Godhead in Christianity
Godhead is a Middle English variant of the word godhood, and denotes the Divine Nature or Substance (Ousia) of the Christian God, or the Trinity. Within some traditions such as Mormonism, the term is used as a nontrinitarian substitute for the term Trinity, denoting the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit not as a Trinity, but as a unified council of separate beings in full harmony.
Contents |
Appearance in English Bibles [edit]
John Wycliffe introduced the term godhede into English Bible versions in two places, and, though somewhat archaic, the term survives in modern English because of its use in three places of the Tyndale New Testament (1525) and into the Authorized King James Version of the Bible (1611). In that translation, the word was used to translate three different Greek words:
| Verse | Greek | Romanization | Type | Translation | Reference | Vulgate 405 | Wycliffe 1395 | Tyndale 1525 | ESV 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acts 17:29 | θεῖον | theion | adjective | "divinity, deity" | [1] | divinum (adjective) | that godli thing | godhed | the divine being |
| Romans 1:20 | θειότης | theiotēs | noun | "divinity, divine nature" | [2] | divinitas | godhed | godhed | divine nature |
| Colossians 2:9 | θεότης | theotēs | noun | "deity" | [3] | divinitas | the Godhed | the godheed | deity |
Christianity [edit]
Mormonism [edit]
In the Mormonism represented by most Mormon communities (including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), "God" means Elohim (the Father), whereas "Godhead" means a council of three distinct gods; Elohim, Jehovah (the Son, or Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. The Father and Son have perfected, material bodies, while the Holy Spirit is a spirit and does not have a body. This conception differs from the traditional Christian Trinity; in Mormonism, the three persons are considered to be physically separate beings, or personages, but united in will and purpose.[4] As such, the term "Godhead" differs from how it is used in traditional Christianity. This description of God represents the orthodoxy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), established early in the 19th century. However, the Mormon concept of God has expanded since the faith's founding in the late 1820s.
Neoplatonism [edit]
In the later Neoplatonic mystical tradition (in Pseudo-Dionysius, for example), the term θεαρχία (thearchia) is used.[5]
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Strong's G2304 - theios". Blue Letter bible.
- ^ "Strong's G2305 - theiotēs". Blue Letter Bible.
- ^ "Strong's G2320 - theotēs". Blue Letter Bible.
- ^ The term with its distinctive Mormon usage first appeared in Lectures on Faith (published 1834), Lecture 5 ("We shall in this lecture speak of the Godhead; we mean the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."). The term "Godhead" also appears several times in Lecture 2 in its sense as used in the Authorized King James Version as meaning divinity.
- ^ "The Catholic Primer's Reference Series: Divine Names and Mystical Theology of Pseudo-Dionysius" (PDF). Catholic Primer.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
