Judeo-Christian Ideas on God

God as a Creator

Judeo-Christian tradition believes God is a creator and this view is taken for granted, as evidenced in the first line of the Apostle's Creed: "I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and Earth.
There are a few key things meant when God is described as a creator: that God caused the universe's existence, that God is responsible for sustaining it's existence, and that God is responsible for everything that exists in the universe.
The belief in God as a creator centres on his creating the Earth in Genesis. This shows how God caused everything that is alive today to come into existence.
God created the world creatio ex nihlo (literally: from nothing) in Genesis 1 which demonstrates his complete power as a creator.
In Job, God is pictured laying the foundations of the earth.
In Isiaiah 40, God is described as looking over creation and reducing princes to nothing. People are compared to grasshoppers in the sight of God. This shows how God watches over and sustains his creation.
Thomas Aquinas--whether the world has a beginning or an end is not a major issue, the most important thing is that God causes existence.

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God was originally pictured as shaping pre-existent, unformed matter. In Genesis 1 God's spirit hovers over a formless void and controls the chaos of the waters. This demonstrates his role as a craftsman.
John Day--God's control of the waters is simply a job of work. By this, Day is suggesting that God's primary role was that of a craftsman.
In Genesis 2, God is depicted creating Adam from dust, an act which is likened to a potter shaping clay. He also fashions Eve from Adam's rib. This is a further example of God shaping pre-existent matter, and so also demonstrates his role as a craftsman.
God as a craftsman is particularly apparent in Job 38, where God is described as laying the 'foundations' of the earth, deciding it's dimensions and laying the pillars on which it is supported.
An image which likens some aspect of God's nature to that of a human being is called anthropomorphic.
The descriptions of God as a 'potter' etc. are purely allegorical.

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