Personal god: Difference between revisions
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==Ancient polytheistic religions== |
==Ancient polytheistic religions== |
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The broadest definition of this term is a [[Deity|god]] who is a personal being, i.e. a being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love, as in the cases of [[Zeus]], [[Apollo]], [[Athena]] and other deities common to European Pagan [[polytheism]]. |
The broadest definition of this term is a [[Deity|god]] who is a personal being, i.e. a being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love, as in the cases of [[Zeus]], [[Apollo]], [[Athena]] and other deities common to European Pagan [[polytheism]]. |
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==Hinduism== |
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In monotheistic traditions of Hinduism,<ref name = Hastings/> as for [[Vaishnava]]s personal God is not just as a local manifestation of the deity, but is of universal importance, as Lord Himself referred in [[Sanskrit]] as ''[[svayam bhagavan]]'', where the reality of God is always not in an idealization, but the actual impact of God in the life of man.<ref name="KK">{{cite book |author=K. Klostermaier | other = Crotty, Robert B. |title=The Charles Strong Trust Lectures, 1972-1984 |publisher=Brill Academic Pub |location= |year=1997 |isbn=90-04-07863-0 |quote= For his worshipers he is not an avatara in the usual sense, but svayam bhagavan, the Lord himself.|doi= |accessdate= |page=206}} p.109</ref> |
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Exclusive definition of god, as the personality both containing all, and at the same time being in the intimate relationship with his devotees, up to stage of personal involvement in the [[rasa (theology)|intimate]] care and dependence that can extend beyond the concept of [[denominational]] care to the realm of [[bhakti]] is found for example in monotheistic school of [[Bhagavata]] in India,<ref name = "Hastings">{{cite book |
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|author= Hastings, James Rodney |
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|authorlink=James Hastings |
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|editor= |
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|others=John A Selbie |
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|title=[[Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics]] |
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|edition=Volume 4 of 24 ( Behistun (continued) to Bunyan.) |
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|language= |
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|publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC |
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|location=Edinburgh |
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|year=2nd edition 1925-1940, reprint 1955, 2003 |
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|origyear=1908-26 |
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|quote= - [[Krishna]] considered to be the "founder of the monotheistic Bhagavata religion". |
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|isbn=0-7661-3673-6 |
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|oclc= |
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|doi= |
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|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Kaz58z--NtUC&pg=PA540&vq=Krishna&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1_1&sig=lo3NqA31k8hJZw7qNc9QDEAYyYA |
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|accessdate= |
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|page=476 |
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}} p.540</ref> Placing it as the earliest example of personalism in relation to God in [[400 BC|4th century BC]].<ref name = "Hastings"/> |
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In the [[Bhagavad-Gita]], [[Krishna]] is the [[ishta deva]] or personal god of [[Arjuna]]<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=FLRifVnKnh8C&pg=PA32&dq=ista+deva+personal+god&lr=&as_brr=3#v=onepage&q=ista%20deva%20personal%20god&f=false Sikora, Jack, ''Religions of India: A User Friendly and Brief Introduction to Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and the Jains'', iUniverse, (2002)ISBN 0595247121, 9780595247127 p32]</ref> |
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==Christianity== |
==Christianity== |
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Revision as of 17:12, 17 October 2009
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A Personal god is a deity that is, and can be related to as, a person. The personhood of God is one of the characteristic features of monotheism. In the sacred scriptures of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, God is conceived and described as being a personal creator, with a purpose for the creation. In the Pentateuch, for example, God talks and instructs his prophets and is conceived as possessing volition, emotions (such as anger, grief and jealousy), intention, and other attributes characteristic of a human person. In Vaishnavism the reality of God is always not in an idealization, but the actual impact of God in the life of man. Islam however, very clearly opposes conceiving God as resembling "the creation" - refraining from anthropomorphism. The Qur'an maintains that whatever image a believer has of God, is not God, and that he is truly transcendental.
However, the conception of God as a person should not be equated with a simple anthropomorphism. Relating to God as a Father (as in Christianity) or a Friend (in Sufism) is only a way of approaching God and the intimacy possible with one's own maker. It is this intimate relationship with God that is at the core of the Holy Spirit concept, which refers to God's real presence in each living human being.
Ancient polytheistic religions
The broadest definition of this term is a god who is a personal being, i.e. a being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love, as in the cases of Zeus, Apollo, Athena and other deities common to European Pagan polytheism.
Christianity
Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[1]
In the case of the Christian belief in the Trinity, whether the Holy Spirit is an impersonal god — that is, a "force...often likened to electricity"[2] by some — or a personal one,[3] is the subject of dispute,[2] with experts in pneumatology debating the matter. Jesus and Yahweh are considered the same personal god.[4] Jesus is of the same "ousia" or substance as Yahweh, manifested in three "hypostasis" or persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). These views are intended to challenge the concept of deity, which is merely a guiding principle, a blind creative force or a philosophical ideal.
Moreover, the belief in Holy Communion and Last Supper implies an intensely communal understanding of religion which very often goes beyond the boundaries of individuality, in what theologians have called the "mystical body".
Nontrinitarian Christians dispute that Jesus is equal to Yahweh.
Deism
A narrower interpretation of a personal god is a deity who takes a personal interest in the world in general and worshipers in particular. This view is intended to challenge a deistic outlook.
A still narrower definition would be a god whose personal interest in worshipers is so great that the deity communicates directly with them and actively intervenes in their lives through miracles.
Judaism
Jewish theology clearly states that God is not a person. However, there exist frequent references to anthropomorphic characteristics of God in the Hebrew 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.[5]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ McGrath, Alister (2006). Christian Theology: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 1405153601.
- ^ a b http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/personhoodofthespirit.htm
- ^ http://christianity.about.com/od/topicalbiblestudies/a/whoisholyspirit.htm
- ^ http://www.dtl.org/trinity/article/jehovah/pt-2.htm
- ^ http://www.jewfaq.org/g-d.htm