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[[Category:Definitions]]
[[Category:Deities, Spirits, and Mythic Beings]]
'''God''' is often conceived as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.<ref name=Swinburne>Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995.</ref> The concept of God as described by theologians commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect goodness), divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God or in the oneness of God. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is purported not to exist, while deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism.  God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".<ref name=Swinburne/> Many notable medieval philosophers and modern philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.<ref name="Platinga" />


There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,<ref>Jan Assmann, ''Religion and Cultural Memory: Ten Studies'', Stanford University Press 2005, p.59</ref> premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.<ref>M. Lichtheim, ''Ancient Egyptian Literature'', Vol.2, 1980, p.96</ref> In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is," "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH are used as names of God, while Yahweh, and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.<ref name="freud">Freud, S. (1939). Moses and Monotheism: Three Essays.</ref><ref>Gunther Siegmund Stent, ''Paradoxes of Free Will''. American Philosophical Society, DIANE, 2002. 284 pages. Pages 34 - 38. ISBN 0-87169-926-5</ref><ref>Jan Assmann, ''Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism''. Harvard University Press, 1997. 288 pages. ISBN 0-674-58739-1</ref><ref>N. Shupak, ''The Monotheism of Moses and the Monotheism of Akhenaten''. Sevivot, 1995.</ref><ref>William F. Albright, ''From the Patriarchs to Moses II. Moses out of Egypt''. The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 36, No. 2 (May, 1973), pp. 48-76. doi 10.2307/3211050</ref> In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El," or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.<ref>Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity - Page 136, Michael P. Levine - 2002</ref> Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,<ref>A Feast for the Soul: Meditations on the Attributes of God : ... - Page x, Baháʾuʾlláh, Joyce Watanabe - 2006</ref> Waheguru in Sikhism,<ref>Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism - Page ix, Kartar Singh Duggal - 1988</ref> and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.<ref>The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam confidently with the cultured class, David S. Kidder, Noah D. Oppenheim, page 364</ref>


This article is about the term "God" in the context of monotheism and henotheism. For other uses, see the external links below.
The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,<ref name="Lataster">{{cite book |author= Raphael Lataster |title= There was no Jesus, there is no God: A Scholarly Examination of the Scientific, Historical, and Philosophical Evidence & Arguments for Monotheism |page= 165 |year= 2013 |ISBN= 1492234419 |quote= This one god could be of the deistic or pantheistic sort. Deism might be superior in explaining why God has seemingly left us to our own devices and pantheism could be the more logical option as it fits well with the ontological argument's 'maximally-great entity' and doesn't rely on unproven concepts about 'nothing' (as in 'creation out of nothing'). A mixture of the two, pandeism, could be the most likely God-concept of all.}}</ref><ref name ="Dawe">{{cite book |title= The God Franchise: A Theory of Everything |author = Alan H. Dawe |year = 2011 |ISBN = 0473201143 |page = 48 |quote = Pandeism: This is the belief that God created the universe, is now one with it, and so, is no longer a separate conscious entity. This is a combination of pantheism (God is identical to the universe) and deism (God created the universe and then withdrew Himself).
}}</ref>
or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of him."<ref>
''Christianity and Other Religions'', by John Hick and Brian Hebblethwaite. 1980. Page 178.</ref>




'''God''' is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the ''sole'' deity in monotheism, or a ''principal'' deity in polytheism.<ref name=Swinburne>Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995.</ref>
== Etymology and Usage ==
[[File:Creation of the Sun and Moon face detail.jpg|thumb|upright|Detail of Sistine Chapel fresco ''Creation of the Sun and Moon'' by Michelangelo (c. 1512), a well-known example of the depiction of God the Father in Western art]]
The earliest written form of the Germanic word ''God'' (always, in this usage, capitalized<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/god|title='God' in Merriam-Webster (online)|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc.|accessdate=2012-07-19}}</ref>) comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ''ǥuđan''. Most linguists agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".<ref>The ulterior etymology is disputed. Apart from the unlikely hypothesis of adoption from a foreign tongue, the OTeut. "ghuba" implies as its preTeut-type either "*ghodho-m" or "*ghodto-m". The former does not appear to admit of explanation; but the latter would represent the neut. pple. of a root "gheu-". There are two Aryan roots of the required form ("*g,heu-" with palatal aspirate) one with meaning 'to invoke' (Skr. "hu") the other 'to pour, to offer sacrifice' (Skr "hu", Gr. χεηi;ν, OE "geotàn" Yete v). OED Compact Edition, G, p. 267</ref> The Germanic words for ''God'' were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.<ref name=BARNHART323>Barnhart, Robert K (1995). ''The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology: the Origins of American English Words'', page 323. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270084-7</ref>


God is most often conceived of as the [[supernatural]] [[creator deity|creator]] and overseer of the [[universe]]. [[Theology|Theologians]] have ascribed a variety of attributes to the many different [[conceptions of God]]. The most common among these include [[omniscience]], [[omnipotence]], [[omnipresence]], [[omnibenevolence]] (perfect [[good and evil|goodness]]), [[divine simplicity]], and eternal and necessary existence. God has also been conceived as being [[incorporeal]], a [[personal god|personal]] being, the source of all [[moral obligation]], and the "greatest conceivable existent".<ref name=Swinburne/> These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early [[Judaism|Jewish]], [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Islam|Muslim]] theologian philosophers, including [[Maimonides]],<ref name=Edwards /> [[Augustine of Hippo]],<ref name=Edwards>[[Paul Edwards (philosopher)|Edwards, Paul]]. "God and the philosophers" in [[Ted Honderich|Honderich, Ted]]. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', [[Oxford University Press]], 1995.</ref> and [[Al-Ghazali]],<ref name=Platinga>[[Alvin Plantinga|Platinga, Alvin]]. "God, Arguments for the Existence of," ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', Routledge, 2000.</ref> respectively. Many notable [[medieval philosophy|medieval philosophers]] developed [[argument]]s for the [[existence of God]],<ref name="Plantinga" /> attempting to wrestle with the apparent [[contradiction]]s implied by many of these attributes.
In the English language, the capitalized form of ''God'' continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.<ref>Webster's New World Dictionary; "God n. ME < OE, akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base * ĝhau-, to call out to, invoke > Sans havaté, (he) calls upon; 1. any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, esp. a male deity: typically considered objects of worship; 2. an image that is worshiped; idol 3. a person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired; 4. [G-] in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; Supreme Being; the Almighty"
</ref><ref>
[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/God Dictionary.com]; "God /gɒd/ noun: 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. 2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute. 3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. 4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the God of mercy. 5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. 6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol. 7. (lowercase) any deified person or object. 8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. 8a. the upper balcony in a theater. 8b. the spectators in this part of the balcony."
</ref>
The English word ''God'' and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew ''El'', but  in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, |Yahweh.
In many translations of the Bible, when the word ''LORD'' is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.<ref name=Barton2006>{{cite book|author = Barton, G.A.|year = 2006|title = A Sketch of Semitic Origins: Social and Religious|publisher = Kessinger Publishing|isbn = 1-4286-1575-X
}}</ref> ''Allāh'' (الله‎) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" ('''إله''') is the term used for a deity or a god in general.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html |title=God |work=Islam: Empire of Faith |publisher=PBS|accessdate=2010-12-18}}</ref><ref>"Islam and Christianity", ''Encyclopedia of Christianity'' (2001): Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God as ''Allāh''.</ref><ref>L. Gardet. "Allah". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online.</ref> God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.<ref name = "Hastings541">Hastings 2003, p. 540</ref>
 
 
== General Conceptions ==
There is no clear consensus on the nature of God.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Froese|first=Paul|author2=Christopher Bader|title=Does God Matter? A Social-Science Critique|journal=Harvard Divinity Bulletin|date=Fall–Winter 2004|volume=32|series=4}}</ref> The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God.
The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic to atheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.
 
=== Oneness ===
Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism<ref>See Swami Bhaskarananda, ''Essentials of Hinduism'' (Viveka Press 2002) ISBN 1-884852-04-1</ref> and Sikhism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=1350&english=t&id=57718 |title=Sri Guru Granth Sahib |publisher=Sri Granth |accessdate=2011-06-30}}</ref>
 
In Christianity, most Christians believe in Trinitarian monotheism, known simply as the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity defines God as one God in three persons. The Trinity is composed of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whataboutjesus.com/grace/actions-god-series/what-trinity?page=0,0|title=What Is the Trinity?}}</ref>
 
Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhīd (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Qur'an as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."<ref>Quran 112:1–4</ref><ref>D. Gimaret. "Allah, Tawhid". Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.</ref> Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.<ref>{{cite book|author = Robyn Lebron|year = 2012|title = Searching for Spiritual Unity...Can There Be Common Ground?|publisher = |isbn = 1-4627-1262-2|page = 117}}</ref>
 
Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.<ref>Müller, Max. (1878) ''Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion: As Illustrated by the Religions of India.'' London:Longmans, Green and Co.</ref>
 
=== Theism, Deism and Pantheism ===
Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.<ref name=smart>{{cite book|last=Smart|first=Jack|author2=John Haldane|title=Atheism and Theism|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2003|isbn=0-631-23259-1|page=8}}</ref> Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.<ref name=lemos>{{cite book|last=Lemos|first=Ramon M.|title=A Neomedieval Essay in Philosophical Theology|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2001|isbn=0-7391-0250-8|page=34}}</ref> Not all theists subscribe to all the above propositions, but they usually subscribe to a fair number of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).<ref name=smart /> 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.<ref name="philosofrelGlossthe">{{cite web|url=http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/definitions.html|title=Philosophy of Religion.info – Glossary – Theism, Atheism, and Agonisticism|publisher=Philosophy of Religion.info|accessdate=2008-07-16|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20080424071443/http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/definitions.html|archivedate=2008-04-24}}</ref><ref name="TFDtheism">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/theism|title=Theism – definition of theism by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia|publisher=TheFreeDictionary|accessdate=2008-07-16}}</ref>
 
Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.<ref name=lemos /> 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.<ref name ="Dawe"/><ref>{{cite book |title= The History of Science: A Beginner's Guide |author = Sean F. Johnston |year = 2009 |ISBN = 1-85168-681-9 |page = 90 |quote = In its most abstract form, deism may not attempt to describe the characteristics of such a non-interventionist creator, or even that the universe is identical with God (a variant known as pandeism).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= This Strange Eventful History: A Philosophy of Meaning |author = Paul Bradley |year = 2011 |ISBN = 0875868762 |page = 156 |quote = Pandeism combines the concepts of Deism and Pantheism with a god who creates the universe and then becomes it.}}</ref> Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,<ref name="Fuller">{{cite book |title= Thought: The Only Reality |author = Allan R. Fuller |year = 2010 |ISBN = 1608445909 |page = 79 |quote = Pandeism is another belief that states that God is identical to the universe, but God no longer exists in a way where He can be contacted; therefore, this theory can only be proven to exist by reason. Pandeism views the entire universe as being from God and now the universe is the entirety of God, but the universe at some point in time will fold back into one single being which is God Himself that created all. Pandeism raises the question as to why would God create a universe and then abandon it? As this relates to pantheism, it raises the question of how did the universe come about what is its aim and purpose?}}</ref> and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.<ref name="Fuller"/><ref>{{cite book |title= Ultimate Truth, Book 1 |author = Peter C. Rogers |year = 2009 |ISBN = 1438979681 |page = 121 |quote = As with Panentheism, Pantheism is derived from the Greek: 'pan'= all and 'theos' = God, it literally means “God is All” and “All is God.” Pantheist purports that everything is part of an all-inclusive, indwelling, intangible God; or that the Universe, or nature, and God are the same. Further review helps to accentuate the idea that natural law, existence, and the Universe which is the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be, is represented in the theological principle of an abstract 'god' rather than an individual, creative Divine Being or Beings of any kind. This is the key element which distinguishes them from Panentheists and Pandeists. As such, although many religions may claim to hold Pantheistic elements, they are more commonly Panentheistic or Pandeistic in nature.}}</ref>


== Etymology and usage ==
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church, Theosophy, some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism, Sikhism, some divisions of Neopaganism 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.
The earliest written form of the Germanic word ''god'' comes from the 6th century [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Codex Argenteus]]. The English word itself is derived from the [[Proto-Germanic]] * ''ǥuđan''. Most linguists agree that the reconstructed [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] form {{PIE|* ǵhu-tó-m}} was based on the root {{PIE|* ǵhau(ə)-}}, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".<ref>The ulterior etymology is disputed. Apart from the unlikely hypothesis of adoption from a foreign tongue, the OTeut. "ghuba" implies as its preTeut-type either "*ghodho-m" or "*ghodto-m". The former does not appear to admit of explanation; but the latter would represent the neut. pple. of a root "gheu-". There are two Aryan roots of the required form ("*g,heu-" with palatal aspirate) one with meaning 'to invoke' (Skr. "hu") the other 'to pour, to offer sacrifice' (Skr "hu", Gr. χεηi;ν, OE "geot&agrave;n" Yete v). [[Oxford English Dictionary|OED Compact Edition, G, p. 267]]</ref>


The capitalized form ''God'' was first used in [[Wulfila]]'s Gothic translation of the [[New Testament]], to represent the Greek ''[[Theos]]''.  In the [[English language]], the capitalization continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in [[polytheism]].<ref>[[Webster's New World Dictionary]]; "god n. ME < OE, akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base * ĝhau-, to call out to, invoke > Sans havaté, (he) calls upon; 1. any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, esp. a male deity: typically considered objects of worship; 2. an image that is worshiped; idol 3. a person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired; 4. [G-] in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; [[Supreme Being]]; the Almighty </ref><ref> Dictionary.com Dictionary.com; "God /gɒd/ noun: 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. 2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute. 3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. 4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the god of mercy. 5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. 6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol. 7. (lowercase) any deified person or object. 8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. 8a. the upper balcony in a theater. 8b. the spectators in this part of the balcony.</ref> In spite of significant differences between religions such as [[Christianity]], [[Islam]], [[Hinduism]], the [[Bahá'í Faith]], and [[Judaism]], the term "God" remains an English translation common to all. The name may signify any related or similar monotheistic deities, such as the early monotheism of [[Akhenaten]] and [[Zoroastrianism]].
=== Other Concepts ===
Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's ''The Brothers Karamazov'', in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.<ref>[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28054/28054-h/28054-h.html The Project Gutenberg EBook of ''The Brothers Karamazov'' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky] pp259-261</ref> Another example would be Theistic Satanism.


== Names of God ==
In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.<ref>{{cite book|last=Henry|first=Michel|title=I am the Truth. Toward a philosophy of Christianity|publisher=Stanford University Press|year=2003|isbn=0-8047-3780-0|others=Translated by Susan Emanuel}}</ref>


[[Conceptions of God]] can vary widely, but the word [[God (word)|God]] in English—and its counterparts in other languages, such  as Latinate ''[[Deus]]'', Greek [[Θεός]], Slavic ''Bog'', Sanskrit ''[[Ishvara]]'', or Arabic ''[[Allah]]''—are normally used for any and all conceptions. The same holds for Hebrew ''[[El (god)|El]]'', but  [[names of God in Judaism|in Judaism]], God is also given a proper name, the [[tetragrammaton]] (usually reconstructed as ''[[Yahweh]]'' or YHWH), believed to hark back to the religion's [[henotheistic]] origins. In the [[Bible]], when the word "LORD" is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.<ref name=Barton2006>{{cite book
God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".<ref name=Swinburne/> These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,<ref name=Edwards /> Augustine of Hippo,<ref name=Edwards>Edwards, Paul. "God and the philosophers" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN=978-1-61592-446-2.</ref> and Al-Ghazali,<ref name=Platinga>Platinga, Alvin. "God, Arguments for the Existence of", ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', Routledge, 2000.</ref> respectively.
|author = Barton, G.A.
|year = 2006
|title = A Sketch of Semitic Origins: Social and Religious
|publisher = Kessinger Publishing
|isbn = 142861575X
}}</ref> God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the [[personal god|personal nature of God]], with early references to his name as [[Krishna]]-[[Vasudeva]] in [[Bhagavata]] or later [[Vishnu]] and [[Hari]],<ref name = "Hastings541">{{Harvnb|Hastings|2003|p=540|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Kaz58z--NtUC&pg=PA540&vq=Krishna&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&sig=lo3NqA31k8hJZw7qNc9QDEAYyYA}}</ref> or recently [[Shakti]].


It is difficult to draw a line between proper names and [[epitheta]] of God, such as the [[names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament]], the [[names of God in the Qur'an]], and the various  lists of [[Sahasranama|thousand names of God]] and [[List of titles and names of Krishna]] in Vaishnavism.


Throughout the Bible there are many names for God that portray his nature and character. ''Elohim'' means “strong one.” It is especially used of God’s sovereignty, creative work, mighty work for Israel and in relation to his sovereignty (<ref>Isa. 54:5</ref><ref>http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isa.%2054:5&version=31</ref>; Jer. 32:27; Gen. 1:1; Isa. 45:18; Deut. 5:23; 8:15; Ps. 68:7). El Shaddai “God Almighty.” (Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:31; Ps. 91:1, 2).  El Elyon means  “The Most High God” and stresses God’s strength, sovereignty, and supremacy (Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25).
== Non-theistic Views of God ==
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. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";<ref>"A Plea for Atheism. By 'Iconoclast', London, Austin & Co., 1876, p. 2.</ref> he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian God. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy 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 metaphysics|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. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.<ref>{{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |year=2006 |publisher=Bantam Press |location=Great Britain |isbn=0-618-68000-4}}</ref>


== Conceptions of God ==
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."<ref name="Dawkins" /> Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Demon Haunted World p.278 |last=Sagan |first=Carl |year=1996 |publisher=Ballantine Books |location=New York |isbn=0-345-40946-9}}</ref>
[[Image:Creation of the Sun and Moon face detail.jpg|thumb|200px|Detail of [[Sistine Chapel]] fresco ''Creation of the Sun and Moon'' by [[Michelangelo]] (completed in 1512).]]
Conceptions of God vary widely.  Theologians and philosophers have studied countless conceptions of God since the dawn of civilization. The [[Abrahamic conceptions of God]] include the [[trinity|trinitarian]] view of [[Christians]], the [[Kabbalistic definition of God|Kabbalistic definition]] of [[Jewish]] mysticism, and the [[Islamic concept of God]]. The [[dharmic religions]] differ in their view of the divine: views of [[God in Hinduism]] vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic to atheistic; the view of [[God in Buddhism]] is almost non-theist. In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as [[process theology]] and [[open theism]].  Conceptions of God held by individual believers vary so widely that there is no clear consensus on the nature of God.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.hds.harvard.edu/news/bulletin/articles/does_god_matter.html | title=DOES GOD MATTER? A Social-Science Critique | work=by Paul Froese and Christopher Bader | accessdate=2007-05-28}}</ref> The contemporaneous French philosopher [[Michel Henry]] has however proposed a [[Phenomenological definition of God|phenomenological approach and definition of God]] as [[phenomenology|phenomenological]] essence of [[Phenomenological life|Life]].<ref>Michel Henry : ''I am the Truth. Toward a philosophy of Christianity'' (Stanford University Press, 2002)</ref>


== Existence of God ==
Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, ''The Grand Design'', that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.<ref>{{cite book|page=172|title=The Grand Design|author=Stephen Hawking|author2=Leonard Mlodinow|publisher=Bantam Books|year=2010|isbn=978-0-553-80537-6}}</ref>
Many arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed and rejected by philosophers, theologians, and other thinkers. In [[Philosophy|philosophical]] terminology, such 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 sometimes nonspecific, while other definitions can be self-contradictory. Arguments for the existence of God typically include metaphysical, empirical, inductive, and subjective types, while others revolve around holes in evolutionary theory and order and complexity in the [[world]]. 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" ([[Weak and strong atheism|strong atheism]]); "God almost certainly does not exist"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins/why-there-almost-certainl_b_32164.html|title=Why There Almost Certainly Is No God|Publisher=Richard Dawkins, The Huffington Post}}</ref> (''de facto'' [[atheism]]); and "no one knows whether God exists" ([[agnosticism]]). There are numerous variations on these positions.
=== Anthropomorphism ===
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.<ref name="boyer">{{cite book|title=Religion Explained,|isbn=0-465-00696-5|year=2001|last=Boyer|first=Pascal|url=http://books.google.com/?id=wreF80OHTicC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=boyer+modern+soap+opera|pages=142–243|publisher=Basic Books|location=New York}}</ref>
Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.<ref name="ducasteljurgensen">{{cite book|title=Computer Theology,|isbn=0-9801821-1-5|publisher= Midori Press|location= Austin, Texas|year=2008|last= du Castel|first= Bertrand|author2=Jurgensen, Timothy M.|pages=221–222}}</ref>
Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.yale.edu/cogdevlab/People/Lab_Members/Frank/Frank%27s%20papers%20pdfs%20/Frank%27s%20articles/conceptualizingnonnaturalentity.pdf
|format=PDF|title=Conceptualizing a Nonnatural Entity: Anthropomorphism in God Concepts|year=1996|last=Barrett|first=Justin}}</ref>


<!-- THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH IS BASED ON RELIABLE SOURCES FROM THE INTELLIGENT DESIGN ARTICLE.  
Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.<ref name="supernature">{{cite journal|last=Rossano|first=Matt|title=Supernaturalizing Social Life: Religion and the Evolution of Human Cooperation|year=2007|url=http://www2.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/mrossano/recentpubs/Supernaturalizing.pdf|format=PDF}}</ref>
Please do not modify this section without consulting the sources cited in the main article on [[intelligent design]] as well as the [[Talk:Intelligent design/FAQ]]. -->
A recent argument for the  existence of God is ''[[intelligent design]]'',<ref>{{cite book  | last =  Numbers | first =  Ronald L. | authorlink = Ronald L. Numbers | title = [[The Creationists]], Expanded Edition | publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] | year = 2006  | pages = 373, 379–380 | isbn = 0674023390}}</ref> which asserts that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as [[natural selection]]."<ref name=DIposition>{{cite web|url=http://www.discovery.org/csc/topQuestions.php#questionsAboutIntelligentDesign|title=Top Questions-1.What is the theory of intelligent design?|publisher=[[Discovery Institute]]|accessdate=2007-05-13}}.</ref> It is a modern form of the traditional [[teleological argument|argument from design]], modified to avoid specifying the nature or identity of the designer. Its primary proponents, all of whom are associated with the [[Discovery Institute]],<ref><cite>"Q. Has the Discovery Institute been a leader in the intelligent design movement? A. Yes, the Discovery Institute's [[Center for Science and Culture]]. Q. And are almost all of the individuals who are involved with the [[intelligent design movement]] associated with the Discovery Institute? A. All of the leaders are, yes."</cite> [[Barbara Forrest]], 2005, testifying in the [[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]] trial. [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/dover/day6pm.html Kitzmiller Dove Testimony, Barbara Forrest].</ref> believe the designer to be the [[Abrahamic]] God.<ref>"the writings of leading ID proponents reveal that the designer postulated by their argument is the God of Christianity." [[s:Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District/2:Context#Page 26 of 139|Ruling]], [[Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District]], December, 2005</ref>


== Theological approaches ==
=== Personification ===
The Reverend Michael Dowd in his book [http://www.thankgodforevolution.com/node/2010 Thank God for Evolution] suggests that the word God is really a personification of reality and not a person, much the way Uncle Sam is a personification of the United States. Reverend Dowd states that our understanding of God becomes more meaningful if we understand that our relationship with God is really our relationship with reality. <ref name="TedX">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QeTWVw9Fm4|title=Reality reconciles science and religion}}</ref> <ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/god-is-a-personification-_b_2866764.html|title=Personification does not equal person}}</ref>


Theologians and philosophers have ascribed a number of attributes to God, including [[omniscience]], [[omnipotence]], [[omnipresence]], perfect [[Good and evil|goodness]], divine [[simplicity]], and [[eternity|eternal]] and [[necessary]] existence. God has been described as [[Corporeal|incorporeal]], a personal being, the source of all [[moral obligation]], and the greatest conceivable being existent.<ref name=Swinburne/> These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early [[Judaism|Jewish]], [[Christianity|Christian]] and [[Islam|Muslim]] scholars, including [[Augustine of Hippo|St Augustine]],<ref name=Edwards /> [[Al-Ghazali]],<ref name=Plantinga>[[Alvin Plantinga|Plantinga, Alvin]]. "God, Arguments for the Existence of," ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', Routledge, 2000.</ref> and [[Maimonides]].<ref name=Edwards />


Many [[Medieval philosophy|medieval philosophers]] developed arguments for the existence of God,<ref name=Plantinga/> 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.<ref name=Wierenga>Wierenga, Edward R. "Divine foreknowledge" in [[Robert Audi|Audi, Robert]]. ''The Cambridge Companion to Philosophy''. [[Cambridge University Press]], 2001.</ref>
== Existence of God ==
Countless arguments have been proposed in attempt to prove the existence of God.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Kreeft|editor-first=Peter|title=Summa of the Summa|year=1990|publisher=Ignatius Press |page=63 |first=Thomas |last=Aquinas}}</ref> Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and Descartes.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last=Kreeft|editor-first=Peter |title=Summa of the Summa|year=1990|publisher=Ignatius Press |pages=65–69 |first=Thomas |last=Aquinas}}</ref> Even among theists, these proofs are debated, and some, such as the Ontological Argument, are highly controversial. Aquinas spends a section of his treatise on God refuting St. Anselm's proof.<ref>{{cite book |last=Aquinas |first=Thomas |title=Summa Theologica |year=1274|location=Part 1, Question 2, Article 3 |url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/}}</ref>


The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the [[Existence of God#Arguments for the existence of God|arguments for God's existence]] raised by such philosophers as [[Immanual Kant|Immanuel Kant]], [[David Hume]] and [[Antony Flew]], although Kant held that the [[argument from morality]] was valid. The [[theist]] response has been either to contend, like [[Alvin Plantinga]], that faith is "[[reformed epistemology|properly basic]]"; or to take, like [[Richard Swinburne]], the [[evidentialist]] position.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Michael |last=Beaty |year=1991 |title=God Among the Philosophers |url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=53 |journal=The Christian Century |accessdate=2007-02-20}}</ref> Some [[Theism|theists]] agree that none of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but 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 summed up by [[Blaise Pascal|Pascal]] as: "The heart has reasons which reason knows not of."<ref>[[Blaise Pascal|Pascal, Blaise]]. ''[[Pensées]]'', 1669.</ref>
St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: “By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence.” For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.<ref>{{cite book|last=Curley|first=Edwin M.|year=1985|title=The Collected Works of Spinoza|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-07222-7}}</ref> His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2012/entries/spinoza/ |title=Baruch Spinoza|publisher=}}</ref>


Most major religions hold God not as a metaphor, but a being that influences our day-to-day existences. Many believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as [[angel]]s, [[saint]]s, [[djinn]]i, [[demon]]s, and [[deva (New Age)|devas]].
Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.<ref name="mcgrath2005">{{cite book|author=Alister E. McGrath|title=Dawkins' God: genes, memes, and the meaning of life|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=V9dr6167AJ8C|year=2005|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=978-1-4051-2539-0}}</ref><ref name="barackman2001">{{cite book|author=Floyd H. Barackman|title=Practical Christian Theology: Examining the Great Doctrines of the Faith|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Jb5aRB7OxWsC|year=2001|publisher=Kregel Academic|isbn=978-0-8254-2380-2}}</ref> Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.<ref>{{cite book|title=Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms|last=Gould|first=Stephen J.|page=274|publisher=Jonathan Cape|year=1998|isbn=0-224-05043-5}}</ref>


=== Theism and Deism ===
There are many philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. Some definitions of God are nonspecific, while others can be self-contradictory. Arguments for the existence of God typically include metaphysical, empirical, inductive, and subjective types, while others revolve around the order and complexity in the world and perceived holes in evolutionary theory.


[[Theism]] generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; personal and interacting with the universe through for example [[religious experience]] and the prayers of humans.<ref name=smart>{{cite book|last=Smart|first=Jack|authorlink= J. J. C. Smart|coauthors=John Haldane|title=Atheism and Theism|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2003|isbn=0631232591|page=8}}</ref> 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.<ref name=lemos>{{cite book|last=Lemos|first=Ramon M.|title=A Neomedieval Essay in Philosophical Theology|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2001|isbn=0739102508|page=34}}</ref> Not all theists subscribe to all the above propositions, but usually a fair number of them, c.f., [[family resemblance]].<ref name=smart /> Catholic theology holds that God is [[divine simplicity|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.<ref name="philosofrelGlossthe">{{cite web|url=http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/definitions.html|title=Philosophy of Religion .info - Glossary - Theism, Atheism, and Agonisticism|publisher=Philosophy of Religion .info|accessdate=2008-07-16}}</ref><ref name="TFDtheism">{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/theism|title=Theism - definition of thesim by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia|publisher=[[TheFreeDictionary]]|accessdate=2008-07-16}}</ref>
Arguments against the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Conclusions reached include views that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist"<ref name="Dawkins">{{cite news| last=Dawkins| first=Richard| title=Why There Almost Certainly Is No God| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins/why-there-almost-certainl_b_32164.html| accessdate=2007-01-10| publisher=The Huffington Post| date=2006-10-23}}</ref> (''de facto'' atheism<ref>The word ''atheism'' originated from the Greek ἄθεος|ἄθεος (''atheos''), meaning "without god(s)".</ref>); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism<ref>Thomas Henry Huxley, an English biologist, was the first to come up with the word ''agnostic'' in 1869 {{Cite book| last = Dixon| first = Thomas| title = Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction| publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2008 |location=Oxford |page=63 |isbn=978-0-19-929551-7}} However, earlier authors and published works have promoted an agnostic points of view. They include Protagoras, a 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher. {{cite web|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/protagor.htm|title=The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Protagoras (c. 490 - c. 420 BCE)|accessdate=2008-10-06|quote=While the pious might wish to look to the gods to provide absolute moral guidance in the relativistic universe of the Sophistic Enlightenment, that certainty also was cast into doubt by philosophic and sophistic thinkers, who pointed out the absurdity and immorality of the conventional epic accounts of the gods. Protagoras' prose treatise about the gods began 'Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life.'|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081014181706/http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/protagor.htm|archivedate=2008-10-14 <!--DASHBot-->|deadurl=no}}</ref>); "God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (weak [theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism). There are numerous variations on these positions.


[[Deism]] holds that God is wholly [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendent]]: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.<ref name=lemos /> 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 ==
== Specific Attributes ==
Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.


[[Image:God2-Sistine Chapel.png|thumb|230px|16th century depiction of [[Genesis]] ([[Michelangelo]], Sistine Chapel): God  creates [[Adam and Eve|Adam]]. The concept of God as a singular patriarchal "[[Father]] [of all creation]" is common in [[Western culture]] ([[abrahamic religion|Abrahamic]]) monotheism.]]
=== Names ===
Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is ''El Shaddai'', meaning “God Almighty”.<ref>Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:31; Ps. 91:1, 2</ref> A third notable name is ''El Elyon'', which means “The Most High God”.<ref>Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25</ref>


The concept of monotheism sees a gradual development out of notions of [[henotheism]] and [[monolatrism]]. In the [[Ancient Near East]], each [[URU|city]] had a local patron deity, such as [[Shamash]] at [[Larsa]] or [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]] at [[Ur]]. The first claims of global supremacy of a specific god date to the [[Late Bronze Age]], with [[Akhenaten]]'s ''[[Great Hymn to the Aten]]'' (connected to [[Judaism]] by [[Sigmund Freud]] in his ''[[Moses and Monotheism]]''), and, depending on dating issues, [[Zoroaster]]'s [[Gatha]]s to [[Ahura Mazda]]. Currents of [[monism]] or monotheism emerge in [[Vedic period|Vedic India]] in the same period, with e.g. the [[Nasadiya Sukta]]. Philosophical monotheism and the associated concept of absolute [[good and evil]] emerges in [[Classical Antiquity]], notably with [[Plato]] (c.f. [[Euthyphro dilemma]]), elaborated into the idea of [[Absolute (philosophy)|The One]] in [[Neoplatonism]].
God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being ''R-Ḥ-M|Al-Rahman'', meaning "Most Compassionate" and ''Al-Rahim'', meaning "Most Merciful".<ref name="Ben">{{Cite book|last=Bentley |first=David |title=The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book |publisher=William Carey Library |date=September 1999 |isbn=0-87808-299-9 }}</ref>


According to The Oxford Companion To World Mythology (David Leeming, Oxford University Press, 2005, page 153), "The lack of cohesion among early Hebrews made monotheism - even monolatry, the exclusive worship of one god among many - an impossibility...And even then it can be argued that the firm establishment of monotheism in Judaism required the rabbinical or Talmudic process of the first century B.C.E. to the sixth century C.E.".
Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has a list of titles and names of Krishna.
In [[Kalam|Islamic theology]], a person who spontaneously "discovers" monotheism is called a ''[[ḥanīf]]'', the original ''ḥanīf'' being [[Abraham]].  


Austrian anthropologist [[Wilhelm Schmidt]] in the 1910s postulated an ''[[Urmonotheismus]]'', "original" or "primitive monotheism", a thesis now widely rejected in [[comparative religion]] but still occasionally defended in [[creationist]] circles.
=== Gender ===
The gender of God can be viewed as a literal or as an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in Classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.<ref>{{cite book|last=Aquinas|first=Thomas|title=Summa Theologica|year=1274|location=Part 1, Question 3, Article 1|url=http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1003.htm}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Augustine of Hippo|title=Confessions|year=397|location=Book 7}}</ref> In polytheistic religions, ''the gods'' are more likely to have literal sexual genders, allowing them to interact with each other and with humans in a sexual way. In most monotheistic religions, there is no comparable being for God to relate to in a literal gender-based way. Thus, in Classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to feminine receptive) role in sexual intercourse.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lang|first1=David|title=Why Matter Matters: Philosophical and Scriptural Reflections on the Sacraments|year=2002|publisher=Our Sunday Visitor|location=Chapter Five: Why Male Priests?|isbn=978-1931709347|first2=Peter |last2=Kreeft}}</ref>
=== Monotheism and pantheism ===


[[Monotheism|Monotheists]] hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in [[Hinduism]]<ref>See Swami Bhaskarananda, ''Essentials of Hinduism'' (Viveka Press 2002) ISBN 1-884852-04-1</ref> and [[Sikhism]].<ref>[http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=1350&english=t&id=57718 Sri Granth: Sri Guru Granth Sahib<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Adherents of different religions, however, generally disagree as to how to best [[worship]] God and what is [[divine providence|God's plan]] for mankind, if there is one. 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 that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is [[inclusivism|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 [[syncretic|syncretism]], mixing different elements from different religion. An example of syncretism is the [[New Age]] movement.  
God is usually characterised as male in Biblical sources, except: female in Genesis 1:26-27,<ref>Elaine H. Pagels [http://holyspirit-shekinah.org/_/what_became_of_god_the_mother-1.htm "What Became of God the Mother? Conflicting Images of God in Early Christianity"] Signs, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Winter, 1976), pp. 293-303</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Coogan|first=Michael|title=God and Sex. What the Bible Really Says|url=http://books.google.com/?id=2_gPKQEACAAJ&dq=god+and+sex|accessdate=2011-05-05|edition=1st|date=October 2010|publisher=Twelve. Hachette Book Group|location=New York, Boston|isbn=978-0-446-54525-9|page=175|chapter=6. Fire in Divine Loins: God's Wives in Myth and Metaphor|quote=humans are modeled on ''elohim'', specifically in their sexual differences.}}</ref> Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10; a mother in Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2; a mother eagle in Deuteronomy 32:11-12; and a mother hen in Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34.


[[Pantheism]] holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas [[Panentheism]] holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe; the distinctions between the two are subtle. It is also the view of the [[Liberal Catholic Church]], [[Theosophy]], some views of Hinduism except [[Vaishnavism]] which believes in [[panentheism]], Sikhism, some divisions of [[Buddhism]], some divisions of [[Neopaganism]] 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 [[Israel ben Eliezer|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.
=== Relationship with Creation ===
Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.<ref name="patheos1">{{cite web|url=http://www.patheos.com/Library/Islam/Beliefs/Human-Nature-and-the-Purpose-of-Existence.html|title=Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence|publisher=Patheos.com|accessdate=2011-01-29}}</ref><ref>Quran 51:56</ref> He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow-426-3787.htm|title=Allah would replace you with a people who sin|publisher=islamtoday.net|accessdate=13 October 2013}}</ref> Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."<ref>{{Cite book|first=Alister|last=McGrath|title=Christian Theology: An Introduction|publisher=Blackwell Publishing|year=2006|isbn=1-4051-5360-1|page=205}}</ref>


=== Dystheism and nontheism ===
Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. 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 that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.


[[Dystheism]], related to [[theodicy]] is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the [[problem of evil]].  One such example would be [[Satanism]] or the [[Devil]].  There is no known community of practicing dystheists.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}


[[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.
== Theological Approaches ==
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 being existent.<ref name=Swinburne/> These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including St Augustine,<ref name=Edwards /> Al-Ghazali,<ref name=autogenerated1>Plantinga, Alvin. "God, Arguments for the Existence of", ''Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', Routledge, 2000.</ref> and Maimonides.<ref name=Edwards />


== Scientific positions regarding God ==
Many medieval philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,<ref name=Platinga/> 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 may seem to imply 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 may not be omniscient.<ref name=Wierenga>Wierenga, Edward R. "Divine foreknowledge" in Audi, Robert. ''The Cambridge Companion to Philosophy''. Cambridge University Press, 2001.</ref>
[[Stephen Jay Gould]] proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy 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 [[metaphysics|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. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.<ref> {{cite book |title=The God Delusion |last=Dawkins |first=Richard |authorlink=Richard Dawkins |year=2006 |publisher=Bantam Press |location=Great Britain |isbn=0-618-68000-4}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web | last=Dawkins | first=Richard | authorlink=Richard Dawkins | title=Why There Almost Certainly Is No God | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins/why-there-almost-certainl_b_32164.html | accessdate=2007-01-10}}</ref>


===Anthropomorphism===
However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfect-infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of Gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek Mythology which in his opinion, is more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.<ref name="boyer">http://books.google.com/books?id=wreF80OHTicC&pg=PA142&lpg=PA142&dq=boyer+modern+soap+opera&source=web&ots=NxBK3w-s5u&sig=_zo19-nO6z8BS9XPTudCnjH8ybg&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA142,M1</ref>
Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.<ref name="ducasteljurgensen">Computer Theology, du Castel Bertrand and Jurgensen, Timothy M. pages=221–222</ref>
Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.<ref>http://www.yale.edu/cogdevlab/People/Lab_Members/Frank/Frank%27s%20papers%20pdfs%20/Frank%27s%20articles/conceptualizingnonnaturalentity.pdf </ref>


Likewise, Emile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that Gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. He indicates that by including ever watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups. <ref name="supernature">
The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, like Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic"; or to take, like Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Michael |last=Beaty |year=1991 |title=God Among the Philosophers |url=http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=53 |journal=The Christian Century}}</ref> Some theists agree that none of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but 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 summed up by Pascal as: "The heart has reasons which reason knows not of."<ref>Pascal, Blaise. ''Pensées'', 1669.</ref>
http://www2.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/mrossano/recentpubs/Supernaturalizing.pdf|format=PDF
 
</ref>
Most major religions hold God not as a metaphor, but a being that influences our day-to-day existences. Many believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as [[Angel (Classical)|angel]]s, saints, djinns, [[demon]]s, and devas.<ref>{{cite web|author=Tuesday, December 8, 2009|url=http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/more_americans_believe_in_angels_than_global_warming/|title=More Americans Believe in Angels than Global Warming|publisher=Outsidethebeltway.com|date=December 8, 2009|accessdate=2012-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Van |first=David |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1842179,00.html|title=Guardian Angels Are Here, Say Most Americans|publisher=TIME |date=2008-09-18 |accessdate=2012-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=December 23, 2011, 8:25 AM |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57347634/poll-nearly-8-in-10-americans-believe-in-angels/ |title=Poll: Nearly 8 in 10 Americans believe in angels |publisher=CBS News|date=December 23, 2011|accessdate=2012-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/23/ST2008062300818.html|title=Most Americans Believe in Higher Power, Poll Finds|publisher=washingtonpost.com|accessdate=2012-12-04|first=Jacqueline L.|last=Salmon}}</ref><ref>Qur’ān 15:27</ref>


== Distribution of belief in God ==
As of 2000, approximately 53% of the world's population identifies with one of the three Abrahamic religions (33% Christian, 20% Islam, <1% Judaism), 6% with Buddhism, 13% with Hinduism, 6% with traditional Chinese religion, 7% with various other religions, and less than 15% as non-religious. Most of these religious beliefs involve a god or gods.<ref>National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World p. 49</ref>


== References ==
== References ==
<div class="references-small">
{{Reflist|2}}
* BBC, <cite>Nigeria leads in religious belief</cite>
 
* {{citation | title =Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity | last = Beck| first = Guy L. (Ed.) | authorlink = Guy Beck |url = http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=0SJ73GHSCF8C | publisher = SUNY Press | year = 2005 | isbn =0791464156}}
* [[Cliff Pickover|Pickover, Cliff]], <cite>The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience</cite>, Palgrave/St Martin's Press, 2001. ISBN 1-4039-6457-2
* [[Francis Collins|Collins, Francis]], <cite>The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief</cite>, Free Press, 2006. ISBN 0-7432-8639-1
* [[Harris interactive]], <cite>While Most Americans Believe in God, Only 36% Attend a Religious Service Once a Month or More Often</cite>
* [[Jack Miles|Miles, Jack]], <cite>[[God: A Biography]]</cite>, Knopf, 1995, ISBN 0-679-74368-5 [http://www.jackmiles.com/default.asp?ID=15 Book description].
* [[Karen Armstrong|Armstrong, Karen]], <cite>A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam</cite>, Ballantine Books, 1994. ISBN 0-434-02456-2
* [[National Geographic]] Family Reference Atlas of the World, National Geographic Society, 2002.
* [[Pew research center]], <cite>The 2004 Political Landscape Evenly Divided and Increasingly Polarized - Part 8: Religion in American Life</cite>
* Sharp, Michael, <cite>The Book of Light: The Nature of God, the Structure of Consciousness, and the Universe Within You</cite>. Avatar Publications, 2005. ISBN 0-9738555-2-5. [http://bookoflight.michaelsharp.org/?act=intro0973855525 free as eBook]
* [[Paul Tillich]], ''Systematic Theology'', Vol. 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951). ISBN 0-226-80337-6
*{{cite book
|author= Hastings, James Rodney
|authorlink=James Hastings
|editor=
|others=John A Selbie
|title=[[Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics]]
|edition=Volume 4 of 24 ( Behistun (continued) to Bunyan.)
|language=
|publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC
|location=Edinburgh
|year=2nd edition 1925-1940, reprint 1955, 2003
|origyear=1908-26
|quote=The encyclopedia will contain articles on all the religions of the world and on all the great systems of ethics. It will aim at containing articles on every religious belief or custom, and on every ethical movement, every philosophical idea, every moral practice.
|isbn=0-7661-3673-6
|oclc=
|doi=
|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Kaz58z--NtUC&pg=PA540&vq=Krishna&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&sig=lo3NqA31k8hJZw7qNc9QDEAYyYA
|accessdate=03-05-2008
|page=476
}}
</div>


== Notes ==
==Further Reading==
{{reflist}}
* Pickover, Cliff, <cite>The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience</cite>, Palgrave/St Martin's Press, 2001. ISBN 1-4039-6457-2
* Collins, Francis, <cite>The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief</cite>, Free Press, 2006. ISBN 0-7432-8639-1
* Miles, Jack,<cite> God: A Biography</cite>, Vintage, 1996. ISBN 0-679-74368-5
* Armstrong, Karen, <cite>A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam</cite>, Ballantine Books, 1994. ISBN 0-434-02456-2
* Paul Tillich, ''Systematic Theology'', Vol. 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951). ISBN 0-226-80337-6
*{{cite book|author= Hastings, James Rodney|editor=|others=John A Selbie|title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics|edition=Volume 4 of 24 ( Behistun (continued) to Bunyan.)|language=|publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC|location=Edinburgh|year=1925–2003|origyear=1908–26|quote=The encyclopedia will contain articles on all the religions of the world and on all the great systems of ethics. It will aim at containing articles on every religious belief or custom, and on every ethical movement, every philosophical idea, every moral practice.|isbn=0-7661-3673-6|oclc=|doi=|url=<!--|accessdate=2008-03-05-->|page=476}}


== External links ==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God The original source of this page at Wikipedia]


* [http://paternoster.biografi.org Concept of God in Christianity]
== External Links ==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God The original source of this article at Wikipedia]
* [http://www.armatabianca.org/eng/padre.php?sottomenu=4 Concept of God in Christianity]
* [http://www.islam-info.ch/en/Who_is_Allah.htm Concept of God in Islam]
* [http://www.islam-info.ch/en/Who_is_Allah.htm Concept of God in Islam]
* [http://www.allaboutgod.com God Christian perspective]
* [http://www.allaboutgod.com/ God Christian perspective]
* [http://www.chabad.org/search/keyword.asp?kid=3001 God in Judaism]
* [http://www.shaivam.org/hipgodco.htm Hindu Concept of God]
* [http://www.shaivam.org/hipgodco.htm Hindu Concept of God]
* [http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/Understanding_God.asp Jewish Literacy]
* [http://www.aish.com/literacy/concepts/Understanding_God.asp Jewish Literacy]
* [http://www.fatherspeaks.net Mystical view of God]
* [http://www.fatherspeaks.net/ Mystical view of God]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06614a.htm Relation of God to the Universe]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06614a.htm Relation of God to the Universe]

Latest revision as of 09:52, 17 November 2014

God is often conceived as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[1] The concept of God as described by theologians commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect goodness), divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God or in the oneness of God. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is purported not to exist, while deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[1] Many notable medieval philosophers and modern philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[2]

There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten,[3] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe.[4] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who Is," "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH are used as names of God, while Yahweh, and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHWH. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, the latter of which is believed by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian Aten.[5][6][7][8][9] In Islam, the name Allah, "Al-El," or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[10] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[11] Waheguru in Sikhism,[12] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[13]

The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism, pandeism,[14][15] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different, overlapping concepts or mental images of him."[16]


Etymology and Usage

Detail of Sistine Chapel fresco Creation of the Sun and Moon by Michelangelo (c. 1512), a well-known example of the depiction of God the Father in Western art

The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[17]) comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. Most linguists agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[18] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the words became a masculine syntactic form.[19]

In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[20][21] The English word God and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton YHWH, in origin the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, |Yahweh. In many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton.[22] Allāh (الله‎) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while "ʾilāh" (إله) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[23][24][25] God may also be given a proper name in monotheistic currents of Hinduism which emphasize the personal nature of God, with early references to his name as Krishna-Vasudeva in Bhagavata or later Vishnu and Hari.[26]


General Conceptions

There is no clear consensus on the nature of God.[27] The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God. The dharmic religions differ in their view of the divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region, sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to polytheistic to atheistic. Divinity was recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and Brahma. However, other sentient beings, including gods, can at best only play a supportive role in one's personal path to salvation. Conceptions of God in the latter developments of the Mahayana tradition give a more prominent place to notions of the divine.

Oneness

Monotheists hold that there is only one god, and may claim that the one true god is worshiped in different religions under different names. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in Hinduism[28] and Sikhism.[29]

In Christianity, most Christians believe in Trinitarian monotheism, known simply as the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity defines God as one God in three persons. The Trinity is composed of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit.[30]

Islam's most fundamental concept is tawhīd (meaning "oneness" or "uniqueness"). God is described in the Qur'an as: "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."[31][32] Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Jesus, comparing it to polytheism. In Islam, God is beyond all comprehension or equal and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Thus, Muslims are not iconodules, and are not expected to visualize God.[33]

Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities.[34]

Theism, Deism and Pantheism

Theism generally holds that God exists realistically, objectively, and independently of human thought; that God created and sustains everything; that God is omnipotent and eternal; and that God is personal and interacting with the universe through, for example, religious experience and the prayers of humans.[35] Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world.[36] Not all theists subscribe to all the above propositions, but they usually subscribe to a fair number of them (see, by way of comparison, family resemblance).[35] 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.[37][38]

Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it.[36] 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.[15][39][40] Pandeism is proposed to explain as to Deism why God would create a universe and then abandon it,[41] and as to Pantheism, the origin and purpose of the universe.[41][42]

Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God, whereas Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. It is also the view of the Liberal Catholic Church, Theosophy, some views of Hinduism except Vaishnavism, which believes in panentheism, Sikhism, some divisions of Neopaganism 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.

Other Concepts

Dystheism, which is related to theodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of the problem of evil. One such example comes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, in which Ivan Karamazov rejects God on the grounds that he allows children to suffer.[43] Another example would be Theistic Satanism.

In modern times, some more abstract concepts have been developed, such as process theology and open theism. The contemporaneous French philosopher Michel Henry has however proposed a phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenological essence of Life.[44]

God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), 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 theologian philosophers, including Maimonides,[45] Augustine of Hippo,[45] and Al-Ghazali,[2] respectively.


Non-theistic Views of God

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. The nineteenth-century English atheist Charles Bradlaugh declared that he refused to say "There is no God", because "the word 'God' is to me a sound conveying no clear or distinct affirmation";[46] he said more specifically that he disbelieved in the Christian God. Stephen Jay Gould proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy 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 metaphysics|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. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[47]

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."[48] Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[49]

Stephen Hawking and co-author Leonard Mlodinow state in their book, The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science, and without invoking any divine beings.[50]

Anthropomorphism

Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples from Greek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems.[51] Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics' epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[52] Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar. Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[53]

Likewise, Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[54]

Personification

The Reverend Michael Dowd in his book Thank God for Evolution suggests that the word God is really a personification of reality and not a person, much the way Uncle Sam is a personification of the United States. Reverend Dowd states that our understanding of God becomes more meaningful if we understand that our relationship with God is really our relationship with reality. [55] [56]


Existence of God

Countless arguments have been proposed in attempt to prove the existence of God.[57] Some of the most notable arguments are the Five Ways of Aquinas, the Argument from Desire proposed by C.S. Lewis, and the Ontological Argument formulated both by St. Anselm and Descartes.[58] Even among theists, these proofs are debated, and some, such as the Ontological Argument, are highly controversial. Aquinas spends a section of his treatise on God refuting St. Anselm's proof.[59]

St. Anselm's approach was to define God as, "that than which nothing greater can be conceived". Famed pantheist philosopher Baruch Spinoza would later carry this idea to its extreme: “By God I understand a being absolutely infinite, i.e., a substance consisting of infinite attributes, of which each one expresses an eternal and infinite essence.” For Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[60] His proof for the existence of God was a variation of the Ontological argument.[61]

Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian A.E. McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method.[62][63] Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap.[64]

There are many philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. Some definitions of God are nonspecific, while others can be self-contradictory. Arguments for the existence of God typically include metaphysical, empirical, inductive, and subjective types, while others revolve around the order and complexity in the world and perceived holes in evolutionary theory.

Arguments against the existence of God typically include empirical, deductive, and inductive types. Conclusions reached include views that: "God does not exist" (strong atheism); "God almost certainly does not exist"[48] (de facto atheism[65]); "no one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism[66]); "God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (weak [theism); and that "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism). There are numerous variations on these positions.


Specific Attributes

Different religious traditions assign differing (though often similar) attributes and characteristics to God, including expansive powers and abilities, psychological characteristics, gender characteristics, and preferred nomenclature. The assignment of these attributes often differs according to the conceptions of God in the culture from which they arise. For example, attributes of God in Christianity, attributes of God in Islam, and the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy in Judaism share certain similarities arising from their common roots.

Names

Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are many names for God. One of them is Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning “God Almighty”.[67] A third notable name is El Elyon, which means “The Most High God”.[68]

God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being R-Ḥ-M|Al-Rahman, meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most Merciful".[69]

Vaishnavism, a tradition in Hinduism, has a list of titles and names of Krishna.

Gender

The gender of God can be viewed as a literal or as an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in Classical western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[70][71] In polytheistic religions, the gods are more likely to have literal sexual genders, allowing them to interact with each other and with humans in a sexual way. In most monotheistic religions, there is no comparable being for God to relate to in a literal gender-based way. Thus, in Classical western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to feminine receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[72]

God is usually characterised as male in Biblical sources, except: female in Genesis 1:26-27,[73][74] Psalm 123:2-3, and Luke 15:8-10; a mother in Hosea 11:3-4, Deuteronomy 32:18, Isaiah 66:13, Isaiah 49:15, Isaiah 42:14, Psalm 131:2; a mother eagle in Deuteronomy 32:11-12; and a mother hen in Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34.

Relationship with Creation

Prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Muslims believe that the purpose of existence is to worship God.[75][76] He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy, to contact God. Prayer often also includes supplication and asking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, a hadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[77] Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[78]

Adherents of different religions generally disagree as to how to best worship God and what is God's plan for mankind, if there is one. 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 that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach is relativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example being universalism: the doctrine that salvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach is syncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is the New Age movement.


Theological Approaches

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 being existent.[1] These attributes were all claimed to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim scholars, including St Augustine,[45] Al-Ghazali,[79] and Maimonides.[45]

Many medieval philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God,[2] 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 may seem to imply 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 may not be omniscient.[80]

However, if by its essential nature, free will is not predetermined, then the effect of its will can never be perfectly predicted by anyone, regardless of intelligence and knowledge. Although knowledge of the options presented to that will, combined with perfect-infinite intelligence, could be said to provide God with omniscience if omniscience is defined as knowledge or understanding of all that is.

The last centuries of philosophy have seen vigorous questions regarding the arguments for God's existence raised by such philosophers as Immanuel Kant, David Hume and Antony Flew, although Kant held that the argument from morality was valid. The theist response has been either to contend, like Alvin Plantinga, that faith is "properly basic"; or to take, like Richard Swinburne, the evidentialist position.[81] Some theists agree that none of the arguments for God's existence are compelling, but 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 summed up by Pascal as: "The heart has reasons which reason knows not of."[82]

Most major religions hold God not as a metaphor, but a being that influences our day-to-day existences. Many believers allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as angels, saints, djinns, demons, and devas.[83][84][85][86][87]


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 1995.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Platinga, Alvin. "God, Arguments for the Existence of", Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge, 2000.
  3. ↑ Jan Assmann, Religion and Cultural Memory: Ten Studies, Stanford University Press 2005, p.59
  4. ↑ M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol.2, 1980, p.96
  5. ↑ Freud, S. (1939). Moses and Monotheism: Three Essays.
  6. ↑ Gunther Siegmund Stent, Paradoxes of Free Will. American Philosophical Society, DIANE, 2002. 284 pages. Pages 34 - 38. ISBN 0-87169-926-5
  7. ↑ Jan Assmann, Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism. Harvard University Press, 1997. 288 pages. ISBN 0-674-58739-1
  8. ↑ N. Shupak, The Monotheism of Moses and the Monotheism of Akhenaten. Sevivot, 1995.
  9. ↑ William F. Albright, From the Patriarchs to Moses II. Moses out of Egypt. The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 36, No. 2 (May, 1973), pp. 48-76. doi 10.2307/3211050
  10. ↑ Pantheism: A Non-Theistic Concept of Deity - Page 136, Michael P. Levine - 2002
  11. ↑ A Feast for the Soul: Meditations on the Attributes of God : ... - Page x, Baháʾuʾlláh, Joyce Watanabe - 2006
  12. ↑ Philosophy and Faith of Sikhism - Page ix, Kartar Singh Duggal - 1988
  13. ↑ The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam confidently with the cultured class, David S. Kidder, Noah D. Oppenheim, page 364
  14. ↑ Raphael Lataster (2013). There was no Jesus, there is no God: A Scholarly Examination of the Scientific, Historical, and Philosophical Evidence & Arguments for Monotheism. “This one god could be of the deistic or pantheistic sort. Deism might be superior in explaining why God has seemingly left us to our own devices and pantheism could be the more logical option as it fits well with the ontological argument's 'maximally-great entity' and doesn't rely on unproven concepts about 'nothing' (as in 'creation out of nothing'). A mixture of the two, pandeism, could be the most likely God-concept of all.”
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Alan H. Dawe (2011). The God Franchise: A Theory of Everything. “Pandeism: This is the belief that God created the universe, is now one with it, and so, is no longer a separate conscious entity. This is a combination of pantheism (God is identical to the universe) and deism (God created the universe and then withdrew Himself).”
  16. ↑ Christianity and Other Religions, by John Hick and Brian Hebblethwaite. 1980. Page 178.
  17. ↑ "'God' in Merriam-Webster (online)". Merriam-Webster, Inc.. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/god. Retrieved 2012-07-19. 
  18. ↑ The ulterior etymology is disputed. Apart from the unlikely hypothesis of adoption from a foreign tongue, the OTeut. "ghuba" implies as its preTeut-type either "*ghodho-m" or "*ghodto-m". The former does not appear to admit of explanation; but the latter would represent the neut. pple. of a root "gheu-". There are two Aryan roots of the required form ("*g,heu-" with palatal aspirate) one with meaning 'to invoke' (Skr. "hu") the other 'to pour, to offer sacrifice' (Skr "hu", Gr. χεηi;ν, OE "geotàn" Yete v). OED Compact Edition, G, p. 267
  19. ↑ Barnhart, Robert K (1995). The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology: the Origins of American English Words, page 323. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-270084-7
  20. ↑ Webster's New World Dictionary; "God n. ME < OE, akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base * ĝhau-, to call out to, invoke > Sans havaté, (he) calls upon; 1. any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, esp. a male deity: typically considered objects of worship; 2. an image that is worshiped; idol 3. a person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired; 4. [G-] in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; Supreme Being; the Almighty"
  21. ↑ Dictionary.com; "God /gɒd/ noun: 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. 2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute. 3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. 4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the God of mercy. 5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. 6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol. 7. (lowercase) any deified person or object. 8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. 8a. the upper balcony in a theater. 8b. the spectators in this part of the balcony."
  22. ↑ Barton, G.A. (2006). A Sketch of Semitic Origins: Social and Religious. Kessinger Publishing.
  23. ↑ "God". Islam: Empire of Faith. PBS. http://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithgod.html. Retrieved 2010-12-18. 
  24. ↑ "Islam and Christianity", Encyclopedia of Christianity (2001): Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews also refer to God as Allāh.
  25. ↑ L. Gardet. "Allah". Encyclopaedia of Islam Online.
  26. ↑ Hastings 2003, p. 540
  27. ↑ Froese, Paul (Fall–Winter 2004). "Does God Matter? A Social-Science Critique". Harvard Divinity Bulletin 32. 
  28. ↑ See Swami Bhaskarananda, Essentials of Hinduism (Viveka Press 2002) ISBN 1-884852-04-1
  29. ↑ "Sri Guru Granth Sahib". Sri Granth. http://www.srigranth.org/servlet/gurbani.gurbani?Action=Page&Param=1350&english=t&id=57718. Retrieved 2011-06-30. 
  30. ↑ "What Is the Trinity?". http://www.whataboutjesus.com/grace/actions-god-series/what-trinity?page=0,0. 
  31. ↑ Quran 112:1–4
  32. ↑ D. Gimaret. "Allah, Tawhid". Encyclopaedia Britannica Online.
  33. ↑ Robyn Lebron (2012). Searching for Spiritual Unity...Can There Be Common Ground?.
  34. ↑ Müller, Max. (1878) Lectures on the Origin and Growth of Religion: As Illustrated by the Religions of India. London:Longmans, Green and Co.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Smart, Jack (2003). Atheism and Theism. Blackwell Publishing.
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Lemos, Ramon M. (2001). A Neomedieval Essay in Philosophical Theology. Lexington Books.
  37. ↑ "Philosophy of Religion.info – Glossary – Theism, Atheism, and Agonisticism". Philosophy of Religion.info. Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. http://web.archive.org/web/20080424071443/http://www.philosophyofreligion.info/definitions.html. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
  38. ↑ "Theism – definition of theism by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia". TheFreeDictionary. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/theism. Retrieved 2008-07-16. 
  39. ↑ Sean F. Johnston (2009). The History of Science: A Beginner's Guide. “In its most abstract form, deism may not attempt to describe the characteristics of such a non-interventionist creator, or even that the universe is identical with God (a variant known as pandeism).”
  40. ↑ Paul Bradley (2011). This Strange Eventful History: A Philosophy of Meaning. “Pandeism combines the concepts of Deism and Pantheism with a god who creates the universe and then becomes it.”
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 Allan R. Fuller (2010). Thought: The Only Reality. “Pandeism is another belief that states that God is identical to the universe, but God no longer exists in a way where He can be contacted; therefore, this theory can only be proven to exist by reason. Pandeism views the entire universe as being from God and now the universe is the entirety of God, but the universe at some point in time will fold back into one single being which is God Himself that created all. Pandeism raises the question as to why would God create a universe and then abandon it? As this relates to pantheism, it raises the question of how did the universe come about what is its aim and purpose?”
  42. ↑ Peter C. Rogers (2009). Ultimate Truth, Book 1. “As with Panentheism, Pantheism is derived from the Greek: 'pan'= all and 'theos' = God, it literally means “God is All” and “All is God.” Pantheist purports that everything is part of an all-inclusive, indwelling, intangible God; or that the Universe, or nature, and God are the same. Further review helps to accentuate the idea that natural law, existence, and the Universe which is the sum total of all that is, was, and shall be, is represented in the theological principle of an abstract 'god' rather than an individual, creative Divine Being or Beings of any kind. This is the key element which distinguishes them from Panentheists and Pandeists. As such, although many religions may claim to hold Pantheistic elements, they are more commonly Panentheistic or Pandeistic in nature.”
  43. ↑ The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky pp259-261
  44. ↑ Henry, Michel (2003). I am the Truth. Toward a philosophy of Christianity, Translated by Susan Emanuel, Stanford University Press.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 Edwards, Paul. "God and the philosophers" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)The Oxford Companion to Philosophy, Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN=978-1-61592-446-2.
  46. ↑ "A Plea for Atheism. By 'Iconoclast', London, Austin & Co., 1876, p. 2.
  47. ↑ Dawkins, Richard (2006). The God Delusion. Great Britain: Bantam Press.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Dawkins, Richard (2006-10-23). "Why There Almost Certainly Is No God". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins/why-there-almost-certainl_b_32164.html. Retrieved 2007-01-10. 
  49. ↑ Sagan, Carl (1996). The Demon Haunted World p.278. New York: Ballantine Books.
  50. ↑ Stephen Hawking (2010). The Grand Design. Bantam Books.
  51. ↑ Boyer, Pascal (2001). Religion Explained,, 142–243, New York: Basic Books.
  52. ↑ du Castel, Bertrand (2008). Computer Theology,, 221–222, Austin, Texas: Midori Press.
  53. ↑ Barrett, Justin (1996). "Conceptualizing a Nonnatural Entity: Anthropomorphism in God Concepts" (PDF). 
  54. ↑ Rossano, Matt (2007). "Supernaturalizing Social Life: Religion and the Evolution of Human Cooperation" (PDF). 
  55. ↑ "Reality reconciles science and religion". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QeTWVw9Fm4. 
  56. ↑ "Personification does not equal person". http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-michael-dowd/god-is-a-personification-_b_2866764.html. 
  57. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas (1990). Summa of the Summa. Ignatius Press.
  58. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas (1990). Summa of the Summa, 65–69, Ignatius Press.
  59. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas (1274). Summa Theologica.
  60. ↑ Curley, Edwin M. (1985). The Collected Works of Spinoza. Princeton University Press.
  61. ↑ "Baruch Spinoza". http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2012/entries/spinoza/. 
  62. ↑ Alister E. McGrath (2005). Dawkins' God: genes, memes, and the meaning of life. Wiley-Blackwell.
  63. ↑ Floyd H. Barackman (2001). Practical Christian Theology: Examining the Great Doctrines of the Faith. Kregel Academic.
  64. ↑ Gould, Stephen J. (1998). Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms. Jonathan Cape.
  65. ↑ The word atheism originated from the Greek ἄθεος|ἄθεος (atheos), meaning "without god(s)".
  66. ↑ Thomas Henry Huxley, an English biologist, was the first to come up with the word agnostic in 1869 Dixon, Thomas (2008). Science and Religion: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. However, earlier authors and published works have promoted an agnostic points of view. They include Protagoras, a 5th-century BCE Greek philosopher. "The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Protagoras (c. 490 - c. 420 BCE)". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/protagor.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-06. "While the pious might wish to look to the gods to provide absolute moral guidance in the relativistic universe of the Sophistic Enlightenment, that certainty also was cast into doubt by philosophic and sophistic thinkers, who pointed out the absurdity and immorality of the conventional epic accounts of the gods. Protagoras' prose treatise about the gods began 'Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life.'" 
  67. ↑ Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:31; Ps. 91:1, 2
  68. ↑ Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25
  69. ↑ Bentley, David (September 1999). The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book. William Carey Library.
  70. ↑ Aquinas, Thomas (1274). Summa Theologica.
  71. ↑ Augustine of Hippo (397). Confessions.
  72. ↑ (2002) Why Matter Matters: Philosophical and Scriptural Reflections on the Sacraments. Chapter Five: Why Male Priests?: Our Sunday Visitor.
  73. ↑ Elaine H. Pagels "What Became of God the Mother? Conflicting Images of God in Early Christianity" Signs, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Winter, 1976), pp. 293-303
  74. ↑ Coogan, Michael (October 2010). “6. Fire in Divine Loins: God's Wives in Myth and Metaphor”, God and Sex. What the Bible Really Says, 1st, New York, Boston: Twelve. Hachette Book Group. Retrieved on 2011-05-05. “humans are modeled on elohim, specifically in their sexual differences.”
  75. ↑ "Human Nature and the Purpose of Existence". Patheos.com. http://www.patheos.com/Library/Islam/Beliefs/Human-Nature-and-the-Purpose-of-Existence.html. Retrieved 2011-01-29. 
  76. ↑ Quran 51:56
  77. ↑ "Allah would replace you with a people who sin". islamtoday.net. http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow-426-3787.htm. Retrieved 13 October 2013. 
  78. ↑ McGrath, Alister (2006). Christian Theology: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing.
  79. ↑ Plantinga, Alvin. "God, Arguments for the Existence of", Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Routledge, 2000.
  80. ↑ Wierenga, Edward R. "Divine foreknowledge" in Audi, Robert. The Cambridge Companion to Philosophy. Cambridge University Press, 2001.
  81. ↑ Beaty, Michael (1991). "God Among the Philosophers". The Christian Century. 
  82. ↑ Pascal, Blaise. Pensées, 1669.
  83. ↑ Tuesday, December 8, 2009 (December 8, 2009). "More Americans Believe in Angels than Global Warming". Outsidethebeltway.com. http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/more_americans_believe_in_angels_than_global_warming/. Retrieved 2012-12-04. 
  84. ↑ Van, David (2008-09-18). "Guardian Angels Are Here, Say Most Americans". TIME. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1842179,00.html. Retrieved 2012-12-04. 
  85. ↑ December 23, 2011, 8:25 AM (December 23, 2011). "Poll: Nearly 8 in 10 Americans believe in angels". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57347634/poll-nearly-8-in-10-americans-believe-in-angels/. Retrieved 2012-12-04. 
  86. ↑ Salmon, Jacqueline L.. "Most Americans Believe in Higher Power, Poll Finds". washingtonpost.com. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/06/23/ST2008062300818.html. Retrieved 2012-12-04. 
  87. ↑ Qur’ān 15:27


Further Reading

  • Pickover, Cliff, The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience, Palgrave/St Martin's Press, 2001. ISBN 1-4039-6457-2
  • Collins, Francis, The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, Free Press, 2006. ISBN 0-7432-8639-1
  • Miles, Jack, God: A Biography, Vintage, 1996. ISBN 0-679-74368-5
  • Armstrong, Karen, A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ballantine Books, 1994. ISBN 0-434-02456-2
  • Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951). ISBN 0-226-80337-6
  • Hastings, James Rodney [1908–26] (1925–2003). Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, John A Selbie, Volume 4 of 24 ( Behistun (continued) to Bunyan.), Edinburgh: Kessinger Publishing, LLC. “The encyclopedia will contain articles on all the religions of the world and on all the great systems of ethics. It will aim at containing articles on every religious belief or custom, and on every ethical movement, every philosophical idea, every moral practice.”


External Links

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