This article is about the term "God" in the context of monotheism and henotheism. For the general concept of "a god", see Deity. For God in the context of specific religions, see an index of pages beginning in "God in". For discussion of the existence of God, see Existence of God. For other uses, see God (disambiguation). Part of a series on God General conceptions Agnosticism Apatheism Atheism Deism Henotheism Ignosticism Monotheism Omnism Panentheism Pantheism Polytheism Theism Transtheism Specific conceptions Creator Demiurge Devil Deus Father Great Architect Monad Mother Supreme Being Sustainer The All The Lord Trinity Tawhid Ditheism Monism Personal Unitarianism In particular religions Abrahamic Bahá'í Christianity Islam Judaism Mormonism Ancient Egyptian Monotheism Buddhism Hinduism Jainism Sikhism Zoroastrianism Attributes Eternalness Existence Gender Names ("God") Omnibenevolence Omnipotence Omnipresence Omniscience Experiences and practices Belief Esotericism Faith Fideism Gnosis Hermeticism Metaphysics Mysticism Prayer Revelation Worship Related topics Euthyphro dilemma God complex God gene Theology Ontology Philosophy Problem of evil Religion Religious texts Portrayals of God in popular media v t e God is often conceived as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[1] In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe. In deism, God is the creator (but not the sustainer) of the universe. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. 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. Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God or in the oneness of God. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[1] Many notable medieval philosophers and modern philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.[2] There are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about who God is and what attributes possessed. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion premised on there being one "true" Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe,[3] this deity is called Aten.[4] In the Hebrew Bible "He Who Is," "I Am that I Am", and the "Tetragrammaton" YHVH are used as names of God, while Yahweh, and Jehovah are sometimes used in Christianity as vocalizations of YHVH. In Arabic and other Semitic language, the name Allah, "Al-El," or "Al-Elah" ("the God") is used. Muslims regard a multitude of titular names for God, while 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.[5][6][7][8][9][10] In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a monistic deity.[11] Other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Bahá'í Faith,[12] Waheguru in Sikhism,[13] and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism.[14] The many different conceptions of God, and competing claims as to God's characteristics, aims, and actions, has led to the development of ideas of Omnitheism, Pandeism,[15][16] or a Perennial philosophy, wherein it is supposed 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. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ The earliest written form of the Germanic word God (always, in this usage, capitalized[18]) comes from the 6th century Christian Codex Argenteus. The English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. Most linguists[who?] agree that the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was based on the root * ǵhau(ə)-, which meant either "to call" or "to invoke".[19] The Germanic words for God were originally neuter—applying to both genders—but during the process of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples from their indigenous Germanic paganism, the word became a masculine syntactic form.[20] In the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic "God" and "gods" in polytheism.[21][22] The English word "God" and its counterparts in other languages are normally used for any and all conceptions and, in spite of significant differences between religions, the term remains an English translation common to all. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, the tetragrammaton (written YHWH), in origin the name of an Edomite or Midianite deity, Yahweh.

• published: 29 Mar 2014
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