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Apersonal god, orpersonal goddess, is adeity who can be related to as aperson (anthropomorphic),[1] instead of as an impersonal force, such as theAbsolute. In the context ofChristianity and theBaháʼí Faith, the term "personal god" also refers to theincarnation of God as a person. In the context ofHinduism, "personal god/goddess" also refers toIshtadevata, a worshipper's personal favorite deity.
In the scriptures of theAbrahamic religions,God is described as being a personal creator, speaking in the first person and showing emotion such as anger and pride, and sometimesappearing inanthropomorphic shape.[2] In thePentateuch, for example, God talks with and instructs hisprophets and is conceived as possessingvolition,emotions (such as anger, grief and happiness),intention, and other attributes characteristic of a human person. Personal relationships with God may be described in the same ways as human relationships, such asa Father, as inChristianity, or a Friend as inSufism.[3]
A 2008 survey by thePew Research Center reported that, of U.S. adults, 60% view that "God is a person with whom people can have a relationship", while 25% believe that "God is an impersonal force".[4] A 2019 survey by theNational Opinion Research Center reported that 77.5% of U.S. adults believe in a personal god.[5] The 2014 Religious Landscape survey conducted by Pew reported that 57% of U.S. adults believe in a personal god.[6]
Jewish theology states that God is not a person. This was also determined several times in theTorah, which religious Jews traditionally believed to be an indisputable authority for their faith (Hosea 11:9: "I am God, and not a man";Numbers 23:19: "God is not a man, that He should lie";1 Samuel 15:29: "He is not a person, that He should repent"). However, there exist frequent references toanthropomorphic characteristics of God in theHebrew Bible such as the "Hand of God".Judaism holds that these are to be taken only as figures of speech. Their purpose is to make God more comprehensible to the human reader.[citation needed]
Inmainstream Christianity,Jesus (orGod the Son) andGod the Father are believed to be two members of atrinity. Jesus is believed to be of the sameousia (or substance) as God the Father. The Christian God manifests in threehypostases (or persons): the Father, the Son, and theHoly Spirit.Nontrinitarian Christians dispute that Jesus is a "hypostasis" of or a person within a broader God. Whether the Holy Spirit is impersonal or personal[7] is the subject of dispute,[8] with experts inpneumatology debating the matter.
Islam rejects the Christian doctrine of theIncarnation and the notion of a personal god asanthropomorphic because both demean thetranscendence of God. TheQur'an prescribes the fundamental transcendental criterion in the following verse: "There is nothing whatever like Him" [Qur'an42:11]. Therefore, Islam strictly rejects all forms of anthropomorphism andanthropopathism of theconcept of God, and thus categorically rejects the Christian concept of theTrinity or division of persons in theGodhead.[9][10][11]
Islamic theology confirms thatAllah (God) has no body, gender (neither male nor female), or comparison. However, due to grammatical limitations in theArabic language,masculinity is the defaultgrammatical gender if the noun is not specifically feminine. This does not apply to the word "Allah" because, according to Islamic theology, Allah has no gender. Allah is also a singular noun and cannot have a plural form. The "We" used in the Qur'an in numerous places is used only as the "royal we", as has been a tradition in most other languages. It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronounnahnu (we) for respect or glorification. Nothing can be used as a similitude or for the purpose of comparison to Allah, even in allegorical terms, because nothing can be compared with him. Thus, the Qur'an says: "Do you know any similar (or anyone else having the sameName or attributes/qualities, which belong) to Him?" [Qur'an19:65]. According to mainstream theological accounts, Allah is the creator of everything that exists and transcends spatial and temporal bounds. He has neither any beginnings nor any end and remains beyond the bounds of human comprehension and perceptions.[12][13] This has been described in the Qur'an at various places, such as the following: "He knows (all) that is before them and (all) that is behind them (their past and future, and whatever of intentions, speech, or actions they have left behind), whereas they cannot comprehend Him with their knowledge." [Qur'an20:110]
In one of the most comprehensive descriptions, as revealed inSurat al-Ikhlas, the Qur'an says:[14]
1. Say: He, Allah, isAhad (the Unique One of Absolute Oneness, who is indivisible in nature, who is unique in His essence, attributes, names and acts, the One who has no second, no associate, no parents, no offspring, no peers, free from the concept ofmultiplicity, and far from conceptualization and limitation, and there is nothing like Him in any respect).[15][16]
2. Allah isal-Samad (the Ultimate Source of all existence, the Uncaused Cause who created all things out of nothing, who is eternal, absolute, immutable, perfect, complete, essential, independent, and self-sufficient; Who does not need to eat or drink, sleep or rest; Who needs nothing while all of creation is in absolute need of Him; the one eternally and constantly required and sought, depended upon by all existence and to whom all matters will ultimately return).[17][18][19]
3. He begets not, nor is He begotten (He is Unborn and Uncreated, has no parents, spouse, or offspring).
4. And there is none comparable (equal, equivalent or similar) to Him.[11]
In this context, the masculinity ofhuwa (he) with respect to Allah is unmistakably a purely grammatical masculinity without even a hint ofanthropomorphism.[20] The Maliki scholarIbrahim al-Laqqani (d. 1041/1631) said in his book,Jawharat al-Tawhid (The Gem of Monotheism), that: "Any text that leads one to imagine the similitude of Allah to His created beings, should be treated either throughta'wil ortafwid and exalt Allah the Almighty above His creation."[21]
TheHanafi jurist and theologianal-Tahawi (d. 321/933) wrote in his treatise on theology commonly known asal-'Aqida al-Tahawiyya:[22][23]
He is exalted/transcendent beyond having limits, ends, organs, limbs and parts (literally: tools). The six directions do not encompass/contain Him like the rest of created things.
The six directions are above, below, right, left, front, and back. The above statement of al-Tahawi refutes the anthropomorphist's dogmas that imagine Allah has a physical body and human form and is occupied in a place, direction, or trajectory.'Ali al-Qari (d. 1014/1606) in hisSharhal-Fiqh al-Akbar states: "Allah the Exalted is not in any place or space, nor is He subject to time, because both time and space are amongst His creations. He the Exalted was present in pre-existence and there was nothing of the creation with Him".[22]
Al-Tahawi also stated that:[22][23]
Whoever describes Allah even with a single human quality/attribute, has disbelieved/blasphemed. So whoever understands this, will take heed and refrain from such statements as those of disbelievers, and knows that Allah in His attributes is utterly unlike human beings.
In theBaháʼí Faith, God is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of allRevelation, eternal,omniscient,omnipresent andalmighty".[24][25] Althoughtranscendent and inaccessible directly, his image is reflected in his creation. The purpose of creation is for the created to have the capacity to know and love its creator.[26] God communicates his will and purpose to humanity through intermediaries, known asManifestations of God, who are the prophets and messengers that have founded religions from prehistoric times up to the present day.[27]
While manydeists view God as a personal god, deism is a broad term encompassing people with varying specific beliefs, some of which reject the notion of a personal god. The foundational idea of a personal god in deism is illustrated by the 17th-century assertions of LordEdward Herbert, universally regarded as the Father of English Deism, which stated that there is one Supreme God, and he ought to be worshipped.[28] A god that is not a personal god cannot be worshipped. Nevertheless, the notion of God as a personal god cannot be ascribed to all deists. Further, some deists who believe in a personal god may either not prioritize a relationship with such a god or not consider a personal relationship with such a god as possible.
Christian deism is a term applied both toChristians who incorporate deistic principles into their beliefs and to deists who follow the moral teachings ofJesus without believing in his divinity.[29] About those who are essentially deists who incorporate the teachings of Jesus into their beliefs, these are usually a subset of classical deists. Consequently, they believe in a personal god but do not necessarily believe in a personal relationship with God. However, some Christian deists may practice a different (non-classical) form of deism while viewing Jesus as a non-divine moral teacher. The views of these Christian deists on the existence of a personal god and whether a relationship with such god is possible would be based on their core deist beliefs.
Classical deists who adhere to Herbert's common notion certainly believe in a personal god because those notions include the belief that God dispenses rewards and punishments both in this life and after it.[28] This is not something an impersonal force would do. However, a personal relationship with God is not contemplated since living a virtuous and pious life is seen as the primary means of worshiping God.[28]
Humanist deists accept the core principles of deism but incorporatehumanist beliefs into their faith.[30] Thus, humanistic deists believe in a personal god who created the universe. The key element that separates humanistic deists from other deists is the emphasis on the importance of human development over religious development and on the relationships among human beings over the relationships between humans and God.[30][31] Those who self-identify as humanistic deists may take an approach based upon what is found in classical deism and allow their worship of God to manifest itself primarily (or exclusively) in the manner in which they treat others. Other humanistic deists may prioritize their relationships with other human beings over their relationship with God yet still maintain a personal relationship with the Supreme Being.
Pandeists believe that in the process of creating the universe, God underwent a metamorphosis from a conscious and sentient being or force to an unconscious and unresponsive entity by becoming the universe.[32] Consequently, pandeists do not believe that a personal god currently exists.
Polydeists reject the notion that one Supreme Being would have created the universe and left it to its own devices, a common belief shared by many deists. Rather, they conclude that several gods who are superhuman but not omnipotent each created parts of the universe.[33] Polydeists hold an affirmative belief that the gods who created the universe are completely uninvolved in the world and pose no threat and offer no hope to humanity.[34] Polydeists see living virtuous and pious lives as the primary components of worshiping God, firmly adhering to one of the common notions set forth by Herbert.[28] Thus, polydeists believe that there are several personal gods. Yet, they do not think they can have a relationship with any of them.
Vaishnavism andShaivism,[35] traditions of Hinduism, subscribe to an ultimate personal nature of God. TheVishnu Sahasranama[36] declares the person of Vishnu as both theParamatma (supreme soul) andParameshvara (supreme God) while the Rudram describes the same about Shiva. InKrishna-centered theology (Krishna is seen as a form ofVishnu by most, except Gaudiya Vaishnavism) the titleSvayam Bhagavan is used exclusively to designate Krishna in his personal feature,[37][38] it refers toGaudiya Vaishnava, theNimbarka Sampradaya and followers ofVallabha, while the person ofVishnu andNarayana is sometimes referred to as the ultimate personal god of other Vaishnava traditions.[39][40]
Jainism explicitly denies the existence of a non-personal transcendent god and explicitly affirms the existence of personal gods. All gods in Jainism are personal.
One of the major points of dispute betweenDigambara andShwetambara is the gender of the gods.Digambara can only be men; any man at least eight years of age can become a god if he follows the right procedure.
Jain gods are eternal, but they are not beginningless. Also, Jain gods are allomniscient, but notomnipotent. They are sometimes called quasi-gods due to this reason.
Gods are said to be free from the following eighteen imperfections:[41]
The four infinitudes of god are (ananta cātuṣṭaya) are:[41]
Those who re-establish the Jain faith are called Tirthankaras. They have additional attributes.Tirthankaras revitalize thesangha, the fourfold order consisting of male saints (sādhus), female saints (sādhvis), male householders (śrāvaka) and female householders (Śrāvika).
The first Tirthankara of the current time cycle wasṚṣabhanātha, and the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara wasMahavira, who lived from599 BCE to527 BCE.
Jain texts mention forty-six attributes ofarihants ortirthankaras. These attributes comprise four infinitudes (ananta chatushtaya), thirty-four miraculous happenings (atiśaya), and eight splendours (prātihārya).[41]
The eight splendours (prātihārya) are:[42]
At the time ofnirvana (final release), thearihant sheds off the remaining fouraghati karmas:
And float at the top of the universe without losing their individuality and with the same shape and size as the body at the time of release.
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Lutheran theologianPaul Tillich in his German-languageSystematic Theology writings wrote that
'Personal God' does not mean that God is a person. It means that God is theground of everything personal and that he carries within himself theontological power of personality...[43]
Anglican theologianGraham Ward distinguished between seeing God as a "Person" and God as a "Subject". He wrote that the "attempt to reconcile or, at least render, theologically coherent, the man-God" ofGod the Son in 'nineteenth-century biblical criticism'
will always make Christ the Subject par excellence, theMonad defining all monads, the man-without-relation, the self-grounding one. Let me suggest a difference here betweenSubject and Person,subjectivity and personhood. Subjectivity, though not necessarily tied to a concept of the transcendental ego, is fundamentally concerned with discreteindividuals. Personhood, on the other hand, is that sense of self that continually comes from being in relation ...Being made ‘inthe image of God’ and, therefore, livingimitatio Christi, Christian Persons are not replicas, but embodiments of Christ as Person. Persons, as such, areanalogically related to each through Christ. Subjects, on the other hand, areatomised. They are monads. And theologies of Christ as Subject conceive other Christian Subjects as monadic replicas ofthe same.[44]: 114
Ward quotesJohn S. Dunne'sThe City of the Gods: A Study in Myth and Mortality which states that "the personal God and his individual incarnation are abolished in aCalvary from which there emerges the autonomous human spirit, the'absolute' spirit".[44]: 45
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