God in Abrahamic religions

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith are called Abrahamic religions because they all accept the tradition of the God (known as Yahweh in Hebrew and Allah in Arabic) that revealed himself to Abraham. Abrahamic religions share the same distinguishing features:[1]

• all of them originated from Semitic religions in the geographical region of the Middle East;[1]
• all of their theological traditions are to some extent influenced by the depiction of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible;[1]
• all of them trace their roots to the patriarch Abraham.[1]

The Abrahamic God in this sense is the conception of God that remains a common feature of all Abrahamic religions. God is conceived of as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and as the creator of the universe. God is further held to have the properties of holiness, justice, omni-benevolence and omnipresence. Proponents of Abrahamic faiths believe that God is also transcendent, meaning that he is outside space and outside time and therefore not subject to anything within his creation, but at the same time a personal God, involved, listening to prayer, and reacting to the actions of his creatures.

Judaism

[God], the Cause of all, is one. This does not mean one as in one of series, nor one like a species (which encompasses many individuals), nor one as in an object that is made up of many elements, nor as a single simple object that is infinitely divisible. Rather, God is a unity unlike any other possible unity.

— Maimonides, 13 principles of faith, Second Principle

Judaism, the oldest Abrahamic religion, is based on a strict, exclusive monotheism, finding its origins in the sole veneration of Yahweh,[2] the predecessor to the Abrahamic conception of God.[Note 1] This is referred to in the Torah: "Hear O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4).[7]

The idea of God as a duality or trinity is heretical in Judaism - it's considered akin to polytheism. God in Judaism is conceived as anthropomorphic,[6] unique, benevolent, eternal, the creator of the universe, and the ultimate source of morality.[8] Thus, the term God corresponds to an actual ontological reality, and is not merely a projection of the human psyche. Maimonides describes God in this fashion:

The foundation of all foundations and the pillar of wisdom is to know that there is a Primary Being who brought into being all existence. All the beings of the heavens, the earth, and what is between them came into existence only from the truth of His being.[9]

Traditional interpretations of Judaism generally emphasize that God is personal and able to intervene in the world, while some interpretations of Judaism emphasize that God is an impersonal force or ideal rather than a being who intervenes in the world.[10]

Christianity

Christianity originated in 1st-century Judea from a sect of apocalyptic Jewish Christians within the realm of Second Temple Judaism,[11][12][13] and thus shares most of its beliefs about God, including his omnipotence, omniscience, his role as creator of all things, his personality, immanence, transcendence and ultimate unity, with the innovation that Jesus of Nazareth is considered to be, in one way or another, the fulfillment of ancient prophecies about the Jewish Messiah, the completion of the Law of the prophets of Israel, and/or the incarnation of God as a human being.[11]

Most Christian denominations believe Jesus to be the incarnated Son of God, which is the main theological divergence with respect to the other Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Although personal salvation is implicitly stated in Judaism, personal salvation by grace and a recurring emphasis in orthodox theological beliefs is particularly emphasized in Christianity, often contrasting this with a perceived over-emphasis in law observance as stated in Jewish law, where it is contended that a belief in an intermediary between man and God is against the Noahide laws, and thus not monotheistic.

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

Mormonism

In the belief system held by the Christian churches that adhere to the Latter Day Saint movement and most Mormon denominations, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the term God refers to Elohim (God the Father),[14] whereas Godhead means a council of three distinct gods: Elohim (the Eternal Father), Jehovah (God the Son, Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost, in a Non-trinitarian conception of the Godhead.[14] The Father and Son have perfected, material bodies, while the Holy Ghost is a spirit and does not have a body.[14] This differs from mainstream Christian Trinitarianism; in Mormonism, the three persons are considered to be physically separate beings, or personages, but united in will and purpose.[14][15] As such, the term Godhead differs from how it is used in mainstream Christianity.[14] This description of God represents the orthodoxy of the LDS Church, established early in the 19th century.[14]

Unitarianism

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

Islam

In Islam, God (Allah) (Arabic: ٱلل‍َّٰه‎, romanized: Allāh, IPA: [ɑɫˈɫɑː(h)] (listen), lit. "the God")[16] is the supreme being, all-powerful and all-knowing creator, sustainer, ordainer, and judge of the universe.[16][17][18] Islam puts a heavy emphasis on the conceptualization of God as strictly singular (tawhid).[16][19] He is unique (wahid) and inherently one (ahad), all-merciful and omnipotent.[16][20] According to the Qur'an there are 99 Names of God (al-asma al-husna lit. meaning: "The best names") each of which evoke a distinct characteristic of God.[21][22] All these names refer to Allah, considered to be the supreme and all-comprehensive divine Arabic name.[16][23] Among the 99 names of God, the most famous and most frequent of these names are "the Most Gracious" (al-rahim) and "the Most Merciful" (al-rahman).[21][22]

Creation and ordering of the universe is seen as an act of prime mercy for which all creatures sing his glories and bear witness to his unity and lordship. According to the Qur'an, "No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision. He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things" (Quran 6:103).[18]

God in Islam is not only majestic and sovereign, but also a personal God. According to the Qur'an, he is nearer to a person than that person's jugular vein. He responds to those in need or distress whenever they call him. Above all, he guides humanity to the right way, the "straight path".[24]

Muslims believe that Allah is the same God worshipped by the members of the Abrahamic religions that preceded Islam, i.e. Judaism and Christianity (29:46).[25] However in Islam, Muslims do not believe in the divinity of Jesus as God or son of God, but instead consider him as a prophet of God and the Messiah. Islam views that God does not have any offspring or descendants, he created all things including prophets such as Jesus Christ. Most Muslims today believe that the religion of Abraham (which split into Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) are of one source, which is the Almighty God.

Baháʼí Faith

The writings of the Baháʼí Faith describe a monotheistic, personal, inaccessible, omniscient, omnipresent, imperishable, and almighty God who is the creator of all things in the universe.[26][27]^:106 The existence of God and the universe is thought to be eternal, without a beginning or end.[28]

Though transcendent and inaccessible directly,[29]^:438–446 God is nevertheless seen as conscious of the creation,[29]^:438–446 with a will and purpose that is expressed through messengers recognized in the Baháʼí Faith as the Manifestations of God[27]^:106 (all the Jewish prophets, Zoroaster, Krishna, Gautama Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and ultimately Baháʼu'lláh).[29]^:438–446 The purpose of the creation is for the created to have the capacity to know and love its creator,[27]^:111 through such methods as prayer, reflection, and being of service to humankind.[30] God communicates his will and purpose to humanity through his intermediaries, the prophets and messengers who have founded World's religions from the beginning of humankind up to the present day,[27]^:107–108[29]^:438–446 and will continue to do so in the future.[29]^:438–446

The Manifestations of God reflect divine attributes, which are creations of God made for the purpose of spiritual enlightenment, onto the physical plane of existence.[31] In the Baháʼí view, all physical beings reflect at least one of these attributes, and the human soul can potentially reflect all of them.[32] The Baháʼí conception of God rejects all pantheistic, anthropomorphic, and incarnationist beliefs about God.[27]^:106

See also

• Ancient Canaanite religion
• Argument from morality
• Comparative religion
• Conceptions of God
• Creationism
• Ethical monotheism
• Evil God Challenge
• God as the devil
• God of Abraham (Yiddish prayer)
• Maltheism
• Moralistic therapeutic deism
• Names of God
• Outline of theology
• Problem of evil
• Problem of Hell
• Table of prophets of Abrahamic religions
• Theodicy
• Urmonotheismus (primitive monotheism)

Notes

1. While the Semitic god El is indeed the most ancient predecessor to the Abrahamic God,[3][4][5] this specifically refers to the ancient ideas Yahweh once encompassed in Ancient Hebrew religion, such as being a storm- and war-god, living on mountains, or controlling the weather.[4][5][6] Thus, in this page's context, "Yahweh" is used to refer to the ancient idea of the Abrahamic God, and should not be referenced when describing his later worship in today's Abrahamic religions.

References

1. Bremer, Thomas S. (2015). "Abrahamic religions". Formed From This Soil: An Introduction to the Diverse History of Religion in America. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-1-4051-8927-9. LCCN 2014030507. S2CID 127980793.
2. Gruber, Mayer I. (2013). "Israel". In Spaeth, Barbette Stanley (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 76–94. doi:10.1017/CCO9781139047784.007. ISBN 978-0-521-11396-0. LCCN 2012049271.
3. Van der Toorn 1999, pp. 352–365.
4. Smith, Mark S. (2000). "El". In Freedman, David Noel; Myer, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 384–386. ISBN 9053565035.
5. Smith 2003, pp. 133-148.
6. Van der Toorn 1999, pp. 361-362.
7. Moberly, R. W. L. (1990). ""Yahweh is One": The Translation of the Shema". In Emerton, J. A. (ed.). Studies in the Pentateuch. Vetus Testamentum, Supplements. 41. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 209–215. doi:10.1163/9789004275645_012. ISBN 978-90-04-27564-5.
8. Prager, Dennis (2020) [2014]. "Ethical Monotheism". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE). Archived from the original on 24 January 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
9. Mishneh Torah, book HaMadda', section Yesodei ha-Torah, chapter 1:1 (original Hebrew/English translation)
10. "Modern Jewish Views of God". My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 2019-05-28.
11. Ehrman, Bart D. (2005) [2003]. "At Polar Ends of the Spectrum: Early Christian Ebionites and Marcionites". Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 95–112. ISBN 978-0-19-518249-1. LCCN 2003053097. S2CID 152458823. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
12. Freeman, Charles (2010). "Breaking Away: The First Christianities". A New History of Early Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 31–46. ISBN 978-0-300-12581-8. JSTOR j.ctt1nq44w. LCCN 2009012009. S2CID 170124789. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
13. Wilken, Robert Louis (2013). "Beginning in Jerusalem". The First Thousand Years: A Global History of Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 6–16. ISBN 978-0-300-11884-1. JSTOR j.ctt32bd7m. LCCN 2012021755. S2CID 160590164. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
14. Davies, Douglas J. (2003). "Divine–human transformations: God". An Introduction to Mormonism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 67–77. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511610028.004. ISBN 9780511610028.
15. The term with its distinctive Mormon usage first appeared in Lectures on Faith (published 1834), Lecture 5 ("We shall in this lecture speak of the Godhead; we mean the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."). The term Godhead also appears several times in Lecture 2 in its sense as used in the Authorized King James Version, meaning divinity.
16. Gardet, Louis (1960). "Allāh". In Bosworth, C. E.; van Donzel, E. J.; Heinrichs, W. P.; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. 1. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0047. ISBN 978-90-04-16121-4.
17. Böwering, Gerhard (2006). "God and his Attributes". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. II. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00075. ISBN 90-04-14743-8.
18. Esposito, John L. (2016) [1988]. Islam: The Straight Path (Updated 5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9780190632151. S2CID 153364691.
19. Esposito, John L. (2016) [1988]. Islam: The Straight Path (Updated 5th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 88. ISBN 9780190632151. S2CID 153364691.
20. "Allah." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica
21. Bentley, David (September 1999). The 99 Beautiful Names for God for All the People of the Book. William Carey Library. ISBN 0-87808-299-9.
22. Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa, Allah
23. Annemarie Schimmel,The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic, SUNY Press, p.206
24. Britannica Encyclopedia, Islam, p. 3
25. F.E. Peters, Islam, p.4, Princeton University Press, 2003
26. Hatcher, William S.; Martin, J. Douglas (1985). The Baháʼí Faith. San Francisco: Harper & Row. p. 74. ISBN 0-06-065441-4 – via Archive.org.
27. Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i (sic) Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-86251-5.
28. Britannica (1992). "The Baháʼí Faith". In Daphne Daume; Louise Watson (eds.). Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. ISBN 0-85229-486-7.
29. Cole, Juan (30 December 2012) [15 December 1988]. "BAHAISM i. The Faith". Encyclopædia Iranica. III/4. New York: Columbia University. pp. 438–446. Archived from the original on 23 January 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
30. Hatcher, John S. (2005). "Unveiling the Hurí of Love". The Journal of Baháʼí Studies. 15: –38. Retrieved 2020-10-16 – via Bahá'í Library Online.
31. Hatcher, William S.; Martin, J. Douglas (1985). The Baháʼí Faith. San Francisco: Harper & Row. pp. 123–126. ISBN 0-06-065441-4 – via Archive.org.
32. Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 163–180. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4 – via Archive.org.

Bibliography

• Betz, Arnold Gottfried (2000). "Monotheism". In Freedman, David Noel; Myer, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans. pp. 916–917. ISBN 9053565035.
• Bremer, Thomas S. (2015). "Abrahamic religions". Formed From This Soil: An Introduction to the Diverse History of Religion in America. Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-1-4051-8927-9. LCCN 2014030507. S2CID 127980793.
• Bulliet, Richard W. (2015). "Islamo-Christian Civilization". In Blidstein, Moshe; Silverstein, Adam J.; Stroumsa, Guy G. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 109–120. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199697762.013.6. ISBN 978-0-19-969776-2. LCCN 2014960132. S2CID 170430270.
• Byrne, Máire (2011). The Names of God in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: A Basis for Interfaith Dialogue. London: Continuum International. ISBN 978-1-44116-3-417. LCCN 2010050008.
• Christiano, Kevin J.; Kivisto, Peter; Swatos, Jr., William H., eds. (2015) [2002]. "Excursus on the History of Religions". Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments (3rd ed.). Walnut Creek, California: AltaMira Press. pp. 254–255. ISBN 978-1-4422-1691-4. LCCN 2001035412.
• Cohen, Charles L. (2020). The Abrahamic Religions: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-065434-4. LCCN 2019950996.
• Day, John (2002). Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament: Supplement Series. 265. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 978-0-567-53783-6. S2CID 161791734.
• Hughes, Aaron W. (2012). "What Are "Abrahamic Religions"?". Abrahamic Religions: On the Uses and Abuses of History. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 15–33. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199934645.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-993464-5. S2CID 157815976.
• Reynolds, Gabriel Said (2020). "God of the Bible and the Qur'an". Allah: God in the Qurʾān. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 203–253. ISBN 978-0-300-24658-2. JSTOR j.ctvxkn7q4. LCCN 2019947014. S2CID 226129509.
• Smith, Mark S. (2003). "El, Yahweh, and the Original God of Israel and the Exodus". The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 133–148. doi:10.1093/019513480X.003.0008. ISBN 9780195134803.
• Van der Toorn, Karel (1999). "God (I)". In Van der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; Van der Horst, Pieter W. (eds.). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (2nd ed.). Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 352–365. doi:10.1163/2589-7802_DDDO_DDDO_Godi. ISBN 90-04-11119-0.

External links

• Gaster, Theodor H. (26 November 2020). "Biblical Judaism (20th–4th century BCE)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Edinburgh: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
• Amzallag, Nissim (August 2018). "Metallurgy, the Forgotten Dimension of Ancient Yahwism". The Bible and Interpretation. University of Arizona. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.