nothing
its weather
just like free will
let god in your heart
God
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Part of a series on
God[/b]
General approaches
Agnosticism ·
Atheism
Deism ·
Dystheism
Henotheism ·
Monism
Monotheism ·
Natural theology
Nontheism ·
Pandeism
Panendeism ·
Panentheism
Pantheism ·
Polytheism
Theism ·
Theology
Transtheism
Various issues
Chaos ·
Cosmos
Cosmic egg ·
Existence
God and gender ·
God complex
God the Sustainer ·
Spiritual evolution
Problem of evil ·
Euthyphro dilemma
Theodicy ·
Transcendence
Specific conceptions
Ahura Mazda
Alaha ·
Allah
Baal ·
Bhagavan
Demiurge .
Deus
Deva (Buddhism) ·
Deva (Hinduism)
God in Buddhism ·
God in Sikhism
Great Architect of the Universe ·
Holy Spirit
Holy Trinity ·
Jesus, the
Christ
Krishna ·
Monad
Nüwa 女媧 ·
Oneness (concept)
Pangu 盤古 ·
Shang Ti
SUMMUM ·
Supreme Being
Tetragrammaton ·
The Absolute
The All ·
Alpha and Omega
The Lord ·
The Creator
General practices
Animism ·
Esotericism
Gnosis ·
Hermeticism
Metaphysics ·
Mysticism
New Age ·
Philosophy
Religion
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This article discusses the term "God" in the context of monotheism and henotheism. See Deity, God (male deity) or Goddess for details on polytheistic usages. See God (disambiguation) for other uses.[/align]The name
God refers to the
deity held by
monotheists to be the supreme
reality. God is generally regarded as the sole
creator of the
universe.
[1] As of 2007, a majority of human beings are classified as adherents of religions that worship a
monotheistic God, usually the
Abrahamic God of
Judaism,
Christianity, and
Islam.
[2]
Theologians have ascribed certain attributes to God, including
omniscience,
omnipotence,
omnipresence,
perfect goodness,
divine simplicity, and
eternal and
necessary existence. God has been described as
incorporeal, a
personal being, a source of
moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent.
[1] These attributes were supported to varying degrees by the early
Christian,
Muslim, and
Jewish scholars, including
St Augustine,
[3] Al-Ghazali,
[4] and
Maimonides,
[3] respectively.
All the notable
medieval philosophers developed arguments for the
existence of God,
[4] attempting to wrestle with the
contradictions God's attributes seem to imply. The last few hundred years of philosophy have seen sustained attacks on some of the
arguments for God's existence, put forth by such philosophers as
Immanuel Kant,
David Hume and
Antony Flew, although Kant held that the
Argument from morality for the existence of God was valid. The
theist response has been either to contend, like
Alvin Plantinga, that faith is
properly basic; or to accept, like
Richard Swinburne, the
evidentialist challenge.
[5]
Contents[
hide][/align][ul]
1 Etymology and usage
2 Names of God
3 Conceptions of God
4 Theological approaches
[ul]
4.1 Theism and Deism [/ul]
5 History of monotheism
[ul]
5.1 Monotheism and pantheism
5.2 Speculative dilemmas [/ul]
6 Existence question
7 Scientific perspective
8 Opinion statistics
9 Popular culture
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links [/ul]
//
Etymology and usage
Main article: God (word)[/align]
The earliest written form of the Germanic word "god" comes from the 6th century
Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself descends from the Old English
guþ from the
Proto-Germanic *
ǥuđan. Most agree on the reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European form *ǵhu-tó-m, based on the root *ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to libate" or "to call, to
invoke".
The capitalized form "God" was first used in
Ulfilas' Gothic translation of the
New Testament, to represent the Greek
Theos, and the Latin
Deus (etymology "*
Dyeus"). Because the development of English orthography was dominated by Christian texts, the capitalization (hence
personalization and personal name) continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and the "gods" of pagan
polytheism.
The name "God" now typically refers to the
Abrahamic God of
Judaism (
El (god) YHVH),
Christianity (God), and
Islam (
Allah). Though there are significant cultural divergences that are implied by these different names, "God" remains the common English translation for all. The name may signify any related or similar monotheistic deities, such as the early monotheism of
Akhenaten and
Zoroastrianism.
In the context of
comparative religion, "God" is also often related to concepts of universal deity in
Dharmic religions, in spite of the historical distinctions which separate
monotheism from polytheism " a distinction which some, such as
Max Müller and
Joseph Campbell, have characterised as a
bias within
Western culture and theology.
Names of God
Main article: Names of God[/align]
The noun
God is the proper English name used for the deity of monotheistic faiths. Various English third-person pronouns are used for God, and the correctness of each is disputed. (See
God and gender.)
Different names for God exist within different religious traditions:
[ul][*]Abba is a name given to the Christian God. The name is used rarely and is in
Aramaic and
Hebrew the word for "daddy", an allusion to "God the Father".
[6][*]
Allah is the Arabic name of God, which is used by Muslims and also by most non-Muslim Arabs.
ilah, cognate to northwest Semitic
El (Hebrew "El" or more specifically "Eloha",
Aramaic "Eloi"), is the generic word for a god (any deity), Allah contains the Arabic definite article "Al", making the Name "Allah" literally mean "The One Worthy of Worship"
[7][8]. When speaking in English, Muslims often translate "Allah" as "God". One Islamic tradition states that Allah has
99 names, or attributes, while others say that all good names belong to Allah. Similarly, in the
Aramaic of Jesus, the word
Alaha is used for the name of God.[*]
Yahweh (Hebrew: 'Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay', יהוה ) are some of the names used for God in various translations of the Bible (all translating the same four letters -
YHVH). El, and the plural/capital form
Elohim, is another term used frequently, though
El can also simply mean
god in reference to deities of other religions.
Jehovah is believed to be a modern inaccurate transliteration of
Yahweh, which however has become popular in many circles. Others include El Shaddai,
Adonai,
Emmanuel. When Moses asked "What is your name?" he was given the answer
Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, which literally means, "I am that I am," as a parallel to the
Tetragrammaton Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay. See
The name of God in Judaism for Jewish names of God. Most Orthodox Jews, and many Jews of other denominations, believe it wrong to write the word "God" on any substance which can be destroyed. Therefore, they will write "G-d" or "Gd" as what they consider a more respectful symbolic representation. Others consider this unnecessary because English is not the "
Holy Language" (i.e. Hebrew), but still will not speak the Hebrew representation written in the
Torah, "Yud-Hay-Vav-Hay", aloud, and will instead use other names such as "Adonai" ("my Lord", used in
prayer, blessings and other religious rituals) or the euphemism "Hashem" (literally "The Name", used at all other times). Another name especially used by ultra-Orthodox Jews is "HaKadosh Baruch Hu", meaning "The Holy One, Blessed is He". [/ul]
YHWH, the name of God or
Tetragrammaton, in
Phoenician (1100 BC to AD 300),
Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts.[/align][/align][/align]
In early English Bibles, the Tetragrammaton was rendered in capitals: "IEHOUAH" in
William Tyndale's version of 1525. The
King James Version of 1611 renders
YHWH as "
The Lord", also as "Jehovah", see Psalms 83:18; Exodus 6:3.
Research in
comparative mythology shows a linguistic correlation between Levantine
Yaw and monotheistic Yahweh, suggesting that the god may in some manner be the predecessor in the sense of an evolving religion of
Yahweh.
[ul][*]
Elohim as "God" (with the plural suffix
-im, but used with singular agreement); sometimes used to mean "gods" or apparently mortal judges.[*]The
Holy Trinity (one God in three Persons, the God the Father, the God the Son (
Jesus Christ), and God the
Holy Ghost/
Holy Spirit) denotes God in almost all Christianity. Arab Christians will often also use "Allah" (the noun for "God" in Arabic) to refer to God.
[citation needed] [/ul]
[ul][*]
Deus, cognate of the Greek θ*ος (theos, '(male) deity') is the
Latin word for God, and will be used in Latin portions of
Roman Catholic masses.
[1] [/ul]
[ul][*]God is called
Igzi'abihier (lit. "Lord of the Universe") or
Amlak (lit. the plural of
mlk, "king" or "lord") in the
Ethiopian Orthodox Church.[*]
Jah is the name of God in the
Rastafari movement, referring specifically to
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia.[*]The
Maasai name for "God" is
Ngai, (also spelled:'Ngai, En-kai, Enkai, Engai, Eng-ai) which occurs in the
volcano name
Ol Doinyo Lengai ("the mountain of God").[*]The
Mi'kmaq name for "God" is
Niskam.[*]Some churches (
United Church of Canada,
Religious Science) are using "the One" alongside "God" as a more gender-neutral way of referring to God (See also
Oneness).[*]Baquan is a phonetical pronunciation for God in several Pacific Islander religions. [/ul]
[/align]
Aum[/align][/align][/align][ul][*]
Bhagavan - "The Opulent One",
Brahman -"The Great",
Paramatma - "The Supersoul" and
Ishvara- "The Controller", are the terms used for God in the
Vedas. A number of
Hindu traditions worship a personal form of God or
Ishvara, such as
Vishnu or
Shiva, whereas others worship a non-personal Supreme Cosmic Spirit, known as
Brahman. The
Vaishnava schools consider
Vishnu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead and within this tradition is the
Vishnu sahasranama, which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God (Vishnu).
Shaivites consider
Shiva as the Supreme God in similar way to the followers of Vaishnavism. The Supreme Ishvara of Hinduism must not be confused with the numerous deities or demigods which are collectively known as
devas.[*]
Buddhism is non-theistic (see
God in Buddhism): instead of extolling an anthropomorphic creator God,
Gautama Buddha employed
negative theology to avoid speculation and keep the undefined as
ineffable[citation needed]. Buddha believed the more important issue was to bring beings out of suffering to liberation. Enlightened ones are called
Arhats or Buddha (e.g, the
Buddha Sakyamuni), and are venerated. A
bodhisattva is an altruistic being who has vowed to attain Buddhahood in order to help others to become Awakened ("Buddha") too. Buddhism also teaches of the existence of the
devas or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in celestial states of great happiness but are not yet free from the cycle of reincarnations (
samsara). Some
Mahayana and Tantra Buddhist scriptures do express ideas which are extremely close to pantheism, with a cosmic Buddha (
Adibuddha) being viewed as the sustaining Ground of all being - although this is very much a minority vision within Buddhism.[*]
Jains invoke the five paramethis:
Siddha,
Arahant,
Acharya,
Upadhyaya,
Sadhu. The arhantas include the 24
Tirthankaras from
Lord Rishabha to
Mahavira. But Jain philosophy as such does not recognize any Supreme Omnipotent creator God.[*]
Sikhs worship God with these common names
Waheguru Wondrous God, Satnaam (True is Your Name), Akal (the Eternal) or Onkar (some similarity to the Hindu
Aum). They believe that when reciting these names, devotion, dedication and a genuine appreciation and acceptance of the Almighty and the blessings thereof (as opposed to mechanical recitation) is essential if one is to gain anything by the meditation. The assistance of the
guru is also believed to be essential to reach God.[*]In
Surat Shabda Yoga, names used for God include
Anami Purush (nameless power) and
Radha Swami (lord of the soul, symbolized as
Radha).[*]The
Bahá'* Faith refers to God using the local word for God in whatever language is being spoken. In the Bahá'* Writings in Arabic, Allah is used. Bahá'*s share some naming traditions with Islam, but see "Bahá" (Glory or Splendour) as The
Greatest Name of God. God's names are seen as attributes, and God is often, in prayers, referred to by these titles and attributes.[*]The
Shona people of
Zimbabwe refer to God primarily as Mwari. They also use names such as Nyadenga in reference to his presumed residence in the 'heveans', or Musikavanhu, literally "the Creator".[*]
Zoroastrians worship
Ahura Mazda.[*]To many
Native American religions, God is called "The Great Spirit", "The Master of Life", "The Master of Breath", or "Grandfather". For example, in the
Algonquian first nations culture, Gitche Manitou or "Great Spirit" was the name adopted by French missionaries for the Christian God. Other similar names may also be used.[*]Followers of
Eckankar refer to God as SUGMAD or HU; the latter name is pronounced as a spiritual practice.[*]In Chinese, the name
Shang Ti 上帝 (
Hanyu Pinyin: sh*ng dì) (literally
King Above), is the name given for God in the
Standard Mandarin Union Version of the
Bible.
Shen 神 (lit.
spirit, or
deity) was also adopted by
Protestant missionaries in China to refer to the Christian God.[*]Principle, Mind, Soul, Life, Truth, Love, and Spirit are names for God in
Christian Science.
[9] These names are considered synonymous and indicative of God's wholeness.[*]
Khoda is a word for God in
Farsi. [/ul]
Conceptions of God
[/align]A Christian depiction of God according to
16th Century painter
Michelangelo. Detail of
Sistine Chapel fresco
Creation of the Sun and Moon[/align][/align][/align]
Main article: Conceptions of God[/align]
Conceptions of God can vary widely, despite the use of the same term for them all. Theologians and philosophers have studied countless conceptions of God since the dawn of civilization. The
Abrahamic conceptions of God include the
trinitarian view of Christians, the
Kabbalistic definition of Jewish mysticism, and the
Islamic concept of God. The
dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine, ranging from the almost polytheistic view of
God in Hinduism to the almost non-theist view of
God in Buddhism. In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as
process theology and
open theism.
Theological approaches
Main article: Theology[/align]
Theologians and philosophers have ascribed a number of attributes to God, including
omniscience,
omnipotence,
omnipresence, perfect
goodness, divine
simplicity, and
eternal and
necessary existence. God has been described as
incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all
moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent.
[1] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early
Jewish,
Christian and
Muslim scholars, including
St Augustine,
[3] Al-Ghazali,
[4] and
Maimonides.
[3]
Many
medieval philosophers developed arguments for the
existence of God,
[4] while attempting to comprehend the precise implications of God's attributes. Reconciling some of those attributes generated important philosophical problems and debates. For example, God's omniscience implies that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, their apparent
free will might be illusory, or foreknowledge does not imply predestination; and if God does not know it, God is not omniscient.
[10]
The last few hundred years of philosophy have seen sustained attacks on the
ontological,
cosmological, and
teleological arguments for God's existence. Against these,
theists (or
fideists) argue that
faith is not a product of
reason, but requires
risk. There would be no risk, they say, if the arguments for God's existence were as solid as the laws of logic, a position famously summed up by
Pascal as: "The heart has reasons which reason knows not of."
[11]
Theologians attempt to explicate (and in some cases systematize) beliefs; some express their own experience of the divine. Theologians ask questions such as, "What is the nature of God?" "What does it mean for God to be singular?" "If people believe in God as a duality or trinity, what do these terms signify?" "Is God transcendent, immanent, or some mix of the two?" "What is the relationship between God and the universe, and God and humankind?"
[citation needed]
Most major religions hold God not as a metaphor, but a being that influences our day-to-day existences. This is to say that people who have rejected the teachings of such religions typically view God as a metaphor or stand-in for the common aspirations and beliefs all humans share,
[citation needed] rather than a sentient part of life; whereas organized religion tends to believe the opposite. Many believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as
angels,
saints,
djinni,
demons, and
devas.
Theism and Deism
Theism holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal, and is personal, interested and answers prayer. It holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world. Catholic theology holds that God is
infinitely simple and is not involuntarily subject to time. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or benevolence.
Open Theism, by contrast, asserts that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future. "Theism" is sometimes used to refer in general to any belief in a god or gods, i.e., monotheism or polytheism.
Deism holds that God is wholly
transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it. In this view, God is not
anthropomorphic, and does not literally answer prayers or cause miracles to occur. Common in Deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity and may not even be aware of humanity.
Pandeism and
Panendeism, respectively, combine Deism with the Pantheistic or Panentheistic beliefs discussed below.
History of monotheism
Main article: Monotheism[/align]
[/align]16th century depiction of
Genesis (
Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel): God creates
Adam. The concept of God as a singular patriarchal "
Father [of all creation]" is common in
Western culture (
Abrahamic) monotheism.[/align][/align][/align]Many historians of religion hold that monotheism may be of relatively recent historical origins " although comparison is difficult as many religions claim to be ancient. Native religions of
China and
India have concepts of
panentheistic views of God that are difficult to classify along
Western notions of monotheism vs.
polytheism.
In the
Ancient Orient, many cities had their own local god, although this henotheistic worship of a single god did not imply denial of the existence of other gods. The
Hebrew Ark of the Covenant is supposed (by some scholars) to have adapted this practice to a
nomadic lifestyle, paving their way for a singular God. Yet, many scholars now believe that it may have been the
Zoroastrian religion of the
Persian Empire that was the first monotheistic religion, and the Jews were influenced by such notions (this controversy is still being debated)
[2].
The innovative cult of the Egyptian solar god
Aten was promoted by the
pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenophis IV), who ruled between 1358 and 1340 BC. The Aten cult is often cited as the earliest known example of monotheism, and is sometimes claimed to have been a formative influence on early Judaism, due to the presence of Hebrew slaves in Egypt. But even though
Akhenaten's
hymn to Aten offers strong evidence that Akhenaten considered Aten to be the sole, omnipotent creator, Akhenaten's program to enforce this monotheistic world-view ended with his death; the worship of other gods beside Aten never ceased outside his court, and the older polytheistic religions soon regained precedence.
Other early examples of monotheism include two late
rigvedic hymns (10.129,130) to a
Panentheistic creator god,
Shri Rudram, a
Vedic hymn to
Rudra, an earlier aspect of Shiva often referred to by the ancient Brahmans as Stiva, a masculine fertility god, which expressed
monistic theism, and is still chanted today; the
Zoroastrian Ahuramazda and Chinese
Shang Ti. The worship of polytheistic gods, on the other hand, is seen by many to predate monotheism, reaching back as far as the
Paleolithic. Today, monotheistic religions are dominant in the many parts of the world, though other systems of belief continue to be prevalent.
Monotheism and pantheism
Monotheism holds that there is only one God, and/or that the one true God is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all religions are actually worshiping the same God, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in
Hinduism.
[12] Adherents of different religions, however, generally disagree as to how to best
worship God and what is
God's plan for mankind. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are the
chosen people or have exclusive access to
absolute truth, generally through
revelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view is
religious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity is
supersessionism, i.e., the belief the one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is
relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example in Christianity is
universalism: the doctrine that
salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is
syncretism, mixing different elements from different religion. An example of syncretism is the
New Age movement.
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God.
Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. The distinctions between the two are subtle, and some consider them unhelpful. It is also the view of the
Liberal Catholic Church,
Theosophy, Hinduism, some divisions of Buddhism, and
Taoism, along with many varying denominations and individuals within denominations.
Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a pantheistic/panentheistic view of God " which has wide acceptance in
Hasidic Judaism, particularly from their founder
The Baal Shem Tov " but only as an addition to the Jewish view of a personal god, not in the original pantheistic sense that denies or limits persona to God.
Speculative dilemmas
Dystheism is a form of theism which holds that God is malevolent as a consequence of the
problem of evil. There is no known community of practicing dystheists. See also
Satanism.
Nontheism holds that the universe can be explained without any reference to the supernatural, or to a supernatural being. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. Many schools of
Buddhism may be considered non-theistic.
Existence question
Main article: Existence of God[/align]
Many arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed and rejected by philosophers, theologians, and other thinkers. In
philosophical terminology, existence of God arguments concern schools of thought on the
epistemology of the
ontology of God.
There are many philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. Some definitions of God are so nonspecific that it is certain that
something exists that meets the definition; while other definitions are apparently self-contradictory. Arguments for the existence of God typically include metaphysical, empirical, inductive, and subjective types. Arguments against the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Conclusions reached include: "God exists and this can be proven"; "God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (
theism in both cases); "God does not exist" (
atheism); and "no one knows whether God exists" (
agnosticism). There are numerous variations on these positions.
Scientific perspective
Main article: Relationship between religion and science[/align]
There is a lack of consensus as to the appropriate scientific treatment of religious questions, such as those of the
existence,
nature and properties of God"mainly because of the lack of a common definition of God. A major point of debate has been whether God's existence or attributes can be empirically tested or gauged.
Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world into what he called "
non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA). In this view, questions of the
supernatural, such as those relating to the
existence and
nature of God, are non-
empirical and are the proper domain of
theology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. The lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world. Another view, advanced by
Richard Dawkins, is that the existence of God is an empirical question, on the grounds that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference."
[13] A third view is that of
scientism: any question which cannot be defined can not be answered by science and is therefore either nonsensical or is not worth asking, on the grounds that only empirically answerable questions make sense and are worth attention.
Opinion statistics
[/align]The percentage of people in European countries who said in 2005 that they believe in God. Countries with
Catholic or
Muslim majorities tend to poll highest.[/align][/align][/align]
Main articles: List of religious populations and Demographics of atheism[/align]
As of 2005, approximately 54% of the world's population identifies with one of the three monotheistic Abrahamic religions. 15% identified as non-religious.
[14] A 1995 survey showed similar numbers for the non-religious, though on the specific question of belief in God, only 3.8% identified as atheist.
[15]
Popular culture
God, as a humanized figure, usually taking the form of a man, has often appeared as a
character in various works of fiction such as movies, books, and television shows. Though depictions vary, God is usually portrayed as wise, old sage, with a patient and calm personality. In
cartoons God is usually depicted as a
caricature of Michelangelo's classic painting.
See also:
[ul][*][link=htt
god
