God in Abrahamic religions
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Judaism, Christianity, and Islam see God as the eternal being who created the universe and all there is. God is usually held to have the properties of holiness (separate from sin and incorruptible), justice (fair, right, and true in all his judgments), sovereignty (unthwartable in his will), omnipotence (all-powerful), omniscience (all-knowing), omni-benevolence (all-loving), omnipresence (present everywhere at the same time), and immortality (eternal and everlasting). He is also believed to be transcendent, meaning that he is outside space and outside time, and therefore eternal and unable to be changed by earthly forces or anything else within his creation.
In Judaism, Islam and Christianity, God is understood to be a personal god, with a will and personality.
Judaism
The conception of God in Judaism is monotheistic, possibly evolving out of the polytheistic religions of Semites. It cannot be stated when exactly the Israelites moved from an original polytheism to a monotheistic worldview.
The God of Israel, according to the Jews, was known by two principal names. One is YHWH, known as the Tetragrammaton (scriptures contain no vowels), meaning the one who is. This name is sometimes vocalized theoretically by scholars as Yahweh, and for tabuistic reasons is replaced with Adonai "LORD" in liturgy and in many English translations of the Bible. The other commonly used name in the Bible, Elohim, is related to the Northwest Semitic generic term for "god", El, though plural forms of El, such as elim and the diminutive elilim, are found in the Bible, and is cognate with the Arabic Allah and the Aramaic Elah. See also Names of God in Judaism.
According to Judaism, people who follow the Noahide covenant, are said to worship the one true God. There is no reason for humanity to convert to Judaism
Christianity
In Christianity, it remains essential that God be personal. Most christian denominations today follow a trinitarian conception of God originating from the Council of Nicaaea, and hence speak of the three persons of the Trinity. The trinitarian view emphasizes that God has a will, and that God the Son has two wills, divine and human, though these are never in conflict, see also Hypostatic union. However, this point is disputed by Oriental Orthodox Christians, who hold that God the Son has only one will of unified divinity and humanity (see Miaphysitism). The personhood of God and of all human people is essential to the concept of theosis or deification.
Other branches of christianity, have interpreted the Godhead in different ways, from dualistic (see Catharism 11th century) to a purely anthropomorphic view (see Latter Day Saints movement from 1800's America).
Although also prevalent before the council of Nicaea, monotheistic Christianity was soon replaced with teachings of the catholic church, with alternative views suppressed until the raise of the protestantism movements in Europe broke away from official tradition. Unitarian Christianity today is mainly found in the christian unitarian movement.
Islam
In Islam, God is believed to be the only real supreme being, all-powerful and all knowing Creator, Sustainer, Ordainer, and Judge of the universe[1][2] Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular (tawhid).[3] He is unique (wahid) and inherently one (ahad), all-merciful and omnipotent.[4] According to the Qur'an there are 99 Names of God (al-asma al-husna lit. meaning: "The best names") each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of God.[5][6] All these names refer to Allah, the supreme and all-comprehensive divine name.[7] Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Merciful" (al-rahman) and "the Compassionate" (al-rahim).[5][6]
Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of prime mercy for which all creatures sing his glories and bear witness to his unity and lordship. According to the Islamic teachings, God is present everywhere without having incarnated in anything.[8] According to the Qur'an, "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things" (Qur'an 6:103)[2]
God in Islam is not only majestic and sovereign, but also a personal god: According to the Qur'an, he is nearer to person than person's jugular vein. He responds to those in need or distress whenever they call him. Above all, he guides humanity to the right way, the "straight path".[8]
Islam teaches that its god is the same god worshiped by the members of other Abrahamic religions such as Christianity and Judaism (29:46).[9] This is not universally accepted by non-Muslims.
Bahá'í faith
Bahá'ís believe in a single, imperishable god, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe.[10] God is described as "a personal God, unknowable, inaccessible, the source of all Revelation, eternal, omniscient, omnipresent and almighty." [11] Though inaccessible directly, God is nevertheless seen as conscious of the events in this world, with a mind, will and purpose. Bahá'ís believe that God expresses this will at all times and in many ways, including through a series of divine messengers referred to as Manifestations of God or sometimes follow the leader.[12] In expressing God's intent, these manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world. Bahá'í teachings state that God is too great for humans to fully comprehend, nor to create a complete and accurate image.[13] Bahá'u'lláh often refers to God by titles (e.g. the All-Powerful, or the All-Loving). Bahá'ís believe that this anthropomorphic description of God amounts to Bahá'u'lláh, in his capacity as God's manifestation, abstracting him in language that human beings can comprehend, since direct knowledge of the essence of God is believed impossible.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Gerhard Böwering, God and his Attributes, Encyclopedia of the Quran
- ^ a b John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, Oxford University Press, 1998, p.22
- ^ John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, Oxford University Press, 1998, p.88
- ^ "Allah." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ a b Bentley, David (1999). The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book. William Carey Library. ISBN 0-87808-299-9.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, Allah
- ^ Annemarie Schimmel,The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic, SUNY Press, p.206
- ^ a b Britannica Encyclopedia, Islam, p. 3
- ^ F.E. Peters, Islam, p.4, Princeton University Press, 2003
- ^ "The Bahá'í Faith". Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1988. ISBN 0852294867.
- ^ Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 139. ISBN 0877430209.
- ^ Hutter, Manfred (2005). "Bahā'īs". In Ed. Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 2 (2nd ed. ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 737–740. ISBN 0028657330.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ a b Cole, Juan (1982). "The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings". Bahá'í Studies. monograph 9: pp. 1–38.
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