NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Conceptions of God

Conceptions of God can vary widely, despite the use of the same term for them all. Theologians and philosophers have studied countless conceptions of God since the dawn of civilization. Theology is literally rational discourse concerning God (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογος, logos, rational discourse). By extension, it also refers to the study of other religious topics. ... A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Central New York City. ...

The God of monotheism, pantheism or panentheism, or the supreme deity of henotheistic religions, may be conceived of in various degrees of abstraction: For the Celtic Frost album, see Monotheist (album) In theology, monotheism (from Greek one and god) is the belief in the existence of one deity or God, or in the oneness of God. ... Pantheism (Greek: Ï€Î¬Î½ ( pan ) = all and Î¸ÎµÏŒÏ‚ ( theos ) = God) literally means God is All and All is God. It is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God; or that the universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. ... Panentheism (from Greek (pÃ¢n) all; (en) in; ; and (TheÃ³s) god; all-in-God) is the theological position that God is immanent within the Universe, but also transcends it. ... In religion and philosophy, henotheism is a term coined by Max Müller, meaning belief in, and possible worship of, multiple gods, one of which is supreme. ...

Look up Esotericism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Mysticism (ancient Greek mysticon = secret) is meditation, prayer, or theology focused on the direct experience of union with divinity, God, or Ultimate Reality, or the belief that such experience is a genuine and important source of knowledge. ... Philosophy (from the Greek words philos and sophia meaning love of wisdom) is understood in different ways historically and by different philosophers. ... Look up ultimate, penultimate, antepenultimate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Summum bonum (greatest or supreme good) was first introduced to humanity as Ahura-Mazda, `The Ultimate Good` who is God, by the Persian prophet Zoroaster, whose ideas would later heavily influence Judeo-Christian beliefs. ... The Absolute Infinite is Georg Cantors concept of an infinity that transcended the transfinite numbers. ... In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses, and is independent of, physical existence. ... There is no universally accepted theory of what the word existence means. ... In ontology, a being is anything that can be said to be, either transcendantly or immanently. ... The Absolute is the totality of things, all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. ... For other uses, see Monist (disambiguation). ...

Religion and Theology

Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ...

Abrahamic conceptions of God

Judaism, Christianity and Islam see God as a being who created the world and who rules over the universe. God is usually held to have the following properties: holiness, justice, sovereignty, omnipotence, omniscience, benevolence, omnipresence, and immortality. It is also believed to be transcendent, meaning that God is outside space and time. Therefore, God is eternal and unable to be changed by earthly forces or anything else within its creation. 16th century Christian view of Genesis: God creates Adam (Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel) Judaism, Christianity and Islam see God as a being who created the world and who rules over the universe. ...

In the Abrahamic traditions there are many differences in how these properties are expressed. The importance placed upon those properties is often debated by each group. In the past, as well as modern times people have gone so far as to suggest each group is speaking of a different "god." These religions all share the same roots and God, yet simply differ on the details.

Trinitarian definition

Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single Being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (personae, prosopa): Father (the Source, the Eternal Majesty); the Son (the eternal Logos or Word, human as Jesus of Nazareth); and the Holy Spirit (the Paraclete or advocate). Since the 4th Century AD, in both Eastern and Western Christianity, this doctrine has been stated as "One God in Three Persons," all three of whom, as distinct and co-eternal "persons" or "hypostases," share a single Divine essence, being, or nature. Following Thomas Aquinas and others, the Son is described as eternally begotten by the Father. This generation does not imply a beginning for the Son or an inferior relationship with the Father. The Son is the perfect image of His Father, and is consubstantial with Him. Speaking in anthropomorphic terms (which necessarily must be analogous), the Father, upon seeing His own being in His Son, loves His Son and so loves Himself. The Son returns that love, and that union between the two is the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Again, the Holy Spirit is consubstantial and co-equal with the Father and the Son. Thus God contemplates and loves Himself, enjoying infinite and perfect beatitude within Himself. This relationship between the other two persons is called procession. It should be noted that although the theology of the Trinity is accepted in most churches, there are theological differences, notably between Catholic and Orthodox thought on the procession of the Holy Spirit (see filioque). Many Christian communions do not accept the Trinitarian doctrine, at least not in its traditional form. Notable dissenting groups include the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Christadelphians, Unitarians, Arians, and Adoptionists. This article or section contains too many quotations for an encyclopedic entry. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: Christianity is a monotheistic... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... For the Celtic Frost album, see Monotheist (album) In theology, monotheism (from Greek one and god) is the belief in the existence of one deity or God, or in the oneness of God. ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... In theology, perichoresis, Latinized and borrowed into English as circumincession or circuminsession, is a term used to express the existence of three divine persons in one another, such as the Holy Trinity of Christianity. ... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Wycliffe Tyndale Â· Luther Â· Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Pope Â· Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: Son of God is... Look up logos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article concerns critical reconstructions of the Historical Jesus. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Â· Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury Â· Catholic Pope Coptic Pope Â· Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box: In mainstream Christianity, the... Look up Paraclete in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Christianity, the Greek word hypostasis [1] is usually translated into Latin as natura and then into English as nature, although the specific Greek word for nature and substance is physis. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas, O.P.(also Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino; c. ... Consubstantial is a term used in orthodox Christian theology. ... The Beatitudes (from Latin, beatitudo, happiness) is the name given to a well-known, and to some, such as Henri Nouwen, definitive and central, portion of the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. ... A procession (via Middle English processioun, French procession, derived from Latin, processio, itself from procedere, to go forth, advance, proceed) is, in general, an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner. ... In Christian theology the filioque clause (and the Son) is a disputed part of the Nicene Creed. ... The term Mormon is a colloquial name, most-often used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... Christadelphians (From the Greek Brothers in Christ) are a Christian denomination which developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century. ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... This article is about the theological doctrine of Arius. ... Adoptionism is a view held by some early medieval Christians, that Jesus was born a human only, and was not divine until his baptism, at which point he was adopted as the Son by God the Father. ...

Kabbalistic definition

Note: need to be summarized from related article above in maximum two paragraphs. Mainstream Orthodox Judaism teaches that God is neither matter nor spirit. ... Please note this is still a draft of a proposed terms of use on Wikipedia. ...

Islamic concept

Allah (Arabic allāhu الله) is the Arabic word for "God", and is used by Arabic-speaking Muslims, Christians and Jews and Mizrahi Jews alike. Muslims consider God to be perfect, unique, eternal, self-sufficient, omnipotent and omniscient. He is said not to resemble any of his creations in any way. The Qur'an describes God as being fully aware of everything that happens in the universe, including private thoughts and feelings. Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Allah is the Arabic language word for God. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Arab Christians are people who are ethnically Arab or culturally and linguistically Arabized and who follow the religion of Christianity. ... This article deals with those Jewish communities indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... Omniscience is the capacity to know everything, or at least everything that can be known. ...

Muslims are not iconodules and this extends to all religious aspects (including any iconographic depiction other than in writing) so that it does not lead to idolatry. Instead, they focus on His 99 "names" that are stated in the Qur'an, the holy book of the Muslims. Nearly one third of the book is used describing God's attributes and actions. Also, "hadith qudsi" are special recorded sayings of Muhammad to Muslims where he quotes what God has taught him. There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: Ù…Ø³Ù„Ù…Ø§Ù†, Turkish: MÃ¼slÃ¼man, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Iconodules (or Iconophile) is someone who supports or is in favour of religious images, or icons, also known as Iconography, and is in opposition to an Iconoclast (someone against Iconography). ... It has been said “A picture is worth a thousand words”, and so it is that iconography is the traditional art of portraying figures in pigment that symbolically mean more than a simple depiction of the person involved. ... Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. ... // The 99 Names of God, also known as The 99 attributes of Allah (Arabic: â€Ž translit: ), are the names of God revealed to man in the Quran;[1] even though His names (as adjectives, word constructs, or otherwise) exceed ninety-nine in the Quran. ... The Qurâ€™Än [1] (Arabic: ;, literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Alcoran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... Hadith Qudsi (or Sacred Hadith) are a sub-category of hadith, which are sayings of Muhammad. ...

Negative theology

Some Jewish, Christian and Muslim Medieval philosophers, including Moses Maimonides and Pseudo-Dionysius, as well as many sages of other religions, developed what is termed as Apophatic Theology or the Via Negativa, the idea that one cannot posit attributes to God and can only be discussed by what God is not. For example, we cannot say that God "exists" in the usual sense of the term, because that term is human defined and God's qualities such as existence may not be accurately characterized by it. What we can safely say is that it cannot be proven empirically or otherwise that God is existent, therefore God is not non-existent. Likewise God's "wisdom" is of a fundamentally different kind from limited human perception. So we cannot use the word "wise" to describe God, because this implies he is wise in the way we usually describe humans being wise. However we can safely say that God is not ignorant. We should not say that God is One, because we may not truly understand his nature, but we can state that there is no multiplicity in God's being. Negative theology - also known as the Via Negativa (Latin for Negative Way) and Apophatic theology - is a theology that attempts to describe God by negation, to speak of God only in terms of what may not be said about God. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Hebrew: רבי משה בן מיימון; Arabic: Mussa bin Maimun ibn Abdallah al-Kurtubi al-Israili; March 30, 1135—December 13, 1204), commonly known by his Greek name Maimonides, was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher. ... Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite is the name scholars have given to an anonymous theologian and philosopher of the 5th century, who wrote a collection of books (Corpus Areopagiticum) falsely ascribed to the Dionysius mentioned in Acts 17:34. ... Negative theology, also known as the Via Negativa (Lat. ... The via negativa is a theological method attempting to define the nature of God. ...

The reason that this theology was developed was because it was felt that ascribing positive characteristics to God would imply that God could be accurately described with terms that were used to describe human qualities and perceptions. As humans cannot truly comprehend what kind of wisdom an eternal transcendent being might have, or what infinity might be like, we cannot in fact know or characterize His true nature. It is beyond human ability and would only mislead people. The proponents of this theory often experienced meditation, which they viewed as the only effective way of having a personal relationship with God. It involved trying to reach beyond the words commonly used to describe Him and His more ineffable characteristics, and to comprehend in a mystical manner the truths about Him which could not be achieved through religious language. Thus many sages and saints of both monotheistic and other traditions experienced mystical trances, or raptures and stated they were unable to describe God or their visions fully. For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ... To say that something is ineffable means that it cannot or should not, for overwhelming reasons, be expressed in spoken words. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements Â· Denominations Ecumenism Â· Preaching Â· Prayer Music Â· Liturgy Â· Calendar Symbols Â· Art Â· Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul Â· Church Fathers Constantine Â· Athanasius Â· Augustine Anselm Â· Aquinas Â· Palamas Luther Calvin Â· Wesley Arius Â· Marcion of Sinope Pope Â· Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box: In conservative Christian eschatology, rapture is... A hallucination is a sensory perception experienced in the absence of an external stimulus, as distinct from an illusion, which is a misperception of an external stimulus. ...

God as unity or Trinity

Muslims, Jews, Jehovah's Witnesses and a small fraction of other nominal Christians are unitarian monotheists. Unitarian monotheists hold that there is only one "person" (so to speak), or one basic substance, in God. Some adherents of this position consider Trinitarianism to be a form of polytheism. Muslims, Jews, Jehovahs Witnesses and a small fraction of other nominal Christians are unitarian monotheists. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

The vast majority of Christians have been and still are Trinitarian monotheists. Trinitarian monotheists believe in one God that exists as three interdependent persons who share the same substance/essence; the Christian version of this is called the Trinity. The Hindu version Trimurti, differs from Christianity in holding that God has three aspects, though shown as anthropomorphs. While the Hindu Trinity is not a unquestioned doctrine in Hinduism, it is taught as one postulated understanding of the universe's divine order. From left, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva The Trimurti (English: Three forms; Sanskrit: ) is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of BrahmÄ, Viá¹£á¹‡u, and Åšiva respectively. ... In Hinduism, the Trimurti (also called the Hindu trinity) are three aspects of God in His forms as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ...

Binitarianism

A view within Christianity that there were originally two beings in the Godhead, the Father and the Word that became the Son (Jesus the Christ). Binitarians normally believe that God is a family, currently consisting of the Father and the Son. Some binitarians believe that others will ultimately be born into that divine family. Hence, binitarians are nontrinitarian, but they are also not unitarian. Binitarians, like most unitarians and trinitarians, claim their views were held by the original New Testament Church. Unlike most unitarians and trinitarians who tend to identify themselves by those terms, binitarians normally do not refer to their belief in the duality of the Godhead, with the Son subordinate to the Father; they simply teach the Godhead in a manner that has been termed as binitarianism. Binitarianism is a theology of two in one God, as opposed to one (unitarianism) or three (trinitarianism). ... Nontrinitarianism or antitrinitarianism is the doctrinal description applied to rejection of the Trinitarian doctrine that God subsists as three distinct persons in the Holy Trinity. ... Historic Unitarianism believed in the oneness of God as opposed to traditional Christian belief in the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). ... The Trinitarians are an order of monks founded at Rome in 1198 by St. ... The adjective trinitarian is used in several senses: Ideas or things pertaining to the Holy Trinity A person or group adhering to the doctrine of Trinitarianism, which holds God to subsist in the form of the Holy Trinity The Trinitarian Order is a Catholic monastic order founded in 1198 by...

"The word “binitarian” is typically used by scholars and theologians as a contrast to a trinitarian theology: a theology of “two” in God rather than a theology of “three”, and although some critics prefer to use the term ditheist or dualist instead of binitarian, those terms suggests that God is not one, yet binitarians believe that God is one family. It is accurate to offer the judgment that most commonly when someone speaks of a Christian “binitarian” theology the “two” in God are the Father and the Son...A substantial amount of recent scholarship has been devoted to exploring the implications of the fact that Jesus was worshipped by those first Jewish Christians, since in Judaism "worship" was limited to the worship of God" (Barnes M. Early Christian Binitarianism: the Father and the Holy Spirit. Early Christian Binitarianism — as read at NAPS 2001). Much of this recent scholarship has been the result of the translations of the Nag Hammadi and other ancient manuscripts that were not available when older scholarly texts (such as Wilhelm Bousset's Kyrios Christos, 1913) were written. The town of Nag Hammadi in Egypt Nag HammÃ¢di (Arabic Ù†Ø¬Ø¹ ØÙ…Ø§Ø¯ÙŠ; transliterated: Naj HammÄdi) (26Â°03â€²N 32Â°15â€²E), is a town in the middle of Egypt, called Chenoboskion in classical antiquity, about 80 kilometres north-west of Luxor with some 30,000 citizens. ...

Conception of God in Sikhism

The Sikh term for God is Vahigurū and Nānak describes him as niraṅkār (from the Sanskrit nirākārā, meaning formless), akāl (meaning eternal) and alakh (from the Sanskrit alakśya, meaning invisible or unobserved). At the very beginning of the first composition of Sikh scripture is the figure "1" — signifying the unity of God. Nānak's interpretation of God is that of a single, personal and transcendental creator with whom the devotee must develop a most intimate faith and relationship to achieve salvation. Sikhism advocates the belief in one God who is omnipresent and has infinite qualities. This aspect has been repeated on numerous occasions in the Gurū Granth Sāhib and the term ik ōaṅkār signifies this. In the Sikh teachings, there is no gender for God. When translating, the proper meaning cannot be correctly conveyed without using a gender definition, but this distorts the meaning by giving the impression that God is masculine, which is not the message in the original script. The fundamental belief of Sikhism is that God exists, not merely as an idea or concept, but as a Real Entity, indescribable yet knowable and perceivable to anyone who is prepare to dedicate the time and energy to become perceptive to His persona. ... Waheguru (Punjabi: , or , ) means The Wonderful Lord in the Punjabi language. ... Nirankar (Punjabi: , ) means without form or formless and is used in the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib to refer to God. ... AKAL literally timeless, immortal, non-temporal, is a term integral to Sikh tradition and philosophy. ... Alakh Niranjan is a phrase used in Hinduism and Sikhism to describe the characteristics of God and the Self (Atman). ... This article is about the number one. ... In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses, and is independent of, physical existence. ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: being saved from something, such as suffering or the punishment of sin - also called deliverance; being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God - also called redemption Salvation can also be understood in terms of social... Sikhism (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is a religion that began in fifteenth century Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus. ... Omnipresence is defined, in a general sense, as: the ability to be present in every place at the same time; unbounded or universal presence. ... Stylised Ek Onkar Simple Ek Onkar Ek Onkar (also , , Ä’k ÅŒaá¹…kÄr, Ek Omkar, Ik Onkar and other variants) means one God and is a central tenet of Sikh religious philosophy. ...

Nānak further emphasizes that a full understanding of God is beyond human beings. However, Nānak also describes God, who in his fullness is unknowable, is not wholly unknowable. God is sarav vi'āpak (omnipresent) in all creation and visible everywhere to the spiritually awakened. Nānak stresses that God must be seen from "the inward eye," or the "heart" of a human being — that meditation must take place inwardly to achieve enlightenment progressively. Nānak emphasizes this revelation in creation as crucial, as its rigorous application permits the existence of communication between God and human beings. Sarav viapak (Punjabi: , ) means all pervading or omnipresent and is used in the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib to refer to God. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ...

The Sikhs believe in one God who is the God of all the peoples of the World; the Creator; has existed from the beginning of time; never dies and will survive forever. He/She is genderless; without form; fearless; without enemies; self sufficient; not subject of the cycle of birth and death; All Powerful; etc. — God's qualities are too many for people to narrate. Many names are used for God: Waheguru — The Wonderful Lord; Satnam — Thy True Name is TRUTH . Malik — Master; Karta Purakh — The Creator, etc. Religions Sikhism Scriptures Guru Granth Sahib Languages English, Punjabi] A Sikh (English: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is an adherent to Sikhism. ... Waheguru (Punjabi: , or , ) means The Wonderful Lord in the Punjabi language. ... Satnaam | à¨¸à¨¤à¨¿à¨¨à¨¾à¨®à© This word is the second word that appears in the Sikhs sacred Scripture called the Sri Guru Granth Sahib. ...

God in Sikhism is depicted in three distinct aspects, viz. God in Himself, God in relation to creation, and God in relation to man. God by himself is the one Ultimate, Transcendent Reality, Nirguna (without attributes), Timeless, Boundless, Formless, Ever-existent, Immutable, Ineffable, All-by Himself and even Unknowable in His entirety. The only nomenclatures that can rightly be applied to Him in this state of sunn (Sanskrit, sunya or void) are Brahma and Parbrahma (Sanskrit, Parbrahman) or the pronouns He and Thou. During a discourse with Siddhas, Hindu recluses, Guru Nanak in reply to a question as to where the Transcendent God was before the stage of creation replies, "To think of the Transcendent Lord in that state is to enter the realm of wonder. Even at that stage of sunn, he permeated all that Void" (GG, 940). This is the state of God's sunn samadhi, self-absorbed trance. Sikhism (IPA: or ; Punjabi: , , IPA: ) is a religion that began in fifteenth century Northern India with the teachings of Nanak and nine successive human gurus. ... Sunn Amplifiers logo Sunn Amplifiers, or Sunn Amps for short, are a brand of musical instrument amplifiers. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Guru Nanak (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ, Devanagari: गुरु नानक) (20 October 1469 - 7 May 1539), the founder of Sikhism and the first of the ten Gurus of the Sikhs, was born in the village of Talwandi, now called Nankana...

Conceptions of God in Hinduism

The Sanskrit word for God, that is used most commonly, is Ishvara (IAST: īśvara IPA: / iːʃvərə /, originally a title comparable to "Lord" or "Excellency" < from the roots īśa, lit., powerful/supreme/lord/owner, + vara, lit., choicest/most excellent). Hindus believe that Ishvara is only One. This must not be confused with the numerous deities of the Hindus known as devas, are said to number up to 330 million. Deva may be translated into English as "god" (sic), "deity", "demi-god", "angel" or any celestial being or thing of high excellence, and hence is venerable. The word is, in fact, cognate to Latin deus "god". To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... It has been suggested that Deva (tribe) be merged into this article or section. ... The Archangel Michael by Guido Reni wears a late Roman military outfit in this 17th century depiction An angel is a supernatural being found in many religions. ...

The Vedantic school of Hindu philosophy also has a notion of a Supreme Cosmic Spirit called Brahman, pronounced as / brəh mən /. Brahman is (at best) described as that infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, incorporeal, transcendent and immanent reality that is the divine ground of all existence in this universe. In the two largest branches of Hinduism, Shaivism and Vaishnavism, it is believed that Ishvara and Brahman are identical, and God is in turn anthropomorphically identified with Shiva or Vishnu. God, whether in the form of Shiva or Vishnu has six attributes. However, the actual number of auspicious qualities of God, are countless. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Brahman (nominative ) is the concept of the supreme spirit found in Hinduism. ... This article is about the religion Shaivism. ... Temple dedicated to the worship of Vishnu as Venkateswara. ...

Conception of God in Buddhism

Buddhism is non-theistic: instead of extolling an anthropomorphic creator God, Gautama Buddha taught that there was no creator god and believed the more important issue was to bring beings out of suffering to liberation. Enlightened ones are called Arhats or Buddha (e.g, the Buddha Sakyamuni), and are venerated. A bodhisattva is an altruistic being who has vowed to attain Buddhahood in order to help others to become Awakened ("Buddha") too. Buddhism also teaches of the existence of the devas or heavenly beings who temporarily dwell in celestial states of great happiness but are not yet free from the cycle of reincarnations (samsara). Some Mahayana and Tantra Buddhist scriptures do express ideas that are extremely close to pantheism, with a cosmic Buddha (Adibuddha) being viewed as the sustaining Ground of all being — although this is very much a minority vision within Buddhism. Buddhism is usually regarded as a religion without an absolute God who created the universe ex nihilo (from nothing) and to whom devotion and worship are due (although veneration and worship of the Buddhas do play a major role in both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism). ... A silhouette of a Buddha statue at Ayutthaya, Thailand. ... Standing Buddha sculpture, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE, MusÃ©e Guimet. ... A Chinese Luohan statue from the Liao Dynasty in Hebei Province, China In the sramanic traditions of ancient India (most notably those of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha) arhat (Sanskrit) or arahant (Pali) signified a spiritual practitioner who hadâ€”to use an expression common in the tipitakaâ€”laid down the burden... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE. Gautama Buddha was a South Asian spiritual leader who lived between approximately 563 BCE and 483 BCE. Born Siddhartha Gautama in Sanskrit, a name meaning descendant of Gotama whose aims are achieved/who is efficacious in achieving aims, he... Lands Bhutan â€¢ China â€¢ Korea Japan â€¢ Tibet â€¢ Vietnam Taiwan â€¢ Mongolia Doctrine Bodhisattva â€¢ Bodhicitta Karuna â€¢ Prajna Sunyata â€¢ Buddha Nature Trikaya â€¢ Eternal Buddha Scriptures Prajnaparamita Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Lotus Sutra Nirvana Sutra VimalakÄ«rti Sutra Lankavatara Sutra History 4th Buddhist Council Silk Road â€¢ Nagarjuna Asanga â€¢ Vasubandhu Bodhidharma A statue of a Bodhisattva, Akasagarbha. ... This article is about Buddhist deities. ... The Wheel of Life as portrayed within Buddhism, showing the cycle of Samsara, or reincarnation. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Kuan Yin from Mt. ... In Buddhist context, the Adi-Buddha is the Primordial Buddha. ...

Esotericism and Hermeticism

Look up Esotericism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hermeticism should not be confused with the concept of a hermit. ...

An Hermeticist conception of God

The All is the Hermetic version of God, to some and not to others. Alternatively, it has been called The One, The Great One, The Creator, The Supreme Mind, The Supreme Good, The Father, and The Universal Mother. In essence, The All is, as seen by some to be a panentheistic view of God, which is that everything that is, or at least that can be experienced, collectively makes up The All. One Hermetic maxim states, "While All is in THE ALL, it is equally true that THE ALL is in All." (Three Initiates p. 95) The All can also seen to be hermaphroditic, possessing both masculine and feminine qualities in equal part (The Way of Hermes p. 19 Book 1:9). These qualities are, however, of mental gender, as The All lacks physical gender. The All is the Hermetic version of God, to some and not to others. ... Hermeticism should not be confused with the concept of a hermit. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Panentheism (from Greek (pÃ¢n) all; (en) in; ; and (TheÃ³s) god; all-in-God) is the theological position that God is immanent within the Universe, but also transcends it. ... This article needs cleanup. ... The 1st-century BC sculpture The Reclining Hermaphrodite, in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in Rome A hermaphrodite is an organism that possesses both male and female sex organs during its life. ... Gender in common usage refers to the sexual distinction between male and female. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

According to Hermetic doctrine, The All is a bit more complicated than simply being the sum total of the universe. Rather than The All being simply the physical universe, it is more correct to say that everything in the universe is within the mind of The All, since the ALL can be looked at as Mind itself. (Three Initiates pp. 96–7) The All's mind can be seen as infinitely more powerful and vast than any of us could hope to achieve. (Three Initiates p. 99) Therefore, it may be capable of keeping track of each and every particle across the expanse of the Universe, as well as maintain symbolism that applies to many lesser entities such as that seen in astrology and numerology. However, even with everything in the universe being part of The All, it is possible that other things exist outside of The All. For other uses, see Universe (disambiguation). ... A subatomic particle is a particle smaller than an atom: it may be elementary or composite. ... Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... Numerology is any of many systems, traditions or beliefs in a mystical or esoteric relationship between numbers and physical objects or living things. ...

The Rosicrucian conception of God

The Western Wisdom Teachings present the conception of The Absolute (unmanifested and unlimited "Boundless Being" or "Root of Existence", beyond the whole universe and beyond comprehension) from Whom proceeds the Supreme Being at the dawn of manifestation: The One, the "Great Architect of the Universe", Whose three aspects are Power, the Word, and Motion. From the threefold Supreme Being proceed the "seven Great Logoi" Who contain within Themselves all the great Hierarchies that differentiate more and more as they diffuse through the six lower Cosmic Planes. In the Highest World of the seventh (lowest) Cosmic Plane dwells the God of the Solar Systems in the Universe. These great Beings are also threefold in manifestation, like the Supreme Being; their three aspects are Will, Wisdom and Activity. The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception or Mystic Christianity is a Rosicrucian text, written by Max Heindel (ISBN 0-911274-34-0) // Western Wisdom Teachings The first edition was printed in November 1909, it has little changed since then and it is considered to be Max Heindels magnum opus. ... The Absolute is the totality of things, all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. ... The term Supreme Being is often defined simply as God,[1] and it is used with this meaning by theologians of many religious faiths, including, but not limited to, Christianity,[2] Islam,[3] Hinduism,[4] Deism[5] and Scientology. ... Great Architect of the Universe (GAOTU) is a term used within Freemasonry to denominate the Supreme Being which each member individually holds an adherence to. ... Look up logos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

According these Rosicrucian teachings, in the beginning of a Day of Manifestation a certain collective Great Being, God, limits Himself to a certain portion of space, in which He elects to create a Solar System for the evolution of added self-consciousness. In God there are contained hosts of glorious Hierarchies and lesser beings of every grade of intelligence and stage of consciousness, from omniscience to an unconsciousness deeper than that of the deepest trance condition. During the current period of manifestation these various grades of beings are working to acquire more experience than they possessed at the beginning of this period of existence. Those who, in previous manifestations, have attained to the highest degree of development work on those who have not yet evolved any consciousness. In the Solar system, God's Habitation, there are seven Worlds differentiated by God, within Himself, one after another. The mankind's evolutionary scheme is slowly carried through five of these Worlds in seven great Periods of manifestation, during which the evolving virgin spirit becomes first human and, then, a God. The Temple of the Rose Cross, Teophilus Schweighardt Constantiens, 1618. ... This article is about the Solar System. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ... Omniscience is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. ... Unconsciousness is the absence of consciousness. ... An altered state of consciousness is any state which is significantly different from a normative waking beta wave state. ... The Rosicrucian Fellowship Emblem The Rosicrucian Fellowship - An International Association of Christian Mystics - was founded in 1909/11 by Max Heindel as herald of the Aquarian Age and with the aim of promulgating the Rosicrucian teachings of the Mystery School of the West, the invisible Rosicrucian Order (which, according to... Look up Mankind in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus (breath). // The English word spirit comes from the Latin spiritus, meaning breath (compare spiritus asper), but also soul, courage, vigor, ultimately from a PIE root *(s)peis- (to blow). In the Vulgate, the Latin word translates Greek (Ï€Î½ÎµÏ…Î¼Î±), pneuma (Hebrew (×¨×•×—) ruah), as...

Metaphysics and Philosophy

Plato (Left) and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of reality, being, and the world. ... The philosopher Socrates about to take poison hemlock as ordered by the court. ...

Aristotelian definition of God

In his Metaphysics, Aristotle discusses meaning of "being as being". Aristotle holds that "being" primarily refers to the Unmoved Movers, and assigned one of these to each movement in the heavens. Each Unmoved Mover continuously contemplates its own contemplation, and everything that fits the second meaning of "being" by having its source of motion in itself, moves because the knowledge of its Mover causes it to emulate this Mover (or should). This article is on Aristotelian and Neo-Aristotelian definitions of God. ... Plato (Left) and Aristotle (right), by Raphael (Stanza della Segnatura, Rome) Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the ultimate nature of reality, being, and the world. ... Aristotle (Greek: AristotÃ©lÄ“s) (384 BC â€“ 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Aristotle, marble copy of bronze by Lysippos. ...

Aristotle's definition of God attributes perfection to this being, and as a perfect being can only contemplate upon perfection and not on imperfection, otherwise perfection would not be one of his attributes. God, according to Aristotle, is in a state of "stasis" untouched by change and imperfection. The "unmoved mover" is very unlike the conception of God that one sees in most religions. It has been likened to a person who is playing dominos and pushes one of them over, so that every other domino in the set is pushed over as well, without the being having to do anything about it. Although, in the 18th century, the French educator Allan Kardec brought a very similar conception of God during his work of codifying Spiritism, this differs to the interpretation of God in most religions, where he is seen to be personally involved in his creation. Domino redirects here—for other meanings of the word, see Domino (disambiguation). ... Allan Kardec was a pseudonym of the French teacher and educator Hippolyte LÃ©on Denizard Rivail (Lyon, October 3, 1804 â€” Paris, March 31, 1869), who is known today as the systematizer of Spiritism. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Immanence, derived from the Latin in manere to remain within, refers to philosophical and metaphysical theories of the divine as existing and acting within the mind or the world. ...

The Ultimate

Arguably, Eastern conceptions of The Ultimate (this, too, has many different names), except for Shaivism and Vaishnavism, which do focus on a personal God, are not conceptions of a personal divinity, though certain Western conceptions of what is at least called "God" (e.g., Spinoza's pantheistic conception and various kinds of mysticism) resemble Eastern conceptions of The Ultimate. Christian theologian Paul Tillich, in the first volume of his Systematic Theology defines God as being that factor about which we have, in his language, ultimate concern. In this view, true self, zero, God, or the Absolute all have legitimate grounds to be called the Ultimate. The Ultimate is a general term embracing the concept of an ultimate supernatural reality which transcends material reality and from which, according to a broad spectrum of Eastern philosophies and religions, material reality derives. ... The Ultimate is a general term embracing the concept of an ultimate supernatural reality which transcends material reality and from which, according to a broad spectrum of Eastern philosophies and religions, material reality derives. ... Baruch de Spinoza (â€Ž, Portuguese: , Latin: ) (November 24, 1632 â€“ February 21, 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese Jewish origin. ... Paul Johannes Tillich (August 20, 1886 â€“ October 22, 1965) was a German-American theologian and Christian existentialist philosopher. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... True Self is the upcoming 5th album from nu-metal band SOiL. It will the first album to feature vocals from singer AJ Cavalier and is set for release on May 2 2006. ... 0 (zero) is both a number and a numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals. ... The Absolute is the totality of things, all that is, whether it has been discovered or not. ... The Ultimate is a general term embracing the concept of an ultimate supernatural reality which transcends material reality and from which, according to a broad spectrum of Eastern philosophies and religions, material reality derives. ...

Modern views

Process philosophy and Open Theism

'Process theology' is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), and 'Open theism' is a theological movement that began in the 1990s, is similar, but not identical, to Process theology. Process theology (also known as neoclassical theology) is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861â€“1947). ... Open theism, also known as free will theism, is a theological movement that has developed within Evangelical Protestant Christianity as a response to certain ideas that are a part of the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology. ... Process philosophy identifies metaphysical reality with change and dynamism. ... Alfred North Whitehead, OM (February 15, 1861 Ramsgate, Kent, England â€“ December 30, 1947 Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA) was an English-born mathematician who became a philosopher. ...

In both views, God is not omnipotent in the classical sense of a coercive being. Reality is not made up of material substances that endure through time, but serially-ordered events, which are experiential in nature. The universe is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of free will. Self-determination characterizes everything in the universe, not just human beings. God and creatures co-create. God cannot force anything to happen, but rather only influence the exercise of this universal free will by offering possibilities. Process theology is compatible with panentheism, the concept that God contains the universe (pantheism) but also transcends it. God as the ultimate logician — God may be defined as the only entity, by definition, possessing the ability to reduce an infinite number of logical equations having an infinite number of variables and an infinite number of states to minimum form instantaneously. Panentheism (from Greek (pÃ¢n) all; (en) in; ; and (TheÃ³s) god; all-in-God) is the theological position that God is immanent within the Universe, but also transcends it. ... Pantheism (Greek: Ï€Î¬Î½ ( pan ) = all and Î¸ÎµÏŒÏ‚ ( theos ) = God) literally means God is All and All is God. It is the view that everything is of an all-encompassing immanent abstract God; or that the universe, or nature, and God are equivalent. ... In religion, transcendence is a condition or state of being that surpasses, and is independent of, physical existence. ...

Posthuman God

A Posthuman God is a hypothetical future entity descended from or created by humans, but possessing capabilities so radically exceeding those of present humans as to appear godlike. One common variation of this idea is the belief or aspiration that humans will create a God entity emerging from an artificial intelligence. Another variant is the hypothesis that humanity will create or evolve into a posthuman God by itself; for some examples, see technological singularity, and omega point. Similar to this theory is the belief or aspiration that humans will create a God entity, emerging from an artificial intelligence. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Garry Kasparov playing against Deep Blue, the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion. ... This article is about evolution in biology. ... Posthuman can have the following meanings: Posthuman (critical theory), a postmodern critique of human as a concept. ... When plotted on a logarithmic graph, 15 separate lists of paradigm shifts for key events in human history show an exponential trend. ... Omega point is a term invented by French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin to describe the ultimate maximum level of complexity-consciousness, considered by him the aim towards which consciousness evolves. ...

The concept of a posthuman god has become common in science fiction. Arthur C. Clarke, world-renowned science fiction author, said in an interview, "It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God, but to create him." Clarke's friend and colleague, the late Isaac Asimov, postulated in his story "The Last Question" a merger between humanity and machine intelligence that ultimately produces a deity capable of reversing entropy and subsequently initiates a new Creation trillions of years from the present era when the Universe is in the last stage of heat death. In Frank Herbert's science-fiction series Dune, a messianic figure is created after thousands of years of controlled breeding. The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks represents a blend in which a transhuman society is guarded by godlike machine intelligences. A stronger example is posited in the novel Singularity Sky by Charles Stross, in which a future artificial intelligence is capable of changing events even in its own past, and takes strong measures to prevent any other entity from taking advantage of similar capabilities. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (born 16 December 1917) is a British science-fiction author and inventor, most famous for his novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name. ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] â€“ April 6, 1992), IPA: , originally Ð˜ÑÐ°Ð°Ðº ÐžÐ·Ð¸Ð¼Ð¾Ð² but now transcribed into Russian as ÐÐ¹Ð·ÐµÐº ÐÐ·Ð¸Ð¼Ð¾Ð²) was a Russian-born American Jewish author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful and exceptionally prolific writer best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... The Last Question is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. ... Ice melting - classic example of entropy increasing[1] described in 1862 by Rudolf Clausius as an increase in the disgregation of the molecules of the body of ice. ... The heat death is a possible final state of the universe, in which it has reached maximum entropy. ... Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 â€“ February 11, 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. ... Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. ... The Culture is a fictional anarchic, socialistic and utopian society created by the Scottish writer Iain Banks and described by him in several of his novels and shorter fictions. ... Iain Menzies Banks (born on February 16, 1954 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland) writes mainstream novels as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks. ... Posthuman Future, an illustration by Michael Gibbs for The Chronicle of Higher Educations look at how biotechnology will change the human experience, has become one of the secular icons representing transhumanism. ... Singularity Sky (ISBN 0441010725) is a hard science fiction novel by author Charles Stross. ... Charles David George Charlie Stross (born Leeds, October 18, 1964) is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...

Extraterrestrials

Some comparatively new belief systems and books portray God as extraterrestrial life. Many of these theories hold that intelligent beings from another world have been visiting Earth for many thousands of years, and have influenced the development of our religions. Some of these books posit that prophets or messiahs were sent to the human race in order to teach morality and encourage the development of civilization. (See e.g. Rael). Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA, suggested that life on Earth originated far away because of what he considered to be a minuscule timeframe allotted by scientists for the emergence of life on Earth. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article is about Extraterrestrial life. ... Raels first published book, the basis of the Raelian movement Raëlism is the belief system promoted by the Raëlian Movement, a religious organization which believes that scientifically advanced extraterrestrials known as the Elohim (derived from a Hebrew word appearing in the Torah) created life on Earth through... Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS (8 June 1916 â€“ 28 July 2004) was an English molecular biologist, physicist, and neuroscientist, who is most noted for being one of the co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... Panspermia is a proven process (based on the principles of Biology, Microbiology, Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, and assumption that life existed already in the universe) that explains how all life in the universe and/or solar system comes from a seed of life. ... This article focuses on the history of thought regarding abiogenesis (the spontaneous generation of life from non-living sources). ...

Phenomenological definition

The philosopher Michel Henry defines God in a phenomenological point of view. He says: "God is Life, he is the essence of Life, or, if we prefer, the essence of Life is God. Saying this we already know what is God, we know it not by the effect of a learning or of some knowledge, we don’t know it by the thought, on the background of the truth of the world ; we know it and we can know it only in and by the Life itself. We can know it only in God." (I Am the Truth. Toward a Philosophy of Christianity). The philosopher Michel Henry defines God in a phenomenological point of view. ... Michel Henry (10 January 1922â€“3 July 2002) was a French philosopher and novelist. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... This article is about the concept of the meaning of life. ...

This Life is not biological life defined by objective and exterior properties, nor an abstract and empty philosophical concept, but the absolute phenomenological life, a radically immanent life that possesses in it the power of showing itself in itself without distance, a life that reveals permanently itself. Phenomenological life has been defined by the philosopher Michel Henry as what possesses the faculty and the power to feel and to experience oneself in every point of its being. ...

Contents

Religion and Theology

Abrahamic conceptions of God

Trinitarian definition

Kabbalistic definition

Islamic concept

Negative theology

God as unity or Trinity

Binitarianism

Conception of God in Sikhism

Conceptions of God in Hinduism

Conception of God in Buddhism

Esotericism and Hermeticism

An Hermeticist conception of God

The Rosicrucian conception of God

Metaphysics and Philosophy

Aristotelian definition of God

The Ultimate

Modern views

Process philosophy and Open Theism

Posthuman God

Extraterrestrials

Phenomenological definition

See also

General overview

General approaches

Various issues

Specific conceptions

General practices

Contents

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Abrahamic conceptions of God

Trinitarian definition

Kabbalistic definition

Islamic concept

Negative theology

God as unity or Trinity

Binitarianism

Conception of God in Sikhism

Conceptions of God in Hinduism

Conception of God in Buddhism

Esotericism and Hermeticism

An Hermeticist conception of God

The Rosicrucian conception of God

Metaphysics and Philosophy

Aristotelian definition of God

The Ultimate

Modern views

Process philosophy and Open Theism

Posthuman God

Extraterrestrials

Phenomenological definition

See also

General overview

General approaches

Various issues

Specific conceptions

General practices

Religion and Theology