed the only real deity. The others were merely idols fashioned by human hands and imaginations. Some more conservative Christians are disturbed to think about Israel potentially believing in other gods, but however things happened, Israel’s dedication to YHWH was radical in their polytheistic surroundings.
Many of us who grew up in a Western context find it enough to simply accept the existence of one God, so I appreciate Judaism’s emphasis on not only the number of gods but also the identity of the true God. God has a name YHWH, typically translated “the LORD” or read by Jews as “Adonai.” The character of this God matches what we might assume in some ways—but in some regards we may be surprised.
The Hebrew Scriptures always emphasize that YHWH is compassionate, forgiving, a lover of social justice, and a powerful force to be reckoned with, among other things. Some passages actually explicitly or implicitly compare YHWH to other peoples’ gods. For example, unlike Baal who doesn’t answer, YHWH never sleeps, always available to his people (1 King 18). Unlike Marduk, YHWH didn’t make people to be his slaves but to be co-reigners over the earth (Gen. 1, as compared to the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish). And in contrast with the sexual overtones of most religions, Judaism’s God transcended gender.
We who are Christians are also devoted to this one God who revealed himself as YHWH to Moses at the burning bush and rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. This story is our heritage—with all of its rich descriptions of God’s character and actions and instruction for us. When I say with the Nicene Creed that I believe in one God, I like to pause and remember that this is not just any abstract deity that I worship but a deeply personal God who has interacted with human beings throughout history. And the better I get to know this God, the more I feel grateful that YHWH, in particular, is the one real deal.
This post is part of a series on the Nicene Creed.
| This entry was posted by Ashleigh on January 31, 2011 at 3:15 pm, and is filed under Bible Context, Nicene Creed, Post Series, Theology. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
about 11 months ago
I share your excited fascination for the Jewish background of Jesus. Would you comment on Jesus’ clear affirmation and approval of the creed of Israel in Mk 12:29. If this is the true Christian creed, that of Christ, why do we not subscribe to it?
Thanks.
Anthony
about 4 months ago
Wow, it seems this comment went to spam! Sorry I never replied.
Well, I think Christians do subscribe to it in the sense that believe in “one God” is part of the Nicene Creed. So yes, we don’t repeat the shema (what that “creed of Israel” is called in Judaism) itself regularly, but the content is picked up elsewhere. I think our reason for not repeating the shema word for word is simply an accident of church history. I’d imagine early Christians of Jewish background DID recite the shema like any other Jews, but as the church became majority-Gentile certain Jewish-feeling practices went out of style. To say, “Hear, O Israel!” when you’re not yourself technically a part of Israel probably felt a bit awkward and as Christians came up with new more detailed statements of faith which included both Old Testament and New Testament content, the shema probably felt increasingly redundant. That’s not to say they were right. I think it’s a beautiful statement and there would be nothing wrong with reintegrating it into personal or communal devotional practice.
I haven’t specifically studied the history of the shema and Christian relations to it, so the above is conjecture. I’m not certain whether anyone has really studied this issue, but may do a bit of digging to see if I can find more. Perhaps a topic for a future post! :-)