Difference between revisions of "God" - New World Encyclopedia
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| − | The [[Hebrew Bible]] contains no systematic theology, in that no attempt is made to give a | + | The [[Hebrew Bible]] contains no systematic theology, in that no attempt is made to give a rigorous [[Philosophy|philosophical]] definition of God. In fact, God's nature seems almost deliberately to be left ambiguous as though to render His nature mysterious. In [[Exodus]] God is cites as saying "you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live," suggesting that God's traits transcend human comprehension to the extent that the discrepancy becomes downright dangerous! Furthermore, nowhere in the Hebrew Bible are the words [[omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[omniscience|omniscient]], or [[omnibenevolence|omnibenevolent]] used to define God in a systematic sense. Although Scripture does not describe God systematically, it does provide a poetic depiction of God and His relationship with people. Biblical texts make evident that God that cares about people, and that He also cares about whether or not people care about Him. |
God according to the Bible is characterized not just as Creator, but also as the "Heavenly Father". As this title would imply, he is marked in the [[Hebrew Bible]] by a number of personalistic, or more specifically, paternalistic traits. Exodus 34:6-7 describes him suchly : "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (...) will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." Here god is described as being capable of a wide variety of moods ranging from loving and gentle to irascible and vengeful. | God according to the Bible is characterized not just as Creator, but also as the "Heavenly Father". As this title would imply, he is marked in the [[Hebrew Bible]] by a number of personalistic, or more specifically, paternalistic traits. Exodus 34:6-7 describes him suchly : "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (...) will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." Here god is described as being capable of a wide variety of moods ranging from loving and gentle to irascible and vengeful. | ||
Revision as of 18:34, 16 August 2007
The (English language) term God when capitalized and singular (as a proper noun) is used to refer specifically to a monotheistic or henotheistic concept of a supernatural Supreme Being. Uncapitalized spelling (both singular and plural) is used to refer to an individual member or members of a polytheistic pantheon. Typically, God (i.e., the "one true God") is characterized as omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent (and in most theologies, immutable), though some recent theologies have brought these traits into question. God is quite universally understood as creator and sustainer of "the world" (i.e., all that is). The notion of an unrivaled, divine absolute exists in virtually all world religions, even those like Buddhism that take an agnostic stance on the existence of God. Of course the precise definition (or intuition) of what and who God is, and "is for us" varies greatly among religions, within specific denominations of religions, and surely even from person to person. Saints, mystics, seers, visionaries, and prophets from all world traditions uniformly insist that God is to be known through experience, not through intellectual speculation. Thus God (by whatever name) comes to be known as a result of how one lives, not through how one thinks.
Etymology
The word God comes from the Old English/Germanic terms god (guþ, gudis in Gothic, gud in modern Scandinavian and Gott in modern German). The original meaning and etymology of the Germanic word god has been widely disputed, though most agree it takes root in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word *khutóm. *Khutóm is a passive perfect participle from the root *khu-, which likely meant "libation" or "sacrifice". Evidence for this theory is provided by comparisons of the Sanskrit hu- ("to sacrifice"), the Greek khu-, kheu- ("to pour") as well as the Common Germanic strong verb *geutan (Anglo-Saxon gēotan) "to pour", and the English in-got. The connection between these terms likely derives from the meaning "pour a libation". The word God was first used in the Gothic translation of the New Testament by Ulfilas to represent the Greek term Theos, (Latin Deus) in translations of theBible .
Definition
Common traits attributed to most conceptualizations of God are absoluteness, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, often unchanging (immutable), and other superlative qualities. In much religious and philosophic thought, God is considered the creator (or certainly at least "origen") of the universe. However, many other definitions of the word exist. Some concepts of God center on a view of God as ultimate, immanent, transcendent, eternal Reality which exists beyond the malleable multiplicities of the sensible world. In many cases, god is attributed these qualities while also bearing some anthropomorphic traits, such as a particular gender, name, and sometimes even ethnic background. In other cases, God may be Supreme but not necessarily a Being, instead conceived of as an ambiguous impersonal force or philosophical concept. For example, the concept of God is sometimes embedded in definitions of abstractions such as truth, wherein the sum of all truth is equated to God.
Definitions of God also concern dynamics withing the relationship between humans and god, and by extension god and the physical world. Many traditions hold that the creator is also the sustainer active in the maintenance of worldly affairs through revelation and divine intervention, a position generally characteristic of classical theism. In contrast, others argue that God created the world but is no longer involved within it after creation, a position popularly attributed to deism.
God is often considered the singular spiritual force in the universe. This conception is characteristic of monotheism, but the understanding of the term varies greatly between religions and therefore a universal definition is impossible. For instance, many believers from monotheistic faiths allow for the existence of other, less powerful spiritual beings, and give them names such as angels, saints, Djinn, demons, and devas. In some of these traditions, the primary God may exists in relation to other gods, maintaining supremacy over the other deities (as in henotheism). In other faiths, God is considered the only transcendent, spiritual entity in the universe, and the acknowledgment of any other such beings is considered polytheistic. Additionally, god may exist separately from forces outside of His/Her purview, such as evil. With that said, not all systems conceive of God as morally perfected. While some conceptions hold that God is the very definition of moral goodness, others maintain that God is beyond morality. The Christian thinker Søren Kierkegaard famously inquired into this latter conundrum.
Clearly, not all combinations of attributes remain coherent when put together into a functional concept of God, and this has been cause for much debate among theologians in many traditions. For example, if God is both Creator and the Ultimate Judge of who and what is infinitely good, and (S)He created all people, including those who would become atheists and pagans, knowing very well (omniscience) what kind of people they would be. If (S)He then punishes such individuals with eternal damnation, this God cannot also be labeled as "good". Some faiths overcome such difficulties by making god responsible for good as well as evil, as has been interpreted by some to be a position in Zoroastrianism. In other cases, no claim is made that God is fully perfect, as in Process philosophy, where god's identity is understood as continually unfolding.
Despite all of these possible traits, some philosophers do not so readily attribute definitions and characteristics to God, as in Negative theology or via negativa, which argues that God is ineffable, thus statements about God never reach the fullness of being true. Negative theologians argue that we grow ever closer in our understanding of God, by systematically and rigorously paring away the inaccuracies inherent in each statement about God. Agnosticism differs from Negative theology in that it describes a person's inability to decide conclusively if God "exists." The only similarity agnosticism has with Negative theology is that both positions argue that limited human understanding precludes any possibility for conclusive knowledge, understanding, or accurate statements about God. Further, there are definitions which actually deny the "existence" of God, such as Paul Tillich's theology which states that god is the ground of being, and as such can not be said to exist in same the context of all finite beings in existence. This latter level of theology is nuanced and refined. Tillich's "God does not "exist," is not atheism.
There are also atheistic explanations for the widespread belief in God, claiming that the concept arises within the human imagination. These explanations often construe God as a function of psychological and/or sociological factors. Thinkers such as Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx and Ludwig Feuerbach claim that God is merely a psychological projection of what all humans want to be, institutionalized into formal religious elements. Others, such as sociologist Emile Durkheim, see the projection as having a social function, claiming that the purpose of the concept of a supreme being is to bond groups in the act of communal worship toward the representative totem. According to Durkheim, this totem is again a projection which in this case serves to symbolize the tribe. Therefore, God is merely the collective projection of the clan. Essentially the clan worships itself.
The rise of philosophically sophisticated rejection of God gives rise to a community of thinkers who imagine it is possible to prove the existence of God. One such community exists in the Logical positivism school. And there are many others. Apart from such efforts it is usually the case that when pressed or carefully observed, those who argue against the existence of God, usually have something functioning in that capacity in their lives.
Names of God
The noun God is the proper English name used for the deity of monotheistic faiths. Names of God, however, are innumerable, varying with religious traditions. The Bible frequently uses the term Yahweh, from the Hebrew: 'YHVH' (יהוה) in order to refer to God. YHVH, also known as the Tetragrammaton, provides an unpronounceable string of consonants, consistent with the Israelite belief that the true name of god should not be spoken. Other Biblical terms for god include Elohim, El Shaddai, Adonai, Amanuel, and Amen. When Moses asked God "What is your name?" he was given the answer Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, commonly translated "I am that I am", or "I am what I shall be," referring to His unconditional self-existence. Yahweh has also the most popular name for God in the established Jewish tradition, and remains so today.
God is of course the most common moniker for the supreme deity in Christianity. However, other terms are used, such as The Holy Trinity (meaning the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit/"Holy Ghost") which is used in almost all denominations of mainstream Christianity to refer to the "three-in-one" constituent parts of the penultimate God. (Muslims reacted to trinitarian theology, holding that the immutable oneness of Allah is compromised therefrom, but this misunderstands the subtle and careful grasp of the One true God as accounted for in trinitarian theology.) Other churches use other definitions. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, God is called Igzi'abihier (or the "Lord of the Universe"). Some churches such as the United Church of Canada and Religious Science) currently use the term "the One" alongside "God" as a more gender-neutral cognomen for God.
Allah is the term most commonly used in (Islam, not as God's personal name, but as the equivalent of the Hebrew word El. "Allah" is Arabic for "the God", and is also used by non-Muslim Arabs. Many linguists believe that the term Allāh is derived from a contraction of the Arabic words al (the) + ilah ("male deity"). In addition, one of the main pagan goddesses of pre-Islamic Arabia, Allāt (al + ilāh + at, or 'the female deity'), is cited as being etymologically the feminine linguistic counterpart to the grammatically masculine Allah. If so, the word Allāh is an abbreviated title, meaning "the deity", rather than a name. If this theory is correct, then explains why Allah is by no means exclusive to Islam, and is commonly used by Arab Christians, Arab Jews, and Malteste Catholics (among others) in order to refer to the monotheist deity.
Among Hindus, there are two names for the supreme divinity: Brahman and Ishvara. Brahman, is (at best) described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent Reality that is the ground of all Being in this universe, as well as all of non-being. Ishvara (or Supreme Lord), the more popular form of God in Hinduism, is the term used for the personalistic God. Most Hindus worship the personal form of God, in its various roles of preserver Vishnu, destroyer Shiva, or the creator Brahma. A common prayer for Hindus is the Vishnu sahasranama, which is a hymn describing the one thousand names of God Permeating in the total creation. Ishvara should not be confused with the numerous deities of the Hindu pantheon.
Sikhs worship God with the name Akal (the Eternal) or Sat (truth). Help of the gurus is essential to reach God, who is conceived as the ultimate guru. Hence, Sikhs most frequently refer to God by the title Wahiguru (or "wonderful guru"). Buddhism, in contrast, can be described as atheistic or agnostic: When asked about a supreme God, Buddha remained silent. Buddha believed the more important issue was a way out of suffering. Sakyamumi Buddha is taught to have held the view that speculation about the supernatural distracts us from the greater and more worthwhile devotion to breaking the cycle of rebirth. Buddha's silence has resulted in a great many even educated people believing that Buddhism is atheistic. The Buddha held that Enlightened beings are called Arhats or Buddhas. However, popular Buddhism of China has venerated the Bodhisattva, an enlightened being that has chosen to forgo entering into nirvana until all beings are enlightened. Buddhism also teaches about the devas, or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in states of great happiness. Finally there is much about Buddha nature that harkens to elements found in systems with an overt affirmation of God.
The name of God is consistently capitalized in English writings. The development of English orthography was dominated by Christian texts. In early English bibles, the Tetragrammaton was rendered in capitals: "IEHOUAH" in William Tyndale's version of 1525. The King James Version of 1611 renders YHWH as "The Lord", Elohim as "God", Adonay YHWH and Adonay Elohim as "Lord God", and kurios ho theos as "Lord God" (in the New Testament). Capitalized "God" was first used to refer to the Judeo-Christian concept, and may now signify any monotheistic conception of God, including the translations of the Arabic Allāh and the African Masai Engai. The use of capitalization, as for a proper noun, has persisted to disambiguate the concept of a singular God from pagan deities for which lowercase god has continued to be applied. Pronouns referring to God are also often capitalized and are traditionally in the masculine gender, i.e. "He", "His" etc. However, in more recent times, God has sometimes been referred to in feminine terms, such as "She" and "Her".
Images of God
The world religions differ greatly on their views toward images of God; throughout history, depictions of god have been persecuted as often as they have been promoted. In general, many religions consider the creation and veneration of icons tantamount to the affirmation that God exists as a multiplicity, due the unavoidable variation in depictions as they are created by humans. This multiplicity found in images of God may be perceived as an affirmation of polytheism, and therefore as an idolotrous misrepresentation of the power of the one true God. Discontent with idolatry can lead to iconoclasm, the destruction of depictions of gods. One very early example of iconoclasm occured in Egypt during the 14th Century B.C.E. when pharoah Akhenaten declared the solar God Aten to be solely supreme. Subsequently, Akhenaten demanded that images of gods other than Aten be destroyed. Some scholars have suggested that the Israelites may have been influenced by such a suspicion toward images of God during their bondage under the Egyptians.
The Hebrew Bible forbids the creation of images of God, as the Second Commandment explicitly states: "Thou shalt not make unto me any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above..." (Exodus 20.4-5). This vehement refusal of divine portrayals is based in the covenant between God and Abraham described in Genesis where Abraham promises to spread faith in God alone. In order to do this, Abraham fervently denounces polytheism, going so far as to destroy the idols constructed by his father Terah, who worshipped multiple gods. With this in mind, contemporary Jews consider paintings, sculptures or drawings of God to be idolatrous. Some Conservative and Orthodox Jews do not even write the word "God" in full, as they consider its portrayal on destructable substances to be tantamount to desecration. Hence, the spelling "G-d" is considered by these Jews to be a more respectful representation of the divine.
Christianity in the Apostolic era maintained the thorough denunciation of images of God taught by the Jews. However, St. John of Damascus (676 – 749) would later claim that images of God in the form of Jesus should be permitted, as the person Jesus marks a shift in God's nature from invisible to visible. In the present day, depictions of god are common in Christianity, particularly in the form of Christ and sometimes even as the Heavenly Father. Both the Catholic and Orthodox churches have traditionally venerated images and icons of Christ (whom Christians believe to be the "second person of the Godhead" - "second person of the Holy Trinity"), as well as those of angels and saints. During the Protestant reformations, many reformers condemned such use of images as idolatrous. Some took drastic measures to suppress the use of images of the divine in worship, such as John Calvin (1509-1564), who commonly ordered that church walls be white-washed. Contemporary Protestant groups have softened their position toward the use of images, often accepting them for purposes of non-ritual activities such as teaching, so long as they are not used in worship.
Islam strictly forbids the creation of any image of God. The manufacture of false idols falls under the scope the mortal sin termed shirk, which first appears in the Qu'ran and generally refers to any action or belief which does service to some force or entity other than the one God Allah. The second category of shirk is called Shirk in al-Asma was-Sifat (the Names and Attributes of Allah) and refers to the practice of confounding Allah with the attributes of His creation. By portraying Allah in the form and qualities of either human beings, animals, or other objects, one does not actually create an image of the divine, but rather creates a false idol, since Allah is irreconcilably beyond form. Thus, images of God are banned outright in most sects of Islam in order to reinforce absolute monotheism and to eliminate potential for idolatry.
Other religions are more accepting of the use of images and icons to depict the divine. Many sects of Hinduism accept icons to be necessary for human religious activity, since human experience is mediated by the senses. Therefore, humans utilize physical images as part of our focus on religious devotion and pursuit of realizing the one, supreme Ishvara without form. Many Hindus accept murti (or veneration of the divine through the representation provided by icons) as an important part of religious observance. Similarly, in schools of Mahayana Buddhism, Buddha is openly depicted in his human form, and henceforth, phenomenal images and statues of the Buddha have been created, as well as those of other venerated or enlightened beings. That said, some Hindu and Buddhist schools do not believe in creating images of the divine, believing such depictions detract from true spiritual awareness, which transcends all sensory forms.
Arguments for the Existence of God
The three most notable expostulations for the existence of god I(in Western philosophy) are the ontological, cosmological and teleological arguments. The ontological argument, originally developed by Anselm of Canterbury (1034?-1109), claims that God must exist based on the simple fact that the human intellect can conceive of such a supreme power. In this proof, God is "that than which no greater can be conceived." This position was later reiterated with some modifications by philosophers René Descartes and Gottfried Leibniz, among others. The so-called cosmological argument was first suggested by Aristotle, who claimed that all being and movement cannot originate from nothing and therefore must have an original cause or impulsion. Hence, there must exist an "unmoved mover" who sets in motion the causal sequences of matter and being found within the world. Thirteenth century theologian St. Thomas Aquinas insisted that this First Cause must be God. Aquinas also provided the foundations for the teleological argument or the "argument from design," which contends that the instances of order and purpose which can be witnessed within the natural world suggests it has been designed. There can be no such cosmic design without a Designer, also known as God. This position was elaborated by modern philosophers Frederick R. Tennant and Richard Swinburne, who claimed that the harmony observable within nature, as well as the breadth of the human mind which is capable of understanding and appreciating this harmony, proves the existence of a purposeful creator.
Classifications for Beliefs in God
Since the beginning of human religious thought, there have been virtually innumerable ideas about god. Therefore, religious scholars and theologians alike have created a number of classifications to describe the various types of belief in God. These include:
- Theism describes the belief that God is both transcendent and immanent. Thus, God is infinite and ineffable, yet also present in the affairs of the world. God's immanence is attributed to miracles or revelations given to humanity (for example, holy scriptures), whereby god takes initiative in contacting humanity. Even everyday human experiences such as those of "love", "goodness", or "truth" can be interpreted as affirmations of God's involvement in creation. Typically, God in theism is personalistic, having human form and dynamic emotionality. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and unfailingly benevolent, although this belief raises questions about how God relates to evil and suffering in the world. To remedy this difficulty, some theists ascribe to God a self-consciousness or else purposefully place limits upon His omnipotence, omniscience, and/or benevolence. "Theism" is sometimes used to refer in a more general sense to any belief in a god or gods such as monotheism or polytheism.
- Deism, which holds that God is wholly transcendent, exists in direct counterpoint to that part of theism that takes up god's relationship to worldly affairs. For deists, God represents a First Cause, but does not intervene in the world beyond creation. In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and does not literally answer prayers or cause miracles to occur. Rather, god is simply the entity which created the universe, setting in motion all of its physical laws and processes. After this, god steps out of the picture, allowing the universe to be operated solely by these physical laws. In this way, deism is highly reconcilable with scientific thought. Also common in deism is a belief that God has no interest in humanity, or sometimes that God has no awareness that humanity even exists.
- Henotheism is the academic classification placed upon religious belief systems which accept or have accepted the existence of many gods, but worship one particular deity as supreme. This may take the form of a system in which one god rises to supremacy over others in a process of mythological succession (as did Zeus among the Greeks). However, it may also refer to systems where various gods exist in order to illustrate aspects of a greater, supreme being or essence, such as in Vedic Hinduism. Henotheistic beliefs are very often the precursor to full-fledged monotheism, as the inferior gods gradually fall away and the supreme god or universal principle beyond the gods becomes recognized as the sole divinity.
- Monotheism holds that there is only one God. This has led some traditions to espouse an exclusionist view, holding that their definition of God is the sole correct one. Exclusionist monotheists of one religion can, and often do, consider the God or gods of religions other than their own to be false. For instance, some Christian fundamentalists consider all the gods of other religions to be demons in disguise, including even the monotheistic God of Islam. Others maintain an inclusionist view, accepting the possibility of more than one definition of God to be true at the same time and/or claiming that the one true God is worshipped in different religions under different names. Eastern religious believers and Liberal Christians are more likely to assume that adherents of other faiths worship the same God as they, albeit with different attributes due to cultural influences. Moreso than any other religious classification, monotheism has been conceived of by many religions as an "ideal" towards which all spiritual endeavour should strive, hence it is the classification which often plays the most significant role in discussions of God.
- Pantheism refers to the belief that God is the universe and the universe is God. In this system, god is fully immanent, imbuing all of reality with a spiritual basis, while simultaneously retaining status as transcendent. All of Natural law, existence, and the sum total of all that is, was, and ever will be, is represented in the theological principle of God. This means that every object, as well as each individual human, is part of God. Most pantheists do not describe God in personalistic terms, instead conceiving God to be the unconscious, non-sentient universe and the holy majesty its totality entails.
- Panentheism holds that God contains the Universe but is not identical to it; thus God existing beyond the universe as well as within it. Panentheism is often compared to pantheism, however, the panentheist God is both immanent and transcendent, as in Theism. In contrast to theism, the panentheist God is less likely to be personalistic. Despite the fact that the term has only recently come into currency within religious circles, pantheistic sentiments are actually quite common in religious movements, such as the Jewish mystic sect Kabbalah, the Liberal Catholic Church, Process Theology, and many branches of Hinduism.
Conceptions of God
Ancient Conceptualizations
Many of the earliest conceptualizations of God, it seems, were actually of goddesses. Archaelogical findings suggest that small female figures and cave paintings of females were the dominant foci of worship during the Paleolithic times (35000-10000 B.C.E.). These depictions typically emphasize the reproductive parts, such as large breasts, the pregnant womb, and the vulva. These parts presumably represented women's creative, preservative, nourishing, and embracing traits, such as the production of new life and provision of nourishment. Extrapolating upon these figures, it seems that the female was also symbolically linked to the earth, as both were perceived to maintain the life cycle, to create and nourish new life. The frequent appearance of these figures in archaeological finds, and the lack of comparable male forms, has lead some archaeologists and religious scholars to suggest that the earliest human conception of the deity was as a goddess, with male divinity viewed as the subordinate partner. Some thinkers, such as Sjoo and Mor, boldly claim that God was conceived as female for the first 200 000 years of human life, perhaps having been carried on from earlier beliefs of the Cro-Magnons.
Later findings from Catal Huyuk in what is now Turkey suggest that settlements existing between 6500 and 5500 B.C.E. also held the goddess in highest esteem. Certain rooms in living quarters exclusively show paintings of the Goddess, while others feature pictures of female vultures near headless bodies, perhaps suggesting that it is the female which takes life back into herself in order to create it anew. Buildings and artifacts found from the ancient Indus Valley in what is now modern day north India may indicate the goddess was also of particular importance. This civilization, which flourished from 2500-1800 C.E., seems to have primarily venerated the Goddess, evident from the number of female depictions found. Any such themes of female primacy disappeared when the militaristic Aryans invaded the Indus Valley. The Goddess is virtually ignored in the Vedas, the foundational texts of Hinduism which were composed by the invading Aryans, suggesting the Goddess was supplanted by the notion of a male god in this region. Scholar Marja Gimbutas has extended these findings to argue that there may once have been an agrarian culture centred in Europe in ancient times which also worshipped the goddess. These peaceful people were, in theory, overtaken by patrilineal Russian invaders who assimilated the European goddess worshippers into their patriarchal culture. However, the reconstruction of such evidence is largely conjectural and in need of more concrete evidence.
Early monotheism
The religions that are monotheistic today are often thought to be of relatively recent historical origin. Efforts, however, at comparison between the various developments in each tradition are usually beset by the claims of most religions to being very ancient or eternal. The worship of polytheistic gods, on the other hand, is seen by many to predate monotheism. Today, monotheistic religions are dominant, though other systems of belief still exist.
Ancient Egyptian
The notion of one god, transcendent over the entire universe grew in several instances out of henotheism. One example comes from the iconoclastic cult of the Egyptian solar god, Aten, who was promoted by the pharoah Akhenaten (Amenophis IV), who ruled between 1358 and 1340 B.C.E. Upon inheriting the throne, Akhenaten brought Aten from relative obscurity among the other gods and made him synonymous with the sun, which Egyptians of that time period thought to be the single most powerful entity. Furthermore, Aten came to represent a more personal conception of the divine than the other gods, all of whom had been the primary focus of public ritual in temples. As these other gods in the pantheon came to be perceived as inferior to Aten, their idols were destroyed. Even though such works as Akhenaten's hymn to Aten offers strong evidence that Akhenaten considered Aten to be the sole, omnipotent creator, Akhenaten's program to enforce this monotheistic worldview was promptly put to a halt upon his death. The worship of gods other than Aten never fully ceased outside Akhenaten's court, and the older polytheistic cults soon regained prominence. However, the Aten cult could still be classified one of the earliest known examples of monotheism, and it is claimed by some scholars to have possibly been a formative influence on early Judaism's eschewal of polytheism, due to the presence of Israelite slaves in Egypt.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism provides another example of early monotheistic belief. Zarathushstra founded Zoroastrianism at best estimation sometime during the 10th century B.C.E. perhaps under inspiration to elevate divine-human relations above the Indo-Iranian polytheism of his time, a tradition steeped in an elaborate ritualism that obscured divine presence. Under Zarathushstra (as well as the later Zoroastrians) the various notions of divinity found within these assorted faiths were recognized as attributes of one all-encompassing deity called Ahura Mazda (or "Wise Lord"). Zarathushtra set his teachings apart from contemporary Iranian traditions by insisting that worship be dedicated solely to the Wise Lord. Although Ahura Mazda is the supreme power in the universe, he cannot, however, be considered completely all-powerful. Ahura Mazda is described as inherently good, just and moral, and as such creates only good things, a seeming limitation to His power considering the presence of evil in the world. Zoroastrians attribute the existence of evil to two subsidiary moral spirits who Ahura Mazda is said to have fathered: Spenta Manyu, who is good, and Angra Manyu, who is evil. Although such a conception limits Ahura Mazda's power, he is consistently described to be triumphant over evil, which marks him as the supreme entity in the Zoroastrian cosmos. Later Zoroastrianism also includes angelic beings called the Amesha Spentas, who are seen as emanations of Ahura Mazda, whose job it is to put in place His will in the physical world.
Greek definitions of God
While Greek mythology is known for its polytheism, Greek philosophy seemed clearly led in its development toward a notion of God in more singular or unified form. Early thinkers suggested that this pantheisitic essence for the universe perhaps took root in a natural element, such as Anaximenes (who claimed the essence to be air) or Thales (who thought it was water). Eventually these elements came to be more abstract, reaching beyond the physical world. Anaximander, for instance, proposed an uncreated and indestructible being which could not itself be considered a thing, yet was responsible for the existence of all things and ruling them all. For Pythagorus and his followers, all things were ruled by mathematics and geometry. Xenophanes propounded the idea of a changeless, undestroyable and unified entity which possessed infinite intelligence and was present in all things, which he called the "All-One" . He claimed this notion of unity and oneness to be the highest and most reasonable form of religious thought.
These ruminations as to the singular essence behind the universe culminated in the later philosophical monotheism espoused by both Plato and Aristotle. Plato construed god as representative of the single good which existed in contrast to the physical world, which was in constant flux and therefore evil. This so-called "Form of the Good" was held by Plato to exist beyond specific instances of good in the world, because each of these particulars was subject to mutability and therefore not eternal. Plato claimed these transient appearances of the Form of the Good were created by a demiurge. The point of life was to rise up from all that is ugly, evil and fallacious and realize the true, permanent Good.
Likewise, Aristotle, the famous student of Plato, believed that truth can be found within a proper understanding of the natural world, which is attributable to its ultimate source. This source, also known as the First Mover, is an immutable and indivisible entity, which represents the ultimate ground of truth and singularly provides the explanation as to why all things exist with the characteristics they do, as well as how they came into being. Aristotle propounded the idea that all people must seek to understand truth, as the search for truth is ultimately a form of participation in God. Both Plato and Aristotle's conception of the highest entity in the universe would go on to wield massive influence on the conceptions of God in the Abrahamic faiths.
Abrahamic conceptions
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are together considered Abrahamic religions due to the fact they worship the God who first came into covenant with Abraham. Abraham's portion of the convenant was that he spread the teaching that only God alone is the true God, and all others were not. Therefore, each of the three religions that trace their roots to Abraham strongly espouse monotheism. Further, no doubt due to the dialogical relationship between Abraham and God, Abrahamic faiths conceive of this god as deeply involved in human history rather than detached from it. God often appears at various junctures through time in order to alter the fate of the physical world.
Considering this close relationship between God and human beings, it is not surprising that Jews, Christians and Muslims often conceive of God as personalized, bestowing upon Him an explicit will and personality. Even God's physiognomy is marked by anthropomorphic traits, as seen in Genesis 1:27, "God said let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Also, God is almost always referred as male. Later, many medieval rationalist philosophers in each of these religions put forth the view that one should not conceive of God as personal in the literal sense, as such perceptions limit His transcendent majesty. Rather, they claimed that such personal descriptions of God should be understood as metaphors. Some within these three faiths still accept such views as valid, although the majority of the laity today do not have such interest or awareness.
Despite this God of Abraham being described similarly to humans, each of these faiths do retain a radical separation between God and world. The anthropomorphism does not overwhelm the godly traits: he created the world, rules over the universe, and has the properties of holiness (in that He is unrelated to sin and incorruptible), justness (being fair, right, and true in all His judgments), sovereignty (unthwartable in His will), omnipotence (being all-powerful), omniscience (knowing all), omnibenevolence (all-loving), omnipresence (everywhere-present), and immortality (in that He is eternal and everlasting).
Biblical definition of God
The Hebrew Bible contains no systematic theology, in that no attempt is made to give a rigorous philosophical definition of God. In fact, God's nature seems almost deliberately to be left ambiguous as though to render His nature mysterious. In Exodus God is cites as saying "you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live," suggesting that God's traits transcend human comprehension to the extent that the discrepancy becomes downright dangerous! Furthermore, nowhere in the Hebrew Bible are the words omnipotent, omniscient, or omnibenevolent used to define God in a systematic sense. Although Scripture does not describe God systematically, it does provide a poetic depiction of God and His relationship with people. Biblical texts make evident that God that cares about people, and that He also cares about whether or not people care about Him.
God according to the Bible is characterized not just as Creator, but also as the "Heavenly Father". As this title would imply, he is marked in the Hebrew Bible by a number of personalistic, or more specifically, paternalistic traits. Exodus 34:6-7 describes him suchly : "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin (...) will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation." Here god is described as being capable of a wide variety of moods ranging from loving and gentle to irascible and vengeful.
Like the Old Testament, the New Testament contains little systematic theology. Again no punctilious definition of God is given, nor is there an elucidation of how exactly God works within the world. However the first of John's letters states: "God is light" (1 John 1:5), before he states: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). This metaphor involving light insinuates that god's true existence is far beyond the physical world, yet his action within it can serve to sustain it. The New Testament also seems to provide an implicit theology as it teaches that God interacted and connected directly with people, in the person of Jesus, and that he subsequently sent the Holy Spirit to maintain this link. Through the person of Jesus, God becomes someone that can be seen and touched, and who may speak and act in a manner easily perceived by humans, while also remaining transcendent and invisible to the naked eye. This appears to be a radical departure from the concepts of God found in Hebrew Bible. The New Testament's statements regarding the nature of God and his various attributes were eventually developed into the doctrine of the Trinity.
God as Trinity
In 325, the Council of Nicaea declared that Jesus Christ, as the son of God, consisted of the same substance as the Father. To these two was added the Holy Spirit, the worldly manifestation of God within human beings, which resulted in the formulation that God was existed in three persons composed of one substance. Since the 4th Century AD, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "One God in Three Persons." Supporting the doctrine of the Trinity is known as Trinitarianism. Trinitarians hold that the three persons of God have the same purpose, holiness, and sovereignty, and therefore each can be worshipped as God without violating the idea that there is only one God to which worship belongs. After the Council of Nicaea, mainstream Christianity came to be defined by the doctrine of the Trinity, and other views of god were considered heretical. As such, the vast majority of Christians today are still trinitarian.
Some alternative views of the Trinity have been provided, however, such as Arianism, founded by the early Christian theologian Arius (256-336 C.E.). Arius claimed that the Son, while still divine, was subordinate to the Father, a view similar to that held by the contemporary Jehovah's Witnesses. Sabellius, a third century theologian, claimed that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are actually different modalities of one God as perceived by humans, rather than three distinct persons spawned from the essence of the one God. Mormons believe that the three personas are in reality three separate divine personages. One of these personages is a spirit without a body referred to as the Holy Ghost. The other two personages, the Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ, are resurrected beings with perfected or celestial bodies . Mormons hold that God is a Holy Man who advanced to his divine status through a repeatable process of progression. They believe that by following their religion's teachings, humans can also progress to become gods in the literal sense once they have experienced their own death and resurrection, a process called Exaltation.
Muslims, Jews, and a small fraction of Christians are unitarian monotheists, referring to the fact that they believe in god as an undivided one and nothing else. Unitarian monotheists hold that God is only one "person" (so to speak), and often consider Trinitarian beliefs to be a form of polytheism. As well, not all non-Christian religions disavow multiplicities derived from a supreme god. Hasidic Jews holds that there are ten Sefirot (emanations) of God, each of which is more distinct than a mere characteristic of god, but less distinct than a separate personage. Some sects of Hinduism also recognize the Trimurti, a conception of three major gods which represents mode of the supreme deity (see below).
Binitarianism
Binitarianism is an alternative view within Christianity that there were originally two beings in the Godhead. These two are most commonly held to be the Father and the Word that became the Son Jesus Christ. Binitarians believe that God is a family, currently consisting of the Son and the Father to whom he is subordinate. Some believe that other entities will eventually be born into this divine family. Binitarians claim their views were held by the original New Testament Church, and consider the Trinity to be a theological misappropriation fabricated by later Christian hegemony. Scholars of early Christian theology suggest that binitarianism developed out of circles existing during the Apostolic era which worshipped Jesu) in a manner that in traditional Judaism would be reserved for God alone, while continuing to affirm the Judaic notion that God is one.
In modern times, the Binitarian view is most commonly associated with some branches of the Worldwide Church of God. Unlike most unitarians and trinitarians who tend to identify themselves by the given terms applied to them, binitarians normally do not refer to their belief in the duality of the Godhead as binitarianism. Rather, the term has been bestowed upon them by scholars and theologians to place them in contrast to trinitarian theology. Although some critics prefer to use the term ditheistic or dualist instead of binitarian, those terms suggests that God is not one, rather than representing the more accurate binitarian belief that God is one family. Among early Binitarians, the Son's subordinance may have been upheld specifically to avoid this very charge of ditheism.
Kabbalistic and Hasidic definitions of God
Mainstream Orthodox Judaism teaches that although God is the creator of both matter and spirit, he is himself neither. This teaching has raised questions among some as to how can there be any interaction between the Creator and the created if the Creator is indeed so different from it. In response, early Kabbalists (Jewish mystics) envisioned two aspects of God: firstly, God himself, who is ultimately unknowable, and secondly, the revealed aspect of God who created and preserves the universe, interacting with mankind in a personal way. Kabbalists believe that these two aspects are not contradictory but rather complementary to one another.
Kabbalah teaches that in order to create the universe, God "withdrew," and created the universe within the space from which "He" contracted. It is taught in the Zohar that God, at the beginning of creation, shattered ten ספירות ("sephiroth") or כלים ("kaylim" or "vessels"), scattering their fragments throughout the universe. The sephiroth are comprised of different vessels embodying various emanations of God's being. Each of these sephiroth is more distinct than a mere characteristic of god, but less distinct than a separate personage, thereby precluding the perception that such a doctrine is polytheistic. Over time, this view evolved into the belief that all of existence was in fact God itself, and that humanity is endowed with an inherent Godliness which they must come to terms with. The standing view in neo-Hasidism, currently, can be summed up within the quotation "There is nothing but God," as is stated in the ancient Kabbalistic incantation, אין עוד מילבדו ("Ain od milvado"). Thus, the Kabbalistic view of God can be described as pantheistic or panentheistic, a definite departure from traditional Jewish theism.
Allah
Muslims conceive God as One, with monotheism forming the cornerstone to their faith. Just as in the other Abrahamic faiths, Muslims claim the worship of one god to be the only acceptable form of religious faith, and place themselves in direct opposition to polytheists and idolators. Allah is all truth and the source of all creation, therefore Allah alone is the sole entity for worship, and no other gods are to be acknowledged or worshipped, without exceptions. With this in place, Muslims deny all forms of polytheism, as well as the Christian notion of the Trinity, which they also claim to be polytheistic. There is no existence or supernatural powers to be worshipped other than Allah. To attribute the traits of Allah upon any other god is considered by Muslims to be the only unforgiveable sin.
The Qu'ran speaks of 99 names of God which can be used to describe Allah. In the Quranic text, however, more than 99 "names" are listed, most of which are not actually epithets, but rather attributes which Allah embodies. Many of these names portray Allah in highly personalistic terms, often claiming Allah as having the abilities to "see" and "hear", which has sparked controversy among Muslim theologians, some of whom claim that such passages insinuate God has a particular form and is limited by senses. In general, the conclusion has been reached that if God does see and hear, he does so in a manner unworthy of comparison to mere human sensations. One name, Al Haq, meaning The Truth, equates with Allah absolute truth which cannot be negated and is universal in all time, past, present, and future. This and other traits put forth the idea that Allah is completely transcendent and therefore wholly separate from humanity. However, he is said to be immanent within the world, as well, a process which is carried out through the revelation given to various prophets, the most important of whom is Mohammed.
Negative theology
Some Jewish, Christian and Muslim medieval philosophers developed what is termed as negative theology (sometimes called apophatic theology), the idea of approaching knowledge of God through negative attributes rather than positive statements. In negative theology, it is assumed that human language can never truly express the complete purview of God. Instead, that person who wishes to understand god must go beyond words. In this sense, negative theology is not a denial of what god is, but rather an exploration of what the Divine might be. For example, a negative theologian might claim that we should not proclaim God's existence in the usual sense of the term. Rather, we would be better off claiming that God is not nonexistent. Or, we should not say that God is One, but we can state that there is no multiplicity in God's being. Rather than asserting what god is, then, negative theologians discuss what God is not. This kind of theology is often allied with or expressed in tandem with mystical traditions, which commonly focuses on a spontaneous or cultivated individual experience of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception, experience often unmediated by the structures of traditional organized religion. Mystical experiences are often described as exceeding the boundaries of human language, therefore, statements about mystical experience of god may be best suited for such a theology of negation.
Conceptions of God in Hinduism
Vedic Henotheism
Hinduism of the early Vedas in largely characterized by polytheism or henotheism, with elaborate ritualism and sacrifice prescribed for the appeasement of the various gods. Various gods rise to supremacy at various times in Vedic myth, as well as in the execution of the ritual. Often this supreme God was called Indra, represented as a warrior god, or else cosmic forces such as Agni, the god of fire, Varuna, keeper of the celestial waters, or Vac, speech. Each of these deities enjoys a position at the top of the Vedic pantheon throughout the course of the Vedas. The interchangable nature of the supreme god suggests that Vedic henotheism was merely a heuristic device for a greater, more nebulous reality, with gods and goddesses personalizing various aspects of the supreme divinity in order to render it more accessible. Rig Veda 1:164:46 is famous for insinuating the existence of some divinity beyond the numerous gods, stating that "Truth is One, though the sages know it as many." Such a statement may be interpreted as a vague indication of a deeper monism or even monotheism, gauging from the later schools of Hinduism that were seemingly on a search to define god as ultimately one; even within these early texts, it seems clear that the Vedic seers were unsatisfied with the idea of their polytheistic pantheon serving as the sole conception of divinity. By the time of the Upanishads, early commentaries upon the Vedas, the notion of an ineffable, indescribable Supreme Cosmic Spirit which served as grounds for the entire universe called Brahman had been developed to better articultate this singular, supreme essence.
Vedanta Schools
The schools of Vedanta (or "end of the Vedas) are responsible for the further development of this a notion of Brahman. Advaita (or "non-dualistic") Vedanta, founded by mystic philosopher Shankara (700-750 C.E.), served as the fertile grounds from which one of the first monistic philosophies of God was developed. According to Shankara, Brahman is the only true reality in this world, and everything else is based in illusion (or maya). Maya is that complex illusory power which causes the Brahman to be perceived as the material world. Shankara also differentiated between Nirguna Brahman (Brahman without qualities) and Saguna Brahman (Brahman with qualities). When human beings attempt to understand the attributeless Brahman with their worldly minds, ever under the influence of maya, Brahman becomes God, or Ishvara as described as above. Therefore, God in the traditional form with positive attributes (Saguna Brahman) is Brahman conditioned by maya. Ishvara is omniscient, omnipresent, incorporeal, independent, Creator of the world, and also its destroyer, ruling the world with his Maya. However, while God is perceived in this conditioned state, humans by way of their ignorance are the servants of Maya, which is the cause of the widespread unhappiness experienced within the mortal world. The Advaita Vedanta philosophy concludes that once one comes to fully realize that the distinction between Brahman and all particular things, including the human soul (Atman), are merely an illusory, they will recognize their own inherent unity with Brahman and henceforth liberate themselves from the material realm.
Visistadvaita (or "qualified non-dualistic"), the second of the major Vedanta schools founded by mystic saint Ramanuja (1017-1137 C.E.), holds that while the self is still connected to Brahman, it is only an incomplete part and not the same as the whole. While god is infinite and represents the cause and effect of the universe, individual atman are limited and considered to be inferior to Brahman. Thus, simple realization of the soul's true identity will not suffice for attaining liberation, then, since Brahman and atman are not fully equivalent. Rather, Ramanuja prescribed that one should dedicate and surrender themsevles to a personal God in a process called bhakti (or "loving devotion"). Ishvara, then, is typically perceived by Visistadvaitas as almost or equally important in non-dual Brahman form. Belief in this deity was claimed by Ramanuja to be indispensible for purposes of devotion, the ulimate path to non-dual Brahman. The end result of veracious devotion is not a complete merger of the soul with Brahman, as was described by Shankar, but rather an oppurtunity for the liberated soul to share in the nature of God.
Madhva's (1238-1317 C.E.) Dvaita (or "dualistic") Vedanta, in contrast, denies any connection whatsoever between Brahman and atman. Intead, God is conceived of in wholly personal terms as Ishvara, a being totally seperate from the universe and souls within it. This view displaying significant overlap with Abrahamic theism. Nirguna Brahman is rarely acknowledged within this school, which considers the notion of a deity without characteristics to be an intellectual abstraction with no appeal in the context of religion as it occurs among laypersons.
Emanational Monotheism
Just as with the Vedic tradition, many outside observers interpret the practices of some modern Hindu sects to be polytheistic in nature. However, just as in the Vedic tradition, describing these Hindus as polytheistic is essentially innacurate. For Hindus, as in other faiths, God is made up of innumerable aspects, a consequence of its infinite nature. Therefore, like the Vedic deities, the numerous deities of Hinduism, which have been reported as numbering as high as 330 million, are necessary to provide personalized emphasis upon certain traits of God. Many members of the Hindu faith take the view that it is only through conception of so many divine beings that humans come to realization of Brahman or Ishvara.
One such example of a multiplicity serving as a window to the primordial oneness is classical Hindu idea of the Trimurti, which acknowledges three aspects of God in the personae of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). These three gods are simply different aspects of the one and the same Ishvara, who is ultimately inconceivable. In this manner, the Trimurti is similar to the Sabellian interpretations of the Christian Trinity. Such forms of worship are very much alive in many contemporary Hindu traditions, such as the Smarta school, which believes meditation upon icons (murti) representing an unlimited number of gods to be the optimum means by which connect with the greater power Brahman. Brahman transcends the iconic form. All gods, then, reduce to the same principle which does not exist as a plurality. Such schools of Hinduism are better placed under the classification of emanational monotheism rather than polytheism proper. Emational monotheism refers to religious traditions in which a singular monistic or pantheistic principle is perceived by humans as having many emanations or iterations, and is subsequently given worship through these forms. Other forms of Hinduism are more explicitly polytheistic. For example, the Mimamsa school recognizes the devas (celestial spirits) as the rulers over the forces of nature, with no particular deva rising above the others as the supreme deity.
Devotional Monotheism
Because the many Hindu conceptualizations of gods serve a practical purpose, some remain popular based on their features or mythologies, while others fall out of significance. For some Hindus, the practical polytheism involving the many gods has become non-essential as a means to consider one god, and hence there has developed substantial monotheistic movements which acknowledge one personalized God as supreme. Not surprisingly, these Gods to whom sole devotion ends up being given are those who have maintained significance since the early history of Hinduism. Such is the case with the popular movements of Vaishnavism, which worships Vishnu and his avatars, and Saivism, which worships Shiva. These are the two largest branches of Hinduism today. Both of these gods enjoyed some significance in the Vedas, Vishnu being declared the supreme god in several instances, and Shiva prominent in the form of his precursor, Rudra. Their mythologies burgeoned in popularity after the circulation of the Puranas and the Mahabarata, which laid the foundation for their eventual veneration as monotheistic gods.
In the movements associated with Shiva and Vishnu it is believed that Ishvara and Brahman are identical. Thus, these movements closely resemble traditional Western monotheism, in that each sect considers their chosen god to be the sole and supreme deity. However, unlike the Western traditions (as well as Hindu interpretations such as Dvaita Vedanta), the devotional sects generally do not interpret the relation between God and the universe as one of dualism. Rather, they maintain a monistic view which conceives their personalistic god as the supreme entity of the universe, embodying the indescribable and supreme power of the traditional Brahman without qualities as well as their anthropomorphic form. The personalistic attributes of Vishnu and Shiva are not perceived to be limitations upon their power. In fact, it is these very characteristics which are thought to render Vishnu or Shiva superior over Nirguna Brahman.
Ishvara, whether in the form of Shiva or Vishnu, is endowed with several major attributes. The number six is invariably provided for these, but the individual attributes listed in any given account vary since the actual number of auspicious qualities of God are said to be countless. One set of attributes (and their common interpretations) are: Jnana, the power to know about all beings simultaneously; Bala, the capacity to support everything without any fatigue; Virya, the power to retain immateriality in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations; Tejas, which expresses self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by way of spiritual effulgence; and Aishvarya, unchallenged rule over the sixth attribute, Shakti the energy which renders the impossible possible. Shakti itself is the focus of worship in Shaktism, another popular devotional school. Followers of Shaktism conceive of the divine power of the Ishvara as a female goddess called Devi or Durga who is worshipped as the Divine Mother.
Other Eastern Conceptions
Sikhism
Many scholars attribute the formation of Sikhism to geographical and social pressures which engendered the merger of elements from the Hindu and Islamic faiths. With that said, Sikhism features numerous aspects from both religions, such as the notion that God is essentially One (Ek Onkar). Numerous passages within the Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh holy book) assert the importance of this idea, including the very first stanza, known as the Mool Mantra. It reads: "One Universal Creator God. The Name Is Truth (...) Self-Existent." As in the Islamic faith, the assertion of monotheism is a rigourous one, as Sikhs reject any division of God, including the notion that god can produce avatars or human incarnations.
Generally, God is described by Sikhs as the creator of the universe, singular, supreme, timeless, omnipresent, and perfectly moral. Sikhs claim that God's very essence is unchanging Truth (Sat Namm). In addition, He is also described in seemingly anthropomorphic terms, such as in the aforementioned Mool Mantra, which describes Him as "Creative Being Personified." Although Sikhs, like Muslims, bestow many names upon God in order to describe His various traits, they most commonly refer to Him as Wahiguru.
Sikhism also features elements of pantheism or panentheism. Stories attributed to Guru Nanak suggest that he believed god to be everywhere in the physical world as in pantheism, in contrast to contemporaneous Muslims who believed God to be centered around the Kaaba in Mecca. Similarly, the Sikh tradition typically describes God as the preservative force within the physical world, present in all material forms. Each of these worldly forms was created as a manifestation of God. These ideas, taken together with the prevalent Sikh belief that God is the transcendent creator who exists independent of the world, could be interpreted to suggest that Sikhism is panentheistic.
Chinese Religion
The concept of Tian, the heavenly force which was believed to judge both the world and its rulers, came into currency within China during the Zhou dynasty (1122-255 B.C.E.). Scholars still debate whether or not Tian was a personal agent or an impersonal force which set in motion all natural forces, though general definitions span both meanings. Evidence suggests that under the Zhou, Tian was actually more of a personalistic force, representing an all-powerful entity which guaranteed peace and justice within the kingdom so long as rulers maintained order and justice. If order and justice were not maintained, Tian meted out punishment through natural and social disasters. The way in which the ruler was obligated to rule his empire in order to please Tian was known as Tian-Ming, or "the Mandate of Heaven." The ruler, then, was the most important link between Tian and the common people. In fact, only the ruler called upon Tian in the process of ritual and sacrifice. In this way, the people were detached from Tian, and eventually came to see the ruler as a sort of God on earth as the concepts of the ruler and communication with Tian came to be inextricably linked. Eventually, the ruler came to be known as Tian-zi, the "Son of Heaven," embodiment of Tian on Earth. During the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.), Tian became an item of even more reverence, as humans and the earth were believed to be deeply interrelated with it. Tian, then, did not remain separate from creation, and eventually actions of all people were undertaken with regard toward Tian. Inevitably, Tian came to be questioned as the actions of just rulers came to coincide with natural disasters and other seemingly undeserved fates.
Although the teachings of Confucius (551–479 B.C.E.) may seem more atheistic than theistic, the notion of the Mandate of Heaven still influenced his work. Confucius delved into the practical questions of how one would have to live in order to implement the will of heaven and therefore uphold peace, harmony and justice within society. For purposes of implementing the will, he stressed the concept of li which had previously referred to ritual, but was nuanced under his influence, coming to be refer to "propriety". By bringing personal, familial and societal roles into harmony, one could acheive li, the basis for putting the Mandate of Heaven into action. Tian is the foundation for all of which is good, the ultimate aid in attaining a life of ren or "humanity." Therefore, the truly humanistic person always keeps Tian in mind. Mozi (470-390) would expand upon Confucius' teachings, claiming Tian to be the absolute source of goodness, and the principle which differentiates between what is right and what its wrong. Tian brings what is recognized as beneficial and pleasing for all people in the world, particularly by way of people who seek its goodness through ritual activities such as sacrifice and prayer.
Lao-Tzu, author of the Dao De Jing and acknowledged founder of Daoism, provided a more pantheistic concept to describe the principle which creates and sustains the world, which he called the Dao. Simply put, the Dao is the way: the ultimate, ineffable principle which contains the entirety of the universe, yet also embodies nothingness as its nature. It is all things, but it is also no particular thing. Thus, the Dao, in its totality, represents the central unifying metaphysical and naturalistic principle pervading the entire universe. While the Dao is indescribable and incapable of full human understanding, it is not altogether indiscernable. That is, if one can look beyond the surface of things, they can potentially begin to see the Way of the universe, and come to a realization of their own place as a product of and participant within this Way. The Dao is also responsible for creation, oscillating between two contrasting creative energies which exist in diametric opposition, the yin and the yang. The yin and the yang put in place the dualities which persist in the physical world. Therefore, the Dao, while not personalistic by any means, embodies many of the definitive traits of God in other traditions. Later on, more personalistic conceptions of divinity would arise. In the Daoist tradition which followed, Lao-Tzu himself came to be viewed as the human incarnation of the Dao, and was venerated as a personal god. As well, numerous other people who followed the Dao were recognized as heavenly figures, or xians ("immortals"), and henceforth were acknowledged held a measure of supremacy in folk religious circles.
Atheism
Also necessary within a discussion of conceptions of god is atheism, which refers most generally to a lack of belief in god. However, the term has a variety of meanings ranging from ignorance or inconclusiveness towards the existence of god, to full-fledge denial that god exists. Also, atheism may entail a disbelief in certain conceptions of god, such as the personalistic variation. Such ideas have been present since aniquity. In the Far East during the 6th century B.C.E. , both Buddha and his contemporary Lao Tzu promoted a contemplative life which supplanted the idea of personal gods. The hedonistic Carvaka school, meanwhile, which flourished in India for a period of time which may have spanned as long as two milleniums between 600 B.C.E. and 1400 C.E., held that the only entities in existence were material, and that all the pleasures of life should be indulged since there was no possibility of god or afterlife to speak of. Similarly, in Greece during the 4th century B.C.E., philosopher Epicurus put forth the view that people should disavow faith in god and the notion of an afterlife in order to enjoy the immediate sensory pleasures. Although atheism was considered an anathema in Europe during the Middle Ages, Pope Boniface VIII brazenly suggested that Christianity was a fully human invention, and maintained this atheist position while still insisting on the political primacy of the Catholic Church.
During the Age of Enlightenment, atheism resurfaced as an accusation made against those who questioned the religious status quo, such as Thomas Hobbes and Christopher Marlowe. However, by the late 18th century atheism had become the philosophical position of a rapidly growing minority, headed by the openly atheistic works of Paul Baron d'Holbach. In the 19th century, atheism became a powerful political tool through the writings of Ludwig Feuerbach, who claimed God was a fictional projection fabricated by humanity. This idea greatly influenced economist Karl Marx, the founding father of communism, who believed that labourers are given religion by thier capitalist employers in order to mitigate the pain caused by the reality of their economic subordination. Religion, Marx claimed, subsequently renders the working class amenable to social control and exploitation. Friedrich Nietzsche summed up the 19th century popularity of atheism when he coined the aphorism "God is dead". By the 20th century atheism had become common, as rationalism and secular humanism came in vogue, particularly among scientists. By the late 20th century, atheism also became a staple of various Communist states such as the USSR and China.
Modern views
Process Theology
Process theology is a modern school of thought spawned from the process philosophy of mathemetician Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947 C.E.). In process philosophy, God is not omnipotent in the classical sense, where He is often viewed as a coercive being. Nor is reality composed of material substances that endure through time. Rather, reality (or more accurately, realities) is made up of serially-ordered units of events which are experiential in nature. These units are informed by both the past and the future, and are therefore linked to all other occassions which form the totality of the universe. These occassions, and therefore the entire universe, are contained within the mind of God. Those units link together according to patterns determined by the mental activity of god rather than occuring totally at random. However, God cannot force any one thing to happen, but instead can only offer probabilities. In this way, God allows free will to humans as well as everything within the universe, while maintaining a power of persuasion over individual wills (as opposed to explicit force). Therefore, the universe described in Process philosophy is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of free will, and therefore, both God and his creatures co-create the universe. Furthermore, Because God contains a universe which is in a constant state of flux, He too is considered to be malleable. However, the abstract elements of God, such as benevolence, wisdom, and so forth, remain constant. Therefore, God transcends the universe He contains, marking Process theology as panentheistic.
Posthuman God
Similar to Process philosophy is the belief or aspiration that humans will eventually create a God entity, which will emerge from artificial intelligence or a similar application of human knowledge. Since this God is created by humans and not before them, it is commonly referred to as the "posthuman" god. Such a concept has been suggested by famed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who has claimed that creating a God may actually be the true aim of all religion, rather than providing worship to one. Clarke's friend and science-fiction colleague, the late Isaac Asimov, postulated in his story "The Last Question" a merger between humanity and automated intelligence that ultimately produces a deity capable of reversing entropy. This deity subsequently initiates a new Creation trillions of years in the future when the Universe is in the last stage of heat death. Another variant on this hypothesis is that humanity or a segment of humanity will create or evolve into a posthuman God by itself; a view upheld by followers of cosmotheism and transhumanism, among others.
God as Dead
A number of quasi-atheistic definitions of God have been developed which describe god as "dead." While Nietzsche glibly commented upon god's death in order to summarize the intellectual climate of the 19th century, some theologians believe god actually existed at one point in the history of the universe, but eventually ceased to exist. Within the Jewish tradition, this position was held by Conservative rabbi Richard Rubinstein, who was imprisioned in Auschwitz concentration camp during his youth. Having witnessed firsthand the attrocities engineered by the Nazis, Rubinstein made the audacious claim that "God died at Auschwitz", thereby dissolving the covenant between God and the Jews. Similarly, within the Christian fold theologian Thomas Altizer put forth the view that God has died, not metaphorically but literally, in a process of self-annihilation. God alienated himself to the world through Christ, according to Altizer, and in order to be emancipated from the potential emptiness of a transcendent realm left vacuous without God, Christians must confess the fact God is indeed dead and move onward. Theologies such as Altizer's and Rubinstein's are highly unorthodox, and due to the extremely pessimistic implications of their ideas, as well as the theological difficulties that arise with the claim that an entity regarded as transcendent and immutable can somehow "die", these perspectives have not been widely accepted.
God as non-existent
According to Protestant theologian Paul Tillich, finite beings such as humans, which are theoretically infinite in variation, cannot be sustained or caused by another finite or existant being. The only entity, he claimed, which can create or preserve finite beings is being itself, which he often referred to as the "ground of being", or God. According to Tillich, god should not be conceived of as a being which is limited to time and space, as such limitations underestimate the divine ground of being, and thereby render it as finite, as well. Since God is the creator and sustainer of all finite things, god cannot be a finite being. Tillich attempts to eliminates these difficulties by claiming that "God does not exist. He is being itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him." While some accused Tillich of atheism, he instead suggests that since god is beyond the common understanding of being and existence and therefore must be considered non-existent for all intents and purposes. To call God a being is a gross oversimplification, as God, according to Tillich, is more precisely the essence of all being. For Tillich, God does not exist except as a concept or category for the aid of human understanding.
Extraterrestrials
Some comparatively new belief systems portray God as an Extraterrestrial life form or forms. Many of these theories hold that beings from another world who are highly advanced both spiritually and intellectually have been visiting Earth for many thousands of years, and have influenced the development of earthly religions. Examples of these beliefs, such as Raelianism, posit that prophets or messiahs have been sent throughout history in order to teach morality to the human race and encourage the development of civilization. In some cases, these intelligent extraterrestrial beings are said to have planted the seeds of life on earth, thereby making them responsible for the creation of humanity as well as all other biological organisms. One famous adherent of such a view was the late Francis Crick, one of the discoverers of the structure of DNA. Confronted with the statistical improbability of the origin of self-replicating and purposeful life within the span of time physicists allot for the creation of planet earth (which Crick alleged was miniscule), he was convinced life on earth must have originated far away.
God as Woman
Recently there has been a number of religious movements which have attempted to restore the role of the feminine in conceiving of God. Wicca, for example, has focused upon the use of powers derived from numerous gods, particularly the Goddess, in order to execute magical procedures. Wiccans base this esteem for the feminine principle on the idea that such worship practices were prevalent in the world including Europe during the Middle Ages, but were repressed by patriarchal religious traditions which attempted to limit the balance of power allowed to women. Wicca, then, is seen as the current interation of a long-standing tradition of religious beliefs which acknowledge the Goddess as supreme. This line follows from an ancient shamanistic European tradition which worships the Mother Goddess in three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone. Goddess, then, becomes the focus of worship and liturgy in the Wiccan tradition.
The urge to reinvigorate the sense of god as woman has found its way into mainstream religion, as well. Women in Christianity have begun to reconfigure the traditionally male conception of God, attempting to make it more feminine, both linguistically and theologically. Ruminations upon the feminine aspects of God have been dubbed theaology, based on the Greek root thea, or feminine conception of God as opposed to the masculine theos. Other depictions of a female Christ, often referred to as Christa, have also been produced. These terms have not necessarily been coined to change the conception of God and Christ to exclusively female in gender, but rather to illustrate the fact that male vocabulary has dominated conceptions of God throughout history, and that ideally the divine should transcend all statements of gender. Other Christian women have made similar assertions by associating Mary with the female nature of the divine, though Mary's unquestioning obedience to God as well as her virginity have been critiqued by some feminists as reinforcing the subordinate status of women.
Other feminist theologians, such as Rosemary Radford Reuther, have incorporated androgynous features to god in order to balance traditionally "male" and "female" virtues in the divine. Ruether refers to the supreme being by the gender-neutral term God/ess, and claims that this being must be that conceived of as both male and female, yet also neither male nor female. Androgyny may very well be the future of Godly conceptions in the context of gender. As John Bowker has suggested, "Maybe the next step woulod be to abandon both theo- and thea and speak instead of Deology; Latin is also gender specific (deus, dea), but both can be abandoned in speaking of Deo-." (p. 314).
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See also
- Atheism
- Agnosticism
- Deism
- God, Arguments for the Existence of
- Monotheism
- Nontheism
- Pantheism
- Polytheism
- Theism
External links
- Dwyer, Francis (2005). "Theologian Elections"
- Draye, Hani (2004). Concept of God in Islam. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Aish HaTorah (2003).
- Binitarian View: One God, Two Beings from Before the Beginning Updated 10/05
- Jewish Literacy. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Preston, Gregory (2005). Seeking Divine Guidance & Concepts of God.
- Nicholls, David (2004). DOES GOD EXIST?. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Salgia, Amar (1997)Creator-God and Jainism Retrieved October 18 2005.
- shaivam.org (2004). Hindu Concept of God. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Schlecht, Joel (2004). The God Particle. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2004). Moral Arguments for the Existence of God. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2005). God and Other Necessary Beings. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- Students of Shari'ah (2005). Proof Of Creator. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- The Freethought Zone (2000). Arguments for Atheism. Retrieved June 26 2005.
- All About God (2002). God - Scientific & Philosophical Arguments for God. Retrieved September 9 2005.
- Journal of Religion and Society (2005). Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look
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