Who (or What) is God?
The chart above attempts to answer the question “who (or what) is God?” I’ve divided the answers into four quadrants created using two axes: anthropomorphic/abstract and transcendent/immanent. Each quadrant is filled with names and titles from the Judeo-Christian tradition, although I’ve included a few non-Christian titles as well such as Allah and Dao. The biggest words in each of the four quadrants are 1. Father, 2. Son, 3. Holy, and 4. Spirit. These four words are my attempt to illustrate that the Catholic Trinity encompasses all four religious quadrants, making it a well-balanced portrait of the divine. In this post I will analyze each of the quadrants, comparing and contrasting them in an attempt to better understand how human beings relate to the being they call God.
Anthropomorphic/Transcendent: God in Man’s Image
The upper two quadrants contain anthropomorphic views of God. Anthropomorphic in this case means “in a human-like form.” It can also mean that God plays human-like roles and has a human-like personality. On the transcendent end, God is depicted as a heavenly king. The biblical title “Ancient of Days” has historically been used to justify artistic depictions of God as an older man with a long white beard. Many of the other depictions in this quadrant come from the books of Daniel, Isaiah, and Revelation. These books are apocalyptic, a word which means “unveiling.” Today the word apocalyptic is used to describe the end of the world. Historically however, apocalyptic literature describes not just the last days, but also God’s realm, various ranks of angels and demons, and visions of heaven and hell.
In most Jewish and Christian theologies, God is a Spirit that cannot be seen with mortal eyes. However, apocalyptic depictions are still popular among the masses. Anthropomorphic visualizations reinforce monarchical ideals: obedience, justice, fear, wrath, and power. They inspire faith in an interventionist God who punishes the wicked and rewards the righteous. Without these dramatic visualizations, God might drift into an abstract irrelevance in the minds of many believers.
Anthropomorphic/Immanent: God With Us
Apocalyptic depictions of God enthroned in the heavens dominated post-exilic Judaism and early Christianity (2nd century BC to 2nd century AD). But before the apocalyptic period, God revealed himself by coming down to earth and appearing in an immanent, physical form. For example, in the Book of Genesis, God is seen walking “in the cool of the evening.” The patriarch Jacob even wrestles with God and proclaims, “I have seen God face to face.” In Exodus, Moses sees God’s physical body, or at least his “backside.” These depictions come from earlier Israelite eras and reflect an immanent understanding of God, who has a reassuringly naturalistic presence.
While God retreated into transcendence during the Apocalyptic period, he returned with the birth of Jesus, fully participating in the human experience. In the Gospel of John, Jesus proclaims “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father, for I and the Father are One.” Jesus is the “Savior,” and he can heal people both spiritually and physically. He is known by gentle depictions like “Lamb of God” or “Bread of Life.” Jesus brought God back into immanence. God was now much more relevant to the daily cares and concerns of everyday humans.
Many modern people reject anthropomorphic views of God as archaic, silly, and superstitious. However these anthropomorphizations help humans relate meaningfully to their religious ideals. Popular depictions of Jesus hugging repentant sinners adorn the walls of Christians throughout the world and inspire strong commitments to the Christian path. Without embodiment, God becomes less relatable and ultimately less important in the minds of everyday Christians.
Abstract/Transcendent: Man in God’s Image
Jews usually interpret the Biblical phrase “God made man in His image” to mean that man is made in God’s spiritual image, not that God is in the physical image of a man. For them, God’s presence is defined not by his physical appearance, but rather by his word. Rabbinical Jews rejected literal apocalyptic depictions of God and reinterpreted them metaphorically. They had too many zealots and would-be messiahs whose apocalyptic convictions led the nation to repeated disasters. Rabbis focused on Biblical passages that depicted God as a force of nature (fire, wind, clouds, fate) or a virtue like wisdom or reason. Most mysterious of all was God’s official title: I Am That I Am (better translated as “I am whatever I want to be”).
Christianity went through a similar transition from literalism to abstraction. Early Christian apocalypticism spooked Roman authorities who issued brutal crackdowns. Church authorities like Origen and Athanasius emphasized theoretical and abstract interpretations of God influenced by Greek ideas about the divine: Logos, First Cause, or Unmoved Mover. When God was depicted visually, it was always within a stylized iconographic tradition understood to be symbolic.
Late medieval scholastics analyzed God in increasingly philosophical ways. Before long, God became associated with principles like arbitrary will, fate, or the rules of geometry. After the scientific revolution, it would become increasingly hard to differentiate between the deist conception of a distant, non-interventionist God and simple atheism. Many self-professed atheists today would not object to Enlightenment depictions of God as a set of abstract universal principles. Current atheism is defined by its elitist opposition to naively anthropomorphic depictions God, more than any real opposition to theoretical or philosophical views about God articulated by late-Medieval and early modern scholars. Albert Einstein held views typical of most modern atheists. Yet he is considered a saintly believer to many Christians today. This is because Einstein, unlike other atheists, described the transcendent abstractions of nature using religious language. He also had a very reverent attitude toward those abstractions.
In the center of this quadrant I’ve placed the word holy, meaning sacred, set-apart, or worthy of devotion. It is a word that evokes the principle of hierarchy, orienting believers around a set of absolute, transcendent and fundamental truths. If atheists had any interest in communicating with their fellow theists, it would require a simple attitude adjustment, a devotional orientation towards the same fundamental truths which anchor the beliefs of theists. Scientifically oriented atheists usually hold objective views about the fundamental laws of nature. This gives them plenty in common with the average believer in God.
Abstract/Immanent: God Within
As the medieval scholastics drifted towards abstraction, the Christian masses never abandoned their anthropomorphic views of God, in some cases embracing rapturous and often heretical apocalyptic visions, some of which still inform modern evangelical understandings. However, during the late medieval period, a group of mystics began conceiving of God in a way that was both abstract and immanent. Meister Eckhart explained: “Simple people imagine that they should see God as if he stood there and they are here. This is not so. God and I, we are one.” This mystical vision had many precedents. Orthodox mystics aspired to witness God’s uncreated light. John’s Gospel proclaimed “the kingdom of God is within you.” And as far back as the Old Testament, the prophet Elijah experienced God not through fire, wind or earthquake, but through a “still, small voice.”
The Protestant Reformation undercut mediated forms of religion (priests, rituals, etc.) Protestants emphasized the supremacy of individual conscience. Some even insisted that believers could have direct access to God himself. This form of “private protestantism” is still very much alive today. Believers often interpret the passionate convictions of their own conscience as evidence that God is speaking directly to them.
Conclusions
The Judeo-Christian tradition begins with an anthropomorphic/immanent God who walks among men “in the cool of the evening.” By the end of the Old Testament, God is thoroughly anthropomorphic/transcendent, enthroned in the heavens and surrounded by angels. However, abstractions also appear in the Old Testament from time to time (Elijah’s still small voice and YHWH’s burning bush).
Jesus of Nazareth became the ultimate anthropomorphic/immanent God, anchoring Christians to an embodied, intimate, and therapeutic form of religion. However, early church fathers also grafted Greek ideas about an abstract and transcendent God into their theologies. These abstractions gradually took over, and by the time the scientific revolution came about, God had retreated into abstract irrelevance.
However, visions of God from the other three quadrants continue to be popular. Apocalypticists dream of Christ’s 2nd coming. Visual depictions of a gentle Jesus abound. And mysticism is as alive today as it ever was, pursued by a new generation of nones (spiritual but not religious.)
It is notable that the Catholic church with its Holy Trinity combines views from all four quadrants. There is a place for everyone in the Catholic church: apocalyptic literalists, sentimental devotees of Mother and Child, theological abstractions for deep thinkers, and union into the Body of Christ for mystics. In my opinion, it’s worth considering a tradition that seems to balance all four of these quadrants in a coherent way.
