This article is about the supreme being in monotheistic belief systems. For powerful supernatural beings considered divine or sacred, seeDeity. For God in specific religions, seeConceptions of God. For other uses, seeGod (disambiguation).
Inmonotheistic belief systems,God is usually viewed as the supreme being,creator, and principal object offaith.[1] Inpolytheistic belief systems,a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of theuniverse or life, for which such a deity is often worshipped".[2] Belief in the existence of at least one god is calledtheism.[3]
Conceptions of God vary considerably. Many notable theologians and philosophers have developed arguments for and against theexistence of God.[4]Atheism rejects the belief in any deity.Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of God is unknown orunknowable. Some theists view knowledge concerning God as derived from faith. God is often conceived as the greatest entity in existence.[1] God is often believed to be the cause of all things and so is seen as the creator,sustainer, and ruler of the universe. God is often thought of asincorporeal andindependent of the material creation,[1][5][6] whilepantheism holds that God is the universe itself. God is sometimes seen asomnibenevolent, whiledeism holds that God is not involved with humanity apart from creation.
Some traditions attach spiritual significance to maintaining some form of relationship with God, often involving acts such asworship andprayer, and see God as the source of allmoral obligation.[1] God is sometimes described without referenceto gender, while others use terminology that is gender-specific. God is referred to by differentnames depending on the language and cultural tradition, sometimes with different titles of God used in reference to God's various attributes.
TheMesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite God Yahweh.
The earliest written form of the Germanic wordGod comes from the 6th-centuryCodex Argenteus, containing aGothic translation of theBible. The English word itself is derived from theProto-Germanic *ǥuđan. The reconstructedProto-Indo-European form*ǵhu-tó-m was probably based on the root*ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[7] The Germanic words forGod were originallyneuter, but during the process of theChristianization of theGermanic peoples from their indigenousGermanic paganism, the words became amasculine syntactic form.[8] In English, capitalization is used when the word is used as aproper noun, as well as for other names by which a god is known. Consequently, the capitalized form ofgod is not used for multiple gods or when used to refer to the generic idea of adeity.[9][10]
The English wordGod and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all.
TheHebrew word for 'god' isEl, which also as a proper noun referred to the chief deity in ancient Semitic religions. In theHebrew Bible, God is also given a personal name,Yahweh, in contrast to the genetic name, and in origin possibly the name of anEdomite orMidianite deity who was adopted intoancient Israelite religion.[11] In many English translations of theBible, Yahweh is translated as "the LORD" with "Lord" in all caps.[12]Jah or Yah is an abbreviation of Jahweh/Yahweh, and often sees usage by Jews and Christians in the interjection "Hallelujah", meaning 'praise Jah', which is used to give God glory.[13] InJudaism, some of the Hebrew titles of God are consideredholy names.
Allāh (Arabic:الله) is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews meaning 'the God', whileʾilāh (إِلَٰه, plural`ālihaآلِهَة) is the term used for a deity or a god in general.[14][15][16]Muslims also use amultitude of other titles for God.
Ahura Mazda is the name for God used inZoroastrianism. "Mazda", or rather the Avestan stem-formMazdā-, nominativeMazdå, reflects Proto-Iranian*Mazdāh (female). It is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like itsSanskrit cognatemedhā means 'intelligence' or 'wisdom'. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflectProto-Indo-Iranian*mazdhā-, fromProto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning 'placing (dʰeh1) one's mind (*mn̩-s)', hence 'wise'.[20] Meanwhile101 other names are also in use.[21]
Waheguru (Punjabi:vāhigurū) is a term most often used inSikhism to refer to God.[22] It means 'Wonderful Teacher' in the Punjabi language.Vāhi (aMiddle Persian borrowing) means 'wonderful', andguru (Sanskrit:guru) is a term denoting 'teacher'. Waheguru is also described by some as an experience of ecstasy which is beyond all description. The most common usage of the wordWaheguru is in the greeting Sikhs use with each other—Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa, Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh, "Wonderful Lord'sKhalsa, Victory is to the Wonderful Lord."
Baha, the "greatest" name for God in theBaháʼí Faith, is Arabic for "All-Glorious".[23]
Ontological arguments refer to any argument for the existence of God that is based ona priori reasoning.[30] Notable ontological arguments were formulated byAnselm andRené Descartes.[31]Cosmological arguments use concepts around the origin of the universe to argue for the existence of God.
Theteleological argument, also called "argument from design", uses the complexity within the universe as a proof of the existence of God.[32] It is countered that thefine tuning required for a stable universe with life on earth is illusory, as humans are only able to observe the small part of this universe that succeeded in making such observation possible, called theanthropic principle, and so would not learn of, for example, life on other planets or ofuniverses that did not occur because of differentlaws of physics.[33] Non-theists have argued that complex processes that have natural explanations yet to be discovered are referred to the supernatural, calledgod of the gaps. Other theists, such asJohn Henry Newman who believedtheistic evolution was acceptable, have also argued against versions of the teleological argument and held that it is limiting of God to view him having to only intervene specially in some instances rather than having complex processes designed to create order.[34]
Theargument from beauty states that this universe happens to contain special beauty in it and that there would be no particular reason for this over aesthetic neutrality other than God.[35] This has been countered by pointing to the existence of ugliness in the universe.[36] This has also been countered by arguing that beauty has no objective reality and so the universe could be seen as ugly or that humans have made what is more beautiful than nature.[37]
Theargument from morality argues for the existence of God given the assumption of the objective existence ofmorals.[38] While prominent non-theistic philosophers such as the atheistJ. L. Mackie agreed that the argument is valid, they disagreed with its premises.David Hume argued that there is no basis to believe in objective moral truths while biologistE. O. Wilson theorized that the feelings of morality are a by-product of natural selection in humans and would not exist independent of the mind.[39] PhilosopherMichael Lou Martin argued that a subjective account for morality can be acceptable. Similar to the argument from morality is theargument from conscience which argues for the existence of God given the existence of a conscience that informs of right and wrong, even against prevailing moral codes. PhilosopherJohn Locke instead argued that conscience is a social construct and thus could lead to contradicting morals.[40]
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection ofbelief in the existence of deities.[41][42]Agnosticism is the view that thetruth values of certain claims—especiallymetaphysical and religious claims such aswhether God, thedivine or thesupernatural exist—are unknown and perhaps unknowable.[43][44][45][46]Theism generally holds that God exists objectively and independently of human thought and is sometimes used to refer to any belief in God or gods.
Some view the existence of God as an empirical question.Richard Dawkins states that "a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without, and it would be a scientific difference".[47]Carl Sagan argued that the doctrine of a Creator of the Universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a Creator (not necessarily a God) would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old.[48] Some theologians, such asAlister McGrath, argue that the existence of God is not a question that can be answered using thescientific method.[49][50]
AgnosticStephen Jay Gould argued that science and religion are not in conflict and proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called "non-overlapping magisteria" (NOMA).[51] In this view, questions of thesupernatural, such as those relating to theexistence and nature of God, arenon-empirical and are the proper domain oftheology. The methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world, and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value. In this view, the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world.[52]Stephen Hawking and co-authorLeonard Mlodinow state in their 2010 book,The Grand Design, that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe, but if the answer is God, then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created God. Both authors claim, however, that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science and without invoking divine beings.[53][54]
Trinitarians believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are three distinct persons sharing a single nature or essence.
A deity, or "god" (withlowercaseg), refers to a supernatural being.[55]Monotheism is the belief that there is only one deity, referred to as "God" (with uppercaseg). Comparing or equating other entities to God is viewed asidolatry in monotheism, and is often strongly condemned.Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic traditions in the world.[56] Islam's most fundamental concept istawhid, meaning 'oneness' or "uniqueness'.[57] The firstpillar of Islam is anoath that forms the basis of the religion and which non-Muslims wishing to convert must recite, declaring that, "I testify that there is no deity except God."[58]
In Christianity, thedoctrine of the Trinity describesGod as one God inFather,Son (Jesus), andHoly Spirit.[59] In past centuries, this fundamental mystery of the Christian faith was also summarized by the Latin formulaSancta Trinitas, Unus Deus (Holy Trinity, Unique God), reported in theLitanias Lauretanas.
God in Hinduism is viewed differently by diverse strands of the religion, with most Hindus having faith in asupreme reality (Brahman) who can be manifested in numerous chosen deities. Thus, the religion is sometimes characterized asPolymorphic Monotheism.[60]Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god at a time while accepting the validity of worshiping other deities.[61]Monolatry is the belief in a single deity worthy of worship while accepting the existence of other deities.[62]
Transcendence is the aspect of God's nature that is completely independent of the material universe and its physical laws. Many supposed characteristics of God are described in human terms.Anselm thought that God did not feel emotions such as anger or love, but appeared to do so through our imperfect understanding. The incongruity of judging "being" against something that might not exist, led many medieval philosophers approach to knowledge of God through negative attributes, calledNegative theology. For example, one should not say that God is wise, but can say that God is not ignorant (i.e. in some way God has some properties of knowledge). Christian theologianAlister McGrath writes that one has to understand a "personal god" as an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[63]
Pantheism holds that God is the universe and the universe is God and denies that God transcends the Universe.[64] For pantheist philosopherBaruch Spinoza, the whole of the natural universe is made of one substance, God, or its equivalent, Nature.[65][66] Pantheism is sometimes objected to as not providing any meaningful explanation of God with the German philosopherArthur Schopenhauer stating, "Pantheism is only a euphemism for atheism."[67]Pandeism holds that God was a separate entity but thenbecame the universe.[68][69]Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe.[70][71]
God Blessing the Seventh Day, 1805 watercolor painting byWilliam Blake
God is often viewed as the cause of all that exists. ForPythagoreans,Monad variously referred to divinity, the first being or an indivisible origin.[72] The philosophy ofPlato andPlotinus refers to "The One", which is the first principle of reality that is "beyond" being[73] and is both the source of the Universe and theteleological purpose of all things.[74]Aristotle theorized afirst uncaused cause for all motion in the universe and viewed it as perfectly beautiful, immaterial, unchanging and indivisible.Aseity is the property of not depending on any cause other than itself for its existence.Avicenna held that there must be anecessarily existent guaranteed to exist by its essence—it cannot "not" exist—and that humans identify this as God.[75]Secondary causation refers to God creating the laws of the Universe which then can change themselves within theframework of those laws. In addition to the initial creation,occasionalism refers to the idea that the Universe would not by default continue to exist from one instant to the next and so would need to rely on God as asustainer. Whiledivine providence refers to any intervention by God, it is usually used to refer to "special providence", where there is an extraordinary intervention by God, such asmiracles.[76][77]
Deism holds that God exists but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary to create it,[78] such as answering prayers or producing miracles. Deists sometimes attribute this to God having no interest in or not being aware of humanity. Pandeists would hold that God does not intervene because God is the Universe.[79]
Of those theists who hold that God has an interest in humanity, most hold that God isomnipotent, omniscient, and benevolent. This belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world.Dystheism, which is related totheodicy, is a form of theism which holds that God is either not wholly good or is fully malevolent as a consequence of theproblem of evil.
Omniscience and omnipotence
Omnipotence (all-powerful) is an attribute often ascribed to God. Theomnipotence paradox is most often framed with the example "Could God create a stone so heavy that even he could not lift it?" as God could either be unable to create that stone or lift that stone and so could not be omnipotent. This is often countered with variations of the argument that omnipotence, like any other attribute ascribed to God, only applies as far as it is noble enough to befit God and thus God cannot lie, or do what is contradictory as that would entail opposing himself.[80]
Omniscience (all-knowing) is an attribute often ascribed to God. This implies that God knows how free agents will choose to act. If God does know this, either theirfree will might be illusory or foreknowledge does not imply predestination, and if God does not know it, God may not be omniscient.[81]Open Theism limits God's omniscience by contending that, due to the nature of time, God's omniscience does not mean the deity can predict the future andprocess theology holds that God does not haveimmutability, so is affected by his creation.
God has also been conceived as beingincorporeal (immaterial), apersonal being, the source of allmoral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[1] These attributes were all supported to varying degrees by the early Jewish, Christian and Muslim theologian philosophers, includingMaimonides,[83]Augustine of Hippo,[83] andAl-Ghazali,[4] respectively.
Some interpretations and traditions ofBuddhism can be conceived as beingnon-theistic.Buddhism has generally rejected the specific monotheistic view of acreator deity. The Buddha criticizes the theory of creationism in theearly Buddhist texts.[85][86] Also, major Indian Buddhist philosophers, such asNagarjuna,Vasubandhu,Dharmakirti, andBuddhaghosa, consistently critiqued Creator God views put forth by Hindu thinkers.[87][88][89] However, as a non-theistic religion, Buddhism leaves the existence of a supreme deity ambiguous. There are significant numbers of Buddhists who believe in God, and there are equally large numbers who deny God's existence or are unsure.[90][91]
Some atheists have argued that a single, omniscient God who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined and embellished over generations.[94]
Pascal Boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world, in general, supernatural beings tend to behave much like people. The construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion. He cites examples fromGreek mythology, which is, in his opinion, more like a modernsoap opera than other religious systems.[95]
Bertrand du Castel and Timothy Jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that Boyer's explanatory model matches physics'epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries.[96]
Anthropologist Stewart Guthrie contends that people project human features onto non-human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar.Sigmund Freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one's father.[97]
Likewise,Émile Durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings. In line with this reasoning, psychologist Matt Rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups, they may have created gods as a means of enforcing morality. In small groups, morality can be enforced by social forces such as gossip or reputation. However, it is much harder to enforce morality using social forces in much larger groups. Rossano indicates that by including ever-watchful gods and spirits, humans discovered an effective strategy for restraining selfishness and building more cooperative groups.[98]
Johns Hopkins researchers studying the effects of the "spirit molecule"DMT, which is both an endogenous molecule in the human brain and the active molecule in the psychedelicayahuasca, found that a large majority of respondents said DMT brought them into contact with a "conscious, intelligent, benevolent, and sacred entity", and describe interactions that oozed joy, trust, love, and kindness. More than half of those who had previously self-identified as atheists described some type of belief in a higher power or God after the experience.[99]
About a quarter of those afflicted bytemporal lobe seizures experience what is described as a religious experience[100] and may become preoccupied by thoughts of God even if they were not previously. NeuroscientistV. S. Ramachandran hypothesizes that seizures in the temporal lobe, which is closely connected to the emotional center of the brain, thelimbic system, may lead to those afflicted to view even banal objects with heightened meaning.[101]
Psychologists studying feelings of awe found that participants feeling awe after watching scenes of natural wonders become more likely to believe in a supernatural being and to see events as the result of design, even when given randomly generated numbers.[102]
Theistic religious traditions often require worship of God and sometimes hold that thepurpose of existence is to worship God.[103][104] To address the issue of an all-powerful being demanding to be worshipped, it is held that God does not need or benefit from worship but that worship is for the benefit of the worshipper.[105]Mahatma Gandhi expressed the view that God does not need his supplication and that, "Prayer is not an asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is a daily admission of one's weakness."[106] Invoking God in prayer plays a significant role among many believers. Depending on the tradition, God can be viewed as a personal God who is only to be invoked directly while other traditions allow praying to intermediaries, such assaints, tointercede on their behalf. Prayer often also includessupplication such asasking forgiveness. God is often believed to be forgiving. For example, ahadith states God would replace a sinless people with one who sinned but still asked repentance.[107]Sacrifice for the sake of God is another act of devotion that includesfasting andalmsgiving.Remembrance of God in daily life include mentioning interjectionsthanking God when feeling gratitude orphrases of adoration, such as repeatingchants while performing other activities.
Transtheistic religious traditions may believe in the existence of deities but deny any spiritual significance to them. The term has been used to describe certain strands of Buddhism,[108] Jainism andStoicism.[109]
Among religions that do attach spirituality to the relationship with God disagree as how to best worship God and what isGod's plan for mankind. There are different approaches to reconciling the contradictory claims of monotheistic religions. One view is taken by exclusivists, who believe they are thechosen people or have exclusive access to absolute truth, generally throughrevelation or encounter with the Divine, which adherents of other religions do not. Another view isreligious pluralism. A pluralist typically believes that his religion is the right one, but does not deny the partial truth of other religions. The view that all theists actually worship the same god, whether they know it or not, is especially emphasized in the Baháʼí Faith, Hinduism,[110] and Sikhism.[111] TheBaháʼí Faith preaches thatdivine manifestations include great prophets and teachers of many of the major religious traditions such as Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Zoroaster, Muhammad, Bahá'ú'lláh and also preaches the unity of all religions and focuses on these multiple epiphanies as necessary for meeting the needs of humanity at different points in history and for different cultures, and as part of a scheme ofprogressive revelation and education of humanity. An example of a pluralist view in Christianity issupersessionism, i.e., the belief that one's religion is the fulfillment of previous religions. A third approach isrelativistic inclusivism, where everybody is seen as equally right; an example beinguniversalism: the doctrine thatsalvation is eventually available for everyone. A fourth approach issyncretism, mixing different elements from different religions. An example of syncretism is theNew Age movement.
Fideism is the position that in certain topics, notably theology such as inreformed epistemology, faith is superior than reason in arriving at truths. Some theists argue that there is value to the risk in having faith and that if the arguments for God's existence were as rational as the laws of physics then there would be no risk. Such theists often argue that the heart is attracted to beauty, truth and goodness and so would be best for dictating about God, as illustrated throughBlaise Pascal who said, "The heart has its reasons that reason does not know."[112] A hadith attributes a quote to God as "I am what my slave thinks of me."[113] Inherent intuition about God is referred to in Islam asfitra, or "innate nature".[114] In Confucian tradition, Confucius andMencius promoted that the only justification for right conduct, called the Way, is what is dictated by Heaven, a more or less anthropomorphic higher power, and is implanted in humans and thus there is only one universal foundation for the Way.[115]
Revelation refers to some form of message communicated by God. This is usually proposed to occur through the use ofprophets orangels.Al-Maturidi argued for the need for revelation because even though humans are intellectually capable of realizing God, human desire can divert the intellect and because certain knowledge cannot be known except when specially given to prophets, such as the specifications of acts of worship.[116] It is argued that there is also that which overlaps between what is revealed and what can be derived. According to Islam, one of the earliest revelations to ever be revealed was "If you feel no shame, then do as you wish."[117] The termgeneral revelation is used to refer to knowledge revealed about God outside ofdirect orspecial revelation such as scriptures. Notably, this includes studying nature, sometimes seen as theBook of Nature.[118] An idiom in Arabic states, "The Qur'an is a Universe that speaks. The Universe is a silent Qur'an."[119]
In theJudeo-Christian tradition, "the Bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of God". That the Bible "includes many different images, concepts, and ways of thinking about" God has resulted in perpetual "disagreements about how God is to be conceived and understood".[125] Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles there are titles for God, who revealed his personal name asYHWH (often vocalized asYahweh orJehovah).[11] One of them isElohim. Another one isEl Shaddai, translated 'God Almighty'.[126] A third notable title isEl Elyon, which means 'The High God'.[127] Also noted in theHebrew andChristian Bibles is the name "I Am that I Am".[128][11]
God is described and referred in theQuran and hadith by certainnames or attributes, the most common beingAl-Rahman, meaning 'Most Compassionate', andAl-Rahim, meaning 'Most Merciful'.[129] Many of these names are also used in the scriptures of theBaháʼí Faith.
The gender of God may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who, in classical Western philosophy, transcends bodily form.[130][131]Polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each ofthe gods a gender, allowing each to interact with any of the others, and perhaps with humans, sexually. In most monotheistic religions, God has no counterpart with which to relate sexually. Thus, in classical Western philosophy the gender of this one-and-only deity is most likely to be ananalogical statement of how humans and God address, and relate to, each other. Namely, God is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active (as opposed to the receptive) role in sexual intercourse.[132]
InSikhism,God is "Ajuni" (Without Incarnations), which means that God is not bound to any physical forms. This concludes that the All-pervading Lord is Gender-less.[135] However, theGuru Granth Sahib constantly refers to God as 'He' and 'Father' (with some exceptions), typically because the Guru Granth Sahib was written in north IndianIndo-Aryan languages (mixture ofPunjabi andSant Bhasha, Sanskrit with influences of Persian) which have no neutral gender. From further insights into the Sikh philosophy, it can be deduced that God is, sometimes, referred to as the Husband to the Soul-brides, in order to make a patriarchal society understand what the relationship with God is like. Also, God is considered to be the Father, Mother, and Companion.[136]
Ahura Mazda (depiction is on the right, with high crown) presentsArdashir I (left) with the ring of kingship. (Relief atNaqsh-e Rustam, 3rd century CE)
In Zoroastrianism, during the earlyParthian Empire,Ahura Mazda was visually represented for worship. This practice ended during the beginning of theSasanian Empire. Zoroastrianiconoclasm, which can be traced to the end of the Parthian period and the beginning of the Sassanid, eventually put an end to the use of all images of Ahura Mazda in worship. However, Ahura Mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure, standing or on horseback, which is found in Sassanian investiture.[137]
Deities from Near Eastern cultures are often thought of asanthropomorphic entities who have a human like body which is, however, not equal to a human body. Such bodies were often thought to be radiant or fiery, of superhuman size or extreme beauty. The ancient deity of theIsraelites (Yahweh) too was imagined as a transcendent but still anthropomorphic deity.[138] Humans could not see him, because of their impurity in contrast to Yahweh's holiness, Yahweh being described as radiating fire and light which could kill a human if looking at him. Further, more religious or spiritual people tend to have less anthropomorphic depictions of God.[139] In Judaism, theTorah often ascribes human features to God, however, many other passages describe God as formless and otherworldly. Judaism isaniconic, meaning it overly lacks material, physical representations of both the natural and supernatural worlds. Furthermore, the worship of idols is strictly forbidden. The traditional view, elaborated by figures such asMaimonides, reckons that God is wholly incomprehensible and therefore impossible to envision, resulting in a historical tradition of "divine incorporeality". As such, attempting to describe God's "appearance" in practical terms is considered disrespectful to the deity and thus is taboo, and arguably heretical.[citation needed]
Gnostic cosmogony often depicts the creator god of the Old Testament as an evil lesser deity orDemiurge, while the higher benevolent god orMonad is thought of as something beyond comprehension having immeasurable light and not in time or among things that exist, but rather is greater than them in a sense. All people are said to have a piece of God ordivine spark within them which has fallen from the immaterial world into the corrupt material world and is trapped unlessgnosis is attained.[140][141][142]
Early Christians believed that the words of theGospel of John 1:18: "No man has seen God at any time" and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to God, but to all attempts at the depiction of God.[143] However, later depictions of God are found. Some, such as theHand of God, are depiction borrowed from Jewish art. Prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolizeGod the Father inWestern art.[143] Yet, Western art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the Father, so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the Father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century AD. A rationale for the use of a human is the belief that God created the soul of man in the image of his own (thus allowing humans to transcend the other animals). It appears that when early artists designed to represent God the Father, fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure. Typically only a small part would be used as the image, usually the hand, or sometimes the face, but rarely a whole human. In many images, the figure of the Son supplants the Father, so a smaller portion of the person of the Father is depicted.[144] By the 12th century depictions of God the Father had started to appear in Frenchilluminated manuscripts, which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography, and in stained glass church windows in England. Initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space, where the Hand of God had formerly appeared; theBaptism of Christ on the famousbaptismal font in Liège ofRainer of Huy is an example from 1118 (a Hand of God is used in another scene). Gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half-length figure, then a full-length, usually enthroned, as inGiotto'sfrescoc. 1305 inPadua.[145] In the 14th century theNaples Bible carried a depiction of God the Father in theBurning bush. By the early 15th century, theTrès Riches Heures du Duc de Berry had a considerable number of symbols, including an elderly but tall and elegant full-length figure walking in theGarden of Eden, which show a considerable diversity of apparent ages and dress. The"Gates of Paradise" of the Florence Baptistry byLorenzo Ghiberti, begun in 1425 use a similar tall full-length symbol for the Father. TheRohan Book of Hours of about 1430 also included depictions of God the Father in half-length human form, which were now becoming standard, and the Hand of God becoming rarer. At the same period other works, such as the large Genesisaltarpiece by the Hamburg painterMeister Bertram, continued to use the old depiction of Christ asLogos in Genesis scenes. In the 15th century there was a brief fashion for depicting all three persons of the Trinity assimilar or identical figures with the usual appearance of Christ. In a TrinitarianPietà, God the Father is often symbolized using a man wearing a papal dress and a papal crown, supporting the dead Christ in his arms.[146] In 1667 the 43rd chapter of theGreat Moscow Synod specifically included a ban on a number of symbolic depictions of God the Father and the Holy Spirit, which then also resulted in a range of other icons being placed on the forbidden list,[147][148] mostly affecting Western-style depictions which had been gaining ground in Orthodox icons. The council also declared that the person of the Trinity who was the "Ancient of Days" was Christ, aslogos, not God the Father. However some icons continued to be produced in Russia, as well as Greece, Romania, and other Orthodox countries.
In Islam, Muslims believe that God (Allah) is beyond all comprehension, and does not resemble any of his creations in any way. Muslims tend to use the least anthropomorphism among monotheists.[139] They are noticonodules and have religious calligraphy of titles of God instead of pictures.[149]
^The ulterior etymology is disputed. Apart from the unlikely hypothesis of adoption from a foreign tongue, the OTeut. "ghuba" implies as its preTeut-type either "*ghodho-m" or "*ghodto-m". The former does not appear to admit of explanation; but the latter would represent the neut. pple. of a root "gheu-". There are two Aryan roots of the required form ("*g,heu-" with palatal aspirate) one with meaning 'to invoke' (Skr. "hu") the other 'to pour, to offer sacrifice' (Skr "hu", Gr. χεηi;ν, OE "geotàn" Yete v).Oxford English Dictionary Compact Edition, G, p. 267.
^Barnhart, Robert K. (1995).The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology: the Origins of American English Words, p. 323.HarperCollins.ISBN0062700847.
^Webster's New World Dictionary; "God n. ME [Middle English] < OE [Old English], akin to Ger gott, Goth guth, prob. < IE base *ĝhau-, to call out to, invoke > Sans havaté, (he) calls upon; 1. any of various beings conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and the course of nature; deity, esp. a male deity: typically considered objects of worship; 2. an image that is worshiped; idol 3. a person or thing deified or excessively honored and admired; 4. [G-] in monotheistic religions, the creator and ruler of the universe, regarded as eternal, infinite, all-powerful, and all-knowing; Supreme Being; the Almighty"
^Dictionary.comArchived 19 April 2009 at theWayback Machine; "God /gɒd/ noun: 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. 2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute. 3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs. 4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the God of mercy. 5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle. 6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol. 7. (lowercase) any deified person or object. 8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. 8a. the upper balcony in a theater. 8b. the spectators in this part of the balcony."
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^See e.g.The Rationality of Theism quotingQuentin Smith, "God is not 'dead' in academia; it returned to life in the late 1960s." They cite the shift from hostility towards theism in Paul Edwards'sEncyclopedia of Philosophy (1967) to sympathy towards theism in the more recentRoutledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
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^Hutchinson, Ian (14 January 1996)."Michael Faraday: Scientist and Nonconformist".Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved30 November 2022.Faraday believed that in his scientific researches he was reading the book of nature, which pointed to its creator, and he delighted in it: 'for the book of nature, which we have to read is written by the finger of God.'
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^Chignell, Andrew; Pereboom, Derk (2020)."Natural Theology and Natural Religion". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.).The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University.Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved9 October 2020..
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^abShaman, Nicholas J.; Saide, Anondah R.; and Richert, Rebekah A. "Dimensional structure of and variation in anthropomorphic concepts of God". Frontiers in psychology 9 (2018): 1425.
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Hastings, James Rodney (1925–2003) [1908–1926], Selbie, John A. (ed.),Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. 4, Edinburgh, Scotland: Kessinger, p. 476,ISBN978-0766136731,The encyclopedia will contain articles on all the religions of the world and on all the great systems of ethics. It will aim at containing articles on every religious belief or custom, and on every ethical movement, every philosophical idea, every moral practice.
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