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God is the English language|English Names of God|name given to a singular being in theism|theistic and deism|deistic religion s (and other belief|belief system s) who is either the sole deity in monotheism , or a single deity in polytheism . Richard Swinburne|Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich|Honderich, Ted . (ed) The Oxford Companion to Philosophy , Oxford University Press , 1995.

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 (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect good and evil|goodness ), divine simplicity , and eternal and necessary existence.

God has also been conceived as being incorporeal ( immaterial ), a personal god|personal being, the source of all moral obligation , and the "greatest conceivable existent". These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Judaism|Jewish , Christianity|Christian and Islam|Muslim theologian philosophers, including Maimonides , Augustine of Hippo , Paul Edwards (philosopher)|Edwards, Paul . "God and the philosophers" in Ted Honderich|Honderich, Ted . (ed) The Oxford Companion to Philosophy , Oxford University Press , 1995. and Al-Ghazali , Alvin Plantinga|Platinga, Alvin . "God, Arguments for the Existence of," Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Routledge, 2000. respectively. Many notable medieval philosophy|medieval philosophers and modern philosophy|modern philosophers have developed arguments arguments for the existence of God|for the existence of God and in modernity arguments against the existence of God|against .

Etymology and usage

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 * gudan . Most linguists agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European form was based on the root , which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".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. ?e?i;?, OE "geot& agrave;n" Yete v). Oxford English Dictionary|OED Compact Edition, G, p. 267 The Germanic words for god were originally Grammatical gender|neuter —applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic people s from their indigenous Germanic paganism , the word became a Grammatical gender|masculine syntactic form .Barnhart, Robert K (1995). The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology: the Origins of American English Words , page 323. HarperCollins . ISBN 0-06-270094-7

In the English language , the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism . Webster's New World Dictionary ; "god n. ME < OE, akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base * ghau-, 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. in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; Supreme Being ; the Almighty; "God /g?d/ 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. The English word God (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 "God" remains an English translation common to all.. 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 (written YHWH), in origin the name of a Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh (Canaanite deity)|Yahweh .
In many translations of the Bible , when the word "LORD" is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allah ( allah ) is the Arabic term with no plural or gender used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning "The God" (with a capital G), while " ?ilah " ( ellah ) is the term used for a deity or a god in general."Islam and Christianity", Encyclopedia of Christianity (2001): Arabic-speaking Christian s and Jew s also refer to God as Allah . 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 .

General conceptions

There is no clear consensus on the nature of God. The Abrahamic conceptions of God include the monotheistic definition of God in Judaism , the trinity|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 were God in Buddhism|recognized by the historical Buddha, particularly Sakra (Buddhism)|Sakra and Brahma (Buddhism)|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

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 See Swami Bhaskarananda, Essentials of Hinduism (Viveka Press 2002) ISBN 1-884852-04-1 and Sikhism .

Islam 's most fundamental concept is a strict monotheism called tawhid . God is described in the Qur'an as: "Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him." Muslims repudiate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and divinity of Islamic view of Jesus|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, Muslim s are not iconodules , and are not expected to visualize God.

Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deity|deities .

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; personal and interacting with the universe through for example religious experience and the prayers of humans. 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. Not all theists subscribe to all the above propositions, but usually a fair number of them, c.f., family resemblance . 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.

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. 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.

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 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.

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. pp259-261 Another example would be Theistic Satanism .

Nontheism holds that the universe can be explained without any reference to the supernatural, or to a supernatural being. Some non-theists avoid the concept of God, whilst accepting that it is significant to many; other non-theists understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. Others such as Richard Dawkins see the idea of God as entirely pernicious.

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 definition of God|phenomenological approach and definition of God as phenomenology (religion)|phenomenological essence of Phenomenological life|Life .Michel Henry : I am the Truth. Toward a philosophy of Christianity (Stanford University Press, 2002)

Existence of God

Many arguments which attempt to prove or disprove the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, and other thinkers for many centuries. 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 perceived 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 does not exist" ( Weak and strong atheism|strong atheism ); "God almost certainly does not exist" ( de facto atheism ); "no one knows whether God exists" ( agnosticism ); "God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" (weak theism ); and "God exists and this can be proven" (strong theism ). There are numerous variations on these positions.

Some theologians, such as the scientist and theologian Alister McGrath|A.E. McGrath , argue that the existence of God cannot be adjudicated on for or against by using scientific method . Agnostic Stephen Jay Gould argues that science and religion are not in conflict and do not overlap. ( Non-overlapping magisteria )

Specific attributes

Epitheta

It is difficult to distinguish between proper names and epitheta of God. Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bible there are many names for God that portray his nature and character. One of them is elohim ,Isa. 45:18; 54:5; Jer. 32:27; Gen. 1:1; Deut. 5:23; 8:15; Ps. 68:7 (which is actually a plural word). Another one is El Shaddai , meaning “God Almighty”.Gen. 17:1; 28:3; 35:11; Ex. 6:31; Ps. 91:1, 2 A third notable name is El Elyon , which means “The Most High God”.Gen. 14:19; Ps. 9:2; Dan. 7:18, 22, 25

God is described and referred in the Quran and hadith by certain names or attributes, the most common being R-?-M|Al-Rahman , meaning "Most Compassionate" and Al-Rahim , meaning "Most Merciful" (See Names of God in Islam ).

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

Gender

The gender of God can be viewed as a literal or as an allegory|allegorical aspect of a deity . In polytheistic religions, the gods are more likely to have literal sexual genders which would enable them to interact with each other, and even 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, so 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, with no sexual connotations.

God is usually characterised as male in Biblical sources, except: female in ,Elaine H. Pagels Signs, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Winter, 1976), pp. 293-303 , and ; a mother in , , , , , ; a mother eagle in ; and a mother hen in and .

Relationship with creation

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." Muslims believe that the purpose of life|purpose of existence is to worship God. He is viewed as a personal God and there are no intermediaries, such as clergy , to contact God who states “We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein ”

Adherents of different religions 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 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 Good and evil|goodness , divine simplicity , and eternity|eternal and necessity|necessary existence. God has been described as Body|incorporeal , a personal being, the source of all moral obligation , and the greatest conceivable being existent. 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 , Al-Ghazali , Alvin Plantinga|Plantinga, Alvin . "God, Arguments for the Existence of," Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy , Routledge, 2000. and Maimonides .

Many Medieval philosophy|medieval philosophers developed arguments for the existence of God, 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.Wierenga, Edward R. "Divine foreknowledge" in Robert Audi|Audi, Robert . The Cambridge Companion to Philosophy . Cambridge University Press , 2001.

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 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. 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." Blaise Pascal|Pascal, Blaise . Pensées , 1669.

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 Ethereal being|spiritual beings , and give them names such as angel s, saint s, djinn i, demon s, and deva (New Age)|devas .

Non-theistic views regarding 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.

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." 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 challenge it would be an infinitely old universe.

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.
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.
Anthropology|Anthropologist Stewart Elliott Guthrie|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.

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.

Distribution of belief in God

As of 2000, approximately 53% of the world's population identifies with one of the three primary Abrahamic religions (33% Christian, 20% Islam, <1% Judaism), 6% with Buddhism, 13% with Hinduism, 6% with Chinese folk religion|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.National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World p. 49 Abrahamic religions beyond Christianity, Islam and Judaism include Baha'i , Samaritanism , the Rastafari movement , Yazidi sm, and the Unification Church .)

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