Lord

• Theism holds that God is both transcendent and immanent; thus, God is simultaneously infinite and in some way present in the affairs of the world. Most theists hold that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent, although this belief raises questions about God's responsibility for evil and suffering in the world. Some theists ascribe to God a self-conscious or purposeful limiting of omnipotence, omniscience, or omnibenevolence. For a discussion of the meaning of "God" in this sense, see: What is God.

• Deism holds that God is wholly transcendent: God exists, but does not intervene in the world beyond what was necessary for Him to create it. In this view, God is not anthropomorphic, and does not literally answer prayers or cause miracles to occur.

• Monotheism holds that there is only one god, or that the one true god is worshipped in different religions under different names. Polytheism forms an opposite view to that of monotheism. Muhammad was influenced by monotheists who condemned the polytheism in which he grew up, so that he converted to a monotheistic worship of the principal god of the Quraishite pantheon, denying the deity of the rest.

• Pantheism holds that god is the universe and the universe is god -- or, more generally, that the universe is divine. It is most often explained as having the feeling that existence has a divine or awe-inspiring aspect. Hinduism is often characterized as pantheistic.

• Panentheism holds that God contains, but is not identical to, the Universe. The Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, paints a panentheistic view of God; this view of God has wide acceptance in Hasidic Judaism. This is also the view of Process theology and the Christian movement known as Creation Spirituality.

• Maltheism is a form of theism which holds that God is a cruel, arrogant, abusive, and untruthful being, unworthy of worship. Maltheists are often monotheistic and believe that God is dependent on worship to live.

• Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit every existing thing, including plants, minerals, animals and, including all the elements, air, water, earth, and fire. The first form of worship probably expressed animist ideas. The anthropologist E. B. Tylor argued that religion originally took an animist form.

• Dualism, also called Manichaeism, holds that there is both a perfectly good God and an opposing evil deity of equal potence. It is the belief that there are only two fundamental things or substances or constituents of things in the world at large or in the human soul. An example would be that both good and evil simultaneously exist and that one cannot survive without the other. That they balance each other even though they are independent of each other. An ancient form of Zoroastrianism which was known to the ancient Greeks was dualist in nature.

• Henotheism is the belief in one god, but at the same time does not deny the existence of other gods. It is a variation of polytheism which holds that there are many gods, but one of them is supreme and the other ones are only ancillary and don't have the same level of "god-ness". Some forms of Greek and Roman classical polytheism fall into this category. The gods of Norse mythology, who are subsidiary to Odin are another example of henotheism. The term has come to mean in recent years that one believes in multiple god/esses, though the worshipper "borrows" from various cultural groups and may worship one above the others. An example would be worshipping a Greco-Roman god for one reason and then asking a Celtic god for something else. This form of henotheism is frequently condemned in the Torah or Old Testament. The pagans of the Roman Empire were similarly henotheistic, as are some modern-day Neopagans.

• Monolatrism forms a type of henotheism. Its adherents believe that many gods do exist, but these gods can exert their power only on those who worship them. Thus, a monolatrist may believe in the reality of both the Egyptian gods and the god described in the Bible, but sees him or herself as a member of only one of these religions. The gods that he/she worships affects their life; the other gods do not.

• Polytheism is the belief in more than one god/dess. In some beliefs it is said that all these god/desses are of equal power and authority while in others a hierarchy exists. The Greco-Roman deity structure exemplifies polytheism.

Many people find the concept of God meaningless or unnecessary:

• Atheism holds that no gods exist at all. Different atheists formulate this position in different ways.
• Agnosticism holds that a god or gods may or may not exist, but we cannot know.
• Logical positivism holds that the word "god" is (cognitively) meaningless.

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.

• Twenty-six clergymen of the Church of England, namely the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of Durham, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Winchester and the twenty-one longest-serving bishops of other dioceses.
• The Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, who with other Lords of Appeal hear legal cases and together act as the UK's highest court. They are appointed for a term of years concluding during the year in which the Lord of Appeal turns seventy; at the end of which they no longer hear legal cases on a regular basis but remain members of the House of Lords. They are generally referred to as the Law Lords and during their time as judges traditionally refrain from political debate.
• Life Peers, appointed members for life by the Queen (in practice, the Queen seeks the advice of the Prime Minister, who is the real appointer). Life Peers hold the title of Baron or Baroness.
• Hereditary Peers, who inherit their seats. Originally several hundred Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons were eligible to sit; recent reforms mean that only ninety-two may. Currently, these ninety-two consist of fifteen "office-holders", that is, Deputy Speakers and Deputy Chairmen, who are elected by the House; seventy-five party or crossbench members, elected by their party or group; and two who hold royal appointments: the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal. The British Labour party government plans to eventually eliminate all hereditary privilege in the House.

The House of Lords is presided over by the Lord Chancellor, the Government minister in charge of the Lord Chancellor's department which includes partial responsibilty for the administration of the British judicial system.

In June 2003 the UK Government announced its intention to abolish the post of Lord Chancellor; the new speaker of the House of Lords will not be a minister. In addition, it plans to create a new supreme court that will take over the judicial functions of the Lords of Appeal.

The House of Lords sits on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Friday sessions are only held when the House is very busy.

The House holds a number of recesses each year. The longest recess is the Summer Recess, which lasts from mid-July to mid-October. The other recesses, including the Easter, Whit, and Christmas Recesses, usually last for one to two weeks.

The Lord Speaker is merely the House's mouthpiece; he has little power compared to the Speaker of the House of Commons. He does not have the authority to maintain order or discipline members; such measures may be taken only by the House as a whole.

If a member wishes to refer to an individual Lord, he or she must do so in the third person. The forms used are: for Dukes, the noble Duke, the Duke of..., for other Marquesses, Earls, and Viscounts, the noble Marquess (or Earl or Viscount), Lord..., for Barons, the noble Lord, Lord..., for Baronesses, the noble Baroness, Lady..., for Archbishops, the Most Reverend Primate, the Archbishop of..., and for Bishops, the Right Reverend Prelate, the Bishop of.... The words noble and gallant are used instead of noble if the Lord in question is a Field Marshal, Admiral of the Fleet, Marshal of the Royal Air Force, or holder of the Victoria Cross or George Cross. Similarly, noble and learned is used for the present or former Lord Chancellor, Lords of Appeal, Attorney-General, Solicitor-General, Lords Justices of Appeal, and Judges of the High Court.

Lords Committees scrutinize government activities and investigate specific areas of legislation. The Committees of the House of Lords are as follows:

• Animals in Scientific Procedures Select Committee
• Constitution Committee
• Select Committee on Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform
• Economic Affairs Committee
• European Union Select Committee
• House Committee
• Liason Committee
• Committee for Privileges
• Procedure Committee
• Religious Offences Committee
• Science and Technology Select Committee
• Select Committee on the Speakership of the House

The 1707 Act of Union with Scotland and the 1801 Act of Union with Ireland entitled Scottish and Irish peers to elect representatives from among themselves to sit in the House of Lords. Elections for Irish representative peers ceased in 1922. From 1963 all Scottish peers had the right to sit in the House of Lords.

Until 1539, bishops, abbots, and priors were members of the Lords. As a result of the dissolution of the monasteries, from then on only the bishops attended. In 1847, following the creation of many new bishoprics, the Bishopric of Manchester Act limited the number of bishops in the Lords.

The Liberals brought a complaint to the King, Edward VII who said he would intervene if they proved to have a mandate. The House of Commons called an election in 1910 and the Liberals were successfully reelected, though not by as large a margin as the previous election. Threatened with the appointment of 500 new peers if they refused, the Lords passed the Parliament Act. Under it, the House of Lords could only reject a proposal for up to two years, after which the Commons would automatically prevail. On August 10 1911, the Parliament Act 1911 came into effect, removing the equal status of the House of Lords and its effective power of veto.

The Parliament Act 1949 reduced the delaying power of the 1911 Act in respect of Public Bills other than Money Bills to two sessions and one year respectively, the exception being bills to extend the life of Parliament to beyond five years, in which case the Lords would have full power to defeat the bill.