Draft:Outline of God

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to God:

In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the universe or life, for which such a deity is often worshipped". Belief in the existence of at least one deity, who may interact with the world, is called theism.

Conceptions of God vary considerably. Many notable theologians and philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God. Atheism rejects the belief in any deity. Agnosticism is the belief that the existence of God is unknown or unknowable. Some theists view knowledge concerning God as derived from faith. God is often conceived as the greatest entity in existence. God is often believed to be the cause of all things and so is seen as the creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe. God is often thought of as incorporeal and independent of the material creation, which was initially called pantheism, although church theologians, in attacking pantheism, described pantheism as the belief that God is the material universe itself. God is sometimes seen as omnibenevolent, while deism holds that God is not involved with humanity apart from creation.

What is "God"?

God can be described as all of the following:

A belief – a belief is a state of mind in which a person thinks something to be the case regardless of empirical evidence to prove that something is the case with factual certainty. The majority of people believe in one or more higher beings.
An entity – being or spirit that exists either inside or outside of physical reality. The nature of God divides the philosophical school of physicalism from the schools of idealism and dualism; with the latter schools holding that they can exist and the former holding that they cannot. If one posits that non-physical entities can exist, there exist further debates as to their inherent natures and their position relative to physical entities.
A deity – concept conceived in diverse ways in various cultures, typically as a natural or supernatural being considered divine or sacred. Monotheistic religions accept only one Deity (predominantly referred to as God), while polytheistic religions accept and worship multiple deities. A male deity is a god, while a female deity is a goddess. Some gods are described as being "outside of" or superseding gender.

Conceptions of God

Qualities of God

Omnipotent

Names of God

History of God

God-focused organizations

Monotheistic religions
- Abrahamic religions

God-related publications

God-related publications in Christianity
- Bible
  - New Testament
God-related publications in Judaism
- Bible
  - Old Testament
- Talmud
God-related publications in Islam
- Quran

References

External links