God is a religious term for the “supreme reality.” In many religions, God is the creator of the universe and the ultimate source of knowledge, power, and love.
God is sometimes portrayed as a humanlike male with supernatural powers. However, most religions teach that God has many different forms. Christianity teaches that God appears in three ways: as Father and Creator, as His Son Jesus Christ, and as the Holy Spirit. Hindus refer to the ultimate reality as Brahman, but they think that God is also revealed in more than 1,000 other gods and goddesses. Although Buddhists do not accept the idea of God as Creator, the role Buddha plays in their religion is similar to that of God in other religions. In the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, God is called by a variety of names, such as Yahweh (Jehovah), Elohim, and Adonai. Muslims call God Allah, as well as 99 other names that describe perfect qualities.
Cosmic Gods.
Some early religions came to associate a sky god with the entire expanse of the universe. The Greeks’ Zeus and the Romans’ Jupiter, for example, emerged as supergods. In other religions, such as Judaism and Islam, the cosmic God has been thought to be the sole creator and sustainer of life.
Personal Gods.
In many religions, people believe that a supreme God has been revealed as a friendly human being. For example, most Christians believe that God is seen through the person of Jesus Christ. In Hindu tradition, the god Krishna is portrayed as a lovable and intimate human being, especially in stories about his childhood. In some traditions, intermediary spirits, such as the Buddhists’ Bodhisattva, bridge the gap between humanity and a remote and distant God. In other traditions, even the distant, cosmic God is sometimes believed to interact in a personal and loving way with His followers. For example, in the Hebrew Bible, God forms a covenant with the Jewish people and promises to bless them if they stay faithful to the divine laws. Muslim mystics, known as sufis, also claim to have a special and intimate relationship with God.
Gods of nature.
In the Shinto religion of Japan, gods are thought to reside in particular trees, rocks, and streams. In other societies where natural forces are an important part of life, gods have also been identified with nature. For example, a major god in the Yoruba religion of Africa is the god of iron. In the religion of the Hopi Indian tribe, divine spirits are identified with eagles, foxes, and buffaloes. In ancient Mesopotamia, there were gods of the sky, water, and wind, and in ancient Egypt the central god was Re, god of the sun.
Ideas about God.
There are many ways of thinking about God. Agnostics question the existence of God. Atheists deny the existence of God. Theists believe that a Supreme Being exists. Theology is the study of ideas about God. Experts in this study are called theologians.
Many theologians have used rational arguments to defend the existence of God. Some have developed cosmological arguments, which state that a first cause must have begun the process of creation, a cause that must be God. Others have set forth teleological arguments based on belief in a grand design or purpose for the world that only a supreme God could have created.
Some Christian theologians in the 1960’s suggested that “God is dead.” They argued that the traditional image of God as a father figure with supernatural powers does not reflect the modern world’s scientific view of reality. Other theologians have kept the idea of God but used names that are not personalized or limited, such as “the unconditioned ultimate” and “the wholly other.”
