Moses Maimonides (original name Moses ben Maimon) was a Jewish Philosopher who followed Aristotelian thought. He was also a jurist and physician. He wrote a variety of books on Jewish law and Aristotelian thought.
Maimonides didn't like it when people anthropomorphized God. He thought it was the worst mistake of all to take the Torah as literal truth and to think that God is a bodily thing. He believed this so strongly that he thought anyone believing this should be excluded from the Jewish community.
He developed a strand of thought known as Negative Theology. In this strand of thought God is described by saying what he is not.
He would say that God has no attributes. Because attributes are either accidental (something that you can change) or essential (something that you must be). Since God cannot change (has no accident attributes) and God cannot be described (has no essential attributes) ergo God has no attributes.
He developed a strand of thought known as Negative Theology. In this strand of thought God is described by saying what he is not.
He would say that God has no attributes. Because attributes are either accidental (something that you can change) or essential (something that you must be). Since God cannot change (has no accident attributes) and God cannot be described (has no essential attributes) ergo God has no attributes.
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Maimonides issue with definition of God is that we CANNOT define God we can ONLY define what God does. So God can act loving, protective, powerful and so forth but we cannot use those words to actually describe God. For instance, we can say that God is a creator which shows what God does... And if one does use a descriptor with God you must use the double negative to describe him. For instance, God is powerful means that if you want to describe God you would need to say that God is not powerless. Only the negations really show us who God is.
Maimonides early life was easy. Growing up as a Jewish boy in Cordoba. Religious freedom was a given. This ended when a Muslim sect the Almohads took control. They didn't allow the practice of Judaism. The Maimons acted Muslim in public, but practiced their Judaism in secret. They eventually found this too difficult and gradually found their way to Egypt where they could openly practice their faith. He needed to end his studies when his father died and his wealthy brother perished, so he became a physician in order to support his family.
Maimonides early life was easy. Growing up as a Jewish boy in Cordoba. Religious freedom was a given. This ended when a Muslim sect the Almohads took control. They didn't allow the practice of Judaism. The Maimons acted Muslim in public, but practiced their Judaism in secret. They eventually found this too difficult and gradually found their way to Egypt where they could openly practice their faith. He needed to end his studies when his father died and his wealthy brother perished, so he became a physician in order to support his family.
MY THOUGHTS:
Personally I think Maimonides was picking at straws a bit. How is it so different to say that God is powerful then to say that God is not powerless? Isn't that saying the same thing?
I do think he showed some wisdom in insisting that we not anthropomorphize God. God is SO MUCH greater than people are that to say that God is love so often limits people to how they understand love and that limits God. God should not be limited by our finite understanding of who God is infinitely.
Sources:
Britannica.
The Philosophy book
Chabad.
Personally I think Maimonides was picking at straws a bit. How is it so different to say that God is powerful then to say that God is not powerless? Isn't that saying the same thing?
I do think he showed some wisdom in insisting that we not anthropomorphize God. God is SO MUCH greater than people are that to say that God is love so often limits people to how they understand love and that limits God. God should not be limited by our finite understanding of who God is infinitely.
Sources:
Britannica.
The Philosophy book
Chabad.
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