God in Abrahamic religions

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Monotheism—the belief that there is only one deity—is the focus of the Abrahamic religions, which like-mindedly conceive God as the all-powerful and all-knowing deity[1] from whom Abraham received a divine revelation, according to their respective narratives.[2] The most prominent Abrahamic religions are Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.[3] They—alongside Samaritanism, Druzism, the Baháʼí Faith,[3] and Rastafari[3]—all share a common foundation in worshipping Abraham's God, who is called Yahweh in Hebrew and Allah in Arabic.Template:Refn Likewise, the Abrahamic religions share similar features distinguishing them from other categories of religions:[4]

In the Abrahamic tradition, God is one, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and the creator of the universe.[1] God is typically referred to with masculine grammatical articles and pronouns only,[1][5] and is further held to have the properties of holiness, justice, omnibenevolence, and omnipresence. Adherents of the Abrahamic religions believe God is also transcendent, meaning he is outside of both space and time and therefore not subject to anything within his creation, but at the same time a personal God: intimately involved, listening to individual prayer, and reacting to the actions of his creatures.

With regard to Christianity, religion scholars have differed on whether Mormonism belongs with mainstream Christian tradition as a whole (i.e., Nicene Christianity), with some asserting that it amounts to a distinct Abrahamic religion in itself due to noteworthy theological differences.[6][7] Rastafari, the heterogenous movement that originated in Jamaica in the 1930s, is variously classified by religion scholars as either an international socio-religious movement, a distinct Abrahamic religion, or a new religious movement.[8]

Judaism

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File:YHWH on Mesha Stele.jpg
The Mesha Stele bears the earliest known reference (840 BCE) to the Israelite god Yahweh.[9]

Judaism, the oldest Abrahamic religion, is based on a strict, exclusive monotheism,[10][11] finding its origins in the sole veneration of Yahweh,[10]Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn[12] the predecessor to the Abrahamic conception of God.[Note 1] The names of God used most often in the Hebrew Bible are the Tetragrammaton (Template:Langx) and Elohim.[10][16] Jews traditionally do not pronounce it, and instead refer to God as HaShem, literally "the Name". In prayer, the Tetragrammaton is substituted with the pronunciation Adonai, meaning "My Lord".[17] This is referred to primarily in the Torah: "Hear O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One" (Script error: No such module "Bibleverse".).[17]

God is conceived as unique and perfect, free from all faults, deficiencies, and defects, and further held to be omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and completely infinite in all of his attributes, who has no partner or equal, being the sole creator of everything in existence.[10][17][18][19] In Judaism, God is never portrayed in any image.[11][19] The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism—it's considered akin to polytheism.[10][11][19][20] The Torah specifically forbade ascribing partners to share his singular sovereignty,[10][11][17] as he is considered to be the absolute one without a second, indivisible, and incomparable being, who is similar to nothing and nothing is comparable to him.[10][18] Thus, God is unlike anything in or of the world as to be beyond all forms of human thought and expression.[10][18]

God in Judaism is conceived as anthropomorphic,[10]Template:Sfn[20] unique, benevolent, eternal, the creator of the universe, and the ultimate source of morality.[10][21] Thus, the term God corresponds to an actual ontological reality, and is not merely a projection of the human psyche.[22] Traditional interpretations of Judaism generally emphasize that God is personal yet also transcendent and able to intervene in the world,[16] while some modern interpretations of Judaism emphasize that God is an impersonal force or ideal rather than a supernatural being concerned with the universe.[10][22]

Christianity

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Christianity originated in 1st-century Judea from a sect of apocalyptic Jewish Christians within the realm of Second Temple Judaism,[23][24][25][26][27] and thus shares most of its beliefs about God, including his omnipotence, omniscience, his role as creator of all things, his personality, immanence, transcendence and ultimate unity, with the innovation that Jesus of Nazareth is considered to be, in one way or another, the fulfillment of the ancient biblical prophecies about the Jewish Messiah, the completion of the Law of the prophets of Israel, the Son of God, and/or the incarnation of God himself as a human being.[11][20][23][24][28]

Most Christian denominations believe Jesus to be the incarnated Son of God, which is the main theological divergence with respect to the exclusive monotheism of the other Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Samaritanism, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam.[11][20][28][29] Although personal salvation is implicitly stated in Judaism, personal salvation by grace and a recurring emphasis in orthodox theological beliefs is particularly emphasized in Christianity,[29] often contrasting this with a perceived over-emphasis in law observance as stated in Jewish law, where it is contended that a belief in an intermediary between man and God or in the multiplicity of persons in the Godhead is against the Noahide laws, and thus not monotheistic.[30]Template:Better source needed

In mainstream Christianity, theology and beliefs about God are enshrined in the doctrine of monotheistic Trinitarianism, which holds that the three persons of the trinity are distinct but all of the same indivisible essence, meaning that the Father is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and the Son is God, yet there is one God as there is one indivisible essence.[29][31][32] These mainstream Christian doctrines were largely formulated at the Council of Nicaea and are enshrined in the Nicene Creed.[29][31][32] The Trinitarian view emphasizes that God has a will, and that God the Son has two natures, divine and human, though these are never in conflict but joined in the hypostatic union.[29][31][32]

Mormonism

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File:Joseph Smith first vision stained glass.jpg
In his 1838 personal history, Joseph Smith wrote that he had seen two personages in the spring of 1820. In 1843, Smith stated that these personages, God the Father and Jesus Christ, had separate, tangible bodies.[33]

In the belief system held by the Christian churches that adhere to the Latter Day Saint movement and most Mormon denominations, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the term God refers to Elohim (God the Father),[33][34] whereas Godhead means a council of three distinct gods: Elohim (the Eternal Father), Jehovah (God the Son, Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost, in a Non-trinitarian conception of the Godhead.[33][34] The Father and Son have perfected, material bodies, while the Holy Ghost is a spirit and does not have a body.[33][34] This differs significantly from mainstream Christian Trinitarianism; in Mormonism, the three persons are considered to be physically separate beings, or personages, but united in will and purpose.[33][34][35] As such, the term Godhead differs from how it is used in mainstream Christianity.[34][33] This description of God represents the orthodoxy of the LDS Church, established early in the 19th century.[34]

Unitarianism

A small minority of Christians, largely coming under the heading of Unitarianism, hold Non-trinitarian conceptions of God.

Islam

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In Islam, God (Allah) (Template:Langx, Script error: No such module "IPA"., lit. "the God")[36] is the supreme being, all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe.[36][37][38] Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular (tawhid).[36][39] He is considered to be unique (wahid) and inherently one of them (ahad), all-merciful and omnipotent.[36][40] According to the Quran, there are 99 Names of God (al-asma al-husna, lit. meaning: "The best names") each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of God.[41][42] All these names refer to Allah, considered to be the supreme and all-comprehensive divine Arabic name.[36][43] Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Entirely Merciful" (al-Rahman) and "the Especially Merciful" (al-Rahim).[41][42]

Islam rejects the doctrine of the Incarnation and the notion of a personal God as anthropomorphic, because it is seen as demeaning to the transcendence of God. The Quran prescribes the fundamental transcendental criterion in the following verses: "The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, so serve Him and be patient in His service. Do you know any one equal to Him?" (Template:Trim 19:Template:Trim); "(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things)" (Template:Trim 42:Template:Trim); "And there is none comparable unto Him" (Template:Trim 112:Template:Trim). Therefore, Islam strictly rejects all forms of anthropomorphism and anthropopathism of the concept of God, and thus categorically rejects the Christian concept of the Trinity or division of persons in the Godhead.[44][45]

Muslims believe that Allah is the same God worshipped by the members of the Abrahamic religions that preceded Islam, i.e. Judaism and Christianity (Template:Cite quran).[46] Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of prime mercy for which all creatures sing his glories and bear witness to his unity and lordship. According to the Quran: "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things" (Template:Trim 6:Template:Trim).[38] Similarly to Jews, Muslims explicitly reject the divinity of Jesus and don't believe in him as the incarnated God or Son of God, but instead consider him a human prophet and the promised Messiah sent by God, although the Islamic tradition itself is not unanimous on the question of Jesus' death and afterlife.[47][48][49]

Baháʼí Faith

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The writings of the Baháʼí Faith describe a monotheistic, personal, inaccessible, omniscient, omnipresent, imperishable, and almighty God who is the creator of all things in the universe.[50][51]Template:Rp The existence of God and the universe is thought to be eternal, without a beginning or end.[52]

Though transcendent and inaccessible directly,[53]Template:Rp God is nevertheless seen as conscious of the creation,[53]Template:Rp with a will and purpose that is expressed through messengers recognized in the Baháʼí Faith as the Manifestations of God[51]Template:Rp (all the Jewish prophets, Zoroaster, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and ultimately Baháʼu'lláh).[53]Template:Rp The purpose of the creation is for the created to have the capacity to know and love its creator,[51]Template:Rp through such methods as prayer, reflection, and being of service to humankind.[54] God communicates his will and purpose to humanity through his intermediaries, the prophets and messengers who have founded various world religions from the beginning of humankind up to the present day,[51]Template:Rp[53]Template:Rp and will continue to do so in the future.[53]Template:Rp

The Manifestations of God reflect divine attributes, which are creations of God made for the purpose of spiritual enlightenment, onto the physical plane of existence.[55] In the Baháʼí view, all physical beings reflect at least one of these attributes, and the human soul can potentially reflect all of them.[56] The Baháʼí conception of God rejects all pantheistic, anthropomorphic, and incarnationist beliefs about God.[51]Template:Rp

Rastafari

Rastafari refer to God as Jah,Template:Sfn[57][58] a shortened version of "Jehovah" in the King James Bible.Template:Sfnm Jah is said to be immanent,Template:Sfn but is also incarnate in each individual.Template:Sfnm This belief is reflected in the Rasta aphorism that "God is man and man is God".Template:Sfn Rastas describe "knowing" Jah, rather than simply "believing" in him.Template:Sfn In seeking to narrow the distance between humanity and divinity, Rastafari embraces mysticism.Template:Sfn Closeness to Jah may be accomplished through Livity, a form of the Nazirite creed.[59][60][61] The Rastafari conception of God has similarities with the Hindu ātman.[62][63][64] Jesus is an important figure in Rastafari,Template:Sfn but practitioners reject the traditional Christian view of Jesus, and particularly the depiction of him as a white European.Template:Sfnm Many Rastas instead see Haile Selassie I as the fulfilment of Psalm 68:31, and therefore the Messiah or Jah incarnate.[57]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Although the Semitic god El is indeed the most ancient predecessor to the Abrahamic god,[13][14][15]Template:Sfn this specifically refers to the ancient ideas Yahweh once encompassed in the Ancient Hebrew religion, such as being a storm- and war-god, living on mountains, or controlling the weather.[13][14][15]Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Thus, in this page's context, "Yahweh" is used to refer to God as conceived in the Ancient Hebrew religion, and should not be referenced when describing his later worship in today's Abrahamic religions.

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References

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  1. ↑ a b c Cite error: Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".Script error: No such module "Namespace detect".
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  3. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  19. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  20. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  23. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  24. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  25. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  26. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  27. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  28. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  29. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  30. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  31. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  32. ↑ a b c Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  33. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  34. ↑ a b c d e f Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  35. ↑ The term with its distinctive Mormon usage first appeared in Lectures on Faith (published 1834), Lecture 5 ("We shall in this lecture speak of the Godhead; we mean the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."). The term Godhead also appears several times in Lecture 2 in its sense as used in the Authorized King James Version, meaning divinity.
  36. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  37. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  38. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  39. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  40. ↑ "Allah." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica
  41. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  42. ↑ a b Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, Allah
  43. ↑ Annemarie Schimmel,The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic, SUNY Press, p.206
  44. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  45. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  46. ↑ F.E. Peters, Islam, p.4, Princeton University Press, 2003
  47. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  48. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  49. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  50. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  51. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  52. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  53. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  54. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".
  55. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  56. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  57. ↑ a b Murrell, Nathaniel Samuel. "Tuning Hebrew psalms to reggae rhythms: Rastas' revolutionary lamentations for social change." CrossCurrents (2000): pp. 525-540. Quotes: "The Psalms gave the Rastas the trademark name 'JAH' for their hero and deity, Ras Tafari, Emperor Haile Selassie I; the title JAH is found once in the Psalms as an abbreviation for Yahweh (or Jahweh), the four-letter word (tetragrammaton) YHWH. Psalm 68:4 reads, 'Sing unto God, sing praises to His name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice in him.'" "To Leonard Howell, one of the Jamaican pioneers of Rastafari, the prophetic declaration in Psalm 68:31—'Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God'—was an indispensable paradigm for positing the messianic fulfillment of the Bible in the person of Haile Selassie I."
  58. ↑ Tomei, Renato. "Relocating a Sacred Space: From Mount Zion to the New Jerusalem in the Mystic Poetry of Rastafari." English Academy Review 40, no. 1 (2023): pp. 99-116.
  59. ↑ Capparella, H., 2016. "Rastafari in the Promised Land." Antrocom: Online Journal of Anthropology, 12(1).
  60. ↑ Werden-Greenfield, A.Y., 2016. "Warriors and prophets of livity: Samson and Moses as moral exemplars in Rastafari." Temple University.
  61. ↑ Chakravarty, K.G., 2015. "Rastafari revisited: A four-point orthodox/secular typology." Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 83(1), pp.151-180.
  62. ↑ Stokke, C., 2021. "Consciousness development in Rastafari: A perspective from the psychology of religion." Anthropology of Consciousness, 32(1), pp.81-106.
  63. ↑ Chakravarty, K.G., 2015. "Rastafari revisited: A four-point orthodox/secular typology." Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 83(1), pp.151-180.
  64. ↑ Powell, Steven. Dread rites: an account of Rastafarian music and ritual process in popular culture (Thesis). 1989. pp. 31.

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Bibliography

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External links

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Template:Theology

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