understanding the divine ~ Judaism

Question 1

mono or polytheistic

Answer 1

monotheistic

Question 2

whos the god

Answer 2

yahweh

Question 3

do they accept jesus as a god

Answer 3

no

Question 4

how dont they believe god came to earth

Answer 4

as a human

Question 5

whats yahweh seen as

Answer 5

a living spirit, without a body and cannot be represented in physical form.

Question 6

great emphasis on

Answer 6

god being a creator and god sustains creation for his people

Question 7

what does god require from the jews

Answer 7

he requires loyalty from the jews he has given laws

Question 8

how will god judge them

Answer 8

god will judge them according to how they obey the laws

Question 9

how do they study god

Answer 9

by looking at jewish scriptures such as the tenakh

Question 10

how do they see god as

Answer 10

past, present and future ( an eternal being) and hes constantly at work

Question 11

why is there diversity in practice

Answer 11

jews interpret judaism differently

Question 12

what does god as one mean

Answer 12

they believe god is always present in their lives.
all are seen as an encounter with god.
this belief is in the Shema, a jewish prayer book which states: “you shall love the lord your god with all you heart and with all you soul”.
the reference to loving god with you heart implies the god requires loyalty, and the mention of soul suggests that the spiritual dedication is needed to the one god.

Question 13

god as the creator

Answer 13

Jews believe god created the world out of nothing.
Orthodox Jews believe god made the world in six days about 6000 years ago and reject the idea of evolution.
other jews accept whilst god is still the creator, evolution may be correct and the world is a lot older.
on the seventh day of creation, god rested which is weekly celebrated as Shabbat.

Question 14

gods power

Answer 14

in order for god to create everything, he must have powers no other human has.
Jews believe god is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) and omnipresent (always present).
his power over nature is seen when he gives Abraham and his wife Sarah a child even though Sarah was old and was thought not to be able to have children. jews also interpret this to mean that god will intervene with this world for his chosen people.

Question 15

how does the sacred text help their understanding

Answer 15

the torah outlines the nature of Yahweh

Question 16

what is the covenant

Answer 16

a covenant is an agreement that benefits both parties.
it includes promises and responsibilities that should be undertaken.
Jews believe that the covenants made with prophets such as Abraham and Moses were binding not only for those people involved, but for those they were representing and therefore the covenants still apply to all jewish people today.
the first covenant made between god and the prophet Abraham- this promise was that god would protect Abraham his lands and his descendants if they promised to follow gods law.
the promise is not as simple as follow gods rules and hell protect you, god didn’t just want people to follow rules or laws but to live their lives in such a way as to show the world that god actually is the one and only powerful god call Yahweh.
the covenants have led Jews to believe that they have been specially chosen by god to be his people.
jews do not see themselves as superior to those who are not jewish, but focus on responsibility of being chosen by god. they do this by living according to Yahwehs rules.