Spinoza’s God: Unity and the Perils of Unbelief
Spinoza understands God as a unified, self-caused substance—that is, as an absolute, all-encompassing being in which essence and existence coincide. In his system, nothing exists outside of God; all that is finite and infinite manifests and is comprehended in Him. For example, one of the sources states:"The meaning of all these (and other, in Spinoza’s works) proofs of God’s existence is ultimately identical: God as a substance, i.e. as an all-encompassing absolute being, is something in respect to which the question of existence or non-existence is utterly meaningless..." (source: link txt)This idea emphasizes that Spinoza’s concept of God does not imply the existence of anything outside God Himself, for everything exists in Him, and the highest notion is a self-caused substance (as is noted in other cited passages).As for the term "God of the godless," it is used in a polemical sense to denote the state of a person who, not fearing God, lives as though God does not exist. One source states:"A person who does not fear God is akin to a godless individual, for he lives as if he does not believe in the existence of God, not expecting God’s Last Judgment, the dreadful trial at the Judgment, and the eternal punishment in a flaming Gehenna..." (source: link txt)An additional fragment clarifies:"For just as the Antichrist will not fear God and will not wish to know Him, so too this [person who does not fear God] is as if he does not acknowledge that God is above him..." (source: link txt)Thus, in this context the term "God of the godless" is employed to characterize those who neglect recognizing or fearing God, leading to a life without the expectation of divine judgment and punishment. This opposition demonstrates that for Spinoza the true existence of God implies complete unity, while the absence of such a relationship amounts to living a life devoid of profound religious awareness.