This article is about the concept of a supreme
"God" in the context of monotheism and
henotheism. For the general concept of a being
superior to humans that is worshiped as "a god",
In monotheism and henotheism, God is
conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal
object of faith. The concept of God as
described by theologians commonly includes the
attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge),
omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence
(present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect
goodness), divine simplicity, and eternal and
necessary existence. God is also usually defined
as a non-corporeal being without any human
biological gender,but the concept of God
actively (as opposed to receptively) creating
the universe has caused some religions to give
"Him" the metaphorical name of "Father".
Because God is conceived as not being a
corporeal being, God cannot (some should say)be portrayed in a literal visual image;
some religious groups use a man[6] (sometimes
old and bearded to symbolize God because of
"His deed of creating man's mind in the image of
His own".[citation needed]
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. Monotheism is
the belief in the existence of one God or in the
oneness of God. 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 being
incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the
source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest
conceivable existent". Many notable
philosophers have developed arguments for and
against the existence of God.
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, premised on being the one
"true" Supreme Being and Creator of the
Universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism,
"He Who Is", "I Am that I Am", and the
tetragrammaton YHWH 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, the latter of which is believed
by some scholars to descend from the Egyptian
Aten. In Islam, the name Allah,
"Al-El", or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used, while
Muslims also have a multitude of titular names
for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often
considered a monistic deity. Other religions
have names for God, for instance, Baha in the
Bahá'í Faith,Waheguru in Sikhism,and
Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.
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, 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."
There is no clear consensus on the nature or
even the existence of God. The Abrahamic
conceptions of God include the monotheistic
definition of God in Judaism, the trinitarian view
of Christians, and the Islamic concept of God.
The dharmic religions differ in their view of the
divine: views of God in Hinduism vary by region,
sect, and caste, ranging from monotheistic to
polytheistic to atheistic. Divinity was recognized
by the historical Buddha, particularly Śakra and
Brahma. However, other sentient beings,
including gods, can at best only play a supportive
role in one's personal path to salvation.
Conceptions of God in the latter developments
of the Mahayana tradition give a more
prominent place to notions of the
divine.
Arguments about the existence of God typically
include empirical, deductive, and inductive types.
Conclusions reached include views that: "God
does not exist" ( strong atheism); "God almost
certainly does not exist" (de facto atheism); "no
one knows whether God exists" (agnosticism
;"God exists, but this cannot be proven or
disproven" (theoretical theism); and that "God
exists and this can be proven" (strong theism).
There are numerous variations on these
positions
The word God is "one of the most complex and
difficult in the English language." In the Judeo-
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".
Throughout the Hebrew and Christian Bibles
there are many names for God. One of them is
Elohim. Another one is El Shaddai, meaning "God
Almighty". A third notable name is El Elyon,
which means "The Most High God".
God is described and referred in the Quran and
hadith by certain names or attributes, the most
common being Al-Rahman, meaning "Most
Compassionate" and Al-Rahim, meaning "Most
Merciful"
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