God

  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

God

Definition: God

God

Noun

1. The supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions.

2. Any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force.

3. A man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity to other people; "he was a god among men".

4. A material effigy that is worshipped as a god; "thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image"; "money was his god".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "God" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Etymology: God \God\ (g[o^]d), noun. [Anglo-Saxon god; akin to Old Saxon & Dutch god, Old High German got, German gott, Icelandic gu[eth], go[eth], Swedish & Danish gud, Gothic gup, probably orig. a past participle from a root appearing in Sanskrit h[=u], past participle h[=u]ta, to call upon, invoke, implore. Compare to Goodbye, Gosp. (references)

 

Specialty Definition: God

DomainDefinition

Bible

God (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew _'El_, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of _'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim_. The singular form, _Eloah_, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is spoken of as one devoid of understanding (Ps. 14:1). The arguments generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are: (1.) The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by reason. (2.) The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are, (a) The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a cause. (b) The teleological, or the argument from design. We see everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in nature. (c) The moral argument, called also the anthropological argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which can only be explained on the supposition of the existence of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in Ex. 34:6,7. (see also Deut. 6:4; 10:17; Num. 16:22; Ex. 15:11; 33:19; Isa. 44:6; Hab. 3:6; Ps. 102:26; Job 34:12.) They are also systematically classified in Rev. 5:12 and 7:12. God's attributes are spoken of by some as absolute, i.e., such as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah, etc.; and relative, i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to his creatures. Others distinguish them into communicable, i.e., those which can be imparted in degree to his creatures: goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.; and incommunicable, which cannot be so imparted: independence, immutability, immensity, and eternity. They are by some also divided into natural attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.; and moral, holiness, goodness, etc. Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Dream Interpretation

If you dream of seeing God, you will be domineered over by a tyrannical woman masquerading under the cloak of Christianity. No good accrues from this dream.
If God speaks to you, beware that you do not fall into condemnation. Business of all sorts will take an unfavorable turn. It is the forerunner of the weakening of health and may mean early dissolution.
If you dream of worshiping God, you will have cause to repent of an error of your own making. Look well to observing the ten commandments after this dream.
To dream that God confers distinct favors upon you, you will become the favorite of a cautious and prominent person who will use his position to advance yours.
To dream that God sends his spirit upon you, great changes in your beliefs will take place. Views concerning dogmatic Christianity should broaden after this dream, or you may be severely chastised for some indiscreet action which has brought shame upon you. God speaks oftener to those who transgress than those who do not. It is the genius of spiritual law or economy to reinstate the prodigal child by signs and visions. Elijah, Jonah, David, and Paul were brought to the altar of repentence through the vigilant energy of the hidden forces within. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted ....

Literature

God Gothic, goth (god); German, gott. (See Alla, Adonist, Elohistic, etc.)
It was Hiero, Tyrant of Syracuse, who asked Simonides the poet, "What is God?" Simonides asked to have a day to consider the question. Being asked the same question the next day he desired two more days for reflection. Every time he appeared before Hiero he doubled the length of time for the consideration of his answer. Hiero, greatly astonished, asked the philosopher why he did so, and Simonides made answer, "The longer I think on the subject, the farther I seem from making it out."
It was Voltaire who said, "Si Dieu n'existait pas, il faudrait l'inventer."
God and the saints. "Il vaux mieux s'adresser à Dieu qu'à ses saints." "Il vaut mieux se tenir au tronc qu'aux branches. " Better go to the master than to his steward or foreman.
God bless the Duke of Argyle. It is said that the Duke of Argyle erected a row of posts to mark his property, and these posts were used by the cattle to rub against. (Hotten: Slang Dictionary.)
God helps those who help themselves. In French, "Aide-toi, le ciel t'aidera. " "A toile ourdie Dieu donne le fil" (You make the warp and God will make the woof).
God made the country, and man made the town. Cowper in The Task (The Sofa). Varro says in his De Re Rustica, "Divina Natura agros dedit; Ars humana ædificavit urbes."
"God save the king. " It is said by some that both the words and music of this anthem were composed by Dr. John Bull (1563-1622), organist at Antwerp cathedral, where the original MS. is still preserved. Others attribute them to Henry Carey, author of Sally in our Alley. The words, "Send him victorious," etc., look like a Jacobin song, and Sir John Sinclair tells us he saw that verse cut in an old glass tankard, the property of P. Murray Threipland, of Fingask Castle, whose predecessors were staunch Jacobites.
No doubt the words of the anthem have often been altered. The air and words were probably first suggested to John Bull by the Domine Salvum of the Catholic Church. In 1605 the lines, "Frustrate their knavish tricks," etc., were added in reference to Gunpowder Plot. In 1715 some Jacobin added the words, "Send him [the Pretender] victorious," etc. And in 1740 Henry Carey reset both words and music for the Mercers' Company on the birthday of George II.
God sides with the strongest. Julius Civiles. Napoleon I. said, "Le bon Dieu est toujours du côté des gros bataillons. " God helps those that help themselves. The fable of Hercules and the Carter.
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb. Sterne (Maria, in the Sentimental Journey). In French, "A brebis tondue Dieu lui mesure le vent; " "Dieu mesure le froid à la brebis tondue. " "Dieu donne le froid selon la robbe." Sheep are shorn when the cold north-east winds have given way to milder weather.
Full of the god - inspired, mænadic. (Latin, Dei plenus.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary.

Multilingual Slang

Lituanaian (Dievas). (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Specialty Definition: Allah

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Allah (الله) is the Arabic word for God. It is compounded of "Al" (أَل), the definite article 'the', and "ilah" (إِله), meaning "god". Therefore, Allah literally means "The God"--somewhat parallel to the capitalized "God" in English. It is used by Muslims world-wide, as well as Arabic-speaking Christians, Jews, and others.

From an Islamic point of view, Allah is the special name of God and is the most precious name because it is not a descriptive name like other Ninety-nine names of Allah, but the name of God's own presence. It is impossible to alter the word in Arabic; such as create a plural form (gods) or change the gender. The Islamic concept of mankind's place in the universe hinges on the notion that Allah, or God, is the only true [reality]. There is nothing permanent other than God. Allah is considered eternal and "uncreated", whereas everything else in the universe is "created."

Muslims, when referring to the name, add the words "Subhanna wa Ta'ala" after it, meaning "Glorified and Exalted is He" as a sign of reverence. The entire religion of Islam is based on the idea of getting closer to Allah. Muslims consider Him eternal and uncreated, as the rest of existence was His creation. Although commonly referred to as a "He", Allah is genderless, but it is considered disrespectful to refer to Him as an "It."

Allah is considered by Muslims to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is said to be in Heaven, though He constantly watches all that goes on in the world, and knows all things.

Although the name "Allah" is most commonly associated with Islam, it was also used in pre-Islamic times. The father of Muhammad, Islam's prophet, had the name "Abdullah"; which translates to servant of Allah. The Arab Jews referred to God as Allah, and the Hebrew form of this name, El (אל) or Eloh (אלוה), was used as an Old Testament synonym for Yahweh (יהוה). The Aramaic word for God is also "Allah", therefore it is believed that Jesus Christ also used this word in his teachings.

Muslims believe that the name of Allah has existed since the time of Adam. The God in al-Islam is believed by Muslims to be the same God worshipped by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. According to Islam, Allah is the God of Abraham, and thus the Muslims claim to be followers of the same God of Judaism and Christianity.

Before the rise of Islam, the Nomadic tribes of the Arabian peninsula adopted Allah as the "creator God" who had lesser gods as partners, similar to the way Hindus regard Brahma, in a form of henotheism or polytheism. In those times, Allah was considered to be the ancestor and leader of the other gods, and people chose other gods and even idols to function as intercessors. Up until the seventh century, people would devote their worship to Allah's "partners"; other gods such as the goddesses al-Laat (اللات), al-Uzza (العزى) and Man'at (منواة), who were considered "daughters of Allah."

Muslims do not try to draw or depict Allah in any way, according to Islamic belief it could lead to idol worship. Instead, they focus on His 99 "Attributes that are stated in the Qur'an, the holy book of the Muslims. Nearly one third of the book is used describing Allah's attributes and actions. Also, "hadith qudsi" are special recorded sayings of Muhammad to Muslims where he quotes what Allah says to him. The 99 "Attributes are frequently written in calligraphic Arabic as a permissible decoration, which adorns mosques and homes of Muslims.

There are many phrases with Allah's name in it:

Here is an example of the name "Allah" written in simple Calligraphic Arabic:

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Allah."

Top     


Dievs

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In Latvian mythology, Dievs ("god") was the supreme god. The same word refers to the Christian deity in modern Latvian. In ancient Latvia, Dievs was not the just the father of the gods, he was the essence of them -- every other deity was a different aspect or manifestation of Dievs; this is most true with Mara and Laima. The name Dievs was also understood as Sky.

Dievs was a god of the sky and fertility. Though he courted Saule, no actual wife is known. His sons are known as Dieva deli.

In art, Dievs is an ancient man with a long white beard.

Alternative: Dievas (Lithuania), Deivas (Prussia)

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Dievs."

Top     


God

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The noun God is used in English to refer to an immortal, supernatural being, usually said to rule, alone or in company with other gods, over the destinies of humankind and the universe. When spelled with a capital "G" it is a proper noun, the name given in English to the one supreme being as postulated by the three major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. When spelled with a small "g" it is a common noun, referring to a postulated supernatural being of any religious system, as for example the gods of the Greek and Roman religions.

The word "God" comes from the Old English/German/Norse language family and is (in Western culture ) equivalent to the derivatives of the Latin word "Deus". Many major current monotheistic concepts of a "God" descend from the Abrahamic tradition of YHVH ("I am that I am", "I am the One Who Is," "He who cannot be named").

Conflicting interpretations arise regarding the name of "God", and what the name actually means -- often the infinite God concept is mixed with non-infinite personifications of "God" (i.e. God as an old man, a Zeus or Odin.) A belief in a "God" or gods is found in all cultures, although followers of a particular God or gods may consider other gods to be inferior. Likewise many people hold non-literal, sometimes even secular interpretations of God -- few of which may actually contradict the pure concept of an "infinite God," despite any contradictions these may have with any particular religious tradition.

Names for God in Monotheistic Religions

The generic term God is often used as a proper name by most adherents of most monotheistic faiths. Different names for God have arisen from both language differences and from religious traditions. Both kinds of branches have generated evolutions in the name of "God."

See also the entry on Names given to the divine

Arguments Regarding the Existence of God

Throughout history, many arguments have been made both for and against the existence of God. For example, it has been argued that, without postulating the existence of one, eternal God, the origin of the universe appears inexplicable, since it is not logically possible for something to come from nothing. Conversely, it has been argued that such an origin may be an inevitable consequence of the paradox of nothingness, and that the inexplicable existence of God is no explanation at all. Due to the seemingly inconclusive nature of all such arguments, many have maintained that belief in God depends on faith, not upon any argument or proof.

Beliefs about the Nature of God

Theology is the study of the nature of the divine. In some cases, theologians attempt to explicate (and in some cases systematize) the assumptions that underlie specific, organized, religions; in other cases, theologians seek to transform a personal experience of the divine into some philosophical system. All theologies begin with a notion of "god;" different theologies have been grouped and classified according to their views on two fundamental issues:

  1. is God singular or plural?
  2. is God transcendent or immanent, or both?
Answers to these questions reflect, and imply, different positions concerning the relationship between god(s) and the world, and between god(s) and humankind.

A few people use the word "monotheism" to refer to the belief in a single god and use "theism" to refer to any belief in god(s), i.e., monotheism or polytheism. Some theists believe in the existence of other less powerful immortal beings, but give them other names such as angels or demons.

Many people find the concept of God meaningless or unnecessary:

God as Unity or Trinity

Jews, Muslims, and a small percent of Christians are unitarian monotheists. The vast majority of Christians have been and still are Trinitarian monotheists.

Unitarian monotheists hold that there is only one "person" (so to speak), or one basic substance, in God. Some consider Trinitarianism to be a form of polytheism. In contrast, Trinitarian monotheists believe in one god that exists as three distinct persons who share the same substance/essence; this belief is called the Trinity: compare with the Hindu Trimurti.

Mormons hold that God is one of three divine personages collectively referred to as the Godhead. One of these personages is a spirit without a body referred to as the Holy Ghost. The other two personages are spirits with perfected or glorified (often called celestial) bodies referred to as Heavenly Father (or less commonly Eloheim) and His Son, Jesus Christ. Mormons hold that God is a Holy Man, or sanctified human who advanced to his divine status through a repeatable process of progression, and that by following the precepts of their faith, humans can literally (eventually) become gods (sometimes phrased as "become like Heavenly Father") at some point after death and resurrection. This belief is mainly held in the largest Mormon branch, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This belief system implies, if not explicitly claims, polytheism as opposed to the monotheistic views of mainstream Christianity.

Monotheistic Conceptions of God

Judaism, Christianity and Islam see God as a single being who rules over the universe. These three Western faiths uphold an ancient monotheistic tradition that, according to their belief, is the original faith of mankind (or alternatively, for some believers, began with their first Prophet, Abraham). In this view one God, the creator of the world, exists. A number of additional attributes generally link to God, including Omnipotence (being all-powerful), Omniscience (being all-knowing), and Omnibenevolence (being all-loving).

These usually conceive of God as a personal God, with a will and personality. However, many important medieval rationalist philosophers of these three religions taught that an intelligent person should not view God as personal at all, and that all these teachings were actually meant as metaphors only. Some intellectuals of these three faiths in the West still accept these views as valid, although many of the laity today do not have a wide awareness of them.

In Eastern Christianity, it remains essential that God be personal; hence it speaks of the three persons of the Trinity. It also emphasizes that God has a will, and that God the Son has two wills, divine and human, though these are never in conflict. The personhood of God and of all human people is essential to the concept of theosis or divinization.

A number of arguments for the existence of God have been offered; one argument for the thesis that God does not exist is the problem of evil, with the project of Theodicy as a response.

Biblical definition of God

The book of Exodus in the Tanach (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament) characterizes God by these attributes: "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation."

The Tanach (Hebrew Bible, Old Testament) contains no systematic theology: No attempt is made to give a philosophical or rigorous definition of God, nor of how God acts in the world. The Tanach does not explicitly describe God's nature, exemplified by God's assertion in Exodus that "you cannot see my face; for man shall not see me and live." The Tanach does, however, provide a poetic depiction of God and His relationship with people. According to the biblical historian Yehezkal Kaufmann, the essential innovation of Biblical theology was to posit a God that cares about people, and that cares about whether people care about Him. Most people believe that the Bible should be viewed as humanity's view of God, but theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel described the Biblical God as "anthropopathic," and said that we should read the Bible as God's view of humanity.

Similarly, the New Testament also contains no systematic theology: no attempt is made to give a philosophical or rigorous definition of God, nor of how God acts in the world. The New Testament does, however, provide an implicit theology as it teaches that God became human while remaining fully God, in the person of Jesus Christ. In this view, God becomes someone that can be seen and touched, and may speak and act in a manner easily perceived by humans, while also remaining transcendant and invisible. This appears to be a radical departure from the concepts of God found in the Hebrew Bible and in the Qur'an. The New Testament's statements regarding the nature of God were eventually developed into the doctrine of the Trinity.

Aristotelian view of God

A separate article exists on the Aristotelian view of God. Much of this article discusses Aristotle's book on first philosophy, the Metaphysics, in which Aristotle discusses the meaning of "being as being". In brief, Aristotle holds that "being" primarily refers to the Unmoved Movers, and assigned one of these to each movement in the heavens. Each Unmoved Mover continuously contemplates its own contemplation, and everything that fits the second meaning of "being" by having its source of motion in itself, moves because the knowledge of its Mover causes it to emulate this Mover (or should).

Many medieval philosophers made use of the idea of approaching a knowledge of God through negative attributes. For example, we should not say that God exists in the usual sense of the term; all we can safely say is that God is not nonexistent. We should not say that God is wise, but we can say that God is not ignorant, i.e. in some way God has some properties of knowledge. We should not say that God is One, but we can state that there is no multiplicity in God's being. See apophatic theology. This article also discusses Aristotle discussion of Platonic theory, according to which ideas are the ultimate principles of Being.

Aristotelian view of God

Kabbalistic definition of God

Kabbalah (Jewish esoteric mysticism) teaches that God is neither matter nor spirit. Rather God is the creator of both, but is Himself neither. But if God is so different than His creation, how can there be any interaction between the Creator and the created? This question prompted Kabbalists to discuss two aspects of God, (a) God Himself, who in the end is unknowable, and (b) the revealed aspect of God who created the universe, preserves the universe, and interacts with mankind. Kabbalists believe that these two aspects are not contradictory but complement one another.

Some Kabbalistic Jews, such as Moses Cordovero and Lubavitch (Chabad) Hasidism, hold that the first aspect of God is actually all that there really is. Nothing exists except for God, and all else is an illusion. (Depending on how this is explained, such a view can be considered panentheism, or pantheism.) Most other Kabbalists hold that there is an aspect of God that is revealed to the world.

Kabbalists speak of the first aspect of God as 'En Sof'; this is translated as "the infinite," or "that which has no limits". In this view, nothing can be said about this aspect of God. This aspect of God is impersonal. Kabbalists speak of the second aspect of God as being seen by the universe as ten emanations from God; these emanations are called 'sefirot'.

The 'sefirot' mediate the interaction of the ultimate unknowable God with the physical and spiritual world. Some explain the sefirot as stages of the creative process whereby God, from His own infinite being, created the progression of realms which culminated in our finite and physical universe. Others suggest that the sefirot may be thought of as analogous to the fundamental laws of physics. Just as gravity, electro-magnetism, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force allow for interactions between matter and energy, the ten sefirot allow for interaction between God and the Universe.

A difficulty with this view is that the Kabbalah teaches that the Sefirot are not distinct from the Ein-Sof, but are somehow within it. The idea that there are ten divine sefirot could evolve over time into the idea that "God is One being, yet in that One being there are Ten". This would be almost the same as the Christian belief in the Trinity, which states that while God is "One", in that One there are three persons. This interpretation of Kabbalah in fact did occur among a small number of Jews in the 17th century. Rabbi Leon Modena, a 17th century Venetian critic of kabbalah, wrote that if we were to accept the Kabbalah, then the Christian trinity would indeed be compatible with Judaism, as the Trinity closely resembles the Kabbalistic doctrine of sefirot. This critique was in response to the fact that some Jews went so far as to address individual sefirot individually in some of their prayers. Kabbalah had many other opponents, notably Rabbi Yitzchak ben Sheshet Perfet (The Rivash); he stated that Kabbalah was "worse than Christianity", as it made God into 10, not just into three. The critique, however, was unfair. Most followers of Kabbalah never believed this interpretation of Kabbalah. The Christian Trinity concept posits that there are three persons existing within the Godhead, one of whom literally became a human being. In contrast, the mainstream understanding of the Kabbalistic sefirot holds that they have no mind or intelligence; further, they are not addressed in prayer, and they can not become a human being. They are conduits for interaction - not persons or beings.

The Kabbalah's idea of emanations could also be compared to the distinction made by fourteenth century Christian theologian Gregory Palamas. Palamas drew a distinction between God's essence and energies, affirming that God was unknowable in His essence, but knowable in His energies. Palamas never enumerated God's energies, but described them simply as ways that God could be seen acting in the Universe, and particularly on people, from the light shining from the face of Moses after Moses descended Mt. Sinai, to the light surrounding Moses, Elijah and Jesus Christ on Mt. Tabor during the transfiguration of Jesus. For Palamas, God's energies were not some other thing separate from God, but were God; however the idea of energies was kept very distinct from the idea of the three persons of the Trinity.

Today all Hasidic Orthodox Jews are Kabbalistic; some non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews are kabbalisticly inclined, while some are rationalists. Most Reform and Conservative Jews are rationalists.

Process theology and process philosophy definition of God

See the entries on Process theology and panentheism.

Neopagan Concept of God and/or gods

Neopaganism allows for diverse personal beliefs about the nature of God. There is little specific dogma. Most Neopagans hold a polytheistic, pantheistic or panentheistic belief, often with some elements of animism. Among Neopagans, and especially Wiccans, God is commonly expressed through the duality of the Goddess and the Horned God. However, there are those Pagans who align themselves with the Left Hand Path or LHP. These LHP Pagans are generally autotheists.

While on the surface Neopagans worship many gods, many practice a kind of monotheism, believing the many gods to be aspects of the One God. Many others practice duotheism, for example in many forms of Wicca all gods are considered aspects of the Lord, and all goddesses aspects of the Lady.

Most Heathens consider themselves strict polytheists.

The Ultimate

Arguably, Eastern conceptions of The Ultimate (this, too, has many different names) are not conceptions of a personal divinity, though certain Western conceptions of what is at least called "God" (e.g., Spinoza's pantheistic conception and various kinds of mysticism) resemble Eastern conceptions of The Ultimate.

The mathematician Georg Cantor identified God with the mathematical concept of the Absolute Infinite.

Gender of God

In Judaism it is a fundamental heresy to believe that God has a gender. Grammatically, most of the Hebrew names for God are masculine; a few are grammatically feminine; This is not held to have literal significance. In regards to translating Hebrew names of God into English, most Orthodox and many Conservative Jews argue that it would be wrong to apply English female pronouns to God, not because God is of the male gender, but because doing so tends to draw attention to God as having gender, and also because the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) usually uses names that are grammatically masculine.

In Christianity, one person of God, the Son, is believed to have become incarnate as a human male; however, the other two persons of God are without gender, since they are not at all physical. (Mormonism is an exception; it teaches that God the Father also has a perfect body of flesh and bones, while agreeing that the Holy Spirit is bodiless.) The other two persons (the Father and the Holy Spirit) have traditionally been referred to using male pronouns and have primarily been associated with male imagery; but some Christians today, especially those inspired by feminism, do not consider this tradition to be binding. Other commentators point out that Hebrew tradition sees the Spirit as female.

Most Neopagan traditions, such as Wicca, believe in both male and female Deities. A few (especially Dianic Wicca) see the Divine as entirely feminine, and call her the Goddess.

For a more detailed look at this issue, see the article on God and gender.

Revelation: How God Communicates With Mankind

Many religions hold that God can communicate his will to mankind; in Judaism, Christianity and Islam this process is called revelation. Some religions believe that revelation is only available to certain individuals, dubbed prophets. Others believe that revelation is channeled through divinely sanctioned religious institutions, and still other, more mystically oriented religions, believe that revelation is generally available to all people. The books of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible; aka Old Testament) are held to be the product of revelation by Jews. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are held to be the product of divine revelation by Christians. Muslims consider the Tanakh and the New Testament to be deliberately corrupted and falsified works; instead they affirm that the Koran alone represents divine revelation. How revelation works, and what precisely one means when one says that a book is "divine" remains a matter of some dispute.

Neopaganists teach that communication from the gods is usually direct and experiential, and do not have the concepts of "scripture", "prophet" or "revelation" in the sense used by the Abrahamic religions. Divine messages are believed to usually be given directly to the person or persons for whom they are meant. In some traditions, a ritual sometimes considered revelatory is called Drawing Down the Moon, in which a high priestess (or sometimes High Priest) invokes the Goddess and speaks by Divine inspiration to an assembled coven. This ritual occurs most commonly in the Wiccan traditions.

Omnipotence and Omniscience

Discussions about God between people of different faiths, or indeed even between people of the same faith, often prove unproductive, in no small amount due to people using the same words but assigning them different meanings. This situation occurs when some monotheists within Christianity, Judaism, and Islam state that God is omnipotent. In practice one finds that the term "omnipotent" has been used to connote a number of different positions. See the articles on Omnipotence, Omnipresence and Predestination.

Many monotheists reject altogether the view that God is omnipotent. In Unitarian-Universalism, much of Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism, and some liberal wings of Protestant Christianity, God is said to act in the world through persuasion, and not by coercion. God makes Himself manifest in the world through inspiration and the creation of possibility, but not by miracles or violations of the laws of nature. The most popular works espousing this point come from Rabbi Harold Kushner (in Judaism). This is the view that also was developed independently by Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, in the theological system known as process theology.

See a list of Deities from various religions. See also Goddess.

Some of the Hindu Gods include Brahman, Devi, Vishnu, and Siva. See the entry on Hinduism for a discussion of this faith's theology, which is fairly complicated: most of its adherents are polytheists, but a few are monotheists.

God as a computer, alien, etc.

Some comparatively new belief systems and books portray God as an alien. Many of these theories hold that intelligent aliens from another world have been visiting Earth for many thousands of years, and have influenced the development of our religions. Some of these books posit that prophets or messiahs were sent to the human race in order to teach humanity morality, and to encourage our civilization to grow and develop.

Some people have posited that perhaps God is really an intelligence that at some point in the past become sufficiently advanced that it uploaded itself to the very fabric of the cosmos. In this view, this god-intelligence now looks over the Earth.

Similar to this theory is the belief or aspiration that humans will create a God entity, emerging from an artificial intelligence. Arthur C. Clarke, a science fiction writer (and futurist of sorts), said in an interview that: It may be that our role on this planet is not to worship God, but to create him.

Another variant on this hypothesis is that humanity or a segment of humanity will, through self-evolution, create a posthuman God from itself.

See also: Satan, The Devil, The relationship between religion and science -- The nature of God -- God and gender

References

Top     


Greek mythology

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Greek mythology is the set of legends which come from the religion of ancient Hellenic civilization. These stories were familiar to all ancient Greekss and, although some thinkers professed skepticism, they provided the people with both rituals and history.

See also: Greek religion, Roman mythology, Roman religion, paganism

In Greek mythology, the gods in the Greek pantheon are given human form, but are first and foremost personifications of the forces of the universe. As such they are more or less unchanging, and while they sometimes seem to have a sense of justice, they are often petty or vengeful. The gods' favors are won by sacrifices and piety, but this does not guarantee them, for the gods are known to be prone to frequent changes of mind. Their anger is harsh and their love can be just as dangerous.

The world of Greek mythology is quite complex. It is full of monsters, wars, intrigue, and meddling gods. And there are heroes to help overcome these problems. Men and women were much greater in those days, of course, though the Greeks did not see any wide gulf between their history and their religion (see, for example, The Iliad and The Odyssey). Such beliefs can be compared to the way in which, for instance, some Christian creationists today equate the Bible literally with their history. The Greeks saw themselves as the direct descendants of the mythological heroes and their culture. In addition to the continuing use of and allusion to mythology in literature, Greek mythology today makes for some wonderful stories that remain enjoyable.

Greek mythology continues to be an important cultural reference long after the Greek religion with which it was entwined ceased to be practiced. There was, to be sure, a Christian move to deface or destroy idols and other images that reflected the public cult of the gods when Christianity replaced paganism as the official faith of the Roman Empire. Literature posed a harder problem to the Christians; it would be impossible to erase the influence of Greek mythology there without casting aside the Iliad and the other works of Homer, Theocritus, Vergil, Ovid, and hundreds of other authors that none but a few zealots were willing to cast aside. Greek mythology thus has persisted for more than a millennium after Greek religion became extinct. Even the most Christian literature is often filled with allusions to Greek and Roman mythology, as a glimpse at Milton's Paradise Lost makes plain:

By younger Saturn, he from mightier Jove
His own and Rhea's Son like measure found;
So Jove usurping reign'd: these first in Crete
And Ida known, thence on the Snowy top
Of cold Olympus rul'd the middle Air
Thir highest Heav'n; or on the Delphian Cliff,
Or in Dodona, and through all the bounds
Of Doric Land; or who with Saturn old
Fled over Adria to th' Hesperian Fields,
And ore the Celtic roam'd the utmost Isles.
--Paradise Lost, book I

List of Greek mythological characters

Some important mythical places:

Sources: Ovid, The Metamorphoses -- Apuleius, The Golden Ass -- Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey -- Hesiod, The Theogony

External link

Top     


Horned God

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Horned God is a term used to describe an archetype of God found in several religions and mythologies. Examples include the Celtic Cernunnos, the Welsh Caerwiden, the British Herne the Hunter, the Hindu Pashupati, and the Greek Pan. There are a number of related figures as well, such as the satyr, Puck, Robin Goodfellow, and the Green Man. "The Horned God" can refer to any of these individually, or to the archetype they represent. The oldest known representation of the Horned God is the cave painting "the Sorcerer" in the Cave of the Three Brothers in France.

In each culture, the Horned God is associated with woods, wild animals, and hunting. He is often associated with sexuality or male virility as well. As a symbol of sexuality, the Horned God represents one of the most elemental forces in Nature, and is therefore complementary to female fertility deities known collectively as the Great Mother. In this context He is sometimes referred to as the Great God or the Great Father. He impregnates the Goddess, and then dies during the autumn and winter months and is reborn gloriously in spring, while the Goddess lives on always as Mother Earth, giving life to the Horned God as he goes through the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

The Horned God is always portrayed with horns, which are his distinguishing feature. The God's horns are considered symbols of male potency, strength and protection. Sometimes they are seen in a sense as phallic symbols. The horn has been a religious symbol for thousands of years. An altar made entirely of stag horns was build in the temple of Apollo at Delos, and temples to the Goddess Diana usually contained horns as well. The horn is also seen as a symbol of fruitfulness and bounty, as in the Horn of Plenty.

He is sometimes portrayed with an erect phallus. The phallus is itself a symbol of the power to create life, a power exercised only in concert with the Great Mother, who is the nurturer of life. Another symbol of his sexual prowess and virility is the occasional presence of cloven hoofs or the hindquarters of a goat. The goat itself is considered a symbol of sexuality.

But the God has a darker side, as well. Another name for the Horned God is The Hunter. The Great God is a symbol not only of the giving of life, but the taking of life too, in what is seen as a great and eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. He sometimes carries a bow.

During the rise of Christianity, Christians apparently adopted the image of the Horned God in the form of Satan, whose physical description includes the cloven feet and horns of the Great God. By adopting this holistic image and transforming it into the well known image of the Devil, the Christian church was using another way to convince people that paganism was evil. However, Satan is wholly Evil, while the Horned God is not. The Horned God is a force of nature, not entirely beneficent nor malificent. In his role as Father, He gives life, but in His role as Hunter He takes life as well.

Belief in and worship of the Horned God waned almost to extinction by the 19th century, although vestiges remained in local customs, particularly in the countryside. (ghost stories of Herne the Hunter and reverence of St.Cornus would be the strongest pre-wiccan remnants of the horned god) Then Gerald Gardner began Wicca in England as a revival of ancient Pagan worship, focused on the duality of the Great God and the Great Mother. Today Wicca and other Neopagan religions claim about 1,000,000 adherents.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Horned God."

Top     


List of deities

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

This List of deities aims at giving information about ancient and actual deities in the different religions, cultures and mythologies of the world. It is sorted alphabetically.

See also: deva (=demigod), God, Goddess, mythology, religion, scripture.

Abenaki

Deities in the Abrahamic religions

Jews, Christians, and Muslims believe in the same God, but Muslims, and to some degree Jews (see below), visualize God in strictly monotheistic terms, whereas most Christians believe that God exists as a Trinity.

Judaism

Yahweh is the Biblical name for God used by ancient Jews. Adonai, Eloheynu and Hashem are some of the names of God used in modern day Judaism. The Hebrew word "elohim" is also used to refer to God in the Torah (and the Old Testament), and this refers to a plural nature of God. However, Jews hold to a slightly more monotheistic view of God than Christians. They reject Jesus Christ as a false messiah, and do not assign any deity to him. However, the English word "God" (spelled "G-d" in deference to the taboo against pronouncing the Tetragrammation) is commonly accepted among Jews to denote God (or G-d), as well.

Christianity

Historically, Christianity has professed belief in one deity, three divine persons (the Trinity), that make up one deity or Godhead, known as "God". (See Athanasian Creed.) Thus, most Christians are trinitarian monotheists, although there have been dissenters; see the articles Arianism, Unitarianism (History), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Jehovah's Witnesses for examples. Most of these unitarian groups believe or believed that only God the Father is a deity; Latter-day Saints believe that the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit are three distinct deities. In some branches of Christianity, the Virgin Mary has a god-like position. Note also the saints.

Islam

Allah is the most traditional Muslim name for God. Islamic tradition also speaks of 99 Names of God.

Other

Two smaller faiths that don't neatly fit into any of the categories of Abrahamic religions. Rastafarianism worships Jah and the Baha'i Faith lso worships the same God as Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Akamba mythology

Akan mythology

Ashanti mythology

Australian Aboriginal mythology

Aztec mythology

Bushongo mythology

Celtic mythology

a more complete list can be found here.

Chinese mythology

Chippewa mythology

Creek mythology

Dacian mythology

Dahomey mythology

Dinka mythology

Efik mythology

Egyptian mythology

Egyptian deities are often portrayed as having animal heads in art; as an example, Anubis is often portrayed in statuary as having the body of a human, but the head of a canine. Many gods were portrayed with different animal heads, depending upon the situation. The Egyptians did NOT actually believe that their gods had animal heads; rather, they portrayed them that way as artistic symbolism. This may have been for the benefit of the illiterate.

See http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt/ for the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism's extensive information on Egyptian Deities.

Etruscan mythology

Old Finnish deities

There are very few written documents about old Finnish religions; also the names of deities and practices of worship changed from place to place. The following is a summary of the most important and most widely worshipped deities.

Ancient Greek mythology

See also Demigods, the Dryads, the Fates, the Erinyes, the Graces, the Horae, the Muses, the Nymphs, the Pleiades, the Titans

Guarani mythology

Haida mythology

Hinduism

Hopi mythology

See also kachina

Huron mythology

Ibo mythology

Incan mythology

Inuit mythology

Iroquois mythology

Isoko mythology

Japanese mythology

see also Kami

Khoikhoi mythology

Modern Western mythology ("Kitchen Gods")

In addition to the gods listed above, there are several minor mythological beings spoken of in current western culture and may be taken more or less seriously. These are commonly called Kitchen Gods.

Kwakiutl mythology

Lakota mythology

Lotuko mythology

Latvian mythology

Lugbara mythology

Maya mythology

Mesopotamian mythology

Navaho mythology

Norse mythology

Pawnee mythology

Polynesian mythology

see also Menehune

Old Prussian / Baltic deities

Pygmy mythology

Roman mythology

Salish mythology

Sardinian deities

Sardinian deities, mainly referred to in the age of Nuragici people, are partly derived from Phoenician ones.

Seneca mythology

Slavic mythology

Sumerian mythology

See also Annuna

Tumbuka mythology

Ugarit mythology

Note: Ugarit had a profound influence on Canaanite religion and some influence on the Abrahamic religions, as well.

Winnebago mythology

Yoruba mythology

Zulu mythology

Zuni mythology

Top     

Abbreviations & Acronyms: God

The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted.
EntrySourceExpressionField

GOD

EnglishGlobal OutDialComputer - Computer - (IBM, MO:DCA)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Top     

Synonyms: God

Synonyms: deity (n), divinity (n), graven image (n), idol (n), immortal (n). (additional references)

Top     

Crosswords: God

English words defined with "God": God Almighty, god of war, God you ♦ Judgment of God ♦ Kingdom of God ♦ Olympic god ♦ Peace of God ♦ snake god ♦ the goat god, To take the name of God in vain ♦ war god, Word of God. (references)
Specialty definitions using "God": Bowyer God ♦ Child of God, CURSE OF GOD ♦ Government of God ♦ Image of God ♦ Jolly God ♦ Lion of God ♦ Mills of God grind slowly ♦ River of God ♦ Seven Spirits of God, Sons of God, Sword of God. (references)
Etymologies containing "God": Volcano. (references)
Non-English Usage: "God" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses.

Afrikaan (god), Danish (good, nice, okay), Dutch (God), Frisian (god), Norwegian (good, nice, okay), Serbo-Croatian (ring), Swedish (bonny, excellent, first rate, good, kind, merry, nice, okay, satisfactory).

Top     

Modern Usage: God

DomainUsage

Screenplays

Oh God, I kissed Jim (American Pie 2; writing credit: Adam Herz; David H. Steinberg)

God, it's been a long time since anybody asked me that (American Beauty; writing credit: Alan Ball)

God kills indiscriminately and so shall we. For no creatures under God are as we are, none so like him as ourselves (Interview With the Vampire; writing credit: Anne Rice)

I mean, that just screws up my whole idea of good and evil and God. (Reality Bites; writing credit: Ben Stiller, written by Helen Childress.)

Oh god does this mean we have to start fighting now (Batman Returns; writing credit: Bob Kane; Daniel Waters)

Lyrics

And what with God there, they asked him questions (God Shuffled His Feet; performing artist: Crash Test Dummies)

And thank God you’re a country boy (Thank God I’m A Country Boy; performing artist: John Denver)

But for the grace of God go I (But For The Grace Of God; performing artist: Keith Urban)

I'll keep moving on and only God knows why (Only God Knows Why; performing artist: Kid Rock)

God gave me everything I want (God Gave My Everything; performing artist: Mick Jagger)

Clever

True irreverence is disrespect for another man's god. (references; author: Mark Twain)

If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever. (references; author: Woody Allen)

God answers knee mail. (references; author: unknown)

Where God guides, He provides. (references; author: unknown)

Love God more than you fear Hell. (references; author: unknown)

Tongue Twisters

Thor is the god of Thunder. (references; author: unknown)

Movie/TV Titles

God Hates Cartoons (2002)

The Wrath of God (1972)

And God Smiled at Me (1972)

Tonga: God of Love & Lust (1972)

God Help the Man Who Would Part with His Land (1971)

Song Titles

Thank God I'm A Country Boy (performing artist: John Denver)

But For The Grace Of God (performing artist: Keith Urban)

Only God Knows Why (performing artist: Kid Rock)

God Bless The U.S.A. (performing artist: Lee Greenwood)

Thank God I Found You (performing artist: Mariah Carey)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Commercial Usage: God

DomainTitle

Books

  • Eighteen Woody Allen Films Analyzed: Anguish, God and Existentialism (reference)

  • In Search of God the Mother: The Cult of Anatolian Cybele (reference)

  • God Is Near: Trusting Our Faith (reference)

  • Angelology: A Study on the Secret Messengers of God (reference)

  • At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Periodicals

  

Theater & Movies

  

Music

  

High Tech

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Image Slideshow: God

Photos:
God

More pictures...

Illustrations:
God

More pictures...

Computer Images:
God

More pictures...

Top     

Photo Album: God

ThumbnailDescription & CreditThumbnailDescription & Credit

AEGIR, named for the Norse god of the sea, was designed for depths to 180 m. Credit: National Undersea Research Program (NURP).

[Sopona, god of smallpox, worshipped by the Yorubas of Nigeria] / WHO photo. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

[Army nurses stand before giant guardian God of Buddhist Temple of the Western Hills, Kunming, China]. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Leads the audience in singing "God Bless America", during the dedication of the USS Nevada Memorial at Hospital Point, Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1991. The ceremony was part of an observance commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Japanese raid there. Captain Ross is wearing the Medal of Honor he received for heroism while serving on board USS Nevada (BB-36) during the attack. Photographed by PHC Carolyn Harris. Credit: NAVY.

God save American. A grand national ode in honor of the glorious anniversary of American independence ... Credit: Library of Congress.

The spirit of 61. God, our country and liberty!!. Credit: Library of Congress.

Chapel of the Iversk Icon of the Mother of God (1990s),southwest view, Omsk, Russia. Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

Church of the Icon of the Mother of God, from Tokhtarevo village (1694), east facade. Reassembled at Khokhlovka Architectural Preserve, Russia. Credit: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540.

May God bless her an' may sorrer never touch her!. Credit: Library of Congress.

Children of monarchy by the grace of God and the established church. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Top     

Digital Photo Gallery: God
 

"From God" by Keith M.
Commentary: "A message on my computer."		"Oh my god, he shot in the sun" by Simon S.
Commentary: "Italy 2002, it was a quite cold day, very cloudy; the beach is called "california" - a small touristville."

Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

Top     

Sounds Captioned with "God".

PlayCaptionPlayCaption
Church; cathedral; organ; congregation; congregate; God; worship.Hallelujah; choir; church; chapel; religion; religious; praise; joy; lord; god; worship.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Familiar Quotations: God

AuthorQuotation

Aristotle

Beauty is a gift of God.
Either a beast or a god.

David Livingstone

Fear God and work hard.

Epicurus

Live like a god among men.

Lord Mansfield

God help the patient.

Menander

A god from the machine.

Plutarch

The great god Pan is dead.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man is a god in ruins.

The Koran

God loveth the clean.

William Penn

Next to God, thy parents.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Historic Usage: God

AuthorDateQuotation

Magna Carta

1215

John, by the grace of God, king of England, lord of Ireland, duke of Normandy and Aquitaine, and count of Anjou, to the archbishop, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, justiciaries, foresters, sheriffs, stewards, servants, and to all his bailiffs and liege subjects, greetings. (reference)

John Locke

1690

God commanded, and his wants forced him to labour. (Second Treatise of Government)

US Declaration of Independence

1776

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. (reference)

The Emancipation Proclamation

1862

And upon this act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice, warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity, I invoke the considerate judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of Almighty God. (Abraham Lincoln)

Abraham Lincoln

1863

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us--that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion--that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. (The Gettysburg Address)

Winston S. Churchill

1946

God has willed that this shall not be and we have at least a breathing space to set our house in order before this peril has to be encountered: and even then, if no effort is spared, we should still possess so formidable a superiority as to impose effective deterrents upon its employment, or threat of employment, by others. ("Iron Curtain" Speech)

John F. Kennedy

1961

For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago. (reference)

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

1963

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" (Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1959)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Use in Literature: God

TitleAuthorQuote

Emma

Austen, Jane

God knows, I have been a very indifferent lover

Sylvie and Bruno

Carroll, Lewis

And then I think he pointed out that God can only influence Nature by influencing Human Wills

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Douglas Adams

My God, complained Arthur, "you're talking about a positive mental attitude and you haven't even had your planet demolished today.

Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne, Nathaniel

May God forgive us both

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

The archbishop, as officiating kislaraga of heaven, locked in, and zealously watched this seraglio of souls set apart for God.

The Hind and the Panther

John Dryden

For those whom God to ruin has design'd, He fits for fate, and first destroys their mind

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

Such is the terrible punishment decreed for those who die in mortal sin by an almighty and a just God.

King Richard III

Shakespeare, William

Then, God grant me to Thou mayst be damned for that wicked deed

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

The squatting tenant men nodded and wondered and drew figures in the dust, and yes, they knew, God knows

Walden

Thoreau, Henry David

Furniture! Thank God, I can sit and I can stand without the aid of a furniture warehouse

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Non-Fiction Usage: God

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

Targets for this anger may vary and can include God, themselves, the physician, or even the sick child for becoming ill. Because it is difficult to express anger toward the sick child, spouses and healthy children can become the scapegoats for unresolved feelings. (references)

Children

Ghana

The girl, who is known as a Trokosi or a Fiashidi, then becomes the property of the shrine god and the charge of the shrine priest for the duration of her stay. (references)

Civil Liberties

Indonesia

The Constitution also requires the belief in one supreme God. (references)

Mauritania

The oath of office includes a promise to God to uphold the law of the land in conformity with Islamic precepts. (references)

Economic History

The Bahamas

Religious affiliation: Baptist predominant (32%), Roman Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical Protestants, Methodist, Church of God. (references)

Georgia

Georgian law prohibits expropriation of foreign investments, except in cases involving natural disasters, acts of God, other cases of force majeure, and epidemic emergencies. (references)

India

International companies that operate through franchises include Hertz, Avis and Budget for car rental; Radisson, Best Western and Quality Inns for hotels; Kentucky Fried Chicken, Domino's Pizza, Thank God it's Friday (TGIF), Ruby's Tuesday, and Baskin Robbins for food. (references)

Human Rights

Korea

One witness, a former prison guard, reported that those believing in God were regarded as insane, and the authorities taught that "all religions are opiates." He recounted an instance in which a woman was kicked severely and left lying on the ground for days, because a guard overheard her praying for a child who was beaten. (references)

Minorities

Cote d'Ivoire

In January 1998, a conflict over land erupted between Catholics and Assembly of God members in Abidjan's Yopougon district. (references)

Canada

Over 100 Church of God members subsequently fled the country, fearing that more children might be taken from their families. (references)

Political Economy

Iran

Paramilitary volunteer forces known as Basijis, and gangs of thugs known as the Ansar-e Hezbollah (Helpers of the Party of God), act as vigilantes, and intimidate and threaten physically demonstrators, journalists, and individuals suspected of counterrevolutionary activities. (references)

Political Rights

Iraq

There are strict qualifications for parliamentary candidates; by law the candidates for the National Assembly must be over 25 years old and "believe in God, the principles of the July 17-30 revolution, and socialism." Elections for the National Assembly were held in March 2000; 220 of the 250 parliamentary seats were contested and presidential appointees filled the 30 remaining seats. (references)

Lexicography

Devil's Dictionary

PRELATE, n. A church officer having a superior degree of holiness and a fat preferment. One of Heaven's aristocracy. A gentleman of God.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Top     

Spoken Usage: God

SpeakerPhrase(s)

Bob Jones

That is a God-given natural choice. God ordained that. God put that in me. Homosexuality is a perversity. It is a choice of sin.

Dennis Miller

God bless fat America!

James Van Praagh

Whatever you may call him. The higher self of yourself, the God self, your Christ self, whatever you wan to call the higher part of yourself.

Liza Minnelli

My faith in God and in God through people and I believe that mother Mary watches over me as well as my own mom.

Marla Hanson

What were you wearing. In fact, that became a big issue at the trial that I was wearing a miniskirt. You know, God forbid.

Mary Tyler Moore

Thank God. I've been depressed from time to time, but never so much that I would seriously consider doing something else that I knew nothing about.

Rush Limbaugh

Don't let the God business bother you.

Sylvia Browne

Oh, and you're screaming in your heads. And you're like this. Oh, it's horrible. You say to God, please let me make a fast exit and entrance.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Speeches: God

SpeakerTermPhrase(s)

John Adams

1797-1801To enable me to maintain this declaration I rely, under God, with entire confidence on the firm and enlightened support of the national legislature and upon the virtue and patriotism of my fellow citizens.

Abraham Lincoln

1861-1865Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other.

Warren G. Harding

1921-1923But here are a hundred millions, with common concern and shared responsibility, answerable to God and country.

Harry S. Truman

1945-1953People everywhere are coming to realize that what is involved is material well-being, human dignity, and the right to believe in and worship God.

Dwight Eisenhower

1953-1961Before all else, we seek, upon our common labor as a nation, the blessings of Almighty God.

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969So it shall always be, while God is willing, and we are strong enough to keep the faith.

Richard Nixon

1969-1974Only a few short weeks ago, we shared the glory of man's first sight of the world as God sees it, as a single sphere reflecting light in the darkness.

Ronald Reagan

1981-1989Until we meet again, God bless you, my friends.

George Bush

1989-1993God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

George W. Bush

2001-2005Abandonment and abuse are not acts of God, they are failures of love.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Usage Frequency: God

"God" is generally used as a noun (proper) -- approximately 85.75% of the time. "God" is used about 18,865 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words		Rank in English
Noun (proper)85.75%16,177575
Noun (singular)14.23%2,6843,419
                    Total100.00%18,865N/A

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

Top     

Derived & Related Names: God

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "God".
 
NameGenderLanguageMeaning
DaniaN/AN/A

Judgment of God

DaniaN/AN/A

God my judge

DanitaN/AN/A

God my judge

DanitaN/AN/A

Judgment of God

DanyaN/AN/A

God my judge

DanyaN/AN/A

Judgment of God

ElyN/AN/A

My God

ElyN/AN/A

My God

IssyN/AN/A

Who prevails with God

LemmyN/AN/A

God with them

AbdeelN/ABiblical

A cloud of God

AbdielN/ABiblical

Servant of God

AbielN/ABiblical

God my father

AbimaelN/ABiblical

A father sent from God

AdbeelN/ABiblical

Cloud of God

AdrielN/ABiblical

The flock of God

AlammelechN/ABiblical

God is king

AlmodadN/ABiblical

Measure of God

AmmielN/ABiblical

The people of God

AreliN/ABiblical

The light or vision of God

ArielN/ABiblical

Light or lion of God

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

 

Top     

Expressions: God

Expressions using "God": act of god ♦ acts of God ♦ allelujah! hosanna! glory be to God! O Lord! pray God that! God grant ♦ assemblies of God ♦ awe of god ♦ before god and men ♦ believe in god ♦ city of god ♦ communion with god ♦ concept of god ♦ consecrated for god ♦ consecrated to god ♦ decrees of God ♦ denial og god ♦ faith in god ♦ false god ♦ Father in God ♦ finger of god ♦ forbid it Heaven! God forbid ♦ foreknowledge of God ♦ forest god ♦ give thanks to god ♦ God Almighty ♦ God bless ♦ god bless me! ♦ god bless you for it! ♦ god bless you! ♦ god curse you! ♦ god fearing ♦ god forbid ♦ god forbid that! ♦ god forbid! ♦ God forbid! sursum corda ♦ god forgive me! ♦ god forsaken ♦ god given ♦ god grant you long life! ♦ god have mercy upon you! ♦ god have mercy! ♦ god help him! ♦ God him see ♦ god is one ♦ god keep you! ♦ god knows ♦ God knows how ♦ god knows! ♦ God me see ♦ god of war ♦ god preserve all! ♦ god rest his soul ♦ God save ♦ god save the king! ♦ god save the queen! ♦ god save us! ♦ God speed ♦ God speed you ♦ god speed you! ♦ god speed! ♦ God the Father Son and Holy Ghost ♦ God tree ♦ god willing ♦ god willing! ♦ God you ♦ God you see ♦ good god ♦ goodness of God ♦ government of God ♦ grace of god ♦ house of God ♦ household god ♦ i pray to god ♦ i would to god it were so! ♦ image of a god ♦ in the sight of god ♦ Interjection: God knows ♦ jealous god ♦ Judgment of God ♦ judgments of God ♦ justice of God ♦ kingdom of God ♦ Lamb of God ♦ lion of god ♦ look like the wrath of god ♦ love god ♦ loving god ♦ man of god ♦ man proposes god disposes ♦ may it please god to grant it! ♦ most Reverend Father in God ♦ mother of god ♦ my god ♦ olympic god ♦ only god knows ♦ peace of God ♦ please god ♦ please god he comes ♦ praise be to god ♦ praise god ♦ pray god ♦ pray god for rain ♦ pray to god. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "God": god-almighty, God-a-mercy, god-ancestor, god-answers, god-awful, god-awfulness, god-based, god-bearer, god-blasted, god-botherer, god-breathed, god-burden, god-carver, god-centred, god-challenging, god-child, god-compelled, god-concepts, god-consciousness, god-created, god-dammit-i'm-an-artist, god-damn, god-damned, god-daughter, god-designed, god-dictator, god-directed, god-dominated, God-emperor, god-eyed, god-fear, god-fearing, god-focused, god-forgotten, god-forsaken, god-giant, god-given, god-governed, god-head, god-hungry, god-hunt, god-idea, god-idol, God-in-a-box, God-in-nature, god-inspired, god-intoxicated, God-is-with-us, god-killing, God-king, God-kings, god-knows, God-knows-what, God-knows-whatever-else, God-knows-who, god-led, God-less, god-like, god-likeness, god-making, god-man, god-manhood, god-motivated, god-names, god-natured, god-of-the-gaps, god-parent, god-parenthood, god-parents, god-please-be-kind-and-let-it-be-so, god-power, god-prince, god-realization, god-rotted, god-run, god-seeing, god-seeking, god-send, god-sent, god-serpent, god-shaped, god-sized, god-speak, god-speed, god-talk, god-tempting, God-the-father, God-with-us, god-worship.

Ending with "God": anti-god, man-god, war-god.

Containing "God": Eee-by-god-i've-got-a-stomach-ache, poor-thing-how-you-must-be-suffering-thank-god-i'm-not.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Frequency of Internet Keywords: God

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day		ExpressionFrequency
per Day

god

6,999

card egyptian god

358

greek god

2,282

greek god and goddess

349

god bless america

2,077

city of god

308

light of the god

1,080

church of god in christ

298

assembly of god

836

interview with god

290

god general

830

angel god send

253

god love

744

war god

238

egyptian god

682

conversation with god

237

hindu god

604

norse god

218

god creation

595

what if god was one of us

204

church of god

586

their eyes were watching god

203

yugioh god card

522

the word of god

200

garden of god

507

army of god

200

card gi god oh yu

454

indian god

193

god and goddess

425

armor of god

187

god card

417

god bless america lyrics

184

name of god

406

greek god picture

178

roman god

402

angel god sent

177

god bless the usa

395

god smack

177

lamb of god

365

god child

176
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Modern Translation: God

Language Translations for "God"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Afrikaans

  

god. (various references)

   

Albanian

  

Zot (creator, Dan, demiurge, divinity, Don, godhead, heaven, Lord, manager, master, Monsieur, mynheer, overlord, Sahib), Perëndi (deity, divinity, heaven, powers), Hyjni (deity, divinity, godhead), Fuqi E Mbinatyrshme. (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏معبود (divinity, enslaved, fetish, idol), ‏حاكم قوي, ‏خالق, ‏اله, ‏الله (allah, father, maker, the creator), ‏الخالق (author, creator, former, maker, the creator), ‏الإله, ‏الرب (lord), ‏رب (collect, raise). (various references)

   

Basque

  

jainko. (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

Боготворя, Бог (Lord). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

神 (divine essence, lively, mysterious, soul, spirit, spiritual being, unusual). (various references)

   

Czech

  

Bùh (divinity). (various references)

   

Danish

  

gud. (various references)

   

Dutch

  

godheid, God. (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

Dio. (various references)

   

Faeroese

  

gud. (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

یزدان , پروردگار, خداوندگار (Lord, Overlord), خداوند (Lord), خدا (Deity, Divinity, Godhead, Heaven, Holy, Numen), ایزد, الله . (various references)

   

Finnish

  

jumala. (various references)

   

French

  

Dieu. (various references)

   

Frisian

  

god. (various references)

   

German

  

Gott. (various references)

   

Greek 

  

Θεόσ (Lord), θεός. (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

־קום, ְליל, ְלוה, ְלקים, ְלהים, ֱורא, ֱעל ֲבורות, ֱעל ׀חמות, די, אלוהים, ״בונו ל ׂולם. (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

isten (divinity, godhead, supreme being). (various references)

   

Icelandic

  

Guð. (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

tuhan (deity, lord). (various references)

   

Irish

  

Dia. (various references)

   

Italian

  

dio (radio, wireless), Iddio. (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

神 , 主 (chief, employer, head, host, important, landlord, lord, lover, main, master, one's husband, owner, principal). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

しんめい (deity, one's life), ぬし (lover, master, owner), かみさま, かみ (a superior, delicious taste, emperor, flavoring, hair, head, paper, seasoning, the above, top, upper part, upper part of the body, upper stream), ゴッド , じょうてい (Creator, departure on a journey, introducing, Lord, presentation, Shangti, the Supreme Being), じょうてん (heaven, Providence, the Absolute, the Supreme Being), てんしゅ (castle tower, Lord of Heaven, shopkeeper), てんとうさま (providence, the sun), てんてい (a line, bound together, Creator, Heavenly King, Lord, nadir). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

신 (Divine, sour). (various references)

   

Malay

  

Allah. (various references)

   

Manx

  

Jee 2 (Allah, The Almighty, The Creator, The Deity), jee 1 (deity, godhead; to her), Jee (Allah, deity, godhead; to her, The Almighty, The Creator, The Deity). (various references)

   

Norwegian

  

Gud. (various references)

   

Occitan

  

dieu. (various references)

   

Papiamen

  

Djos. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

odgay.(various references)

   

Polish

  

Bóg. (various references)

   

Portuguese

  

deus (gum, miserere). (various references)

   

Quechua

  

diuspagarasunki (God will repay you). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

Dumnezeu (Lord, master). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

бог (creator, the almighty, wealthy), Бог. (various references)

   

Scottish

  

samh (a clownish person, a god, sorrel, the smell of the air in a close room), nar (God forbid, negative particle of wishing: *ni-air), dia (a god). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

bog, božanstvo (deity, godhead). (various references)

   

Slovene

  

zbógom (with God). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

Dios (deity, the almighty). (various references)

   

Sranan

  

Gado, Masragado. (various references)

   

Swahili

  

Mungu, Allah. (various references)

   

Swedish

  

gud (deity, divinity, Gawd, the lord). (various references)

   

Thai

  

พระเจ้า (godhead). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

Allah (Allah, father, heaven, king of kings, Lord, the almighty, the creator, the eternal, the godhead, the infinite, the providence, the supreme). (various references)

   

Turkmen 

  

hudaя (Allah). (various references)

   

Ukrainian

  

ідол (fetish, idol), Всевишній, Бог. (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

trời (sky), thượng đế cầu Chúa, người có ảnh hưởng lớn (heavy-weight, luminary), lạy Chúa! nhờ Chúa!. (various references)

   

Welsh

  

Dofydd, celi (heaven). (various references)

   

Wolof

  

yàlla. (various references)

   

Zulu

  

uNkulunkulu. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Top     

Ancestral Language Translations: God

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

deus. (various references)

Avestan200-600

daêum, mazdâ, ahura, ahura-mazda, bakhem. (various references)

Old English450-1100

god, os. (various references)

Portugese1100-Modern

deus. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Top     

Bible Trace: God

LanguageDateSourceProverbs Chapter 30, Verse 1
Greek (transliterated)250 BCSeptuagintTouV emouV logouV uie fobhqhti kai dexamenoV autouV metanoei tade legei o anhr toiV pisteuousin qew kai pauomai
Latin405VulgateVerba Congregantis filii Vomentis visio quam locutus est vir cum quo est Deus et qui Deo secum morante confortatus ait
Middle English1395WyclifThe wrdis of the gederere, vomende sone. The viseoun that a man spac, with whiche is God, and that, God with hym wonende,
Jacobean English1611King JamesThe words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spake unto Ithiel, even unto Ithiel and Ucal,
Victorian English1833WebsterThe words of Agur the son of Jakeh, even the prophecy: the man spoke to Ithiel, even to Ithiel and Ucal,
Basic English1964OgdenThe words of Agur, the son of Jakeh, from Massa. The man says: I am full of weariness, O God, I am full of weariness; O God, I have come to an end:

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Matched Bible Translations: God

LanguageProverbs Chapter 30, Verse 1
Cebuano¶ Ang mga pulong ni Agus ang anak nga lalake ni Jache; ang pagpanagna. Ang tawo miingon kang Etiel, ngadto kang Etiel ug kang Ucal:
CroatianRijeèi Agura, sina Jakeova, iz Mase; proroèanstvo njegovo za Itiela, za Itiela i Ukala.
DanishMassaiten Agur, Jakes Søns ord. Manden siger: Træt har jeg slidt mig, Gud, træt har jeg slidt mig, Gud, jeg svandt hen;
DutchDe woorden van Agur, den zoon van Jake; een last. De man spreekt tot Ithiel, tot Ithiel en Uchal.
FinnishAagurin, Jaaken pojan, sanat; lauselma. Näin puhuu se mies: Minä olen väsyttänyt itseni, Jumala; olen väsyttänyt itseni, Jumala, ja menehdyn.
FrenchParoles d`Agur, fils de Jaké. Sentences prononcées par cet homme pour Ithiel, pour Ithiel et pour Ucal.
GermanDies sind die Worte Agurs, des Sohnes Jakes. Lehre und Rede des Mannes: Ich habe mich gemüht, o Gott; ich habe mich gemüht, o Gott, und ablassen müssen.
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hariInilah perkataan-perkataan yang diucapkan oleh Agur anak Yake dari Masa: "Aku lelah, ya Allah, aku lelah! Habislah tenagaku!
Indonesian-Terjemahan LamaBahwa inilah perkataan Agur bin Yakai; sabda perumpamaan orang itu kepada Itiel, bahkan kepada Itiel dan Ukhal.
Maori¶ Ko nga kupu a Akuru tama a Iakehe; ko te poropititanga. I korero taua tangata ki a Itiere, ki a Itiere raua ko Ukara,
NorwegianAgurs, Jakes sønns ord og utsagn. Så talte mannen til Itiel, til Itiel og Ukkal:
PortuguesePalavras de Agur, filho de Jaqué de Massá. Diz o homem a Itiel, e a Ucal:   
RumanianCuvintele lui Agur, fiul lui Iache. Cuvintele knyelepte rostite de omul acesta pentru Itiel, pentru Itiel wi pentru Ucal.
SpanishLas palabras de Agur hijo de Jaqué, de Masá: El hombre dice: "No hay Dios; no hay Dios." ¿Y acaso podré yo saber?
SwedishAgurs ord.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Top     

Derivations & Misspellings: God

Derivations

Words beginning with "God": godchild, godchildren, goddam, goddammed, goddamming, goddamn, goddamned, goddamning, goddamns, goddams, goddaughter, goddaughters, godded, goddess, goddesses, godding, godet, godets, godfather, godfathered, godfathering, godfathers, godforsaken, godhead, godheads, godhood, godhoods, godless, godlessness, godlessnesses, godlier, godliest, godlike, godlikeness, godlikenesses, godlily, godliness, godlinesses, godling, godlings, godly, godmother, godmothers, godown, godowns, godparent, godparents, godroon, godroons, gods, godsend. (additional references)

Words ending with "God": demigod, pagod, undergod. (additional references)

Words containing "God": demigoddess, demigoddesses, demigods, ergodic, ergodicities, ergodicity, oligodendrocyte, oligodendrocytes, oligodendroglia, oligodendroglial, oligodendroglias, pagoda, pagodas, pagods, stegodon, stegodons, undergods, ungodlier, ungodliest, ungodliness, ungodlinesses, ungodly, zygodactyl, zygodactylous. (additional references)


Misspellings

"God" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: agod, Agodo, agood, egod, eod, gada, gadd, gadi, gado, Gadp, gaod, gawd, gcd, gdb, Gdi, gdp, Gdy, Gedi, gehd, geod, Geodh, Gho, ghod, ghode, ghor, ghoud, gic, Gid, gidi, gio, giw, gmo, gnod, gnode, goc, goda, Godd, Godda, Goddb, Godde, godi, godo, godt, gody, godz, goe, goed, gof, goh, goi, goid, goj, gok, gom, Gond, gooc, gooda, goodb, goodum, gooh, gooj, gop, goq, gor, gou, gov, gow, gowda, gox, Goz, Gozd, gpo, grd, grod, grodd, Grodo, grody, grood, gsd, Gtdi, gud, guda, gude, gudh, gudo, guj, gund, gurd, guv, gux, gvode, gyd, jod, ogg, oood, pgood, vod, yod, zodd. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

Top     

Rhyming with "God"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "God" (pronounced gÄ"d)
2-Ä" dBallade, cod, esplanade, facade, nod, odd, plod, pod, prod, quad, rod, roughshod, scrod, shod, sod, squad, Tod, trod, wad.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Top     

Anagrams: God

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: dog.

Words within the letters "d-g-o"

-1 letter: do, go, od.

 Words containing the letters "d-g-o"
 

+1 letter: dago, doge, dogs, dogy, dong, goad, gods, gold, good, gowd.

 

+2 letters: dagos, defog, dingo, dodge, dodgy, doges, dogey, doggo, doggy, dogie, dogma, doing, donga, dongs, dough, geode, geoid, goads, godet, godly, golds, gonad, goods, goody, gored, gourd, gowds, grody, lodge, ogled, pagod, podgy, wodge.

 

+3 letters: adagio, algoid, bandog, bodega, boding, bogged, bonged, codger, coding, cogged, coydog, dagoba, dagoes, defogs, dialog, diglot, dodged, dodgem, dodger, dodges, dogdom, dogear, dogeys, dogged, dogger, doggie, dogies, dogleg, dogmas, dognap, doings, doling, doming, dongas, dongle, doping, dorbug, dosage, dosing, dotage, doting, doughs, dought, doughy, dowing, dozing, dragon, drogue, drongo, dugong, dugout, duolog, fodgel, fogdog, fogged, forged, gadoid, ganoid, gaoled, geodes, geodic, geoids, globed, gloved, glowed, glozed, goaded, goaled, gobbed, goddam, godded, godets, godown, godson, godwit, golden, golder, golfed, gonads, gonged, goodby, goodie, goodly, goofed, goosed, gorged, gouged, gourde, gourds, gowned, groped, ground, groved, guidon, gundog, hagdon, hogged, hotdog, indigo, jogged, lapdog, lodged, lodger, lodges, logged, longed, mogged, nogged, noodge, ogdoad, pagoda, pagods, ponged, pongid, rogued, rouged, seadog, sogged, stodge, stodgy, sundog, togaed, togged, tonged, vogued, wodges, zygoid.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Top     



INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern 		5. Usage: Commercial
6. Images: Slideshow
7. Images: Photo Album
8. Images: Digital Art 		9. Sounds
10. Quotations: Familiar
11. Quotations: Historic
12. Quotations: Fiction 		13. Quotations: Non-fiction
14. Quotations: Spoken
15. Quotations: Speeches
16. Usage Frequency 		17. Names: Derived from
18. Expressions
19. Expressions: Internet
20. Translations: Modern 		21. Translations: Ancient
22. Bible Trace
23. Abbreviations
24. Acronyms 		25. Derivations
26. Rhymes
27. Anagrams
28. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.