Personifying reality

The Jewish people invented the approach of personifying reality. They were probably the first in history to cultivate a monotheistic religion.

The story where Moses asks God “when they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” and God answers “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14) was genial and revolutionary.

Monotheistic religions basically personify reality. They call it God and then start talking to it. And they imagine that this God communicates with them. If you define God like this, there is obviously one and only one God. Such a God must be the same for everybody.

God

The hypothetical unique being assumed by monotheistic religions as the creator of the world.

“God is not a person; God is a mythic personification of reality. If we miss this we miss everything.” – Rudolf Bultmann, “one of the major figures of early-20th-century biblical studies, a prominent critic of liberal theology (…) and a proponent of dialectical theology”

When you personify something, you must give it a name. See The name of God.