God— Creator of the universe, our Heavenly Father. God is the purest and most perfect, higher and more perfect than whom there is and cannot be anyone and nothing.

Holiness

The holiness of God () is expressed in the fact that God is absolutely alien to any evil, always remains in moral purity, acts on the basis of perfect motives for Good, approves in rational creatures that which corresponds to His commandments and law and condemns that which is contrary to Good .

goodness

The goodness of God () is such an essential property, according to which God Himself in Himself is infinite Good, desires and gives to all His creations as much good as each can perceive in accordance with natural and individual abilities.

In relation to different cases and circumstances, the goodness of God is denoted by special names: generosity, mercy, forgiveness, sanctification, etc.

Righteousness

The righteousness of God () consists in the fact that God Himself always acts within the framework of Good, and requires rational creatures to fulfill the moral law; does not impartially evaluate their thoughts, intentions and actions, rewards each according to their deeds.

Properties of feelings (sensations) of God

Love

Divine love is manifested in the eternal boundless love of the Persons of the Most Holy Trinity for themselves and for each other; in love for all creatures (even sinners). In addition, God, as the God of Love, God-Love (), promotes the manifestation of love in those of His creatures who have the ability to love.

Omnibliss

The all-bliss of God consists in the fact that, being infinite, all-perfect, God does not lack anything, has never experienced and does not experience feelings of inner dissatisfaction; constantly abides in a state of boundless inner joy, happiness, contentment ().

According to the definition given by the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, God is love. But God is love not because He loves the world and humanity, that is, His creation—then God would not be completely Himself outside and apart from the act of creation, would not have a perfect existence in Himself, and the act of creation would not be free, but compelled by the very "nature" of God. According to the Christian understanding, God is love in Himself, because the existence of the One God is an event of the Divine, who are among themselves in the “eternal movement of love”, according to the theologian of the 7th century venerable.

“In () the Lord reveals His name as “Existing” - in Slavonic “Sy”. Here is how St. (This quote appears in two words St. Gregory, 38 and 45): “He (God) calls Himself by this name, talking with Moses on the mountain, because He concentrates in Himself the whole being, which has not begun and will not stop.” From these words we conclude that God, firstly, is a Person and, secondly, contains in Himself the boundless fullness of being.
(Dogmatic Theology. Course of lectures)

“Remember God so that He always remembers you.”
St.

Our God is incorporeal and immaterial, and therefore the Spirit is the purest. This is how Holy Scripture testifies of Him: “God is a Spirit” (). If Holy Scripture ascribes the members of the body, then it does not ascribe to Him proper, but out of condescension to the weakness and weakness of our understanding, since we cannot otherwise understand His actions, the manifestations of His power. Thus, the hands attributed to Him signify His omnipotent power, the eyes are His all-seeing, the ears are the hearing of everything, since from Him neither word, nor deed, nor our heartfelt thoughts can be hidden - both of all people, and of every person: what he did , spoke, thought, and for what purpose he did it, and what he does, says and thinks, and for what purpose, and what he will do, say, think, and for what purpose everything is completely clear to Him. He does not have hands, but he creates everything he wants with a single desire and wave. It does not have eyes, but everything that is created both in secret places and in the depths of the heart observes and sees; has no ears, but hears every word, voice, singing, good and bad.
The Word of God reveals to us God consubstantial, but Trinitarian, incomprehensible, and therefore there is no need to test Him. The Word of God reveals Him to be omnipotent, and therefore one must seek help from Him alone. The Word of God reveals Him to provide for everything, and therefore we must rely on Him. The Word of God reveals Him to be unfalse, and therefore one must unquestionably believe Him. The Word of God reveals Him to be righteous and rewarding each according to his deeds, and therefore we must fear Him. The Word of God makes Him great, and therefore we must humble ourselves before Him. The Word of God reveals Him to be omnipresent and watching all our deeds, words and thoughts, and therefore we must walk before Him with all fear and caution and do, and speak, and think what is pleasing to His will. The Word of God reveals Him to be very good, and therefore one must love Him. The Word of God reveals Him to be merciful to repentant sinners, and therefore one must come to Him with repentance and regret. The Word of God reveals Him to those who are coming to judge the living and the dead, and therefore we must prepare for His judgment.
saint

Lord, our God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! You, who do not have an image, but the most beautiful for contemplation, Darkening every vision with Your inexplicable beauty! You are more beautiful than sight can perceive, for You are beyond all, immeasurable in properties, visible to those whom You allow to see, the Essence of the eternal, unknown even to the Angels, for they know Your being from You. After all, You called Yourself the Existing One (), this is what we call the Essence, the hypostasis, out-of-place calling Him Whom no one has ever seen, the Trinitarian God, the one beginningless Beginning. Otherwise, how dare we call You the Essence or glorify in You three separate hypostases? And what is the connection, who will completely comprehend it? For if the Father is in You, and You are in Your Father, and from Him proceed Your Holy Spirit, and You Yourself, O Lord, and Your Spirit, and the Spirit is called the Lord and my God, and Your Father is a Spirit and is called a Spirit, then no one I have never seen angels, nor have I contemplated this, nor have I known it. And how do you say it? How to express? How dare you call it a division or a union, a fusion or a mixture, or a dissolution? How can one (call) three and triune? Therefore, Master, on the basis of what You have said and taught, every faithful believer and glorify Your power, since everything in You is perfect, incomprehensible, unknown and inexpressible for Your creatures. For Your existence is already incomprehensible, since You exist uncreated, just as You gave birth (uncreated). And how will the creature understand your image of being, or the birth of your Son, God and Word, or the procession of your Divine Spirit? So that he may know your union and understand and study your division? No one has yet seen any of what I said...
But You Yourself in Yourself exist as one God the Trinity. One, knowing Yourself, Your Son, and the Spirit, and known by Them alone, as co-natural. Others see, as it were, the rays of the sun penetrating into the house, and then, if they have good eyesight, they do not see this sun at all. Thus, with a purified mind, the light of Your Glory and Your illuminations are seen by those who seek You with all their hearts. What are you in essence, and how did you give birth once or forever give birth and do not separate from the One who is born from you, but He is all in You, filling everything with Divinity? But you, Father, abide entirely in the Son Himself and have the Divine Spirit proceeding from You, omniscient and fulfilling everything, as God in essence and He does not separate from You, for He flows from You. You are the source of good things, and every good thing is Your Son, through the Spirit giving to both Angels and people worthy, merciful and philanthropic. No one, neither of the angels, nor of the people has ever seen or known Your existence, for You are uncreated. You created everything, and how can what You created know how You bring forth Your Son and how You always exude? And how does Your Divine Spirit proceed from You? And You do not ever give birth, having given birth, of course, once. But exuding - You did not suffer impoverishment or diminution, for You remain full, not depleted, above all, filling the world, visible and conceivable, and at the same time you are outside of vision and thinking. My God, completely allowing neither increase nor decrease, always remaining immovable, with Your manifestations - You are in perpetual motion. For you too, Father, are unceasingly active, and your Son contributes to the salvation of all and by His providence perfects, sustains, nourishes, gives life and regenerates by the Holy Spirit. For just as the Son sees the Father working, so He Himself creates, as He said (

Last update:
April 29, 2016, 21:19

God can and must be known. This is the testimony of Orthodoxy. God reveals Himself to His creatures who are capable of knowing Him and who find their true life in this knowledge. God is showing Himself. He does not compose some information about Himself that He conveys, or some information that He reports about Himself. He reveals Himself to those whom He created in His own image and likeness for the specific purpose of knowing Him. All is in Him and for blessedness in this infinitely increasing knowledge in eternity.

The divine image and likeness of God, according to which people - men and women - are created, according to Orthodox dogma, is the eternal and uncreated Image and Word of God, called in the Holy Scriptures the Only Begotten Son of God. The Son of God exists with God in complete unity of essence, action and life together with the Holy Spirit of God. We have already encountered this statement in the words of St. Athanasius cited above. The "image of God" is a Divine Person. He is the Son and Word of the Father, Who exists with Him "from the beginning," the One in Whom, by Whom and for Whom all things were created, and by Whom "all things stand" (Col. 1:17). This is the faith of the Church, confirmed in Holy Scripture and testified by the saints of the Old and New Testaments: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of His mouth all their strength” (Ps. 32, 6).

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. It was in the beginning with God. Everything came into being through Him, and without Him nothing came into being that came into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-3).

“... in the Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also made the world. This one, being the radiance of glory and the image of His hypostasis, holding all things by the word of His power…” (Heb. 1:2-3).

“Who is the image of the invisible God, born before every creature; for by him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible ... everything was created by him and for him; and He is before all things, and by Him all things stand” (Col. 1:15-17).

According to the Holy Scriptures and the teaching of the Holy Fathers of the Church, God is not known by reason. God cannot be comprehended by the efforts of the mind and logical reasoning, although by such means people may be convinced that God must exist. Rather, God is known through faith, repentance, purity of heart and poverty of spirit, love and reverence. In other words, God is known by those who are open to His self-manifestation and self-revelation, who are ready to bear fruit - by their lives to recognize His power and action in the world, whose recognition is always expressed in praise and thanksgiving to God. “He who has acquired pure prayer is the theologian,” says the frequently used saying of the holy fathers. “And a theologian is one who has pure prayer.” As St. John of the Ladder wrote, “the perfection of purity is the beginning of theology.”

“The perfection of purity is the beginning of theology. He who has completely united his feelings with God secretly learns from Him His words. But when this union with God has not yet taken place, then it is difficult to talk about God. The Word, coexistent with the Father, creates perfect purity, having mortified death by His coming; and when she is put to death, the student of theology is enlightened. The word of the Lord, given from the Lord, is pure and endures forever and ever; but he who does not know God speaks about Him by conjecture. Purity made her disciple a theologian, who by himself confirmed the dogmas of the Most Holy Trinity” (John of the Ladder).

People know God when they keep the original purity of their nature as spiritual beings, sealed by the uncreated Word and image of the Father, inspired by His Divine Spirit. Or rather, they know God when they take off the veil of sin and rediscover their original purity by the good work of God in them and towards them through His Divine Word and Spirit. When people live "according to nature" without distorting or perverting their being as a reflection of their Creator, the knowledge of God is their natural act and most proper possession. St. Gregory of Nyssa writes about it this way: “Divine nature, as it is in itself, according to its essence, exceeds any rational knowledge, and we cannot approach or reach It by our reasoning. Man has never shown the ability to comprehend the incomprehensible; and could never invent such a way of thinking to know the incomprehensible ... it is clear that the Lord does not deceive when He promises that the pure in heart will see God (Matt. 5, 8) ... The Lord does not say that it is good to know anything about God, it is rather good to have God in you: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. I don’t think that by this He meant to say that a person who purifies his spiritual eyes will immediately enjoy the vision of God ... this teaches us that a person who purifies his heart from all earthly attachments and any passionate movement will see the image of the Divine nature in the very yourself...

All of you are mortal...do not despair that you will never fully reach the knowledge of God as you could. For even at creation, God gave perfection to your nature ... therefore, it is necessary for you to wash away the dirt adhering to your heart with your virtuous life, so that divine beauty shines in you again ...

When your mind is cleansed of all malice, free of passions, cleansed of all stains, then you will be blessed, because your eye will be pure. Then, being purified, you will be able to comprehend what is not visible to the unpurified... And what is this vision? It is purity, holiness, simplicity and other shining reflections of God's nature; for only in them is God seen.”

What St. Gregory of Nyssa is talking about here is the traditional teaching of the holy fathers of the Church and is in agreement with what the Apostle Paul wrote at the beginning of his Epistle to the Romans: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth untruth. For what can be known about God is clear to them, because God has shown them. For His invisible, His eternal power and Divinity from the creation of the world through the consideration of creations are visible, so that they are unanswerable. But how, having known God, they did not glorify Him as God, and did not give thanks, but became futile in their minds, and their senseless heart was darkened ... And as they did not care to have God in their minds, then God gave them over to a perverse mind - to do indecency " (Rom. 1:18-21:28).

The pure in heart see God everywhere: in themselves, in others, in everyone and in everything. They know that "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament speaks of the work of his hands" (Ps. 18:1). They know that heaven and earth are filled with His glory (cf. Isaiah 6:3). They are capable of observation and faith, of faith and knowledge (see John 6:68-69). Only a fool can say in his heart that there is no God in his heart. And this happens because "they have become corrupt and have committed heinous crimes." He does not "seek God." He "evaded". He does not "cry to God." He does not "understand" (Ps. 52:1-4). The psalmist's description of this madman and the causes of his madness was summed up in the patristic ecclesiastical tradition by the assertion that the cause of all human ignorance (ignorance of God) is the arbitrary rejection of God, rooted in proud narcissism.

God is absolutely indescribable in His being, incomprehensible in His essence, and unknowable. As if dressed in the impregnable darkness of incomprehensibility. Not only are attempts to depict God in His essence unthinkable, but any definitions cannot encompass and express the essence of God, it is impregnable for human consciousness, it is an impregnable darkness of God's essence.

Theology itself can only be apophatic, that is, composed in negative terms: Incomprehensible, Unapproachable, Unknowable. Saint Gregory Palamas, in his defense of the Orthodox doctrine of the uncreated Tabor light, teaches us to unfailingly distinguish between the divine, completely unknowable essence and the Divine in His action directed towards the created world, in His providential concern for every creation. Palamas teaches to distinguish between the being of God and His divine energy-forces, radiations of grace that holds the world.

The providential Divine action in the world is accessible to consciousness, cognizable, God turning to the world, God extending to the world His care, His love, His never-ending care. This is the wisdom that arranges everything, the light of the world that enlightens everything, the love of God that fills everything, this is the revelation of God - the manifestation of God to the world. And the world is arranged by God in such a way as to perceive, accommodate this divine action, to take on this royal seal, to become entirely royal property. The ultimate meaning and purpose of all created things is to become God's property.

Monk Gregory (Circle)

According to St. Maximus the Confessor, the "original sin" of people, which voluntarily or involuntarily infects all of us, is "selfishness." Egocentrism enslaves its owner to spiritual and bodily passions and plunges him into madness, darkness and death. A person becomes blind because of his unwillingness to see, believe and be blessed in what is given to him - first of all, the words and actions of God, and God Himself in His Word and Spirit, who are in the world. This is what Christ rebuked when he cited the words of Isaiah, speaking of those who do not know God, that they have eyes, but will not see; ears, but will not hear; and mind - but they do not want to understand (Is. 6, 9-10).

We must see this clearly and understand it well. The knowledge of God is given to those who want it, to those who seek it with all their heart, to those who desire it most and who want nothing more than this. This is God's promise. He who seeks will find. There are many reasons why people refuse to seek Him and are unwilling to find Him; all of them, in one way or another, are driven by proud selfishness, which can also be called impurity of heart. As the Holy Scripture, testified by the saints, says, the unclean in heart are blind, because they prefer their wisdom to the wisdom of God and their own ways to the ways of the Lord. Some of them, as the apostle Paul says, have a "zeal for God" but remain blind because they prefer their own truth to that which comes from God (see Romans 10:2). They are the ones who victimize others by publicizing their madness, which manifests itself in whole vicious cultures and civilizations, confusion and chaos.

The reduction of a human being to something else, and, moreover, to something infinitely less than a creation created in the image and likeness of God, destined to be the repository of wisdom, knowledge and Divine dignity itself, is the greatest tragedy. The human person is made to be "God by grace." This is a Christian experience and testimony. But the thirst for self-satisfaction through self-affirmation contrary to reality ended in the separation of human personalities from the source of their being, which is God, and thus hopelessly enslaved them to the “elements of this world” (Col. 2, 8), whose image disappears. Today there are many theories about the human person that make it everything but the image of God; ranging from the insignificant moments of some mythical historical-evolutionary process or material-economic dialectic to passive victims of biological, social, economic, psychological or sexual forces, whose tyranny, compared to the gods they supposedly destroyed, is incomparably more ruthless and cruel. And even some Christian theologians give their scientific sanction to the enslaving power of the self-sufficient and self-explanatory nature of "nature", only thereby increasing its destructive damage.

But you don't have to go that route. Orthodox Christianity, or rather, God and His Christ are here to give us a witness. The opportunity for people to exercise their freedom to be children of God is given to them, preserved, guaranteed and carried out by the living God, Who brought people into this world, as St. Maximus the Confessor said, by His mercy, which He is by nature ... if only they have eyes to see, ears to hear, and minds and hearts to understand.

The idea that God avenges, punishes, is a widespread and deeply rooted delusion. And a false idea generates corresponding consequences. How many times, I think, you have heard people resent... God. They rebel against God: "What, am I the most sinful? Why did God punish me?" Either children are born bad, or something burned out, or things go wrong. One can only hear: "What, am I the most sinful? Here they are worse than me, and they prosper." They come to blasphemy, to cursing, to the rejection of God. Where does all this come from? From the perverse, pagan-Jewish understanding of God. They cannot understand and accept that He does not take revenge on anyone, that He is the greatest Doctor Who is always ready to help everyone who sincerely recognizes his sins and brings heartfelt repentance. He is above our insults. Remember, there are wonderful words in the Apocalypse: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and I will dine with him, and he with Me" (Ot. 3; 20).

Let us now listen to what the Holy Scriptures say about God-Love:

He commands His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matt. V;45).

For He is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked (Luke VI:39).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

In temptation no one say: God is tempting me; because God is not tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But everyone is tempted, carried away and deceived by his own lust (James 1:13-14).

That you...may...understand the love of Christ that transcends understanding, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:18-19).

Alexey Osipov

Protopresbyter Foma Hopko and others.

+ additional material:

Since man became intelligent, he began to look for answers to questions about who created everything that exists, about the meaning of his life, and whether he is alone in the Universe. Unable to find an answer, the people of antiquity invented gods, each of which was in charge of his own part of life. Someone was responsible for the creation of the Earth and Sky, the seas were subordinate to someone, someone was the main one in the underworld.

With the knowledge of the surrounding world, the gods became more and more, but people did not find an answer to the question about the meaning of life. Therefore, many old gods were replaced by one God the Father.

Concept of God

Before Christianity appeared, people lived for several thousand years with faith in the Creator, who created everything that surrounds them. It was not a single god, since the consciousness of the people of antiquity could not accept that everything that exists is the creation of one creator. Therefore, in every civilization, regardless of when and on what continent it was born, there was God the Father, who had assistants - his children and grandchildren.

In those days, it was customary to humanize the gods, "rewarding" them with character traits characteristic of people. So it was easier to explain natural phenomena and events that took place in the world. A significant difference and a clear advantage of the ancient pagan faith was that God manifests himself in the surrounding nature, in connection with which she was worshiped. At that time, man considered himself one of the many creations created by the gods. In many religions, there was a principle of assigning the earthly incarnations of the gods of the form of animals or birds.

For example, in ancient Egypt, Anubis was depicted as a man with a jackal's head, and Ra as a falcon's head. In India, the gods were given images of animals living in this country, for example, Ganesha was depicted as an elephant. All religions of antiquity had one feature: regardless of the number of gods and the difference in their names, they were created by the Creator, standing above all, being the beginning of everything and having no end.

The concept of one God

The fact that there is one God the Father was known long before the birth of Christ. For example, in the Indian "Upanishads", created in 1500 BC. e., it is said that in the beginning there was nothing but the Great Brahman.

The Yoruba people living in West Africa say that in the beginning everything was water Chaos, which Olorun turned into Earth and Heaven, and on the 5th day he created people, fashioning them from the earth.

If we turn to the origins of all ancient cultures, then in each of them there is an image of God the Father, who created everything that exists together with man. So in this concept, Christianity would not give anything to the new world, if it were not for one significant difference - God is one, and there are no other gods besides him.

It was difficult to strengthen this knowledge in the minds of people who professed faith in many gods from generation to generation, perhaps that is why in Christianity the Creator has a triune hypostasis: God the Father, and God the Son (his Word), and his Mouth).

“The Father is the original cause of all that exists” and “The heavens were created by the Word of the Lord, and all their strength is by the Spirit of His mouth” (Ps. 32:6), - this is what the Christian religion claims.

Religion

Religion is a form of thinking based on belief in the supernatural, having a set of rules that determine the norm of human behavior and rituals inherent in it, helping to comprehend the world.

Regardless of the historical period and its inherent religion, there are organizations that unite people of the same faith. In ancient times, these were temples with priests, in our time - churches with priests.

Religion implies the existence of a subjective-personal perception of the world, that is, a personal faith and an objectively common one, uniting people of one faith in a confession. Christianity is a religion consisting of three denominations: Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Protestantism.

God the Father in Christianity, regardless of denomination, is the only creator of all things, Light and Love, who created people in his own image and likeness. The Christian religion reveals to believers the knowledge of one God, recorded in holy texts. Each denomination is represented by its clergy, and the unifying organizations are churches and temples.

before Christmas

The history of this religion is closely connected with the Jewish people, the founder of which is the chosen one of God - Abraham. The choice fell on this Aramean for a reason, since he independently came to the knowledge that the idols worshiped by his entourage had nothing to do with holiness.

Through reflection and observation, Abraham realized that there is a true and only God the Father, who created everything both on earth and in heaven. He found like-minded people who followed him from Babylon and became the chosen people, called Israel. Thus, an eternal contract was concluded between the Creator and people, the violation of which entailed punishment for the Jews in the form of persecution and wandering.

One by the 1st century AD was an exception, since most of the peoples of that time were pagans. The Jewish holy books about the creation of the world spoke of the Word, with the help of which the Creator created everything, and that the Messiah would come and save the chosen people from persecution.

History of Christianity with the advent of the Messiah

Christianity was born in the 1st century AD. e. in Palestine, which at that time was under the rule of the Romans. Another connection with the people of Israel is the upbringing that Jesus Christ received as a child. He lived according to the laws of the Torah and observed all Jewish holidays.

According to Christian scriptures, Jesus is the incarnation of the Word of the Lord in a human body. He was conceived immaculately in order to enter the world of people without sin, and after that God the Father revealed himself through him. Jesus Christ was called the consubstantial son of God, who came to atone for human sins.

The most important dogma of the Christian Church is the posthumous resurrection of Christ and his subsequent ascension to heaven.

This was predicted by numerous Jewish prophets many centuries before the birth of the Messiah. The resurrection of Jesus after death is a confirmation of the promise of eternal life and the incorruptibility of the human soul, which God the Father gave to people. In Christianity, his son has many names in holy texts:

• Alpha and Omega - means that he was the beginning of all things and is his end.
• Light of the world - means that he is the same Light that comes from his Father.
• Resurrection and life, which should be understood as salvation and eternal life for those who profess the true faith.

Many names were given to Jesus both by the prophets and by his disciples and the people around him. All of them corresponded either to his deeds or the mission for which he ended up in a human body.

Development of Christianity after the execution of the Messiah

After Jesus was crucified, his disciples and adherents began to spread the doctrine of him, at first in Palestine, but as the number of believers increased, they went far beyond its borders.

The very concept of "Christian" began to be used 20 years after the death of the Messiah and came from the inhabitants of Antioch, who so called the followers of Christ. Jesus played a big role in spreading the teachings. It was his sermons that led numerous adherents to the new faith from the pagan peoples.

If before the 5th century A.D. e. the acts and teachings of the apostles and their disciples spread within the borders of the Roman Empire, then they went further - to the Germanic, Slavic and other peoples.

Prayer

Appealing to the gods with requests is a ritual characteristic of believers at all times and regardless of religion.

One of the significant deeds of Christ during his lifetime was that he taught people how to pray correctly, and revealed the secret that the Creator is triune and represents the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - the essence of God, one and indivisible. Due to the limited consciousness, people, although they talk about one God, still divide it into 3 separate personalities, as their prayers speak about. There are those who are turned only to God the Father, there are those who are turned to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Prayer to God the Father "Our Father" sounds like a request directed directly to the Creator. By this, people, as it were, singled out its originality and significance in the Trinity. However, even manifesting in three persons, God is one, and this must be recognized and accepted.

Orthodoxy is the only Christian denomination that has preserved the faith and teachings of Christ unchanged. This also applies to turning to the Creator. Prayer to the Lord God the Father in Orthodoxy speaks of the Trinity as its only hypostasis: “I confess to You the Lord my God and Creator, in the One, glorified and worshiped Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, all my sins ... ".

Holy Spirit

The concept of the Holy Spirit is not often encountered, but the attitude towards it is completely different. In Judaism, he is considered the "breath" of God, and in Christianity - one of his indivisible three hypostases. Thanks to him, the Creator created everything that exists and communicates with people.

The concept of the nature and origin of the Holy Spirit was considered and adopted at one of the councils in the 4th century, but long before that, Clement of Rome (1st century) combined all 3 hypostases into a single whole: “God lives, and Jesus Christ lives, and the Holy Spirit the faith and hope of the elect." So God the Father in Christianity officially found the trinity.

It is through him that the Creator acts in man and in the Temple, and in the days of creation he actively participated in them, helping to create the worlds visible and invisible: “In the beginning God created heaven and earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the waters.

Names of God

As paganism was replaced by a religion that glorified the one God, people began to be interested in the name of the Creator in order to be able to address him in prayer.

Based on the information given in the Bible, God personally gave his name to Moses, who wrote it down in Hebrew. Due to the fact that this language later became dead, and only consonants were written in the names, it is not known exactly how the name of the Creator is pronounced.

The four consonants YHVH stand for the name of God the Father and are the verb form ha-vah, meaning "become." In different translations of the Bible, different vowels are substituted for these consonants, which gives completely different meanings.

In some sources, he is mentioned as the Almighty, in others - Yahweh, in the third - Hosts, and in the fourth - Jehovah. All names denote the Creator who created all the worlds, but at the same time they have different meanings. For example, Sabaoth means "Lord of Hosts", although he is not a god of war.

Disputes about the name of the Heavenly Father are still ongoing, but most theologians and linguists are inclined to believe that the correct pronunciation sounds like Yahweh.

Yahweh

This name literally means "Lord" and also "to be". In some sources, Yahweh is associated with the concept of "God Almighty."

In Christianity, either this name is used, or it is replaced by the word "Lord."

God in Christianity today

Christ and God the Father, as well as the Holy Spirit in the modern Christian religion are the basis of the trinity of the indivisible Creator. More than 2 billion people are adherents of this faith, which makes it the most widespread in the world.

The most powerful, influential and numerous of all the main ones that exist today, ahead of Buddhism and Islam, is Christianity. The essence of religion, which breaks up into the so-called churches (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and others), as well as many sects, lies in the veneration and worship of one divine being, in other words, the God-Man, whose name is Jesus Christ. Christians believe that he is the true son of God, is the Messiah, that he was sent down to Earth for the salvation of the world and all mankind.

The religion of Christianity was born in distant Palestine in the first century AD. e. Already in the first years of its existence, it had many adherents. The main reason for the emergence of Christianity, according to the clergy, was the preaching activity of a certain Jesus Christ, who, being essentially a demigod-half-man, came to us in human form in order to bring the truth to people, and even scientists do not actually deny his existence. Four sacred books, called the Gospels, are written about the first coming of Christ (the second Christendom is only awaiting). the glorious city of Bethlehem, about how he grew up, how he began to preach.

The main ideas of his new religious teaching were the following: the belief that he, Jesus, is indeed the Messiah, that he is the son of God, that there will be his second coming, there will be the end of the world and the resurrection from the dead. With his sermons, he called to love neighbors and help those in need. His divine origin was proved by the miracles with which he accompanied his teachings. Many sick people were healed by his word or touch, three times he raised the dead, walked on water, turned it into wine and fed about five thousand people with just two fish and five cakes.

He expelled all merchants from the Jerusalem temple, thus showing that dishonorable people have no place in holy and noble deeds. Then there was the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the accusation of deliberate blasphemy and brazen encroachment on the royal throne and the death sentence. He died, being crucified on the cross, taking upon himself the torment for all human sins. Three days later, Jesus Christ resurrected and then ascended to heaven. Christianity says the following about religion: there are two places, two special spaces that are inaccessible to people during earthly life. and paradise. Hell is a place of terrible torment, located somewhere in the bowels of the earth, and paradise is a place of universal bliss, and only God himself will decide who to send where.

The religion of Christianity is based on several dogmas. The first is what the Second is - it is trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). The birth of Jesus happened at the instigation of the Holy Spirit, God incarnated in the Virgin Mary. Jesus was crucified and then died, atoning for people's sins, after which he was resurrected. At the end of time, Christ will come to judge the world, and the dead will rise. Divine and human nature are inextricably linked in the image of Jesus Christ.

All religions of the world have certain canons and commandments, but Christianity preaches to love God with all your heart, and also to love your neighbor as yourself. If you don't love your neighbor, you won't be able to love God.

The religion of Christianity has its adherents in almost every country, half of all Christians are concentrated in Europe, including Russia, one quarter - in North America, one sixth - in South, and significantly fewer believers in Africa, Australia and

The answer to the question of what God is depends primarily on the adherents of what religious and philosophical worldviews it will be asked. For adherents (followers) of monotheistic religions, the most common of which are Christianity, Islam and Judaism, this is primarily the Creator of the world and the personification of the Absolute in all its manifestations. For them, one God is the fundamental principle and the beginning of everything that exists in the world. Being eternal and unchanging, He is at the same time beginningless, infinite and comprehensible to the human mind only within the limits that He Himself sets.

What is God in the understanding of the pagans?

The idea of ​​each individual person about God depends not only on the characteristics of the culture and religion of his people, but to a large extent on personal qualities, among which the key ones are spiritual maturity and level of education. It is not enough just to give yourself an answer to the key question "is there a God", it is also important to have at least some clear idea of ​​what meaning is put into this concept. Otherwise, it is impossible to understand the ways and forms of His influence on the world.

Adherents of polytheism (polytheism), or, as they are usually called in Christian theology, pagans, believe in several gods at once, each of which, as a rule, is able to influence only one side of human life.

In the pre-Christian period in Russia, both the highest gods, which include Perun, Mokosh, Dazhdbog, Svarog, Veles and a number of others, and the patron spirits of the clan were revered. There was also a cult of dead ancestors ─ ancestors. The various rituals performed in their honor were intended to ensure, first of all, earthly well-being, to bring success, wealth, many children, and also to protect from the influence of evil spirits, natural disasters and invasions of enemies. Belief in God, or rather, in a whole pantheon of gods, was an important part of their life for the pagans. Such an approach to the perception of the deity was characteristic of almost all peoples of the world at an early stage of their development.

Understanding God in Orthodoxy

Within the framework of Orthodoxy ─ the religious confession covering the majority of the inhabitants of Russia ─ God is perceived as an incorporeal and invisible Spirit. On the pages of the Old Testament there is evidence that it is not given to a person to see God and remain alive at the same time. Just as the rays of the sun, warming everything earthly, are capable of blinding one who dares to raise his gaze to the shining disk, so the great holiness of the Divine is inaccessible to human contemplation.

God is omnipotent and omniscient. He knows about everything in the world, and even the most secret thought cannot hide from him. At the same time, the power of the Lord is so infinite that it allows Him to do everything for which there is His holy will. God in the Orthodox understanding is the creator and spokesman of all that is good that only exists in the world, and therefore, speaking of him, it is customary to use the expression "all-good".

God is one in three Persons

The main dogma of Orthodoxy is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. It contains the statement that the one God has in Himself three hypostases (persons) bearing the following names: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are connected to each other not together, but at the same time not separately. You can understand this combination, which is difficult at first glance, using the example of the same sun.

Its disk, shining in the sky, as well as the light emitted by it, and the heat that warms the earth, are essentially three independent realities, but at the same time they are all unmerged and inseparable components of a single heavenly body. Like the sun that gives warmth, God the Father gives birth to God the Son. Just as light comes from the sun, so God the Holy Spirit comes from God the Father. Thus, prayer to God is always addressed to all of His three hypostases at the same time.

Cross sacrifice of Jesus Christ

Another most important dogma of Orthodoxy is the doctrine of the sacrifice brought on the cross by the Son of God, sent by the Heavenly Father to atone for original sin once committed by Adam and Eve. Having incarnated in man and uniting in Himself all his properties, except for sin, Jesus Christ, by His death and subsequent resurrection, opened the gates of the Kingdom of Heaven to all adepts (followers) of the Church He created on earth.

According to the gospel teaching, true faith in God is impossible without love for one's neighbor bequeathed by the Savior and without sacrifice. Orthodoxy is a religion of love. The words of Jesus Christ addressed to His disciples: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34) became the main commandment, expressing the greatest humanism contained in the teaching given to people by the Son of God.

The search for truth

Having created man in His image and likeness, the Lord endowed him with reason, one of the properties of which is the ability to critically comprehend everything that happens in the world. That is why for many the path to religious life begins with the question: “Is there a God?”, and the subsequent path to the salvation of the soul largely depends on how convincing the answer to it will be received.

Christianity, like any other religion, is based primarily on blind faith in the dogmas that it preaches. However, over the two thousand years that have passed since the events described in the Gospel, inquisitive minds do not stop searching for evidence of the existence of God. Many church leaders who lived in different eras and belonged to different Christian denominations, such as Malebranche and Anselm of Canterbury, as well as the outstanding philosophers Aristotle, Plato, Leibniz and Descartes, devoted their works to this issue of concern to people.

Thomas Aquinas' statements

In the XIII century, the outstanding Italian theologian Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) tried to answer the question "what is God" and prove the indisputability of His existence. In his reasoning, he relied on the law of cause and effect, considering God as the cause of everything on earth. He formulated the proofs of the existence of God derived by him in five points, which he included in the capital work called "The Sum of Theology". Briefly, they contain the following statements:

1. Since everything in this world is in motion, there must be something that gave this process the initial impetus. It can only be God.
2. Since nothing in the world can produce itself, but is always derived from something, it is necessary to recognize the existence of a certain primary source, which has become the initial link in the subsequent chain of emergence of more and more new realities. This primary source of everything in the world is God.
3. Each thing can have both a real being and remain in an unrealized potency. In other words, it may appear, or it may not. God must be recognized as the only force that translates it from potentiality into reality.
4. Since the degree of perfection of this or that thing can only be assessed in comparison with something that surpasses it, it is logical to assume the existence of some kind of absolute that stands above everything that exists in the world. Only God can be such a height of perfection.
5. And finally, the expediency of everything that happens in the world indicates the existence of God. Since mankind is moving along the path of progress, it means that there must be some force that not only determines the right direction of movement, but also creates the necessary prerequisites for the implementation of this process.

The Proof That Wasn't

However, along with religious philosophers who tried to find arguments to substantiate the idea of ​​the existence of God, there were always those who pointed out the impossibility of a scientifically sound answer to the question of what God is. Prominent among them is the German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804).

Contrary to the assertion of Woland, the hero of Bulgakov's immortal novel The Master and Margarita, Kant did not refute the five proofs of the existence of God that he allegedly built and did not invent the sixth, this time absolutely irrefutable. On the contrary, he never tired of repeating all his life that in terms of proving the existence of God, no theoretical construction can have any serious scientific justification. At the same time, he considered faith in God useful and even morally necessary, since he recognized the depth and significance of the Christian commandments.

As a result of this approach to the fundamentals of the doctrine, the German philosopher was subjected to severe attacks from representatives of the church. It is even known that some of them, in order to express their contempt for the scientist, called him the name of their domestic dogs.

An interesting detail: the legend that Kant, contrary to his views, created the so-called moral proof of the existence of God ─ exactly the one that Woland spoke about on the bench at the Patriarch's Ponds ─ was born by the clerics themselves, who wanted to take revenge on their fierce lover in this way after death. enemy.

Religion as the restoration of man's connection with God

At the end of the conversation, it would be appropriate to dwell on the issue of the emergence of religion. By the way, this word itself comes from the Latin verb religare, which means "to reunite." In this case, it refers to the restoration of communication with God, broken as a result of original sin.

Among historians, there are three main points of view about the emergence of religion. The first of them is called “religious”. Its supporters are of the opinion that man was created by God and before his fall had direct communion with Him. Then it was broken, and at present, only prayer to God is the only way for a person to turn to his Creator, who reveals Himself through prophets, angels and various miracles.

Religious compromise

The second point of view is "intermediate". It's kind of a compromise. Based on modern scientific knowledge and the moods prevailing in society, its supporters at the same time adhere to the main religious postulate about the creation of the world and man by God. According to them, after the fall, man completely severed communion with his Creator and, as a result, is forced to re-seek the path to Him. It is this process that they call religion.

The materialist point of view

And finally, the third point of view ─ "evolutionary". Those who adhere to it insist that religious ideas arise at a certain stage in the development of society and are the result of the inability of people to find rational explanations for natural phenomena.

Perceiving them as rational actions of certain beings more powerful than himself, a person created in his imagination a pantheon of gods, attributed to them his own emotions and actions, thereby projecting into the fictional world of the features of the society in which he was. Accordingly, with the development of society, religious ideas became more complex and colored in a new way, progressing from primitive forms to more complex ones.