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portal recent changes upload file special pages search search appearance donate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 etymology and conceptual range 2 in classical antiquity 3 philosophical and theological reflections 4 second temple judaism and early christianity 5 mystical and medieval views 6 modern and secular use 7 contemporary usage 8 comparative and cross cultural perspectives 9 see also 10 references toggle references subsection 10 1 works cited 11 external links toggle the table of contents divinity 28 languages العربية asturianu azərbaycanca বাংলা català deutsch español euskara estremeñu فارسی français hausa kreyòl ayisyen bahasa indonesia 日本語 한국어 lombard português română русский sicilianu slovenčina shqip türkçe українська vèneto tiếng việt 中文 edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikiquote wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide from wikipedia the free encyclopedia related to devoted to or proceeding from a deity divine redirects here for other uses see divinity disambiguation and divine disambiguation elizabeth i and the three goddesses juno minerva and venus by isaac oliver c 1558 part of a series on religion outline index timeline aspects behaviour clergy conversion denomination disaffiliation education school laity monasticism prayer ritual symbols text worship beliefs acosmism animism anthropopathism dualism and nondualism fideism mysticism omnism spiritualism shamanism transcendentalism theism classical theism henotheism monotheism kathenotheism panentheism pantheism polytheism transtheism concepts afterlife cult deity elite religion experience meditation faith folk religion lived religion miracle mythology prophecy reincarnation revelation salvation spirit soul supernatural truth society discrimination freedom gender happiness lgbtq people politics science sexuality suicide vegetarianism violence persecution war wealth studies anthropology cognitive science comparative eschatology evolutionary origin evolutionary psychology history neurotheology philosophy psychology sociology soteriology theology theories about religion religions historical ancient egyptian ancient greek gnosticism ancient roman mithraism ancient mesopotamian prehistoric proto indo iranian world buddhism christianity hinduism jainism islam sikhism indigenous african traditional chinese taoism judaism korean native american mandaeism samaritanism shinto vietnamese yazidism zoroastrianism new bábism baháʼí goddess modern paganism new age tenrikyo ufo religion raëlism category portal v t e divinity from latin divinitas refers to the quality presence or nature of that which is divine a term that before the rise of monotheism evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power in the ancient world divinity was not limited to a single deity or abstract ideal but was recognized in multiple forms as a radiant attribute possessed by gods as a vital force cushioning nature and even as a quality glimpsed in extraordinary humans laws or acts the latin divinitas and its greek counterparts theiotēs theion conveyed something both immanent and awe inspiring a presence that could be felt in thunder justice ecstasy fate or beauty among the greeks and romans divinity was not confined to a rigid theological system gods heroes and even emperors might be described as partaking in divinity just as natural forces or virtue could be seen as expressions of divine essence philosophers such as plato and the stoics used the term to refer to the soul of the cosmos or the rational order of the universe while ritual and myth depicted the divine in vivid ways to call something divine was not always to worship it as a god but to acknowledge its participation in a higher sacred order early christianity inherited this language but dramatically reshaped it with the rise of theological monotheism divinity came increasingly to denote the singular and absolute nature of god the christianization of the term narrowed its field what had once described a quality diffused across nature fate and multiple gods was now claimed exclusively for the creator god and later extended to christ and the holy spirit through doctrines of the trinity over time this led to a sharper boundary between the divine and the human the sacred and the profane in contemporary usage divinity most commonly refers either to a deity especially in monotheistic traditions or to a transcendent power associated with sacredness inspiration or spiritual authority the term may describe the essential nature of god as well as religious experiences beings or principles considered beyond ordinary human life outside formal religion divinity is sometimes used in philosophical or metaphorical contexts where it retains associations with elevated or ultimate significance etymology and conceptual range edit the english word divinity derives from the latin term divinitas which itself stems from divinus meaning of a god or divine the latin root echoes similar concepts in greek notably theiotēs θειότης and theion τὸ θεῖον both of which convey a sense of sacred power majesty or godlike essence 1 in pre christian greco roman religion divinity was widely understood as a diffuse and dynamic force rather than a fixed identity the divine could manifest through natural phenomena such as thunder sunlight or fertility or through human actions exemplifying justice courage or beauty 2 the word divinitas might be used of a god a spirit a concept like fate or even an emperor reflecting a worldview in which divine qualities permeated multiple layers of existence 3 this conceptual range extended into early philosophical usage plato described theion in relation to the form of the good associating it with the source of truth and intelligibility 4 for the stoics the divine was understood as a rational and animating principle that pervaded the cosmos often identified with logos or nature itself 5 in such traditions divinity was not only transcendent but also deeply immanent present in the order and structure of the world in classical antiquity edit in classical antiquity the divine was not conceived as wholly separate from the world but was instead embedded within it gods heroes natural forces abstract concepts and even exemplary humans could all be considered partakers in or bearers of divinity the term divinitas in latin and its greek equivalents were applied not only to deities like jupiter or athena but also to phenomena such as fate moira or justice dike 6 public religion in both ancient greece and ancient rome involved a complex interplay between civic life and sacred presence gods were not remote they were part of the polis honored in temples festivals and rituals that affirmed their power and proximity emperors in rome for instance could be described as having numen or even divinitas indicating a recognized form of divine power or sanction rather than full deification 7 divinity also permeated the natural world rivers mountains stars and weather were thought to express divine will or presence this fluid understanding allowed for multiple overlapping expressions of the divine across the physical and social world 8 in this context sacrifice divination and augury were not merely symbolic acts but means of communication with divine forces that shaped the rhythms of life 6 mystery cults and regional traditions added further dimensions to ancient understandings of divinity figures such as dionysus or isis embodied divine realities experienced through ritual initiation ecstasy and spiritual transformation these cults often emphasized personal encounters with the divine in contrast to the more public and civic nature of traditional state religion 2 in addition to gods and natural forces the greeks also recognized a class of intermediate beings known as daimones δαίμονες whose roles ranged from protective spirits to agents of fate originally understood as morally neutral or even benevolent a daimōn could denote a divine presence or inspiration not fully personified as a god philosophers such as socrates described their personal daimōnion as a kind of guiding voice or spiritual influence 9 as e r dodds noted the daimōn represented an impersonal agency often closer to fate or inward inspiration than to anthropomorphic deity only later under christian influence did daimōn become associated with malevolent demons a reinterpretation that obscured its original connection to divinity 10 philosophical and theological reflections edit ancient philosophy developed increasingly abstract conceptions of divinity seeking to understand the nature of the divine beyond anthropomorphic gods for plato the divine was not confined to the traditional pantheon but was associated with the eternal and unchanging form of the good the highest reality and source of truth intelligibility and order 4 the divine in this framework was radically transcendent but also the ultimate cause and goal of all existence later middle platonism and neoplatonism extended this abstraction in the writings of plotinus the divine was identified with the ineffable one from which all reality emanates in hierarchical stages divinity in this view was not a person or force but the source of being itself below the one were successive layers of reality the nous the world soul and the material world each stage retained something of the divine though to lesser degrees 11 the stoics offered a contrasting more immanent view for them the divine was not separate from nature but identical with it expressed as logos the rational principle that ordered the cosmos every part of the universe including the human soul participated in this divine reason 5 stoic ethics were grounded in living according to this divine nature aligning the individual will with the cosmic order these philosophical developments interacted with evolving religious traditions in hellenistic religion philosophical conceptions of the divine coexisted with traditional cultic practices and new forms of personal piety ideas about divine immanence transcendence and hierarchical being shaped how mystery religions astrology and theurgy were interpreted and practiced 12 in gnosticism emerging in the same intellectual milieu as middle platonism and neoplatonism a radical reinterpretation of divinity developed in many gnostic systems true divinity was wholly transcendent and unknowable often called the pleroma or invisible spirit while the visible world was the flawed creation of a lesser being the demiurge ignorant of the higher realms this cosmological dualism recast divine hierarchy not as a continuum of emanation but as a rupture between divine fullness and cosmic error gnostic texts such as the secret book of john describe the soul s entrapment in materiality and its path of ascent through layers of hostile archons aided by inner revelation gnosis and the remembrance of its divine spark 13 in this view divinity was present as a spark within the human being a fragment of the higher world seeking return 14 the elasticity of the concept also allowed for overlap between divine beings and metaphysical principles theurgy as practiced by neoplatonists like iamblichus emphasized ritual engagement with divine intelligences asserting that divine powers could be invoked and experienced through specific acts 15 gnostic traditions likewise incorporated theurgical elements especially in their use of invocations names of power and visionary ascent texts to transcend the material realm and rejoin the divine source 16 in such contexts ritual was not merely symbolic but transformative through prescribed invocations visualizations and gestures practitioners sought a form of ritual identification with divine powers temporarily embodying aspects of the divine as a means of ascent or union 15 by late antiquity such reflections had laid the groundwork for later christian theology islamic philosophy and jewish mysticism all of which engaged with and reinterpreted these classical philosophical insights into the nature of the divine 17 second temple judaism and early christianity edit transfiguration by alexandr ivanov 1824 the christian reconfiguration of divinity cannot be understood apart from the theological developments of second temple judaism during this period jewish thought increasingly emphasized the singular and transcendent nature of god in contrast to the polytheism of surrounding cultures although the hebrew bible includes references to divine beings such as angels the elohim and the heavenly hosts jewish philosophy came to insist that only the god of israel was truly divine 18 at the same time certain jewish texts introduced intermediary figures such as wisdom חָכְמָה ḥokhmāh the logos and the son of man portrayed in works like 1 enoch the book of daniel and the wisdom of solomon these figures served as vehicles for divine action and presence without threatening strict monotheism this layered view of divinity helped lay the groundwork for early christian theology 18 the rise of christianity introduced a profound transformation in the concept of divinity drawing on both second temple judaism and greco roman philosophy early christian thinkers redefined the divine not as a plural or diffused power but as the singular and transcendent being of god this theological shift placed greater emphasis on divine unity omnipotence and moral perfection 19 central to this transformation was the assertion of the divinity of jesus early christians believed that jesus though fully human also shared in the divine nature this radical claim provoked intense theological debate especially over how divinity could be reconciled with humanity in the fourth century the council of nicaea 325 ce affirmed that christ was homoousios of the same substance with the father a term drawn from greek metaphysics to assert full equality within the trinity 20 the doctrine of the trinity father son and holy spirit as three persons sharing one divine essence emerged as a core feature of christian theology marking a significant departure from earlier polytheistic and philosophical models christian thinkers such as athanasius gregory of nyssa and augustine of hippo worked to articulate a divine unity that preserved distinct personal identities without division 21 in this context divinity came to denote not a quality diffused through nature or cosmos but the essential being of the creator the divine was no longer immanent in rivers stars or fate but radically transcendent revealed through revelation incarnation and sacrament 22 at the same time mystical theology and sacramental theology preserved a sense of divine presence operating within the w...
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