ABOUT GOD
monotheistic thought, God is believed to be the Supreme Being and the principal object of faith.[3] The concept of God, as described by theologians, commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (all-knowing), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), divine simplicity, and as having an eternal and necessary existence.
God is most
often held to be incorporeal (immaterial),[3] and to be without gender,[4][5]
although many religions describe God using masculine terminology, using such
terms as "Him" or "Father" and some religions (such as
Judaism) attribute only a purely grammatical "gender" to God.[6]
Incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence
(being outside nature) and immanence (being in nature, in the world) of God,
with positions of synthesis such as the "immanent transcendence".
God has been
conceived as either personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer
of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of
the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not
believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context
of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as the source of all moral
obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[3] Many notable
philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[7]
The many
different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics,
aims, and actions, have led to the development of ideas of omnitheism,
pandeism,[8][9] or a perennial philosophy, which postulates that there is one
underlying theological truth, of which all religions express a partial
understanding, and as to which "the devout in the various great world
religions are in fact worshipping that one God, but through different,
overlapping concepts or mental images of Him."[10]
There are
many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural
ideas about God's identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of
Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was
called Aten,[11] premised on being the one "true" Supreme Being and
creator of the universe.[12] In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, "He Who
Is", "I Am that I Am", and the tetragrammaton YHWH (Hebrew: יהוה, traditionally interpreted as
"I am who I am"; "He Who Exists") are used as names of God,
while Yahweh and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of
YHWH. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three
persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is
common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai. In Islam, the
name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for
God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic concept of God.[13] In
Chinese religion, God (Shangdi) is conceived as the progenitor (first ancestor)
of the universe, intrinsic to it and constantly ordaining it. Other religions
have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'à Faith,[14] Waheguru in
Sikhism,[15] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[16]
No comments: