Theism

The term theism (from the Greek theos, or "god") refers to two important concepts in the classification of religion. Specifically, theism is the view that all finite things are dependent in some way on one supreme, self-existent reality which is typically spoken of as having anthropomorphic character. Here, a God with decidedly human qualities is seen as transcendent creator and monarch of the world, yet is also immanent within it. This view of divinity is also known as classical theism. More generally, theism refers to a wide variety of philosophical or religious beliefs which assert the existence of one or more personal deities. The term is attested in English from 1678, and was probably coined to contrast with atheism, a term that is attested from ca. 1587 (see atheism).

Classical Theism

Classical theism can be identified by a number of features, the most notable of which will be described here. First, it involves a god who is active within the human world rather than detached from it. Second, theism places immense value upon the experience of god, either through symbolism, literature, or mysticism. Thirdly, this god is usually described as the ideal paradigm of moral perfection. Finally, the theist god is conceived of in highly personalistic terms and often comes to wordly fruition in the form of a human incarnation.

God as Immanent

The belief system of classical theism is often placed in direct counterpoint to the views of deism. While deism typically asserts that a deity created nature but does not interact with it, theism holds that god not only created the world but is also presenth within it, as well. While deism emphasizes the deity's transcendence over humanity, classical theism stresses the immanent nature of god in the world. For the deist, god exists as a mystery apart from the everyday world, whereas for the theist, the relationship between god and the world, and therein god and humanity, is far more involved. Despite this importance of immanence, theism should also be juxtaposed with pantheism, the doctrine which identifies a highly immanent god with the universe itself. In contrast, theism considers the physical world to be essentially different than its Creator, the Ultimate being, and human life is in no way an interation of the life of god. With such dualism in mind, theism should not be confused with monism, the religious or philosophical principle which regards everything in the universe as a part or manifestation of some ultimate principle or being.

God Who Can Be Experienced

An oft-cited difficulty with theism involves the question of how a being whose essence is transcendent can ever be said to be experienced and "known." Critics point out that god must exist beyond human comprehension, rendering any human statement about His nature highly suspect. Classical theists answer this charge by denying any claim to understand the mystery that is god in His true essence. Rather, they simply concede that the existence of a god is inevitable given the finite, contingent nature of everything else within the living world. This line of reasoning is certainly anomolous, as in everyday life the existence of most things is delineated through sensory description of the given object or event's qualities. For theists, however, god is the exception to this rule: intuition as to the being of god can be claimed without committing to anything about his nature beyond the perfection or infinite nature typically ascribed to Him.

In addition, theists typically believe that this god can be met or encountered in some way or another. Typically, such things as "love" or "faithfulness" can be affirmed of God in ways which reflect his involvement in his creation. While this may yield only remote relation between god and humanity, most theist systems are further supplemented by some sort of doctrine concerning divine revelation. That is, god is described as taking initiative in communicating with humanity, usually through sacred writings or images. Deep faith is placed upon the idea that god somehow communicated with prophets in the past in order to write and compile the scriptures, and also in the idea that god somehow inspires divine imagery. Furthermore, religious experiences are often given primacy in theistic systems. This can include experiences of the paranormal variety, such as the perception of voices or the sight of divine images or symbolism, all of which transcend the scope of natural phenomena. Religious experience can also occur more subtly within everyday occurances which can be interpreted by the witness as teaching some moral or aphorism congruent with the purview of God. Because of the importance placed on this type of experience, religious language, imagery and symbolism is of the utmost importance in theistic circles. As a consequence, much ritualistic art and theological endeavour are carried outin order to delineate the most adequate direction for such symbolic religious experience, rather than allowing it to develop haphazardly among individuals.

God as Morally Perfect

The theist God is often described as representing or embodying the ultimate in moral perfection. Simply put, God is eternally good. For example, in the Zoroastrian tradition, Ahura Mazda represents all the powers of good in the world, existing in direct counter point to Angra Mainyu, the spirit responsible for all things evil. This idea was adopted within the Abrahamic tradition, where God the Father, or Allah, representing all goodness, is placed in direct counterpoint to Satan or Lucifer, the fallen angel who exists in hell and represents the wicked. The coexistence of good and evil creates a difficult philosophical quandary which has persisted in theist theology: if God is only good, then how can evil exist within His creation? The existence of such entities as Satan has been crucial in mitigating the effects of such a problem. Regardless, human moral perfection is often taken to be the most important link between humans and divinity, oftentimes representing the means by which to measure divine involvement in the world. Thus, those human beings of the most highly cultivated morality, such as prophets and saints, serve an important function as embodied transmitters of the divine message.

God in Human Image and Incarnation

Another general motif in theism is that God is Himself in some way like the human beings he has created. Even the choice to refer to god by the male terminology reflects this proclivity among theist religions to construe God in anthropomorphic terms. Typically, the theist god is conceptualized as having a human form, usually that of a man, as in the case of Judaism and Christianity, where it is put forth in the creation story in Genesis that "God created man in his own image" (1.27, KJV). Furthermore, this god commonly takes on various human emotions. For example, in the Hebrew tradition, God is frequently swept up into anger with the Isrealites for their misappropriations of his commandments, while at other times exuding a sense of humane warmth and compassion for His people. A common criticism of theism suggests that human beings have limited their conceptual image of the infinite, divine being to their own earthly form. This type of God, it is claimed by such ethnologists as E.B. Tylor and James Frazer, is merely the penultimate extension of so-called "primitive" human beliefs such as animism, which project souls and personalities onto natural objects and phenomena.

Because of the importance of immanence, moral perfection and anthropomorphism as cornerstone traits in their conception of god, the tangible entrance of God into the physical world sometimes becomes a key feature for theist belief systems. In the case of Christianity and theVaishnavite school of Hinduism, this comes to a head in the doctrine of incarnation: that God can manifest himself directly in the living world in a purified, human form. For Christians, this embodiment is Jesus, the son of God; for Vaishnavites, it is Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu. These gods participate in the human world as humans themselves for the general purpose of aiding humanity and proving their love to all people.

Examples of Classical Theism

Zoroastrianism

An early example of theism can be found in Zoroastrianism, the religion of the ancient Persians which still exists in small circles today. The supreme deity, Ahura Mazda, represents one of the first deities in human history to be described as inherently good and all-encompassing. Despite Ahura Mazda's transcendent properties, he is able to put into effect his will by way of six angels, or Amesha Spentas. These beings also represent indispensible moral principles. Since Ahura Mazda is capable of creating only good things, evil is said to come into existence by way of a lesser spirit, Angra Manyu. Angra Manyu, it should be noted, is actually the offspring of Ahura Mazda, along with Spenta Manyu, the spirit responsible for evil. This type of familial lineage marks the anthropomorphism by which Ahura Mazda was sometimes described.

Ancient Greek

The pattern for later iterations of theism was laid out, in the very least a philosophical sense, by Plato. Plato spoke of god mainly in mythical terms, stressing his goodness as well as his caring nature in such works as Timaeus. However, in his later works, most notably the tenth book of The Laws, he uses the analogy of circular motion (specifically the notion of a fixed center which is unmoving and a peripheral object which is in constant motion) to argue that entities can be in flux while simultaneously remaining constant. This system served as an analouge for the action of god; a being who could interact with the human world without changing itself. This unchanging God, according to Plato, has designed the world on the pattern of Forms, the perfected iterations of any given object, and above all a notion of the "Good" which is beyond thought and is therefore transcendent. This transcendence, in concert with the personalized, mythical deities described in Plato's earlier work, could be interpreted as theistic in scope. His combination of supremely perfect transcedence along with god's ability to change the living world, provided the groundwork for later theistic thought.

Hinduism

While the Vedas, the earliest Hindu scriptures, are for the most part henotheistic, the notion of one supreme entity or self becomes more prominent in the Upanishads, the primary commentaries on the Vedas. This supreme self, called Brahman, is the basis of all things and is therefore immanent within the universe. However, it is also described as the essence of non-being, as well, hence it also retains a sense of ineffability. Unlike Western forms of theism there is little recognition of the idea that Brahman is involved in the physical world in a personal way. Likewise, the distinction between this higher being and the human being is not made. On the contrary, Brahman is said to be the very same as Atman (the human soul), hence the usual theist dualism of human and God is precluded.

However, such a monism does not exist exclusive from theism in the Hindu tradition. In the Bhagavadgita, the famous religious poem which most likely was penned in the 3rd or 4th century B.C.E., God appears on earth in the form of Krishna for purposes of educating Arjuna, a pensive young warrior, in his duties. This narrative marks the first significant scriptural notation of divinity's immanent, human aspect, thus setting in motion the development of theistic Hinduism. The Bhagavagita is particularly important in creating the impetus for the bhakti movement. This tradition of loving devotion to a particular god, which developed in medieval India, propogated the theistic tradition in India. Now, the worship of personal gods was seen to be the primary means for connecting with divinity, as this kind of worship allowed for a personal, loving connection with god. The end result of devotion, according to, among others, thinkers such as Ramanuja (1017-1137) the founder of qualified non-dualism, and Caitanya (1486-1534), founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, was fusion of the human soul with the likeness of God, which usually reduced to a single monistic principle. This lead to the development of traditions such as Vaishnavism and Saivism, where anthropomorphic conceptions of gods came to be worshipped as the superior, transcendent principles in the universe. Vaishnavites worship Vishnu, the god traditionally seen as the operator of the universe, or his avatars such as Krishna, as their supreme deity in what is essentially monotheistic. Saivites, on the other hand, worship Siva, the destroyer god in a similar fashion. Prayers and rituals dedicated to these gods petition for their sustained positive action in everyday human life. These traditions have continued to maintain their popularity in contemporary Hinduism. For this reason, the Hindu faith is commonly classified as practicing monistic theism.

Judaism

The idea that the world has been created and is thereafter sustained by a supreme being is perhaps no more poignantly propounded as it is in the Pentateuch. In the Jewish tradition developed herein, the single, personalized god represents a definite aberration in the preceding religious movements of the Semitic peoples. No longer is god specific to a given region or phenomena, nor is He depicted as having physical embodiment. Instead, the Jewish god is without a definite shape or form, and is the one god for the entire world. However, this does not render god as having an impersonal nature. Rather, the God of the Hebrew bible displays a panoply of human emotions, just as often loving, caring, and faithful to his people as He is irascible. While maintaining transcendent properties such as an all-encompassing and all powerful nature, God in the Jewish tradition is also involved in the world, taking a primary role in shaping its history. In addition, this god may also be addressed by humanity, although humans, as is typical in theistic thought, do not have the ability to perceive Him in His totality. In the famous story in Exodus 3, God reveals Himself to Moses through a burning bush petitioning him to rally the Israelites. When Moses asks God who he should say sent him forth, God replies vaguely "I am who I am" (3.14), perhaps hinting at the fact that His being is far too transcendent to ever be understood by humanity. While Moses wished to see god in order to obtain explicit proof of his existence, he was instead informed this is precisely what he could not have. Even though god was elusive, it is evident throughout the Hebrew bible that He is still able to communicate with human beings; thus, the Jewish god can be experienced. As well, this God represents the sole moral rubric for the Jewish people, as His actions represent not only the rightful destiny of Israel, but also that of the entire human race.

Christianity

The Christian conception of God is much like that of the Jewish tradition from which the tradition was spawned. God is described as dwelling in heaven and bears the all-encompassing traits of transcendence, while possessing the ability to interact in human history. However, Christians take the notion of god's interaction with the world a step further, accepting the doctrine of incarnation. Jesus Christ, they believe, is the messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, the embodiment of God who has come to earth to aid humanity. Christ's arrival and subsequent crucifixion at the hand of the Romans is said to symbolize god's unflinching love for all of humankind, along with his willingness to stand by them as they proceed through the trials of life. Another point in which Christianity came to diverge from its Jewish roots is in its conception of the Trinity, the doctrine which holds that God is one being represented in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. While the Father seems most congruent with the transcendent, monarchical aspects of god, and the Son represents Jesus as God in the earthly flesh, the Holy Spirit maintains the idea that there is a part of god which continues to interact within the world. The Holy Spirit is for Christians the energy through which god manifests Himself within people and events, compelling them to do his good works. Thus, the trinity further develops the theist strain of Christianity, as God remains personal and transcendent while still being able to effect earthly events.

A number of Christian philosophers and theologians have further delineated arguments for theism which have had impact both within and beyond the sphere of Christianity. St. Anselm (1034?-1109), archbishop of Canterbury from 1093-1109, provided a proof for the existence of god commonly known as the ontological argument. He put forth the claim that the human intellect possesses one idea which affirms that ultimate reality exists as one and is ultimately good. This entails the acknowledgement of an entity which is the greatest power in the universe, which exists subordinate to nothing. Thus, simply holding the idea of god as the superior power in the universe proves the existence of this supreme being. From here, Anselm put forth that his self-existent being is perfect: omnipotent, immutable and infinitely good; the mind's awareness of such perfection provides guidance for evaluating these claims based on human experience. This argument would later be reiterated by Rene Descartes in the middle of the seventeenth century.

St. Thomas Aquinas, famed Christian theologian of the thirteenth century, put forward five arguments in order to prove the existence of god. One of the most important of these, known as the cosmological argument, saw Aquinas claim that all movement must have a beginning impetus; hence, there must exist an "unmoved mover" who provided the initial grounds for all other motion. Everything must have an efficient cause, Aquinas claimed, meaning that everything must be accounted for, and for Aquinas this first cause was God. While this explanation logically leads to the question of who created God, Aquinas held that the first cause is beyond the causal sequence, and as such does not belong to it. This spoke to the supposedly infinite nature of God. For Aquinas, nothing can be spawned from nothing, thus, some reality which cannot be understood must exist as the explanation for the existence of everything. This argument for the existence of god was later defended by twentieth centry thinkers such as H.P Owen and E.L. Mascall, among others. Aquinas also provided proof for god's existence relating to the value and design found within the natural world, which would come to be known as the teleological argument. This line of thought puts forth the idea that the seemingly intrinsic order and purpose that characterizes wordly objects, beings and phenomena, suggests that there is some kind of cosmic Designer who has created the universe in such an orderly fashion. This idea was later extended by British philosophers Frederick R. Tennant and Richard Swinburne, who claimed that the existence of god is not only identifiable through the ordered nature of nature but also by way of the ability of human cognitive enterprise to understand the workings of the universe. As well, human aesthetic religious and moral endowments were taken by Tennant and Swineburne as further evidence of the existence of some higher being.

Islam

Islam followed in the footsteps of its Abrahamic predecessors and centres on a personalized deity, Allah, the same god talked about by Moses and Jesus. Despite a generally accepted sentiment that God transcends shape and form, several passages in the Qur'an describe Allah using anthropomorphic language, claiming that He can see and hear, among other things. Intense debate in Islamic theological scholarship over such passages has arrived at the conclusion that God does see and hear, however, he does so in a manner far superior to comparable human sensations. As in the other Abrahamic faiths, God is one, indivisible, and is in all things, yet is also completely separate from humanity. In a seeming paradox, while god is present in everything, Islam tends to represent every human action as the action of god within the given human, and henceforth seems to identify humanity with god. While such an idea is accepted in some circles of the mystical Sufis, mainstream Islam denies such charges vehemently. Instead, Allah is typically described as incontrovertibly transcendent. His immanence is reflected through instances of revelation to humanity through prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and most importantly Mohammed, who recorded the Quran, Islam's sacred book. Unlike Christianity, Islam rejects the notion of incarnation in the form of a person. While the Christian god is manifest on earth in the form of the Son Jesus Christ, Islam marks god's manifestation in the Quran instead. For Muslims, the Quran represents the direct revelation of Allah's wisdom.

Sikhism

Sikhism developed in the Punjabi region of India as something of a bridge between Islamic and Hindu thought. Just as in each of those other tradition, Sikhism regards personal awareness of god as a central factor in spiritual growth. This god is the creator of the universe, singular, supreme, perfectly moral and representative of the unchanging truth. However, He is also described in personalistic terms. For example, the opening verse of the Guru Granth Sahib refers to him as "Creative Being Personified." The Sikh tradition also describes God as preserving the physical world from day to day without any expense of his transcendence character. However, unlike some of the other theist traditions, Sikhs reject the notion that god can produce avatars or human incarnations, an idea most likely influenced by Sikhism's Islamic roots.

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í faith proclaims the existence of a single God who has created everything within the universe. This God is described in decidedly personal terms, possessing a purposive will and a mind which is highly conscious of and involved within His creation. Despite these ideas, Baha'is claim that ultimately God is too great for humans to fully know or understand. Rather, knowledge of God is limited to those attributes and qualities which are perceptible to human sensation. And while direct knowledge about the essence of God is not attainable, Bahai' believe that knowledge of the attributes of God is revealed to humanity through his messengers such as Krishna, Jesus, Mohammed, Abraham, Moses, Buddha and Zoroaster, among others, through a process of progressive revelation. Baha'is believe that through daily prayer, meditation and study upon the revealed teachings of these thinkers, as well as those of Bahá'í founder Bahá'u'lláh, they can grow closer to God.

Other Examples

Some traces of theism are present in other religions. Buddhism, although usually classified as atheistic, can be considered as acknowlegding a deity in such works as the Pali Tipitaka, the canon of the Theravada school. Although the Buddhist doctrine of compassion as well as its insistence upon moral discipline may lack something of the typical theistic personal relation with the deity, Buddhist adoration for bodhisattvas, and more importantly the Buddha, could be considered a form of veneration within the framework of theism. This trend has been more evident within popular forms of Buddhism which center upon the mythology of the bodhisattvas, such as the Mahayana sect. Similarly, Jainism is nontheistic, yet great figures in its history such as Mahavira have come to function as gods in the popular tradition. Confucianism may also be classified as somewhat theistic upon further consideration. Confucian texts frequently cite the existence of a "Mandate of Heaven" which refers to a power beyond the world which works for justice within it. In doing so, this Mandate provides the basis of ethics and makes one conscious of both individual and communal responsibilities. However, it lacks the deeply personal motifs of prototypical theism.

Modern theologies have made an effort to alleviate the persisting difficulty within theism by reconciling the existence of evil with the inherent good typically attributed to God. This has lead to the development, in some circles, of the notion of a finite God. That is, God exists as the ruler of the universe, and is unlimited in goodness while limited in power. Evil, then, can exist as a power seperate from god, and the claim can now be made that god does not intend for its existence, as well as the suffering and strife that it creates. These evil powers are yet to be subdued by god. While this cannot be described as traditional theism, the notion of a finite god still acknowledges the existence of a benevolent and unified creator. Such a perspective was first propounded by in the early twentieth century by psychologist and philosopher William James (1842-1910) and his followers, before resurfacing in the writings of process philosophers such as Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947). As such, Whitehead's subsequent process theology has adopted the idea that God is within the process of coming to fully identify with His creation.

Variations of Theism

Theism can also refer to a wide range of beliefs which assert the existence of one or more deities. Views about the existence of deities are commonly divided into these categories:

• Polytheism: The belief that there is more than one deity. Several terms must be differentiated here. First, Polytheism proper is the belief there is a pantheon of distinct deities, all of which are to be worshipped. Within polytheism proper there are hard and soft varieties. Hard polytheism views the various gods as being distinct and separate beings, while soft polytheism views all gods as being subsumed into a greater whole. Animism refers to the belief there are immense amount of deities and spirits within all things, which are to be placated and worshipped as need arises. Monolatry, in contrast, refers to the belief that there may be more than one deity, but only one should be worshipped.
• Henotheism: The belief that there may be more than one deity, but one is supreme. Closely related to this idea is Kathenotheism, the belief that there is more than one deity, but only one deity should be worshipped at any given time. Each god, then, is supreme in turn.
• Monotheism: The belief that there is only a single deity. There are two major types of monotheism indentifed 1) Inclusive monotheism, the belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities are just different names for this one and 2) Exclusive monotheism , which refers to the belief that there is only one deity, and that all other claimed deities are false and distinct from it, either the product of invention, evil, or human error. The Hindu denomination of Smartism serves as an example of inclusive monotheism. Most Abrahamic religions, on the other hand, as well as the Hindu denomination of Vaishnavism, serve as examples of exclusive monotheism.
• Pantheism: The belief that the universe is entirely contained within an all-encompassing, immanent deity.
• Panentheism: The belief that the universe is entirely contained within a deity that is greater than just the universe, both immanent and transcendent.

Theism is also implicated in a number of terms which refer to disbelief or doubt in the existence of God:

• Nontheism: The absence of clearly identified belief in any deity. Nontheisticreligions include Taoism and Zen buddhism.
• Antitheism: A direct opposition to theism, or else the view that theism is destructive.
• Atheism refers to belief that there is no divinity. This includes both strong atheism, the belief that no deity exists and weak atheism, an absence of belief in the existence of deities.
• Agnosticism: The belief that the existence of God or gods is unknown and/or inherently unknowable. This includes strong agnosticism, the view that the question of the existence of deities is inherently unknowable or meaningless, and weak agnosticism, which states that the question of the existence of deities is currently unknown, but not inherently unknowable.

It should be noted that these belief labels are often not as rigid in the literature and in practice as this classification scheme may suggest. For instance, classical Christianity asserts the existence of "lesser" deities such as angels and demons, causing some to argue that the belief system is properly a form of henotheistic polytheism. Most Christians, however, would resist being labeled as polytheists. Finally, it should be noted that a distinction can be made between belief in the existence of deities, and beliefs about their characteristics, or the belief in a deity as the summum bonum: see eutheism and dystheism.

See also

• Agnosticism
• Antitheism
• Atheism
• Existence of God
• Freethought
• Nontheism
• Omnitheism
• Open theism
• Panentheism
• Pantheism
• Pandeism
• Philosophical theism
• Transcendentalism
• Transtheism

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Owen, H.P. Concepts of Deity. Toronto: MacMillan. 1972.
• Plato. The Laws. Trevor J. Saunders, trans. Toronto: Penguin Publishers, 1970. ISBN 0140442227
• Plato. Timaeus. Donald J. Zeyl, trans. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2000. ISBN 0872204464
• "Systems of Religious and Spiritual Belief." The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Volume 26 Macropaedia. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2002. 530-577.
• "Theism." Encyclopedia of Religion, Mercia Eliade, ed. New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1987. 421-427.

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