Meta tags:
Headings (most frequently used words):
and, god, contents, etymology, usage, general, conceptions, relationship, with, creation, specific, characteristics, existence, non, theistic, views, see, also, references, bibliography, external, links, oneness, transcendence, creator, omnipotence, omniscience, other, concepts, worship, salvation, revelation, titles, depiction, gender, religious, traditions, anthropology, neuroscience, psychology,
Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (572), god (279), and (237), that (122), from (87), for (64), isbn (59), archived (57), with (54), not (52), retrieved (50), original (48), 978 (44), #existence (39), universe (36), philosophy (34), other (33), are (33), such (33), all (32), religion (32), deity (32), which (32), this (31), one (31), also (31), 2022 (29), often (27), press (25), being (25), theology (24), 2023 (24), view (23), encyclopedia (23), some (23), who (22), see (21), october (21), belief (21), university (21), has (21), used (21), was (20), islam (20), nature (20), there (20), human (20), may (19), faith (19), world (19), any (19), worship (19), articles (18), religions (18), religious (18), have (18), but (18), creator (16), divine (16), december (16), april (16), does (16), what (16), would (16), june (15), new (15), christian (15), theism (15), supreme (15), can (15), use (14), names (14), more (14), article (14), most (14), humans (14), only (14), about (13), non (13), gods (13), father (13), theistic (13), people (13), meaning (13), oxford (13), english (13), deities (12), natural (12), 2010 (12), november (12), stanford (12), gender (12), its (12), wikipedia (11), wayback (11), different (11), christianity (11), pantheism (11), bible (11), science (11), march (11), supernatural (11), form (11), while (11), sometimes (11), main (11), revelation (11), august (10), language (10), spirit (10), attributes (10), history (10), concepts (10), machine (10), 2008 (10), book (10), vol (10), 2005 (10), doi (10), life (10), than (10), his (10), however (10), 2011 (10), arguments (10), traditions (10), argued (10), could (10), argument (10), referred (10), yahweh (9), judaism (9), hindu (9), 2009 (9), john (9), 2006 (9), 2013 (9), like (9), tradition (9), term (9), word (9), they (9), early (9), ancient (9), holds (9), many (9), using (8), ahura (8), mazda (8), hinduism (8), personal (8), philosophical (8), atheism (8), agnosticism (8), monotheism (8), january (8), omniscience (8), 2020 (8), dictionary (8), york (8), 2012 (8), were (8), richard (8), general (8), include (8), century (8), refer (8), name (8), philosophers (8), creation (8), then (8), when (8), called (8), viewed (8), titles (8), september (7), containing (7), arabic (7), national (7), great (7), knowledge (7), time (7), considered (7), created (7), systems (7), 2001 (7), february (7), anthropomorphic (7), society (7), believe (7), cambridge (7), william (7), first (7), their (7), reason (7), thought (7), origin (7), having (7), monotheistic (7), given (7), relationship (7), those (7), described (7), morality (7), because (7), through (7), been (7), exist (7), thus (7), seen (7), example (7), theists (7), refers (7), usually (7), conceptions (7), toggle (6), text (6), terms (6), 2026 (6), links (6), references (6), proto (6), waheguru (6), lord (6), portal (6), baháʼí (6), mother (6), beauty (6), classical (6), concept (6), moral (6), paul (6), routledge (6), 2007 (6), social (6), peter (6), reference (6), know (6), philosopher (6), michael (6), doctrine (6), male (6), part (6), question (6), 2021 (6), soul (6), among (6), believed (6), reality (6), truth (6), lowercase (6), conceived (6), words (6), either (6), how (6), even (6), both (6), means (6), specific (6), generally (6), right (6), create (6), beyond (6), source (6), hand (6), omnipotence (6), search (5), page (5), sanskrit (5), indo (5), multiple (5), image (5), images (5), org (5), states (5), holy (5), krishna (5), brahman (5), chinese (5), indian (5), jewish (5), deism (5), list (5), art (5), agnostic (5), books (5), 1996 (5), free (5), blackwell (5), spiritual (5), experience (5), pdf (5), 2015 (5), psychology (5), anthropomorphism (5), greek (5), modern (5), publishing (5), buddhism (5), 1988 (5), journal (5), approach (5), studies (5), 2018 (5), companion (5), 2017 (5), teleological (5), www (5), david (5), 2002 (5), figure (5), 2014 (5), against (5), guru (5), over (5), special (5), found (5), them (5), into (5), proper (5), within (5), without (5), argue (5), certain (5), laws (5), muslims (5), way (5), usage (5), where (5), humanity (5), prayer (5), germanic (5), languages (4), contents (4), you (4), pages (4), punjabi (4), allah (4), zoroastrianism (4), eschatology (4), prophets (4), oneness (4), forms (4), love (4), panentheism (4), cultural (4), 2003 (4), resources (4), boston (4), will (4), every (4), francis (4), why (4), 1998 (4), 1007 (4), entity (4), much (4), geographic (4), buddhist (4), stephen (4), design (4), dawkins (4), mcgrath (4), alister (4), edward (4), taylor (4), whether (4), thomas (4), swinburne (4), study (4), com (4), body (4), common (4), top (4), 136 (4), 2016 (4), sikhism (4), mind (4), christians (4), hadith (4), qur (4), scientific (4), granth (4), providence (4), spinoza (4), attribute (4), person (4), beings (4), typically (4), etymology (4), man (4), describe (4), earliest (4), groups (4), argues (4), known (4), views (4), questions (4), should (4), answer (4), empirical (4), countered (4), held (4), based (4), less (4), each (4), includes (4), depiction (4), depictions (4), whole (4), material (4), greatest (4), wonderful (4), hebrew (4), characteristics (4), need (4), salvation (4), hold (4), transcendence (4), cause (4), hide (4), move (4), sidebar (4), subsection (4), 213 (3), contact (3), foundation (3), commons (3), categories (3), cs1 (3), publisher (3), citations (3), specifically (3), phrases (3), 2025 (3), european (3), july (3), short (3), description (3), jah (3), roog (3), son (3), elohim (3), vishnu (3), aten (3), abrahamic (3), divinity (3), process (3), practical (3), onto (3), post (3), light (3), fire (3), henotheism (3), 2019 (3), help (3), file (3), your (3), library (3), cite (3), london (3), gnostic (3), ethics (3), idea (3), james (3), halverson (3), 2024 (3), chicago (3), martin (3), western (3), 1983 (3), encyclopaedia (3), boyce (3), atheists (3), grand (3), brain (3), rossano (3), matt (3), s2cid (3), pmid (3), evolution (3), mythology (3), boyer (3), pascal (3), origins (3), issn (3), center (3), buddhists (3), buddha (3), online (3), craig (3), 1967 (3), 2nd (3), works (3), bce (3), introduction (3), henry (3), edwards (3), summa (3), ontological (3), female (3), became (3), middle (3), maimonides (3), transcendent (3), semitic (3), oclc (3), texts (3), jews (3), empire (3), beautiful (3), later (3), catholic (3), heart (3), 121 (3), read (3), written (3), sahib (3), 145 (3), jesus (3), bbc (3), daily (3), purpose (3), 1995 (3), translation (3), necessary (3), existent (3), related (3), england (3), ultimate (3), theory (3), baruch (3), trinity (3), noun (3), ruler (3), particular (3), principle (3), old (3), invoke (3), powerful (3), represent (3), required (3), church (3), learn (3), between (3), complex (3), studying (3), awe (3), events (3), numbers (3), molecule (3), said (3), had (3), higher (3), small (3), spirits (3), aspects (3), physics (3), entities (3), epistemology (3), around (3), tend (3), best (3), single (3), omniscient (3), imagined (3), significant (3), deny (3), value (3), these (3), theologians (3), claims (3), exists (3), objective (3), independent (3), account (3), conscience (3), made (3), him (3), intervene (3), rather (3), order (3), notable (3), physical (3), understand (3), isaiah (3), relate (3), eventually (3), representations (3), evil (3), things (3), immaterial (3), appearance (3), during (3), notably (3), asking (3), cannot (3), revealed (3), derived (3), supplication (3), depending (3), stone (3), say (3), tools (3), bahasa (3), table (2), statement (2), conduct (2), privacy (2), policy (2), available (2), under (2), apply (2), wikimedia (2), last (2), spoken (2), sister (2), project (2), default (2), maint (2), location (2), date (2), covered (2), wikiproject (2), wikify (2), cleanup (2), marked (2), weasel (2), worded (2), latin (2), wikidata (2), association (2), https (2), united (2), control (2), jehovah (2), yhwh (2), tian (2), shangdi (2), hyang (2), hayyi (2), rabbi (2), manitou (2), shaddai (2), elyon (2), deus (2), chukwu (2), bhagavan (2), shiva (2), parvati (2), lakshmi (2), demiurge (2), zoroastrian (2), tenrikyo (2), east (2), sikh (2), vaishnavism (2), predestination (2), angels (2), scriptures (2), public (2), cosmology (2), biblical (2), simplicity (2), heaven (2), fate (2), pan (2), finitism (2), presence (2), political (2), aesthetic (2), apatheism (2), earth (2), ethical (2), monolatry (2), dystheism (2), perspective (2), audio (2), reflect (2), wikiversity (2), wikiquote (2), definitions (2), projects (2), external (2), link (2), barnstone (2), willis (2), meyer (2), marvin (2), eds (2), internet (2), revised (2), shambhala (2), 1925 (2), kessinger (2), contain (2), movement (2), practice (2), hastings (2), muslim (2), ballantine (2), scientist (2), presents (2), paradox (2), nicholas (2), mazdā (2), bibliography (2), jeffrey (2), ramachandran (2), harpercollins (2), ian (2), jurgensen (2), timothy (2), castel (2), bertrand (2), basic (2), really (2), soap (2), opera (2), 142 (2), 326 (2), taoism (2), confucianism (2), pew (2), research (2), hayes (2), principled (2), scholastic (2), bf00235404 (2), 1976 (2), problem (2), teachings (2), india (2), 190 (2), hawking (2), mlodinow (2), leonard (2), bantam (2), gould (2), jonathan (2), wiley (2), sagan (2), carl (2), 3rd (2), edition (2), biologist (2), authors (2), promoted (2), points (2), protagoras (2), lane (2), justification (2), newman (2), information (2), fine (2), tuning (2), aquinas (2), kreeft (2), towards (2), recent (2), sexual (2), differences (2), myth (2), signs (2), our (2), matters (2), augustine (2), 117 (2), unity (2), ground (2), out (2), iconography (2), saints (2), symbolic (2), 140 (2), critical (2), gnosticism (2), base (2), selected (2), writings (2), currents (2), bodies (2), american (2), 129 (2), jstor (2), stable (2), mandaean (2), afigbo (2), collected (2), egyptian (2), jan (2), intellectual (2), complete (2), education (2), hindus (2), speaking (2), allāh (2), carey (2), gen (2), zalta (2), hoover (2), brill (2), 1163 (2), ashʿarism (2), west (2), ibn (2), sage (2), kube (2), limited (2), selection (2), reasons (2), faraday (2), guide (2), sri (2), replace (2), gandhi (2), prayers (2), quran (2), honderich (2), ted (2), foreknowledge (2), robert (2), wisdom (2), 135 (2), reasonable (2), concise (2), adamson (2), avicenna (2), meeting (2), pagan (2), plato (2), arthur (2), pandeism (2), dawe (2), alan (2), 1985 (2), illustrated (2), xenophanes (2), tawhid (2), several (2), esp (2), portion (2), affairs (2), according (2), understood (2), idol (2), deified (2), theater (2), balcony (2), call (2), upon (2), various (2), lives (2), objects (2), knowing (2), almighty (2), webster (2), barnhart (2), apart (2), implies (2), type (2), appear (2), explanation (2), root (2), aryan (2), skr (2), sacrifice (2), plantinga (2), alvin (2), catechism (2), message (2), contains (2), third (2), feelings (2), feeling (2), after (2), become (2), likely (2), afflicted (2), previously (2), seizures (2), temporal (2), lobe (2), lead (2), system (2), active (2), large (2), dmt (2), benevolent (2), half (2), power (2), neuroscience (2), reasoning (2), contends (2), larger (2), forces (2), including (2), ever (2), discovered (2), features (2), makes (2), directly (2), intermediaries (2), evolutionary (2), anthropology (2), silent (2), adherents (2), similar (2), confucius (2), creationism (2), major (2), put (2), equally (2), 131 (2), rejected (2), holding (2), jainism (2), proposed (2), lack (2), possible (2), invoking (2), completely (2), disprove (2), conceivable (2), discovery (2), necessarily (2), 123 (2), sense (2), especially (2), unknown (2), perhaps (2), unknowable (2), basis (2), truths (2), theorized (2), acceptable (2), instead (2), morals (2), uses (2), illusory (2), did (2), occur (2), processes (2), yet (2), specially (2), designed (2), rené (2), descartes (2), anselm (2), fear (2), understanding (2), constantly (2), exceptions (2), persian (2), further (2), luke (2), deuteronomy (2), psalm (2), 101 (2), literal (2), aspect (2), transcends (2), allowing (2), others (2), sexually (2), address (2), opposed (2), role (2), polytheistic (2), comprehension (2), principal (2), numerous (2), meant (2), 10th (2), gradually (2), shown (2), appeared (2), length (2), lesser (2), something (2), greater (2), monad (2), cultures (2), still (2), wholly (2), incorporeality (2), beginning (2), end (2), parthian (2), high (2), left (2), igbo (2), teacher (2), khalsa (2), avestan (2), iranian (2), taken (2), wise (2), plural (2), translated (2), israelite (2), position (2), topics (2), risk (2), fideism (2), except (2), acts (2), feel (2), attach (2), contradictory (2), another (2), pluralist (2), same (2), preaches (2), syncretism (2), chosen (2), significance (2), strands (2), worshipped (2), benefit (2), praying (2), act (2), interest (2), omnipotent (2), omnibenevolent (2), miracles (2), theologian (2), obligation (2), incorporeal (2), might (2), imply (2), lift (2), ascribed (2), indivisible (2), itself (2), must (2), intervention (2), sustainer (2), negative (2), accepting (2), fundamental (2), upload (2), changes (2), edit (2), sesotho (2), norsk (2), беларуская (2), log (2), donate (2), menu (2), add, topic, mobile, cookie, statistics, developers, code, legal, safety, contacts, disclaimers, additional, site, agree, registered, trademark, profit, organization, inc, creative, attribution, sharealike, license, rendered, parsoid, edited, utc, hidden, haudio, microformats, errors, duplicate, needing, webarchive, template, auto, scaled, dmy, dates, indefinitely, semi, protected, singular, index, php, title, oldid, 1374916893, papa, zealand, israel, czech, republic, bnf, data, france, fast, gnd, international, authority, databases, onkar, unkulunkulu, umvelinqangi, tianzhu, tenri, mikoto, elagabalus, sol, invictus, shen, osanobua, olofi, ọlọrun, olodumare, nzambi, ampungu, nyame, ngai, nana, buluku, mulungu, kami, jahbulon, hypsistos, huwa, haneunim, wakan, tanka, gitche, ein, sof, devla, cao, đài, svayam, purusha, tad, ekam, ishvara, hiranyagarbha, rama, brahma, trimurti, deva, durga, kali, saraswati, tridevi, mahadevi, bathala, parvardigar, khuda, serer, kopé, tiatie, cac, kokh, kox, koox, ƭat, adonai, acintya, abrahamism, olelbis, numen, greatness, wiccan, slavic, native, neopagan, zurvan, frashokereti, incantations, scripture, asian, tirthankara, jain, ayyavazhi, āstika, nāstika, kabbalah, denominations, aggadah, prophecy, judgment, disposition, islamic, canon, hell, unlearned, apocalypticism, afterlife, poly, paren, primitive, mono, katheno, heno, ego, dys, unmoved, mover, theopanism, philo, phenomenological, definition, logos, emanationism, transcendental, secular, mythical, holocaust, hermeneutics, feminist, exo, environmental, eco, digital, comparative, cataphatic, apophatic, analytic, ascetical, fields, outline, category, nontheism, wind, weather, water, war, volcano, vegetation, tutelary, tree, thunder, sun, smithing, sky, resurrection, rain, night, moon, lust, liminal, king, hunting, household, health, fortune, fertility, false, death, dawn, chaos, agriculture, tritheism, transtheism, syntheism, skeptical, polytheism, euhemerism, physitheism, liberal, naturalistic, hylotheism, kathenotheism, ietsism, misotheism, egotheism, dipolar, sphere, classification, literacy, revision, dated, subsequent, edits, minutes, listen, quotations, media, wiktionary, libraries, archive, 185, 59030, 631, 155, incompatibility, citation, 1908, 1926, selbie, edinburgh, scotland, 476, aim, custom, 0766136731, rodney, springer, 0230106581, creed, sunni, brotherhood, ash, arism, sunnism, illinois, 1951, 0226803376, systematic, tillich, 1994, 0434024562, 000, year, quest, armstrong, karen, vintage, 0679743685, biography, miles, jack, 0743286391, evidence, collins, palgrave, 1403964572, pickover, cliff, bunnin, jiyuan, 0470997215, kegan, 687, 684, iranica, mary, kluger, canyon, vilayanur, blakeslee, sandra, 187, 0688152473, 174, phantoms, sample, guardian, tests, hawthorne, 294, 1585551, 26181064, s12110, 007, 9002, 272, supernaturalizing, cooperation, barrett, justin, 7646340, 8975683, 1006, cogp, 0017, 219, cognitive, conceptualizing, nonnatural, austin, texas, midori, 221, 222, 0980182118, computer, 243, admittedly, extraordinarily, 0465006960, explained, culotta, 5954, 787, 19892955, 0036, 8075, 1126, 326_784, 2009sci, 784c, bibcode, 784, charitable, trusts, khan, razib, kalmbach, discover, harvey, cheng, hsueh, nāgārjuna, 216, 1017, s0034412500009173, 207, thera, narada, jaico, house, 269, 268, nayanar, prof, chakravarti, gāthā, 310, delhi, today, tomorrows, printer, samayasāra, ācārya, kundakunda, krauss, 1451624458, nothing, 0553805376, 172, britain, 0618680009, delusion, cape, 274, 0224050432, leonardo, mountain, clams, diet, worms, barackman, floyd, kregel, academic, 0825423802, examining, doctrines, 1405125390, genes, memes, 278, 0345409461, demon, haunted, huffington, almost, certainly, 0415073103, rowe, hepburn, ronald, borchert, donald, macmillan, gale, 0028657806, come, 1869, earlier, published, 5th, 490, 420, dixon, 0199295517, very, huxley, nielsen, parkinson, 345, 0415003230, 344, moreland, sons, 393, 1444350852, 1992, temple, 214, 0877229438, mencken, notebooks, knopf, 1956, minority, report, watts, 2004, 0199271689, chappell, grammar, descent, compatibility, 206, 180, csli, ratzsch, del, koperski, 1990, ignatius, quoting, dead, academia, returned, late, 1960s, shift, hostility, sympathy, quentin, smith, rationality, gurbani, sikhwomen, coogan, 1st, massachusetts, twelve, hachette, group, modeled, 0446545259, 175, sex, says, loins, wives, metaphor, pagels, elaine, winter, 293, 303, conflicting, lang, priests, sunday, visitor, 1931709347, matter, scriptural, reflections, sacraments, shedd, 1885, chapter, warren, draper, confessions, advent, theologica, lebron, robyn, crossbooks, 1462712625, searching, triumphal, arch, schiller, sending, angel, annunciation, arena, chapel, didron, adolphe, napoléon, 169, 7661, 4075, ages, cornwell, 081922345x, symbols, fiorenza, schüssler, kaufman, gordon, mark, denova, rebecca, secret, 1930, materialism, visions, excess, 1927, 1939, bataille, georges, carmel, reba, autumn, 21st, shaman, saide, anondah, richert, rebekah, dimensional, structure, variation, frontiers, 1425, williams, wesley, unlike, oriental, accessed, nov, http, 40593866, 686, nashmi, yuhana, associations, union, contemporary, issues, buckley, jorunn, jacobsen, 65198443, 0195153855, mandaeans, falola, toyin, trenton, jersey, africa, 61361536, 1592214198, adiele, 1980, literature, lichtheim, assmann, memory, ten, baháʾuʾlláh, joyce, watanabe, feast, meditations, duggal, kartar, singh, kidder, oppenheim, noah, devotional, revive, roam, confidently, cultured, class, 364, 685, mcdaniel, indonesian, 1093, jhs, hit030, 540, levine, gardet, pbs, bentley, 1999, 0878082995, loewen, jacob, 182, 1645083047, cross, barton, 1428615755, sketch, parke, 0889206526, wilfrid, laurier, exodus, dan, chignell, andrew, pereboom, derk, fall, metaphysics, lab, shihadeh, ayman, thiele, islamicate, leiden, 230, 219026357, 2212, 8662, 9004426610, 9789004426610_009, 195, mamlūk, taymiyya, nonliteral, reinterpretation, taʾwīl, beaty, 1991, aeon, second, jon, 1573, 3912_ei3_com_27155, three, fiṭra, daqiq, 199, 1847740694, treasury, commentary, nawawi, prophetic, antuono, register, hofmann, murad, amana, publications, 1590080474, hutchinson, researches, reading, pointed, delighted, finger, nonconformist, siddiqui, 9780860376767, anic, keywords, çakmak, cenap, volumes, abc, clio, 1014, 1610692175, worldwide, swami, bhaskarananda, viveka, 1884852041, essentials, gruyter, walter, rigopoulos, antonio, 1993, 372, houlden, 390, sai, baba, shirdi, islamtoday, net, sin, richards, glyn, 1135799342, ideas, salat, patheos, fuller, allan, dog, ear, 1608445905, lemos, ramon, lexington, 0739102503, neomedieval, essay, ditext, 1615924462, wierenga, audi, perry, schuon, lafouge, kingdom, 1933316499, perspectives, esoteric, ecumenism, letters, miracle, 170, 0521190732, interpreting, essays, scs, aia, annual, brenk, frederick, philadelphia, pennsylvania, cult, dodds, parmenides, neoplatonic, jul, oct, 1928, quarterly, fairbanks, greece, trench, trubner, 1898, rogers, authorhouse, 1438979687, culp, spring, bradley, algora, 156, combines, creates, becomes, 0875868769, strange, eventful, 0473201142, franchise, everything, nadler, steven, curley, edwin, princeton, 0691072227, 205, 1405153607, 1979, salt, lake, city, utah, bookcraft, 351, mormon, mcconkie, bruce, müller, max, 1878, longmans, green, company, lectures, growth, lipner, julius, lesher, summer, 429049174, 1095, 5054, mohammad, jihad, 381, 397, law, gimaret, encyclopædia, britannica, brien, jodi, los, angeles, 191, 1412909167, gɒd, presiding, worldly, conception, mercy, object, upper, spectators, akin, ger, gott, goth, guth, prob, ĝhau, sans, havaté, calls, immortal, powers, course, worshiped, thing, excessively, honored, admired, regarded, eternal, infinite, 323, 0062700847, ulterior, disputed, unlikely, hypothesis, adoption, foreign, tongue, oteut, ghuba, preteut, ghodho, ghodto, former, admit, latter, neut, pple, gheu, two, roots, heu, palatal, aspirate, pour, offer, χεηi, geotàn, yete, compact, 267, merriam, 2000, via, intratext, bordwell, continuum, 860, 12324, remove, recommended, consolidate, times, named, duplicatereferences, script, detected, refs, 2fbf00235404, duplicated, factor, playing, apeiron, psychologists
Text of the page (random words):
erful lord s khalsa victory is to the wonderful lord baha the greatest name for god in the baháʼí faith is arabic for all glorious 79 other names for god include aten 80 in ancient egyptian atenism where aten was proclaimed to be the one true supreme being and creator of the universe 81 chukwu in igbo 82 and hayyi rabbi in mandaeism 83 84 depiction main article aniconism see also incorporeality ahura mazda depiction is on the right with high crown presents ardashir i left with the ring of kingship relief at naqsh e rustam 3rd century ce in zoroastrianism during the early parthian empire ahura mazda was visually represented for worship this practice ended during the beginning of the sasanian empire zoroastrian iconoclasm which can be traced to the end of the parthian period and the beginning of the sassanid eventually put an end to the use of all images of ahura mazda in worship however ahura mazda continued to be symbolized by a dignified male figure standing or on horseback which is found in sassanian investiture 85 deities from near eastern cultures are often thought of as anthropomorphic entities who have a human like body which is however not equal to a human body such bodies were often thought to be radiant or fiery of superhuman size or extreme beauty the ancient deity of the israelites yahweh too was imagined as a transcendent but still anthropomorphic deity 86 humans could not see him because of their impurity in contrast to yahweh s holiness yahweh being described as radiating fire and light which could kill a human if looking at him further more religious or spiritual people tend to have less anthropomorphic depictions of god 87 in judaism the torah often ascribes human features to god however many other passages describe god as formless and otherworldly judaism is aniconic meaning it overly lacks material physical representations of both the natural and supernatural worlds furthermore the worship of idols is strictly forbidden the traditional view elaborated by figures such as maimonides reckons that god is wholly incomprehensible and therefore impossible to envision resulting in a historical tradition of divine incorporeality as such attempting to describe god s appearance in practical terms is considered disrespectful to the deity and thus is taboo and arguably heretical 88 gnostic cosmogony often depicts the creator god of the old testament as an evil lesser deity or demiurge while the higher benevolent god or monad is thought of as something beyond comprehension having immeasurable light and not in time or among things that exist but rather is greater than them in a sense all people are said to have a piece of god or divine spark within them which has fallen from the immaterial world into the corrupt material world and is trapped unless gnosis is attained 89 90 91 use of the symbolic hand of god in the ascension from the drogo sacramentary c 850 both in judaism and christianity the bible has been the principal source of the conceptions of god that the bible includes many different images concepts and ways of thinking about god has resulted in perpetual disagreements about how god is to be conceived and understood 92 early christians believed that the words of the gospel of john 1 18 no man has seen god at any time and numerous other statements were meant to apply not only to god but to all attempts at the depiction of god 93 however later depictions of god are found some such as the hand of god are depictions borrowed from jewish art prior to the 10th century no attempt was made to use a human to symbolize god the father 93 yet christian art eventually required some way to illustrate the presence of the father so through successive representations a set of artistic styles for symbolizing the father using a man gradually emerged around the 10th century ad a rationale for the use of a human is the belief that god created the soul of man in the image of his own thus allowing humans to transcend the other animals it appears that when early artists designed to represent god the father fear and awe restrained them from a usage of the whole human figure typically only a small part would be used as the image usually the hand or sometimes the face but rarely a whole human in many images the figure of the son supplants the father so a smaller portion of the person of the father is depicted 94 by the 12th century depictions of god the father had started to appear in french illuminated manuscripts which as a less public form could often be more adventurous in their iconography and in stained glass church windows in england initially the head or bust was usually shown in some form of frame of clouds in the top of the picture space where the hand of god had formerly appeared gradually the amount of the human symbol shown can increase to a half length figure then a full length usually enthroned as in giotto s fresco c 1305 in padua 95 in islam muslims believe that god is beyond all comprehension and does not resemble any of his creations in any way muslims tend to use the least anthropomorphism among monotheists 87 they are not iconodules and have religious calligraphy of titles of god instead of pictures 96 gender main article gender of god the gender of god may be viewed as either a literal or an allegorical aspect of a deity who in classical western philosophy transcends bodily form 97 98 polytheistic religions commonly attribute to each of the gods a gender allowing each to interact with any of the others and perhaps with humans sexually in most monotheistic religions god has no counterpart with which to relate sexually thus in classical western philosophy the gender of this one and only deity is most likely to be an analogical statement of how humans and god address and relate to each other namely god is seen as begetter of the world and revelation which corresponds to the active as opposed to the receptive role in sexual intercourse 99 biblical sources usually refer to god using male or paternal words and symbolism notable exceptions include genesis 1 26 27 100 101 psalm 123 2 3 and luke 15 8 10 female hosea 11 3 4 deuteronomy 32 18 isaiah 66 13 isaiah 49 15 isaiah 42 14 psalm 131 2 a mother deuteronomy 32 11 12 a mother eagle and matthew 23 37 and luke 13 34 a mother hen in sikhism god is ajuni without incarnations which means that god is not bound to any physical forms this concludes that the all pervading lord is gender less 102 however the guru granth sahib constantly refers to god as he and father with some exceptions typically because the guru granth sahib was written in north indian indo aryan languages mixture of punjabi and sant bhasha sanskrit with influences of persian which have no neutral gender from further insights into the sikh philosophy it can be deduced that god is sometimes referred to as the husband to the soul brides in order to make a patriarchal society understand what the relationship with god is like also god is considered to be the father mother and companion 103 existence main article existence of god see also atheism and agnosticism the system of nature 1770 argues that belief in god is based on fear lack of understanding and anthropomorphism the existence of god and the nature of god are subjects of debate in theology philosophy of religion and popular culture 104 in philosophical terms the question of the existence of god involves the disciplines of epistemology the nature and scope of knowledge and ontology study of the nature of being or existence and the theory of value since some definitions of god include perfection ontological arguments refer to any argument for the existence of god that is based on a priori reasoning 105 notable ontological arguments were formulated by anselm and rené descartes 106 cosmological arguments use concepts around the origin of the universe to argue for the existence of god the teleological argument also called argument from design uses the complexity within the universe as a proof of the existence of god 107 it is countered that the fine tuning required for a stable universe with life on earth is illusory as humans are only able to observe the small part of this universe that succeeded in making such observation possible called the anthropic principle and so would not learn of for example life on other planets or of universes that did not occur because of different laws of physics 108 non theists have argued that complex processes that have natural explanations yet to be discovered are referred to the supernatural called god of the gaps other theists such as john henry newman who believed theistic evolution was acceptable have also argued against versions of the teleological argument and held that it is limiting of god to view him having to only intervene specially in some instances rather than having complex processes designed to create order 109 the argument from beauty states that this universe happens to contain special beauty in it and that there would be no particular reason for this over aesthetic neutrality other than god 110 this has been countered by pointing to the existence of ugliness in the universe 111 this has also been countered by arguing that beauty has no objective reality and so the universe could be seen as ugly or that humans have made what is more beautiful than nature 112 the argument from morality argues for the existence of god given the assumption of the objective existence of morals 113 while prominent non theistic philosophers such as the atheist j l mackie agreed that the argument is valid they disagreed with its premises david hume argued that there is no basis to believe in objective moral truths while biologist e o wilson theorized that the feelings of morality are a by product of natural selection in humans and would not exist independent of the mind 114 philosopher michael lou martin argued that a subjective account for morality can be acceptable similar to the argument from morality is the argument from conscience which argues for the existence of god given the existence of a conscience that informs of right and wrong even against prevailing moral codes philosopher john locke instead argued that conscience is a social construct and thus could lead to contradicting morals 115 atheism is in a broad sense the rejection of belief in the existence of deities 116 117 agnosticism is the view that the truth values of certain claims especially metaphysical and religious claims such as whether god the divine or the supernatural exist are unknown and perhaps unknowable 118 119 120 121 theism generally holds that god exists objectively and independently of human thought and is sometimes used to refer to any belief in god or gods some view the existence of god as an empirical question richard dawkins states that a universe with a god would be a completely different kind of universe from one without and it would be a scientific difference 122 carl sagan argued that the doctrine of a creator of the universe was difficult to prove or disprove and that the only conceivable scientific discovery that could disprove the existence of a creator not necessarily a god would be the discovery that the universe is infinitely old 123 some theologians such as alister mcgrath argue that the existence of god is not a question that can be answered using the scientific method 124 125 agnostic stephen jay gould argued that science and religion are not in conflict and proposed an approach dividing the world of philosophy into what he called non overlapping magisteria noma 126 in this view questions of the supernatural such as those relating to the existence and nature of god are non empirical and are the proper domain of theology the methods of science should then be used to answer any empirical question about the natural world and theology should be used to answer questions about ultimate meaning and moral value in this view the perceived lack of any empirical footprint from the magisterium of the supernatural onto natural events makes science the sole player in the natural world 127 stephen hawking and co author leonard mlodinow state in their 2010 book the grand design that it is reasonable to ask who or what created the universe but if the answer is god then the question has merely been deflected to that of who created god both authors claim however that it is possible to answer these questions purely within the realm of science and without invoking divine beings 128 129 non theistic views religious traditions jainism has generally rejected creationism holding that soul substances jīva are uncreated and that time is beginningless 130 some interpretations and traditions of buddhism can be conceived as being non theistic buddhism has generally rejected the specific monotheistic view of a creator deity the buddha criticizes the theory of creationism in the early buddhist texts 131 132 also major indian buddhist philosophers such as nagarjuna vasubandhu dharmakirti and buddhaghosa consistently critiqued creator god views put forth by hindu thinkers 133 134 135 however as a non theistic religion buddhism leaves the existence of a supreme deity ambiguous there are significant numbers of buddhists who believe in god and there are equally large numbers who deny god s existence or are unsure 136 137 chinese religions such as confucianism and taoism are silent on the existence of creator gods however keeping with the tradition of ancestor veneration in china adherents worship the spirits of people such as confucius and laozi in a similar manner to god 138 139 anthropology see also evolutionary origin of religion evolutionary psychology of religion and anthropomorphism some atheists have argued that a single omniscient god who is imagined to have created the universe and is particularly attentive to the lives of humans has been imagined and embellished over generations 140 pascal boyer argues that while there is a wide array of supernatural concepts found around the world in general supernatural beings tend to behave much like people the construction of gods and spirits like persons is one of the best known traits of religion he cites examples from greek mythology which is in his opinion more like a modern soap opera than other religious systems 141 bertrand du castel and timothy jurgensen demonstrate through formalization that boyer s explanatory model matches physics epistemology in positing not directly observable entities as intermediaries 142 anthropologist stewart guthrie contends that people project human features onto non human aspects of the world because it makes those aspects more familiar sigmund freud also suggested that god concepts are projections of one s father 143 likewise émile durkheim was one of the earliest to suggest that gods represent an extension of human social life to include supernatural beings in line with this reasoning psychologist matt rossano contends that when humans began living in larger groups they may have ...
|
