7

Monotheistic conceptions of

ultimate reality

Generic philosophical monotheism

F

or monotheism, God is ultimate reality.^1 We can call what is common
between various types of monotheism generic philosophical
monotheism, characterized as follows. The claim X is God is to be
understood as entailing each of the following claims:

1 X is necessarily ontologically independent (i.e., X exists, and it is logically
impossible that X depends for existence on anything).
2 X is self-conscious (i.e., is conscious and aware of himself or herself as such; thus
X is a person).^2
3 X is transcendent (i.e., X is not identical to the world and God does not depend
on the world for existence or powers).
4 X is the highest being (i.e., the most valuable, greatest, or best).

One significant religious difference between diverse sorts of monotheism concerns
whether, and to what extent, God acts in human history. We can say that God
exercises strong providence if and only if God acts in such a way as to bring about
particular public historical events, and does so not only by causing private revelations
or events; God brings about both public events and private events, and does not do
the former only by doing the latter. By contrast, God exercises weak providence if
and only if, save for creation of the world, God acts in such a way as to bring about
particular public historical events, but only by causing private revelations or events;
God brings about both public events and private events, and does the former only
by doing the latter. Alternatively, one might be monotheistic and not think of God
as providentially active at all.