What Do We Know about God

God has been around for a long time–in fact from the very beginning–but what do we actually know about him? Perhaps this is a silly question, because many people will regard the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as unknowable. Nevertheless, this book explores the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) to unearth just what is revealed about the nature and persona of the Deity. Early chapters discuss the first signs of religious beliefs, and the origins of the major religions. Ten chapters are devoted to what the Scriptures reveal about God's origin, attributes, and activities. These include miracles, making laws, punishing, rewarding, answering prayers, and predicting a future Messiah. A final chapter summarizes and draws conclusions. The sheer number of details gleaned from the biblical texts helps the reader to see God as an entity, with a personality who has attributes, likes, and dislikes. He rejoices, but also laments; he has a presence, he is available, he hears our prayers. Those who were a little unsure about the authenticity of God should have their confidence in him strengthened by the amount of information presented. They can then explore this further for themselves.