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GOD中文(简体)翻译：剑桥词典

GOD中文(简体)翻译：剑桥词典

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英语-中文（简体）

god 在英语-中文（简体）词典中的翻译

godnoun [ C ] uk

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/ɡɒd/ us

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/ɡɑːd/

god noun [C]

(SPIRIT)

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B2 a spirit or being believed to control some part of the universe or life and often worshipped for doing so, or something that represents this spirit or being

（主宰某个领域的）神;神像

the ancient Greek gods and goddesses

古希腊的男女众神

更多范例减少例句The site was named after a Norse god.Their sacred dance is performed to invoke ancient gods.The children enjoyed the stories about the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman myth.The gods smiled on us and we had brilliant sunshine throughout the day.In the various regions of India, Hindus worship different gods and observe different religious festivals.

god noun [C]

(ADMIRED PERSON)

someone who is very important to you, who you admire very much, and who strongly influences you

（对某人来说）被极度尊崇的人，被崇拜的偶像

His most devoted fans think of him as a sort of god.

他在大多数忠实的崇拜者心目中就像是一个神。

god noun [C]

(THEATRE)

 the gods [ plural ] UK informal

the seats in a theatre that are at the highest level and the furthest distance from the stage: We managed to get tickets but they were up in the gods, which wasn't ideal.

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习语

those whom the gods love die young Godnoun [ S not after the ] uk

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/ɡɒd/ us

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/ɡɑːd/

A2 (in some religions) the being who made the universe and is believed to have an effect on all things

（尤指基督教、犹太教和伊斯兰教中的）上帝，天主，真主

Do you believe in God?

你信上帝吗？

更多范例减少例句Do you believe in an all-powerful god ?As an agnostic he believed that nothing can be known of the existence or nature of God.God knows how we're going to be ready on time.She believed that God doesn't exist.Thank God you're here. I've been looking everywhere for you.

习语

(oh my) God!

God bless (you)!

God helps those who help themselves

God knows

God only knows

God willing

hope/wish/swear to God

thank God

there is a God!

(god在剑桥英语-中文（简体）词典的翻译 © Cambridge University Press)

B2,A2

god的翻译

中文（繁体）

神靈, （主宰某個領域的）神, 神像…

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西班牙语

dios, Dios, dios [masculine]…

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葡萄牙语

deus, Deus, deus [masculine]…

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更多语言

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丹麦语

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阿拉伯语

in Bengali

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印尼语

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波兰语

韩语

意大利语

देव…

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（多神教の）神, （特に）男神, 神（かみ）…

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tanrı, Allah, tanrıça…

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dieu [masculine], divinité [feminine], Dieu…

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déu…

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God, god…

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ஒரு புனித ஆவி அல்லது பிரபஞ்சத்தின் அல்லது வாழ்க்கையின் சில பகுதியைக் கட்டுப்படுத்துவதாக நம்பப்படுகிறது மற்றும் அவ்வாறு செய்வதற்காக பெரும்பாலும் வணங்கப்படுகிறது, அல்லது இந்த சக்தியை அல்லது இதை சக்தி இருப்பதைக் குறிக்கும் ஒரு சொல், (சில மதங்களில்) பிரபஞ்சத்தை உண்டாக்கியவர் மற்றும் எல்லா விஷயங்களிலும் ஒரு விளைவை ஏற்படுத்துவார் என்று நம்பப்படுகிறது…

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देवी-देवता, भगवान, ईश्वर…

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દેવો અને દેવીઓ, ભગવાન, ઈશ્વર…

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Gud, gudinde…

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gud, gudinna…

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Tuhan…

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der Gott, die Gottheit…

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gud [masculine], gud, gud(inne)…

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دیوتا, خدا, اللہ…

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Бог, бог…

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бог, божество…

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దైవం, దేవుడు…

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إِله, رَبّ…

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ঈশ্বর, ভগবান, সত্তা…

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Bůh, bůh…

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Tuhan, dewa, dewi…

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พระเจ้า, เทพเจ้า…

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Chúa, các vị thần…

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bóg, Bóg…

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신…

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dio, Dio, divinità…

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god的发音是什么？

在英语词典中查看 god 的释义

浏览

gobshite

gobsmacked

gobstopper

gochujang

god

God bless (you)! idiom

God forbid idiom

God help someone idiom

God helps those who help themselves idiom

god更多的中文(简体)翻译

全部

God's truth

sun god

tin god

God slot

god-awful

God-given

God-fearing

查看全部意思»

惯用语

(oh my) God! idiom

play God idiom

God knows idiom

thank God idiom

Goodness/God/Heaven/Christ knows idiom

God forbid idiom

God bless (you)! idiom

查看全部惯用语意思»

“每日一词”

veggie burger

UK

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/ˈvedʒ.i ˌbɜː.ɡər/

US

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/ˈvedʒ.i ˌbɝː.ɡɚ/

a type of food similar to a hamburger but made without meat, by pressing together small pieces of vegetables, seeds, etc. into a flat, round shape

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Forget doing it or forget to do it? Avoiding common mistakes with verb patterns (2)

March 06, 2024

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stochastic parrot

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英语-中文（简体） 

 

Noun 

god (SPIRIT)

god (ADMIRED PERSON)

god (THEATRE)

the gods

Noun

Translations

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GOD | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

GOD | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary

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English

Meaning of god in English

godnoun [ C ] uk

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/ɡɒd/ us

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/ɡɑːd/

god noun [C]

(SPIRIT)

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B2 a spirit or being believed to control some part of the universe or life and often worshipped for doing so, or something that represents this spirit or being: the ancient Greek gods and goddesses

More examplesFewer examplesThe site was named after a Norse god.Their sacred dance is performed to invoke ancient gods.The children enjoyed the stories about the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman myth.The gods smiled on us and we had brilliant sunshine throughout the day.In the various regions of India, Hindus worship different gods and observe different religious festivals.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

God & gods

Aphrodite

Apollo

apotheosis

Artemis

Athena

Bacchus

Eros

fate

father

goddess

godlike

Holy Spirit

immortal

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

Krishna

lamb

Lamb of God idiom

lord

the Redeemer

See more results »

god noun [C]

(ADMIRED PERSON)

someone who is very important to you, who you admire very much, and who strongly influences you: His most devoted fans think of him as a sort of god.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

God & gods

Aphrodite

Apollo

apotheosis

Artemis

Athena

Bacchus

Eros

fate

father

goddess

godlike

Holy Spirit

immortal

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

Krishna

lamb

Lamb of God idiom

lord

the Redeemer

See more results »

god noun [C]

(THEATRE)

 the gods [ plural ] UK informal

the seats in a theatre that are at the highest level and the furthest distance from the stage: We managed to get tickets but they were up in the gods, which wasn't ideal.

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Idiom

those whom the gods love die young Godnoun [ S not after the ] uk

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/ɡɒd/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ɡɑːd/

A2 (in some religions) the being who made the universe and is believed to have an effect on all things: Do you believe in God?

More examplesFewer examplesDo you believe in an all-powerful god ?As an agnostic he believed that nothing can be known of the existence or nature of God.God knows how we're going to be ready on time.She believed that God doesn't exist.Thank God you're here. I've been looking everywhere for you.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

God & gods

Aphrodite

Apollo

apotheosis

Artemis

Athena

Bacchus

Eros

fate

father

goddess

godlike

Holy Spirit

immortal

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

Krishna

lamb

Lamb of God idiom

lord

the Redeemer

See more results »

Idioms

(oh my) God!

God bless (you)!

God helps those who help themselves

God knows

God only knows

God willing

hope/wish/swear to God

thank God

there is a God!

(Definition of god from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

god | American Dictionary

godnoun [ C ] us

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/ɡɑd/ (female goddess, us/ˈɡɑd·əs/)

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a spirit or being believed to control some part of the universe or life and often worshiped for doing so, or a representation of this being: the god of war

A god can also be someone who is admired a lot or too much: Dr. Tay is a god to me.

Godnoun [ U ] us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ɡɑd/

(esp. in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim belief) the being that created and rules the universe, the earth, and its people: Do you believe in God?

Idioms

God bless (you)

God only knows

(Definition of god from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of god

god

I am listening for the heart of god.

From CNN

And she did not thank the gods for it.

From Wired

If a so-called all-powerful god made everything then why is his book(s) so full of inacuracies?

From CNN

He reduced their scale, and let his patience, his precision, his mastery of detail -- detail, the god of the model-maker -- do the rest.

From The New York Review of Books

You pray to the literary gods and hope that you get something really great.

From Hollywood Reporter

Playwrights today might settle all too readily for a stenographer's role, but they have within themselves the power of gods.

From Los Angeles Times

The gods never answer the questions asked of them, of course.

From Slate Magazine

All the gods have gone to sleep or are simply moribund.

From Huffington Post

And it is all done in the name of a god.

From CNN

What is good about a god that allows this to happen?

From CNN

Everyone has their time to go, that's what god has promised.

From CNN

There isn't a god, nor was there ever one.

From CNN

The arts and humanities teachers are either being squeezed out or being marginalized in favor of the technological gods.

From Washington Post

The gods only conveniently created things that people at that time could see with their own two eyes.

From CNN

There is no hope for mankind because they depend on gods, spirits, devils, angels, etc. to solve problems.

From CNN

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

What is the pronunciation of god, God?

 

B2,A2

Translations of god

in Chinese (Traditional)

神靈, （主宰某個領域的）神, 神像…

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in Chinese (Simplified)

神灵, （主宰某个领域的）神, 神像…

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in Spanish

dios, Dios, dios [masculine]…

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in Portuguese

deus, Deus, deus [masculine]…

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in more languages

in Marathi

in Japanese

in Turkish

in French

in Catalan

in Dutch

in Tamil

in Hindi

in Gujarati

in Danish

in Swedish

in Malay

in German

in Norwegian

in Urdu

in Ukrainian

in Russian

in Telugu

in Arabic

in Bengali

in Czech

in Indonesian

in Thai

in Vietnamese

in Polish

in Korean

in Italian

देव…

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（多神教の）神, （特に）男神, 神（かみ）…

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tanrı, Allah, tanrıça…

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dieu [masculine], divinité [feminine], Dieu…

See more

déu…

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God, god…

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ஒரு புனித ஆவி அல்லது பிரபஞ்சத்தின் அல்லது வாழ்க்கையின் சில பகுதியைக் கட்டுப்படுத்துவதாக நம்பப்படுகிறது மற்றும் அவ்வாறு செய்வதற்காக பெரும்பாலும் வணங்கப்படுகிறது, அல்லது இந்த சக்தியை அல்லது இதை சக்தி இருப்பதைக் குறிக்கும் ஒரு சொல், (சில மதங்களில்) பிரபஞ்சத்தை உண்டாக்கியவர் மற்றும் எல்லா விஷயங்களிலும் ஒரு விளைவை ஏற்படுத்துவார் என்று நம்பப்படுகிறது…

See more

देवी-देवता, भगवान, ईश्वर…

See more

દેવો અને દેવીઓ, ભગવાન, ઈશ્વર…

See more

Gud, gudinde…

See more

gud, gudinna…

See more

Tuhan…

See more

der Gott, die Gottheit…

See more

gud [masculine], gud, gud(inne)…

See more

دیوتا, خدا, اللہ…

See more

Бог, бог…

See more

бог, божество…

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దైవం, దేవుడు…

See more

إِله, رَبّ…

See more

ঈশ্বর, ভগবান, সত্তা…

See more

Bůh, bůh…

See more

Tuhan, dewa, dewi…

See more

พระเจ้า, เทพเจ้า…

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Chúa, các vị thần…

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bóg, Bóg…

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신…

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dio, Dio, divinità…

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gobshite

gobsmacked

gobstopper

gochujang

god

God bless (you)! idiom

God forbid idiom

God help someone idiom

God helps those who help themselves idiom

More meanings of God

All

God's truth

sun god

tin god

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god-awful

God-given

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Idioms and phrases

God bless (you) idiom

God only knows idiom

(oh my) God! idiom

God knows idiom

Goodness/God/Heaven/Christ knows idiom

play God idiom

thank God idiom

See all idioms and phrases

Word of the Day

veggie burger

UK

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/ˈvedʒ.i ˌbɜː.ɡər/

US

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/ˈvedʒ.i ˌbɝː.ɡɚ/

a type of food similar to a hamburger but made without meat, by pressing together small pieces of vegetables, seeds, etc. into a flat, round shape

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Contents

English 

 

Noun 

god (SPIRIT)

god (ADMIRED PERSON)

god (THEATRE)

the gods

Noun

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GOD在剑桥英语词典中的解释及翻译

GOD在剑桥英语词典中的解释及翻译

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英语

god 在英语中的意思

godnoun [ C ] uk

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/ɡɒd/ us

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/ɡɑːd/

god noun [C]

(SPIRIT)

Add to word list

Add to word list

B2 a spirit or being believed to control some part of the universe or life and often worshipped for doing so, or something that represents this spirit or being: the ancient Greek gods and goddesses

更多范例减少例句The site was named after a Norse god.Their sacred dance is performed to invoke ancient gods.The children enjoyed the stories about the gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman myth.The gods smiled on us and we had brilliant sunshine throughout the day.In the various regions of India, Hindus worship different gods and observe different religious festivals.

“SMART 词汇”：相关单词和短语

God & gods

Aphrodite

Apollo

apotheosis

Artemis

Athena

Bacchus

Eros

fate

father

goddess

godlike

Holy Spirit

immortal

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

Krishna

lamb

Lamb of God idiom

lord

the Redeemer

查看更多结果»

god noun [C]

(ADMIRED PERSON)

someone who is very important to you, who you admire very much, and who strongly influences you: His most devoted fans think of him as a sort of god.

“SMART 词汇”：相关单词和短语

God & gods

Aphrodite

Apollo

apotheosis

Artemis

Athena

Bacchus

Eros

fate

father

goddess

godlike

Holy Spirit

immortal

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

Krishna

lamb

Lamb of God idiom

lord

the Redeemer

查看更多结果»

god noun [C]

(THEATRE)

 the gods [ plural ] UK informal

the seats in a theatre that are at the highest level and the furthest distance from the stage: We managed to get tickets but they were up in the gods, which wasn't ideal.

查看更多

习语

those whom the gods love die young Godnoun [ S not after the ] uk

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/ɡɒd/ us

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/ɡɑːd/

A2 (in some religions) the being who made the universe and is believed to have an effect on all things: Do you believe in God?

更多范例减少例句Do you believe in an all-powerful god ?As an agnostic he believed that nothing can be known of the existence or nature of God.God knows how we're going to be ready on time.She believed that God doesn't exist.Thank God you're here. I've been looking everywhere for you.

“SMART 词汇”：相关单词和短语

God & gods

Aphrodite

Apollo

apotheosis

Artemis

Athena

Bacchus

Eros

fate

father

goddess

godlike

Holy Spirit

immortal

Jehovah

Jesus Christ

Krishna

lamb

Lamb of God idiom

lord

the Redeemer

查看更多结果»

习语

(oh my) God!

God bless (you)!

God helps those who help themselves

God knows

God only knows

God willing

hope/wish/swear to God

thank God

there is a God!

(god在剑桥高级学习词典和同义词词典中的解释 © Cambridge University Press)

god | 美式英语词典

godnoun [ C ] us

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/ɡɑd/ (female goddess, us/ˈɡɑd·əs/)

Add to word list

Add to word list

a spirit or being believed to control some part of the universe or life and often worshiped for doing so, or a representation of this being: the god of war

A god can also be someone who is admired a lot or too much: Dr. Tay is a god to me.

Godnoun [ U ] us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ɡɑd/

(esp. in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim belief) the being that created and rules the universe, the earth, and its people: Do you believe in God?

习语

God bless (you)

God only knows

(god在剑桥学术词典中的解释 © Cambridge University Press)

god的例句

god

I am listening for the heart of god.

来自 CNN

And she did not thank the gods for it.

来自 Wired

If a so-called all-powerful god made everything then why is his book(s) so full of inacuracies?

来自 CNN

He reduced their scale, and let his patience, his precision, his mastery of detail -- detail, the god of the model-maker -- do the rest.

来自 The New York Review of Books

You pray to the literary gods and hope that you get something really great.

来自 Hollywood Reporter

Playwrights today might settle all too readily for a stenographer's role, but they have within themselves the power of gods.

来自 Los Angeles Times

The gods never answer the questions asked of them, of course.

来自 Slate Magazine

All the gods have gone to sleep or are simply moribund.

来自 Huffington Post

And it is all done in the name of a god.

来自 CNN

What is good about a god that allows this to happen?

来自 CNN

Everyone has their time to go, that's what god has promised.

来自 CNN

There isn't a god, nor was there ever one.

来自 CNN

The arts and humanities teachers are either being squeezed out or being marginalized in favor of the technological gods.

来自 Washington Post

The gods only conveniently created things that people at that time could see with their own two eyes.

来自 CNN

There is no hope for mankind because they depend on gods, spirits, devils, angels, etc. to solve problems.

来自 CNN

示例中的观点不代表剑桥词典编辑、剑桥大学出版社和其许可证颁发者的观点。

god, God的发音是什么？

 

B2,A2

god的翻译

中文（繁体）

神靈, （主宰某個領域的）神, 神像…

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中文（简体）

神灵, （主宰某个领域的）神, 神像…

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西班牙语

dios, Dios, dios [masculine]…

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deus, Deus, deus [masculine]…

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देव…

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（多神教の）神, （特に）男神, 神（かみ）…

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tanrı, Allah, tanrıça…

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dieu [masculine], divinité [feminine], Dieu…

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déu…

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God, god…

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ஒரு புனித ஆவி அல்லது பிரபஞ்சத்தின் அல்லது வாழ்க்கையின் சில பகுதியைக் கட்டுப்படுத்துவதாக நம்பப்படுகிறது மற்றும் அவ்வாறு செய்வதற்காக பெரும்பாலும் வணங்கப்படுகிறது, அல்லது இந்த சக்தியை அல்லது இதை சக்தி இருப்பதைக் குறிக்கும் ஒரு சொல், (சில மதங்களில்) பிரபஞ்சத்தை உண்டாக்கியவர் மற்றும் எல்லா விஷயங்களிலும் ஒரு விளைவை ஏற்படுத்துவார் என்று நம்பப்படுகிறது…

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देवी-देवता, भगवान, ईश्वर…

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દેવો અને દેવીઓ, ભગવાન, ઈશ્વર…

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Gud, gudinde…

查看更多内容

gud, gudinna…

查看更多内容

Tuhan…

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der Gott, die Gottheit…

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gud [masculine], gud, gud(inne)…

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دیوتا, خدا, اللہ…

查看更多内容

Бог, бог…

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бог, божество…

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దైవం, దేవుడు…

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إِله, رَبّ…

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ঈশ্বর, ভগবান, সত্তা…

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Bůh, bůh…

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Tuhan, dewa, dewi…

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พระเจ้า, เทพเจ้า…

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Chúa, các vị thần…

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bóg, Bóg…

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신…

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dio, Dio, divinità…

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浏览

gobshite

gobsmacked

gobstopper

gochujang

god

God bless (you)! idiom

God forbid idiom

God help someone idiom

God helps those who help themselves idiom

god的更多意思

全部

God's truth

sun god

tin god

God slot

god-awful

God-given

God-fearing

查看全部意思»

惯用语

God bless (you) idiom

God only knows idiom

(oh my) God! idiom

God knows idiom

Goodness/God/Heaven/Christ knows idiom

play God idiom

thank God idiom

查看全部惯用语意思»

“每日一词”

veggie burger

UK

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/ˈvedʒ.i ˌbɜː.ɡər/

US

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/ˈvedʒ.i ˌbɝː.ɡɚ/

a type of food similar to a hamburger but made without meat, by pressing together small pieces of vegetables, seeds, etc. into a flat, round shape

关于这个

博客

Forget doing it or forget to do it? Avoiding common mistakes with verb patterns (2)

March 06, 2024

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新词

stochastic parrot

March 04, 2024

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英语 

 

Noun 

god (SPIRIT)

god (ADMIRED PERSON)

god (THEATRE)

the gods

Noun

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401 | God Zone

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房间 排行榜 小黑屋 游戏互联 登录 401 未登录 带我回首页 icon 又一个 Counter Strike 玩家聚集地 交流群 QQ 一群 QQ 二群 QQ 三群 QQ 四群 QQ 五群 QQ 六群 QQ 七群 QQ 八群 社区 Discord Kook (开黑啦) Steam 组 QQ 频道 © 2023 csgod.top. All rights reserved. Build by Bone. 皖ICP备2021001064号-1

God（英文单词）_百度百科

英文单词）_百度百科 网页新闻贴吧知道网盘图片视频地图文库资讯采购百科百度首页登录注册进入词条全站搜索帮助首页秒懂百科特色百科知识专题加入百科百科团队权威合作下载百科APP个人中心God是一个多义词，请在下列义项上选择浏览（共8个义项）添加义项收藏查看我的收藏0有用+10God播报讨论上传视频英文单词God是一个英文单词，西方认为是宇宙万物的创造者和主宰者，出自《旧约》。中文名神外文名God地    位宇宙万物的创造者和主宰者起源时间公元前550年主要人物耶和华来    源《旧约》目录1初期思想2相关解释初期思想播报编辑初期的《旧约》思想将神认为是以色列民族的主或是守护神，而以先知以赛亚为代表的后期《旧约》思想认为，神平等地对待世人，应该作为全人类的礼拜对象。他的这种观点得到了承认。到了公元前550年，“唯一神”理论出世了。耶和华，这位以色列的主人、拯救者和世人的统率者这样说：“以我为始，以我为终。除我之外无神灵存在。”被认为是犹太教礼拜灵魂的祈祷文这样写道：“听啊，以色列人！耶和华是我们的神，耶和华是我们唯一的上帝！”这个祈祷应该是在耶和华被作为唯一上帝确立之后才有的吧。历史上，这种“唯一神”的理论曾经得到深化，但我们也不能忽视“耶和华”这个名字本身就有十分明显的“唯一的上帝”的色彩。最初，上帝现身在摩西面前的时候，说自己是“唯一的上帝”。对此，正确的理解应该是“创造神的上帝”。耶和华是希伯来语的“创造”这个词变来的，就是说，耶和华是业已存在或者即将存在的万物的创造者。这也是《旧约》的解释，所以《旧约》不承认在万物创造以前，除了耶和华还有别的神存在。根据《创世记》中的典故，神先在黑暗和混沌中创造了光，接着创造了天地、生物和人。根据埃及和希腊的神话传说，宇宙中最初只有一个神，而后诞生了很多上帝，分别创造自己的天、地、水、风、云、山和河流等自然事物，而宇宙是在诸上帝诞生以前就已经存在了，只不过是以另一种方式而已。虽然诸神们能够决定人和自然，但他们也只是包含于宇宙的一种存在。根据这种认识，宇宙也会被神认为是永远存在的事物。相反的是，《旧约》认为神是超越虚无和万物的唯一创造者。《旧约》的思想虽然是公元前七、八世纪的产物，但在当时多神教的社会中也称得上“极具想象力”。我们不能否认，“创造神的上帝”这种说法所带有的形而上学的色彩使得“唯一上帝”论的发展成为必然。神是三位一体的：他有三个位格——圣父、圣子、圣灵，一个本体——圣父的神性、圣子的神性和圣灵的神性，本质上是同一个。换句话说：只有独一无二的耶和华；圣父完全是耶和华，圣子完全是耶和华，圣灵完全是耶和华；圣父不是圣子，圣子不是圣灵，圣灵不是圣父。耶稣基督是圣子，也就是神的第二个位格；圣子是参与创造的，也是创世之前就有的（参考约翰福音开头：太初有道，道与神同在，道就是上帝）相关解释播报编辑神在本质(essence)上是一：初期教会曾产生过这样的问题，究竟基督在实质上(substance)，或本质上(essence)，是不是与父相同的？亚流说，基督在实质上是与父相同的，但父比基督大。这表示说，实质或本质的相同还不足够，三位一体的正确解释应该是，「在本质上为一」(one in essence)。上神在本质上为一的根据，是申命记六章4节：「以色列啊！你要听：耶和华我们的上帝是独一的主。」「独一」的希伯来文echad，意思是「合一」。这节经文不但强调，神的独一性，也强调上帝的合一性(另比较雅二l9)。三位都拥有神性的总和，而神在本质上没有被分割。本质上为一，也就是说，三位并不是各自独立行动的，这也是耶稣对犹太人的指斥(比较约五l9，八28，十二49，十四10)。就位格说，神有三：「位格」(persons)一词似乎减损了三位一体的合一性，其实位格这名词，是不足以形容三位一体的相互关系的。有些神学家改用「存有」 (subsistance)，就是说，「上帝有三个存有。」此外三者之间还有相距、关系及形态之别。位格这名词，可帮助说明，三位一体并不单是一种显现方式，而是有个别位格的存在。当我们说，上帝的位格有三，意思是指：(I)每位都有神的本质(essence)；(II)每位都拥有上帝的丰满(fullness)。「在神来说，不是有三个一起存在或分开的个性，而是在一个神圣本质之内，有位格上的自我区分。」这与形态论(撒伯流主义)有重大的不同。形态论说，神是一位，但以三种不同的方式表现自己。三个位格的合一，在旧约常常被提及，如以赛亚书四十八章16节，父差遣了弥赛亚和圣灵，向复兴的国说话。在以赛亚书六十一章l节，父以圣灵膏立弥赛亚，给他任命。这些经文部强调了，三个位格的平等与合一。三个位格有相距的关系(distinct relationships)：三位一体内存在着一种存有(subsistance)上的关系。父不是被生的，也不是从别的位格而有的；子是从父永远被生的(begotten)(约一 18，三16、18；约壹四9)。「生出」(generation)这词，说明了三位一体的关系。子是永远从父而生的，圣灵是永远从父和子发出 (proceeds)(约十四26，十六7)。「发出」这名词，也说明了一种三位一体的关系；圣灵是父和子所差派的。我们须要注意，这些名词只是表达出三位一体里的一种关系，并不说明有等级上的分别。由于这些名词都有等级意味，有些神学家就索性不用。三个位格在权力上是相等的：「生出」和「发出」这些名词，可以说明三位一体之间的职能，但三位一体彼此间，是有同等的权柄。父在权柄上是至高者(林前八6)；子在每一方面与父同等(约五21至23)；而圣灵又被称为与父和子同等(比较太十二31)。新手上路成长任务编辑入门编辑规则本人编辑我有疑问内容质疑在线客服官方贴吧意见反馈投诉建议举报不良信息未通过词条申诉投诉侵权信息封禁查询与解封©2024 Baidu 使用百度前必读 | 百科协议 | 隐私政策 | 百度百科合作平台 | 京ICP证030173号 京公网安备110000020000

Existence of God | History, Philosophy, & Arguments | Britannica

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existence of God

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existence of God, in religion, the proposition that there is a supreme supernatural or preternatural being that is the creator or sustainer or ruler of the universe and all things in it, including human beings. In many religions God is also conceived as perfect and unfathomable by humans, as all-powerful and all-knowing (omnipotent and omniscient), and as the source and ultimate ground of morality.Belief in the existence of God (or gods) is definitional of theism and characteristic of many (though not all) religious traditions. For much of its history, Christianity in particular has been concerned with the question of whether God’s existence can be established rationally (i.e., by reason alone or by reason informed by sense experience) or through religious experience or revelation or instead must be accepted as a matter of faith. The remainder of this article will consider some historically influential arguments that have been advanced to demonstrate the existence of God.

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theism: Intellectual background

Arguments for the existence of God are usually classified as either a priori or a posteriori—that is, based on the idea of God itself or based on experience. An example of the latter is the cosmological argument, which appeals to the notion of causation to conclude either that there is a first cause or that there is a necessary being from whom all contingent beings derive their existence. Other versions of this approach include the appeal to contingency—to the fact that whatever exists might not have existed and therefore calls for explanation—and the appeal to the principle of sufficient reason, which claims that for anything that exists there must be a sufficient reason why it exists. The arguments by St. Thomas Aquinas known as the Five Ways—the argument from motion, from efficient causation, from contingency, from degrees of perfection, and from final causes or ends in nature—are generally regarded as cosmological. Something must be the first or prime mover, the first efficient cause, the necessary ground of contingent beings, the supreme perfection that imperfect beings approach, and the intelligent guide of natural things toward their ends. This, Aquinas said, is God. The most common criticism of the cosmological argument has been that the phenomenon that God’s existence supposedly accounts for does not in fact need to be explained.The argument from design also starts from human experience: in this case the perception of order and purpose in the natural world. The argument claims that the universe is strongly analogous, in its order and regularity, to an artifact such as a watch; because the existence of the watch justifies the presumption of a watchmaker, the existence of the universe justifies the presumption of a divine creator of the universe, or God. Despite the powerful criticisms of the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711–76)—e.g., that the evidence is compatible with a large number of hypotheses, such as polytheism or a god of limited power, that are as plausible as or more plausible than monotheism—the argument from design continued to be very popular in the 19th century. According to a more recent version of the argument, known as intelligent design, biological organisms display a kind of complexity (“irreducible complexity”) that could not have come about through the gradual adaptation of their parts through natural selection; therefore, the argument concludes, such organisms must have been created in their present form by an intelligent designer. Other modern variants of the argument attempt to ground theistic belief in patterns of reasoning that are characteristic of the natural sciences, appealing to simplicity and economy of explanation of the order and regularity of the universe.Perhaps the most sophisticated and challenging argument for the existence of God is the ontological argument, propounded by St. Anselm of Canterbury. According to Anselm, the concept of God as the most perfect being—a being greater than which none can be conceived—entails that God exists, because a being who was otherwise all perfect and who failed to exist would be less great than a being who was all perfect and who did exist. This argument has exercised an abiding fascination for philosophers; some contend that it attempts to “define” God into existence, while others continue to defend it and to develop new versions.It may be possible (or impossible) to prove the existence of God, but it may be unnecessary to do so in order for belief in God to be reasonable. Perhaps the requirement of a proof is too stringent, and perhaps there are other ways of establishing God’s existence. Chief among these is the appeal to religious experience—a personal, direct acquaintance with God or an experience of God mediated through a religious tradition. Some forms of mysticism appeal to religious tradition to establish the significance and appropriateness of religious experiences. Interpretations of such experiences, however, typically cannot be independently verified.

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Giotto: The NativityThe Nativity, fresco by Giotto, c. 1305–06, depicting the birth of Jesus; in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy.(more)The Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) also appeal to revelation, or to claims that God has spoken through appointed messengers to disclose matters which would otherwise be inaccessible. In Christianity these matters have included the doctrine of creation, the Trinity, and the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Various attempts have been made to establish the reasonableness of the appeal to revelation through the witness of the church and through signs and miracles, all of which are thought to herald the authentic voice of God. (This is the context in which Hume’s classic critique of the credibility of reported miracles—that no amount or kind of evidence can establish that a miracle has occurred—must be understood.) Yet appeals to revelation by the various religions conflict with each other, and the appeal to revelation itself is open to the charge of circularity. The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan.

为什么god这个词会被翻译成“上帝”？ - 知乎

为什么god这个词会被翻译成“上帝”？ - 知乎首页知乎知学堂发现等你来答​切换模式登录/注册英语翻译历史英语英语词汇翻译为什么god这个词会被翻译成“上帝”？为什么god这个词会被翻译成“上帝”？ 中文之前有“上帝”这个词吗？还是为了god特意创造出的词呢？显示全部 ​关注者261被浏览835,523关注问题​写回答​邀请回答​6 条评论​分享​126 个回答默认排序溺杀枫杨树​别做白痴。​ 关注基督教文化和中国传统文化是两种异质文化，在一些基本观念上是南辕北辙、水火不容的。如基督教的“一神论”和中国人的“泛神论”等一直体现在《圣经》中译的整个过程中，尤其是到19世纪40年代末达到高潮的所谓的“译名之争”或“译词之争”（Term Question).美国传教士卫三畏（Samuel Wells Williams)曾对在中国发生的“译名之争”感到大惑不解，根据他的经验，《圣经》翻译成任何中文以外的语言都没有引起过太多争论，这也从一个侧面说明基督教观念同华夏观念的差异之大之深。译名问题是一直困扰《圣经》中译者的问题，可以说直到今天也仍未完全解决。争论的核心在于如何用恰当的中文词汇表达基督教所特有的一些概念，如Theos,Deus,God,Spirit,Baptizo等。对这个问题景教徒采用的办法有两种：意译和音译。这里的“意译”指直接借用已经存在的佛道概念来附会基督教的相应概念，如“上帝”被译为“佛”或“天尊”，“耶稣基督”被译为“世尊”，“受洗”被等同于佛教的“受戒”等。其他佛教概念，如“妙身”、“慈航”、“真宗”、“功德”等，也被用来对应基督教的某些概念。有些个别名词则采用音译办法，如“阿罗诃”表示“耶和华”，“娑殚”表示Satan(撒旦），“慈利波”表示Tsuripa(古叙利亚语，即“十字架”）等。明末清初天主教传教士在翻译《圣经》时基本采用的也是这两个办法，只不过换了别的中文词语或音译词语。利玛窦担任中国教区负责人之后，采取了“合儒”、“补儒”的传教策略，以期达到最终“超儒”，即把中国的儒教基督教化。利玛窦并没有直接翻译过《圣经》，但他用中文撰写过一些宣扬基督教的书，如《天主实义》，也涉及对基督教概念的翻译问题。他将基督教的Deus/Theos 译为“天主”，又根据中国古书宣称“吾天主乃古经书所称上帝也”；向万历皇帝讲道时他还说过：“上帝就是你们所指的天”；在布道时，他还使用“神”字来称呼基督教的造物主。“天主”、“天”、“上帝”都是中国古书中出现过的概念，利玛窦交替使用这些词语，非常明确地表明他迁就译语文化的态度。利玛窦的继任者龙华民（Nicolò Longobardo)则不这么看，他认为“天主”、“上帝”不能代表创造万物的“神”，主张采用音译“泰初”或“陡斯”来表示拉丁文的Deus.此时传教士内部就译名问题发生了分歧，以王丰肃（Alphonsus Vagnoni)为首的一派赞同利玛窦的译法，与龙华民一派形成对峙。1627年底，在华部分传教士与已经皈依天主教的中国文人徐光启、李之藻、杨廷筠和孙元化等在嘉定集会，重点讨论了译名问题。会议决定维持利玛窦适应中国的策略，但废除“上帝”一词，只用“天主”一词，此后中国教

会一直沿用“天主”一词。但龙华民等传教士并未就此罢休，后来译名问题直接反映到罗马教皇那里，教皇克勒孟十一世（Pope Clement XI)敕令统一用“天主”为Deus之中译名，然而仍然没有使争论停止。到19世纪初，马礼逊虽然认为“天主”和“神”都可以用来译God,但他还是选择了后者，因为天主教徒使用前者并未使多少中国人皈依天主，反而把“天主”和“菩萨”混为一谈。马礼逊还使用过“真神”、“神天”、“神主”、“主神”、“天帝”、“天皇”等译名，他的《圣经》译本用的就是《神天圣书》作书名。在印度译经的马士曼也是用“神”译God.协助马礼逊翻译的米怜开始也倾向于“神”的译法，但最终主张选用“上帝”一词。他主编的第一份中文期刊《察世俗每月统记传》前几卷用“神”字，后面几卷则改用“上帝”来对译God.马礼逊本人以及后来的传教士都对“马礼逊译本”不满，时有修订马氏译本的呼声。19世纪30年代，郭实腊等人对马礼逊译本进行修订时，就改“神”为“上帝”。但从翻译工作开始时，翻译会议就出现严重的分歧，主要是前文提到的以麦都思为代表的英国传教士基本上都主张将God 译为“上帝”，以裨治文为代表的美国传教士则几乎都支持“神”的译法。从1848年1月持续讨论至1850年8月，《新约》的修订终于完成，凡是涉及有争议的译名，均留下空白。其实译词问题已经是一个老问题了，聚讼不已的还有Baptizo或 Baptism,Deus(拉丁文），Spirit或Pheuma等词。从1845年到1851年，传教士们在英文期刊《中国丛报》上发表30多篇文章辩论这个问题，并纷纷引用中国典籍以为佐证，甚至还专门请教中国学者。美国传教士的基本观点是：中国人没有独一真神观念，译者只能在中国人用来称呼主神的词和称呼所有神的类名之间进行选择，而各基督教民族在类似情景中常常用表达神性的类名作为唯一主宰的译名，“神”在中国文化中恰好是这样一个类名，也是中国人表达对最高级存在的崇拜的词。但如果用“上帝”作为God的译名，那就会把其独特意义的一神论与中国传统的“天”或“上帝”相混淆，让中国人误解为他们习以为常的偶像，如“玉皇大帝”等。英国传教士则认为：用中国人崇拜的主神作为God的译名符合基督教的历史传统，因为希腊词Theos 或拉丁词Deus 实际上来源于人们称呼主神的词Zeus和Dios,而中国人用“帝”或“上帝”表示最高主宰、意志，是所有事物的创造者和安排者，也是最高的祭祀和崇拜的对象，“神”则是附属于“上帝”的某种东西，而且可以是复数概念，因此不能表达“唯一的主宰”之义。在中国文化中，“神”可以意指一切精灵，如“山神”、

“河神”等，这些“神”在中国人的心中有好有坏，不一定受到崇拜。英国著名传教士、汉学家理雅各从中国古典文学中引证大量文献支持“上帝”的译法，他认为“上帝”一词最初丝毫没有泛神论和多神论的含义，而“神”却有这样的负面涵义。他指出，God作为相对概念字，与“受造物”（creatures)成对，有统治、管辖之义，而“上帝”也有统治、管辖之义，中国古典文学中有不少故事情节，让人感到世事就是冥冥之中注定的，是“上帝”安排的。理雅各不仅直接引述中文资料，而且还通过宗教比较、语言习惯分析、逻辑推论等手段，进行了令人信服的论辩，为“上帝”派赢得声威。由于争论相持不下，伦敦会传教士在1850年初提出一个折衷办法，建议同时放弃“上帝”与“神”的译法，采用《大秦景教流行中国碑颂》中使用的“阿罗阿”（Aloah)或“阿罗诃”（Aloho)作为God或Theos的对应词，这样既可以消除双方的分歧，也可以与中国人的迷信思想划清界限。但伦敦会传教士的建议没有被采纳，1847年后，传教士又组织了几次“修订委员会”，然而都无果而终。其实，译词问题根本不可能在语言学上得到解决，因为它们分属于两个完全异质的观念与文化系统，完全对等是不可能的。尽管传教士们争论不休，但结果是美国圣经公会支持用“神”这个字，于是它资助的差会所出版的《圣经》便只能用“神”来译God,而英国圣经公会却支持“上帝”的译法，因此它资助出版的《圣经》自然选用“上帝”这个译法。由此可见，教会作为传教士译介活动的赞助者，在译词或者在更广泛的意义上说在译本的最终面貌上，具有最终的决定权力，忽视了这一点，只在词语本身的层面上判断翻译的得失成败是没有意义的。

摘自：谢天振，《中西翻译简史》，外语教学与研究出版社，2009年，第83-85页。发布于 2022-01-31 15:37​赞同 524​​46 条评论​分享​收藏​喜欢收起​希鲁杜雷测绘专业，历史/天文/游戏/篮球爱好者​ 关注不知道知友们是否曾经有一种困惑，那就是为啥罗马和希腊，明明是一样的神，非要弄出两套名来？这个问题我也是在逛知乎后才搞明白。原来马尔斯和阿瑞斯其实不是一个东西。马尔斯，才是罗马人的“祖先”战神，在吸收希腊文化后，把阿瑞斯和他对等了起来。（当然，阿瑞斯个菜鸡被凡人打伤这种事，罗马人是绝对不会借鉴的）在后来的儒略历中，火星=马尔斯，而对应的，北欧人把星期二火曜日拿过来，安上他们的战神提尔，也就是Tuesday。星期四是木曜日，罗马用的是宙斯（Jupiter），北欧就安个同样会闪电的索尔，也就是Thursday.同理，金曜日就是维纳斯，北欧只能拿出女神芙蕾雅来对应。搞笑的是到周六，是土曜日，农神萨努图恩Saturn，结果北欧蛮子不种地，他们没有农神……就只能原封不动地写成Saturday。所以，god这样一个全知全能的神进入中国的时候，如果叫“狗德”“高德”这种音译，并不能让中国人理解，意义不大，不如从中国的旧神系统里把上帝翻出来，这样老百姓理解起来能容易一些。所以为啥日本要搞个片假名标记外来词汇，因为片假名人人都会读，而新词汇不好造，造出来也要现普及。发布于 2023-01-29 08:11​赞同 615​​72 条评论​分享​收藏​喜欢

god | "god" 的词源、"god" 的起源和意思 - etymonline

| "god" 的词源、"god" 的起源和意思 - etymonline搜索Quick search commandColumnsForumAppsPremium登录登录广告god(n.)同时 God; 古英语 god "至高无上的存在，神； 基督教上帝； 神的形象； 神一般的人"，源自原始日耳曼语 *guthan（也源自古撒克逊语、古弗里斯语、荷兰语 god 、古高地德语 got 、德语 Gott 、古诺尔斯语 guð 、哥特语 guþ），其起源不确定； 可能源自原始印欧语 *ghut- "被祈求的东西"（也源自古教会斯拉夫语 zovo "呼唤"，梵语 huta- "被祈求"，是印度神梵天的别称），源自词根 *gheu(e)- "呼唤，祈求"。这个概念可能是指"被召唤到祭祀中的神灵"。但有些人将其追溯到原始印欧语 *ghu-to- "倾倒"，源自词根 *gheu- "倾倒，倒酒"（希腊语 khein "倾倒"，也在短语 khute gaia "倾倒的土地"中，指的是埋葬土堆； 参见 found (v.2)）。"考虑到希腊的事实，日耳曼语形式可能最初指的是埋葬土堆中的精神实体" [Watkins]。参见 Zeus。无论哪种情况，与 good 无关。Popular etymology has long derived God from good; but a comparison of the forms ... shows this to be an error. Moreover, the notion of goodness is not conspicuous in the heathen conception of deity, and in good itself the ethical sense is comparatively late. [Century Dictionary, 1897]流行的词源学长期以来将 God 与"好"联系在一起； 但对这些形式的比较表明这是一个错误。此外，在异教徒对神的概念中，善良的概念并不显著，在 good 本身中，道德意义相对较晚。[《世纪词典》，1897]在日耳曼语中，最初是一个中性名词，性别在基督教传入后变为阳性。古英语 god 可能在意义上更接近拉丁语 numen。一个更好的翻译 deus 的词可能是原始日耳曼语 *ansuz，但这个词只用于日耳曼宗教中最高的神灵，而不用于外来的神灵，并且从未用于基督教上帝。它在英语中主要存在于以 Os- 开头的人名中。I want my lawyer, my tailor, my servants, even my wife to believe in God, because it means that I shall be cheated and robbed and cuckolded less often. ... If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. [Voltaire]我希望我的律师、我的裁缝、我的仆人，甚至我的妻子都相信上帝，因为这意味着我会被欺骗、被抢劫和被戴绿帽的次数会更少……如果上帝不存在，就有必要创造他。[伏尔泰]在有人打喷嚏后说"God bless you"被归功于圣格里高利大帝，但古罗马人（Absit omen）和希腊人也有类似的习俗。God's gift to _____ 是在1931年出现的。God of the gaps 意味着"上帝仅作为对科学无法解释的事物的解释"； 确切的短语出自1949年，但这个词和这个概念早在1894年就存在。God-forbids 是 kids（"孩子"）的押韵俚语。God squad "福音组织"是1969年美国学生俚语。God's acre "埋葬地"模仿或部分翻译了德语 Gottesacker，其中第二个元素的意思是"领域"； 这个短语在17世纪10年代出现在英语中，但直到朗费罗时期仍被认为是德语特色。How poore, how narrow, how impious a measure of God, is this, that he must doe, as thou wouldest doe, if thou wert God. [John Donne, sermon preached in St. Paul's Jan. 30, 1624/5]这是多么贫瘠、狭隘、亵渎的对上帝的评价，认为他必须按照你如果是上帝的话你会怎么做的方式行事。[约翰·邓恩，1624/5年1月30日在圣保罗大教堂的布道] god相关词汇 godfound(v.2)“to cast metal,” 14世纪晚期，最初的意思是“混合，搀和”，源自于古法语 fondre “倾倒，熔化，冶炼”（12世纪），源自于拉丁语 fundere（过去分词 fusus）“熔化，铸造，倾倒”，源自于 PIE 词根 *gheu- “倾倒”。“铸造金属”的意思始于1560年代。相关词汇： Founded； founding。good(adj.)古英语 gōd（发音为长音“o”）意为“优秀的，好的； 有价值的； 令人向往的，有利的； 完整的，整体的”； 用于抽象概念、行动等表示“有益的，有效的； 正直的，虔诚的”； 用于人或灵魂表示“正直的，虔诚的，品德高尚的”； 可能最初的意思是“具有正确或理想的品质”，源自原始日耳曼语 *gōda- “合适的，适宜的”（源自古弗里斯兰语 god，古撒克逊语 gōd，古诺尔斯语 goðr，中古荷兰语 goed，荷兰语 goed，古高地德语 guot，德语 gut，哥特语 goþs）。这个词的词源不确定，可能最初的意思是“合适的，足够的，相配的”，源自 PIE 词根 *ghedh- “联合，关联，适合”（也源自梵语 gadh- “夺取（战利品）”，古教会斯拉夫语 godu “有利的时机”，俄语 godnyi “合适的”，立陶宛语 goda “荣誉”，古英语 gædrian “聚集，聚拢”）。不规则的比较级和最高级（better， best）反映了“好”的词汇中的普遍模式，如拉丁语 bonus， melior， optimus。“友善，仁慈”的意义可追溯到古英语晚期，用于人或上帝，14世纪中叶用于行动。中古英语中“神圣”的意义保留在 Good Friday 中。表示“友好的，亲切的”可追溯到公元1200年左右。表示“幸运的，繁荣的，有利的”可追溯到古英语晚期。作为满意的表达，可追溯到15世纪初。对于人来说，“熟练（在某个职业或工作中），专家”，在古英语晚期，现在通常使用 at； 在中古英语中使用 of 或 to。对于孩子来说，“行为端正”，可追溯到17世纪90年代。对于货币来说，“没有贬值，价值标准”，可追溯到14世纪晚期。从公元1200年开始，用于数字或数量，表示“大的，伟大的”，用于时间或距离，表示“长的”； good while “相当长的时间”可追溯到公元1300年； good way “相当远的距离”可追溯到15世纪中叶。Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing. ["As You Like It"]那么，一个人能对好事有太多的欲望吗？（《皆大欢喜》）As good as “实际上，几乎”可追溯到14世纪中叶； to be good for “对...有益”可追溯到14世纪晚期。to make good “偿还（费用，开支），弥补（罪孽或冒犯）”可追溯到14世纪晚期。to have a good mind “渴望（做某事）”可追溯到公元1500年左右。Good deed，good works 在古英语中表示“虔诚的行为”； good deed 具体表示“为他人服务的行为”，在20世纪初得到童子军的加强。Good turn 可追溯到公元1400年左右。Good sport 指人，可追溯到1906年。The good book “圣经”可追溯到1801年，最初用于描述在美洲印第安部落的传教工作中的转化语言的传教文献。Good to go 可追溯到1989年。广告Zeusdemigodgiddygod-awfulgodchildgod-damngod-daughtergoddessgodfatherGod-fearinggodforsakenGodfreygodheadGodismgodlessgodlikegodlygodmotherSee all related words (30)god 的使用趋势广告仅供参考，由机器翻译系统提供。查看原文，请访问：Etymology, origin and meaning of god广告在 god 附近的词典条目gobogobsmackedgobygo-bygo-cartgodgod-awfulgodchildgod-damngod-daughtergoddess链接论坛参考文献链接产品iOS 应用安卓应用Chrome 扩展关于网站作者网站简介在 Facebook 关注我们支持通过 PayPal 捐赠Patreon 订阅支持购买周边简体中文 (Chinese)深色自动浅色服务协议隐私政策Copyright © 2001 - 2023 Douglas Har

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Christianity

Table of Contents

Christianity

Table of Contents

IntroductionThe church and its historyThe essence and identity of ChristianityHistorical views of the essenceEarly viewsMedieval and Reformation viewsModern viewsThe question of Christian identityThe history of ChristianityThe primitive churchThe relation of the early church to late JudaismThe relation of the early church to the career and intentions of JesusThe Gentile mission and St. PaulThe contemporary social, religious, and intellectual worldThe internal development of the early Christian churchThe problem of jurisdictional authorityThe problem of scriptural authorityThe problem of theological authorityEarly heretical movementsRelations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic cultureChurch-state relationsChristianity and Classical cultureThe ApologistsThe early liturgy, the calendar, and the artsThe alliance between church and empireTheological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuriesWestern controversiesEastern controversiesLiturgy and the arts after ConstantineNew forms of worshipHistorical and polemical writingPolitical relations between East and WestLiterature and art of the “Dark Ages”Missions and monasticismThe Photian schism and the great East-West schismThe Photian schismThe great East-West schismFrom the schism to the ReformationPapacy and empireMedieval thoughtReformationChristianity from the 16th to the 21st centuryContemporary ChristianityRoman CatholicismThe Eastern churchesEastern OrthodoxyOriental OrthodoxyProtestantismLutheranismAnglicanismPresbyterian and Reformed churchesOther Protestant churchesChristian doctrineThe nature and functions of doctrineScripture and tradition: the apostolic witnessEvangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus ChristCatechesis: instructing candidates for baptismLiturgy: the school and feast of faithEthics: obeying the truthAversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxyApologetics: defending the faithRestatement: respecting language and knowledgeInculturation: respecting places and peoplesDogma: the most authoritative teachingConsensus: patterns of agreementTheology: loving God with the mindSymbolics: creeds and confessionsDevelopment: the maturation of understandingSchism: division over substantial mattersControversy: fighting over the faithEcumenism: speaking the truth in loveGod the FatherCharacteristic features of the Christian concept of GodThe specific concept of God as FatherThe belief in the oneness of the Father and the SonThe revelatory character of GodGod as Creator, Sustainer, and JudgeThe view that God is not solitaryModern views of GodSatan and the origin of evilGod the SonDifferent interpretations of the person of JesusThe Christological controversiesMessianic viewsThe doctrine of the Virgin Mary and holy WisdomGod the Holy SpiritContradictory aspects of the Holy SpiritConflict between order and charismatic freedomThe operations of the Holy SpiritThe Holy TrinityThe basis for the doctrine of the TrinityIntroduction of Neoplatonic themesAttempts to define the TrinityAnthropologyWhat it is to be humanThe human as a creatureThe human as the image of GodHuman redemptionThe problem of sufferingThe resurrection of the bodyProgressive human perfectionThe “new man”: The human being in the light of ChristThe “reborn human”Human liberationJoy in human existenceThe charismatic believerChristian perfectionFellow humans as the present ChristThe churchNormative defenses in the early churchEvolution of the episcopal officeAuthority and dissentOrganizationChurch polityLiturgyNew liturgical forms and antiliturgical attitudesChurch traditionThe sacramentsScriptural traditionsVeneration of places, objects, and peopleMonasticismThe saintly lifeArt and iconographyTheology of iconsEschatologyExpectations of the kingdom of God in early ChristianityExpectations of the kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periodsExpectations of the kingdom of God in the post-Reformation periodThe role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrationsEschatological expectations and secularizationConcepts of life after deathAspects of the Christian religionChristian philosophyHistory of the interactions of philosophy and theologyInfluence of Greek philosophyEmergence of official doctrineAristotle and AquinasOther influencesFaith and reasonChristian philosophy as natural theologyArguments for the existence of GodThe design (or teleological) argumentThe cosmological argumentThe ontological argumentMoral argumentsArguments from religious experience and miraclesThe immortality of the soul20th-century discussionsInfluence of logical positivismEvidentialist approachChristian mysticismHistory of Christian mysticismEarly churchEastern ChristianityWestern Catholic ChristianityProtestant ChristianityStages of Christian mysticismThe dying to selfThe union with GodThe readjustmentForms of Christian mysticismChrist-mysticismTrinitarian mysticismNegative mysticism: God and the GodheadSignificance of Christian mysticismChristian myth and legendCharacteristics of Christian myth and legendHistory of Christian myth and legendThe early churchThe ages of the worldMessianic secrets and the mysteries of salvationThe Magi and the Child of Wondrous LightRelics and saintsThe Middle AgesRenaissance magic and scienceChristian practice in the modern worldThe Christian community and the worldThe relationships of ChristianityHistorical viewsChurch, sect, and mystical movementChurch and stateThe history of church and stateThe church and the Roman EmpireThe church and the Byzantine, or Eastern, EmpireThe church and Western statesSeparation of church and stateChurch and state in Eastern and Western theologyThe views of Eusebius of CaesareaThe views of AugustineLater developmentsChurch and societyThe problem of slavery and persecutionTheological and humanitarian motivationsChurch and educationIntellectualism versus anti-intellectualismForms of Christian educationChurch and social welfareCuring and caring for the sickHealing the sickCare for the sickCare for widows and orphansProperty, poverty, and the poorPastoral careChurch and minoritiesChurch and familyThe tendency to spiritualize and individualize marriageThe tendency toward asceticismChurch and the individualLove as the basis for Christian ethicsFreedom and responsibilityChristian missionsBiblical foundationsThe history of Christian missionsFirst transition, to 500 ceSecond transition, to 1500 ceWestern missionPapal missionEastern and Nestorian missionsThe rise of IslamThird transition, to 1950Roman Catholic mission, 1500–1950Protestant missions, 1500–1950Early Protestant missionsMissions to AsiaMissions to South East Asia and the PacificMissions to Africa and South AmericaMissionary associationsOrthodox and nondenominational missionsFourth transition, from 1950Scripture translationsEcumenismThe biblical perspectiveThe history of ecumenismEarly controversiesThe Schism of 1054The ReformationEcumenism in the 17th and 18th centuries19th-century effortsEcumenism since the start of the 20th centuryChristianity and world religionsConflicting Christian attitudesContemporary views

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Characteristic features of the Christian concept of God Within the Christian perception and experience of God, characteristic features stand out: (1) the personality of God, (2) God as the Creator, (3) God as the Lord of history, and (4) God as Judge. (1) God, as person, is the “I am who I am” designated in Exodus 3:14. The personal consciousness of human beings awakens in the encounter with God understood as a person: “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exodus 33:11). (2) God is also viewed as the Creator of heaven and earth. The believer thus maintains, on the one hand, acknowledgement of divine omnipotence as the creative power of God, which also operates in the preservation of the world, and, on the other hand, trusts in the world, which—despite all its contradictions—is understood as one world created by God according to definite laws and principles and according to an inner plan. The decisive aspect of creation, however, is that God fashioned human beings according to the divine image and made the creation subject to them. This special position of humans in the creation, which makes them coworkers of God in the preservation and consummation of the creation, brings a decisively new characteristic into the understanding of God. (3) This new characteristic is God as the Lord of history, which is the main feature of the Old Testament understanding of God: God selects a special people and contracts a special covenant with them. Through the Law (Torah) the divine agent binds this “people of God” in a special way. God sets before them a definite goal of salvation—the establishment of a divine dominion—and through the prophets admonishes the people by proclamations of salvation and calamity whenever they are unfaithful to the covenant and promise. (4) This God of history also is the God of judgment. The Israelite belief that the disclosure of God comes through the history of divinely led people leads, with an inner logic, to the proclamation of God as the Lord of world history and as the Judge of the world. The specific concept of God as Father What is decisively new in the Christian, New Testament faith in God lies in the fact that this faith is so closely bound up with the person, teaching, and work of Jesus Christ that it is difficult to draw boundaries between theology (doctrines of God) and Christology (doctrines of Christ). The special relationship of Jesus to God is expressed through his designation of God as Father. In prayers Jesus used the Aramaic word abba (“father”) for God, which is otherwise unusual in religious discourse in Judaism; it was usually employed by children for their earthly father. This father–son relationship became a prototype for the relationship of Christians to God. Appeal to the sonship of God played a crucial role in the development of Jesus’ messianic self-understanding. According to the account of Jesus’ baptism, Jesus understood his sonship when a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” In the Gospel According to John, this sonship constitutes the basis for the self-consciousness of Jesus: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

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God

Contents

Definition

by Rebecca Denova

published on 15 November 2022

Available in other languages: Arabic, Spanish, Turkish

The Creation of Adam by MichelangeloAlonso de Mendoza (Public Domain)

'God' is the common word for the identity of a higher being in the universe beyond our world, the creator of all known existence, and who rules in conjunction with lower gradients of divinity (angels). In Greek, theikos ("divine") meant to be god-like in attributes or power. Theology is thus the study of the nature of God and God's relationship with humans.

The English word 'god' first came into use through a German term applied in the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, gudan ("to call" or "to invoke" a power). In Western traditions, 'God' is the God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These three constitute the three Abrahamic faiths, as all three claim that this deity revealed himself to an ancient patriarch, Abraham. English Bibles distinguish this being from all other gods with a capital G.

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Ancient Cultures

Ancient concepts of the universe posited the heavens (the abode of the gods), the earth (the place of humans), and the underworld (the place of the dead). Gods could transcend all three levels. Many ancient tribes promoted a local god or goddess as the founder of their clans. Some were elevated with the concept of a high god/goddess or a king/queen of the gods, who ruled over diverse gradients of powers in the universe.

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The God of Israel acted alone, without a female consort, through speech.

Ancient religions also had creation myths, describing the way in which everything in the universe was created (most often out of chaos) and the formation of the first humans and human society. Myths validated contemporary law codes (rituals, behavior, and gender roles), which were thought to have originated with the gods and thus were deemed sacred.

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Divine possession was the way ancient peoples communicated with their gods (the rituals and practices known as divination). Oracles were both people and places where a deity spoke through someone in a trance-like state. The Jewish equivalent was the prophets, whom God possessed and spoke through them to deliver messages to the people. Bibles distinguish the words of God by the introduction, "Thus says the Lord," and then the words are indented and structured like poetry.

The God of Israel

The book of Genesis in the Jewish Scriptures promoted this deity as the highest god of what would become the nation of Israel. God created and controlled the known elements of both the universe and everything on earth. The God of Israel acted alone, without a female consort, through speech: "And God said, 'Let there be light'" (Genesis 1:3). This was not unique; ancient Egyptian religion claimed the creator god Ptah created through speech. God created the first human couple, Adam and Eve, who were ordered to be fruitful and multiply.

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A premier moment in Genesis is in chapter 12, the call of Abraham, from Ur in Mesopotamia. He was to be the father of a great nation (the meaning of his name change from Avram to Abraham) and would be given the land of Canaan as a prosperous land for his clans and herds. His descendants would be protected and prosperous as long as they honored and obeyed this God. God ordered Abraham and his descendants to perform circumcision, which functioned as a permanent, physical marker to distinguish this group from the other nations.

CircumcisionLawrence OP (CC BY-NC-ND)

Ancient peoples developed contracts with their gods, spelling out the duties of each side. From the Hebrew "to cut" we have the term 'covenant,' a contract reflecting the ritual of cutting animal sacrifices in half while declaring an oath to a deity. There are several stories of the God of Israel joining in covenants with his people: the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and King David.

El

In some of the older texts from the region, el (plural: elohim) was a common form in Hittite, Ugaritic, paleo-Hebrew, Canaanite, and Aramaic for divine powers. At times El was understood as 'the god' to distinguish it from others, and often associated with creation. El was often combined with an attribute. In Abraham's second call by God in Genesis 17:1, this being was described as El-Shaddai, ("God almighty"). In Genesis 14:18-20, Abraham accepted a blessing of El Elyon ("most high") from Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of this god. The followers of this God became Israelites: "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome." (Genesis 32:28)

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Jews became a common term during the Persian occupation (6th century BCE), deriving from Yehudi, "those from the kingdom of Judah." During the reign of the Northern Israelite king Ahab and his wife Jezebel (871-852 BCE), Jezebel's family deities (ba'als, Levantine and Canaanite gods) were prominent. Through the work of the prophets Elijah and Elisha (in the book of Kings), the God of Israel was elevated to what we can deem a national god. The concept of God as a universal deity is found in Isaiah: "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth" (40:28).

IsaiahMichelangelo (CC BY)

Polytheism & Monotheism

From the time of the Enlightenment, world religions are divided between the polarities of polytheism (recognition and worship of more than one god) and monotheism (the belief in one god), while pantheism describes the recognition of several gods with gradients of authority and henotheism means the elevation of one god over many lower divinities.

The terms remain problematic because they were not common descriptors in the ancient world. It would be better to say that the ancients participated in religious pluralism. There was no contradiction in belonging to several different cults of specific gods. People did not articulate their concepts as belief or faith (Greek: pistis, "loyalty") the way we do now. They believed in their gods, but what was crucially important was performing the rituals and sacrifices correctly, as handed down from the gods to the ancestors. There was no such concept as ancient monotheism. All ancient people were polytheists in this sense, including the Jews.

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Ancient Jews conceived of a hierarchy of powers in heaven that included a divine court: "sons of God" (Genesis 6:4), angels, archangels, cherubim, and seraphim. Jews also recognized the existence of demons (lower divinities) and introduced the concept of a fallen angel, which is the origin of Satan, the Devil.

In the Jewish Scriptures, the God of Israel (as the original creator) was responsible for creating "the other gods" and consistently referred to the existence of the gods of the nations: Deuteronomy 6:14 "Do not follow other gods" (Deuteronomy 6:14); "God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the gods" (Psalm 82:1). In the story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt, God battled against the gods of Egypt to demonstrate who controls nature. This makes little sense if their existence was not recognized.

Moses Receives the 10 CommandmentsGebhard Fugel (Public Domain)

The foundational story for the idea that Jews were monotheistic was when Moses received the ten commandments of God on Mt. Sinai: "I am the Lord your God… You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:2-3). This does not indicate that other gods do not exist; it is a commandment that the Jews were not to worship any other gods. We combine worship with belief and veneration, but worship in the ancient world always meant sacrifices. Jews could pray to angels and other powers in heaven, but they were only to offer sacrifices to the God of Israel. This commandment was one of the major differences between Jews and all other traditional ethnic cults. This difference was promoted with the ban on images: "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the waters below" (Exodus 20:4).

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Yahweh

When Moses encountered a presence on Mount Sinai and asked him his name, "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14). Ancient Hebrew was written in consonants (with vowel sounds articulated and letters added later). From the four consonants in "I am who I am" (YHWH), comes Yahweh, also known as the Tetragrammaton, or the sacred name of God.

In Hebrew, ehyeh asher ehyeh is the first person singular of the verb 'to be.' One way in which to understand the form of the name is to relate it as an action verb. This is a God who acts, specifically by intervening at various times in the earthly realm of his people. The "I am" also indicated self-sufficiency, acting alone, as the primal creator and contingent upon no other powers.

Yahweh may have been adopted much earlier than the story of Moses.

However, Yahweh appeared in an earlier inscription in Egypt to commemorate the victories of Pharaoh Amenhotep III (c. 1400 BCE), which cited "enemies from the land of Shasu of Yahweh." Shasu was a specific group of nomads that may have constituted the Israelites. Yahweh may have been adopted much earlier than the story of Moses as the deity of these particular nomads. The 9th-century BCE stele erected by the Moabite king, Mesha, boasted that he defeated the king of Israel and took the vessels of Yahweh.

Jerusalem & Temple Worship

The books of Joshua and Judges described a period when the Israelites belonged to a tribal confederation of the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob during the Iron Age (1200-600 BCE). Moses had placed the tablets of the law in a wooden chest, the Ark of the Covenant, which was housed in a portable tent shrine during the wilderness years. To avoid jealousy or dominance among the tribes, cult sites in various tribal sections took turns guarding the tent.

King Solomon (970-931 BCE) built the first temple in Jerusalem, which had been conquered by his father, King David. King Josiah (640-609 BCE) is credited with reforming the cult by eliminating local practices and centering the worship at this temple alone and to Yahweh alone. Some scholars consider that this is when Deuteronomy 6 was inserted, in what became a central prayer of Judaism, known as Shema Yisrael, "Hear, O Israel, Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one."

Solomon's Temple, JerusalemUnknown Artist (Public Domain)

The Ark of the Covenant was transferred to the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum of the Temple. Moses was told: "There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites." (Exodus 25:22). The Ark represented the presence of God in the temple (as either his throne or footstool). This presence is what made the temple a sacred space, requiring the purity rules in the book of Leviticus when one approached the temple.

Appearance & Attributes

The God of Israel is described as aniconic, not depicted as a statue or other image. But this did not exclude symbolic or literary analogies. In fact, many pre-reform images of Yahweh, particularly in Northern Israel, utilized a common bull image (the golden calves of Jeroboam in 1 Kings), a symbol of fertility.

In Genesis 1:26-27 we read:

Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

A more modern interpretation of this passage relates image to function. As God ruled all of creation, men and women were to rule as substitutional servants of God in the care of the earth. Given the social construction of gender and gender roles in antiquity, the God of Israel was always described as male. We have many anthropomorphic images ascribed to God, such as the face of God or the hand of God.

God Creating the Sun, Moon & Planets, Sistine ChapelMichelangelo (Public Domain)

Rather than literal depictions, common descriptors are omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent. This latter concept coheres to the idea of transcendence, the ability to cross over the spatial areas of the known universe. Immanence is also a concept that at times the God of Israel manifested himself on earth in various ways to either save or punish his people. God utilized the prophets to urge repentance whenever they had sinned or neglected the commandments.

Hellenistic Judaism

After the conquests of Alexander the Great (r. 336-323 BCE), Greek culture, Greek government, and Greek religion were introduced into the Eastern Mediterranean. Educated Jews could participate in the various schools of Greek philosophy. Philosophers promoted the concept of an original high god beyond the parameters of the physical universe and utilized the literary devices of allegory and metaphor. As a pure, good essence, this being did not create but emanated lower powers who were responsible for creation. This oneness of the highest god was unified throughout the universe, being present in nature, materiality, and in humans in the concept of the soul. This interconnectedness was achieved through the emanation of a divine aspect of logos ("rationality," sometimes translated as "word").

The Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria (writing in the early decades of the 1st century CE), presented Judaism in light of Greek philosophical principles, claiming the same one high god as the God of Israel. Through allegory, Moses could be understood as the logos, who provided a system or reason and rationality through Mosaic Law.

Christianity: A Second God

In the decades of the 20s and 30s of the 1st century CE, Jesus of Nazareth, in the form of a traditional prophet, began preaching the imminence of the kingdom of God on earth. Positing a kingdom that was not Rome, he was executed by crucifixion (the punishment for treason) by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. After the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth, his followers claimed that he was resurrected from the dead and exalted to God's side in heaven (Acts 7).

Crucifixion by Giovanni BelliniWeb Gallery of Art (Public Domain)

Our earliest literature for what would become Christianity is found in the letters of Paul the Apostle (c. 50s-60s CE). A Pharisee who experienced a vision of Christ in heaven (the Greek term for messiah, Christos), claimed that he was commissioned to be the apostle (herald) to the Gentiles (non-Jews). According to the prophets, Gentiles could join Israel when God instituted his kingdom on earth. They did not have to have the physical identity markers of Jews (circumcision, dietary laws, or Sabbath observance), but Paul's communities did have to cease all sacrifices to the traditional gods. At this stage, this was not monotheism. Paul upheld the existence of other gods; he berated them for interfering at times with his mission. It was the sacrifices to these other gods that were no longer valid in Paul's concepts of salvation.

Paul introduced an innovation to Jewish traditions. Christ was pre-existent and present with God from creation, who humbled himself to appear as a man on earth and died as a sacrifice to atone for Adam's sin, which had brought death into the world (Romans 5). He was "given the name that is above every name" (the Tetragrammaton, Yahweh). At the sound of the name of Christ, "every knee should bend" in an age-old concept of bowing down before images of the gods (Philippians 2). Paul utilized a Jewish concept that God was selfless; God himself became manifest in the earthly Jesus. This was why Jesus was worthy of worship. The preface of the Gospel of John utilized the concept of the divine logos, in what became the doctrine of Incarnation (Christ taking on flesh).

The separation of Christianity from Judaism occurred in the 2nd century CE, through the work of Christian leaders who no longer had ethnic connections to Judaism. They retained the traditions of God from the Scriptures but combined these with aspects of the philosophical high god. At the time, Christians were being persecuted by Rome for their refusal to participate in the state and imperial cults. Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE) had earlier exempted the Jews, and Christians petitioned magistrates and the Roman emperor that they should be granted the same exception, as they were verus Israel, "the true Jews" of God's covenant. Through allegory, the Church Fathers could 'prove' that everything in the history and story of Israel (the Scriptures) indicated a type of the pre-existent Christ. What distinguished Christians from Jews was that Christians were no longer held to the literal Law of Moses. God had established a new covenant with his people that upended the traditional practices. At the same time, with the ban on all idolatry, Christianity also separated itself from the dominant culture.

Trinity

Early Christianity experienced a series of continuing debates and conflicts over ways in which to express the oneness of God and yet allow for the simultaneous divinity and worship of Christ. A presbyter in Alexandria, Arius, was teaching that if you believed that everything in the universe was created by the God of Israel, then at some point he must have created Christ. This made Christ a creature, subservient to God. Riots over this teaching occurred in some cities, and Constantine I (r. 306-337 CE) called for the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. In maintaining the Jewish tradition of worshipping only one God, Christians constructed the concept known as the Trinity, which described the relationship of God to Christ, the origins of Christ, and an essence known as the Holy Spirit.

Holy TrinityFr Lawrence Lew, O.P. (CC BY-NC-ND)

The debate boiled down to two choices: was Christ homo-iousios, an essence like the father's, or was he homo-ousios, of one substance identical to the father's? (Notice that the difference in these two words boils down to one "i," an iota). The Council opted for the second choice in that God and Christ were identical in essence (substance) and that Christ was a manifestation of God himself on earth. While the Bishops were in attendance, Constantine had them formulate what became known as the Nicene Creed (from the first word Credo, "I believe"). This was an innovation; in the ancient world, there was no central authority to dictate what everyone should believe. As both head of the state and head of the Church, Constantine now had the authority to make it mandatory for every Christian. In a system where traditional sacrifices and rituals had been eliminated, belief became an important concept.

In traditional Judaism, the "spirit of God" was understood as the way in which God empowered individuals and actions, such as the spirit that animated Adam when he was created and God's possession of the prophets. From the beginning of the Christian movement, believers had experienced this power as gifts from God, in their ability to prophesize, teach, speak in tongues, heal, and raise people from the dead. The creed held God as one, but with three aspects: God the father, Christ the son, and the Holy Spirit.

God in Islam

Islam emerged as a reform movement of both Judaism and Christianity through revelations (the Quran) to the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian peninsula in the 6th century CE. The Arabic Allah most likely derived from al-ʾilāh, "the God" related to el. Ilah meant "deity;" the al addition distinguished this deity from others. The Quran (considered sacred) was created as the eventual writing down of the revelations.

The dominant concept of Allah is tawhid, "oneness." This is declared in one of the pillars of Islam, the shahada, which states there is no god but God and Muhammad is His prophet. "Say: He is God, the One; God, the Eternal, the Absolute; He begot no one, nor is he begotten; Nor is there anyone equivalent to him." (112:4) Any concept or activity that comes close to idolatry is shirk ("making a partner"). There is no official priesthood in Islam, as there are no human intermediaries between God and humans. Imams are spiritual guides in the communities. Islam retains the existence of angels as messengers of God and honors the traditional patriarchs and prophets, with Muhammad the last of the prophets.

While using masculine principles of Arabic, God has no physical body parts or gender and transcends all: "There is nothing whatever like him, and he is the One that hears and sees [all things]" (42:11). The concept of Qadim ("ancient") implies eternity with no beginning and no end; normal boundaries and measurement cannot be applied to God. Thus, the ban on anthropomorphic descriptions, idolatry, and images was retained; these are incomplete attempts to describe something that was perfectly complete and unique. The ultimate source of existence, Allah is the uncaused cause, who created everything out of nothing, who is immutable and perfect. The most popular descriptors of an attribute of Allah are "compassionate" and "merciful." As in Judaism and Christianity, Islam promotes the concept of a future reign of Allah on earth and a final judgment.

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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our editorial policy.

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Bibliography

Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. Ballantine Books, 1994.

Mark S. Smith & Patrick D. Miller. The Early History of God. Eerdmans, 2002.

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About the Author

Rebecca Denova

Rebecca I. Denova, Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor of Early Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Pittsburgh. She has recently completed a textbook, "The Origins of Christianity and the New Testament" (Wiley-Blackwell)

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The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (from the Latin trinus, meaning...

Definition

Christianity

Christianity is the world's largest religion, with 2.8 billion...

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The Spread of Islam in Ancient Africa

Following the conquest of North Africa by Muslim Arabs in the 7th...

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The Eastern Perspective on the Trinity

All too often, the Eastern perspective on the Trinity is mistakenly...

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Cite This Work

APA Style

Denova, R. (2022, November 15). God.

World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/God/

Chicago Style

Denova, Rebecca. "God."

World History Encyclopedia. Last modified November 15, 2022.

https://www.worldhistory.org/God/.

MLA Style

Denova, Rebecca. "God."

World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 15 Nov 2022. Web. 06 Mar 2024.

License & Copyright

Submitted by Rebecca Denova, published on 15 November 2022. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

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