God
Quick Summary
The Judeo-Christian-Islamic deity is understood as a singular, unique, and personal God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe. This God is seen as both powerful and merciful, guiding humanity and upholding justice.123
In Judaism, God is affirmed as the divine sovereign revealed in creation and history, entering into a personal relationship with the community. The central affirmation is "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone," emphasizing God's oneness.45
Christianity shares the concept of a personal God as Creator and Lord of history, who entered into a covenant with a chosen people. Islam rigorously upholds God's absolute oneness, rejecting any partners or intermediaries, and views God as the sole creator and sustainer who is both just and merciful. All three traditions emphasize God's transcendence and uniqueness.312
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
René DescartesMeditations of René Descartes…proofs for the existence of God. The final proof, presented in the Fifth Meditation, begins with the proposition that Descartes has an innate idea of God as a perfect being. It concludes that God necessarily exists, because, if he did not, he would not be perfect. This ontological argument for…
Read More…proofs for the existence of God. The final proof, presented in the Fifth Meditation, begins with the proposition that Descartes has an innate idea of God as a perfect being. It concludes that God necessarily exists, because, if he did not, he would not be perfect. This ontological argument for…
Read More
CartesianismThe Cartesian system…science because they believed that God is omnipotent and that his will is entirely free; from this it follows that God could, if he so wished, make any apparent truth a falsehood and any apparent falsehood—even a logical contradiction—a truth. The human intellect, by contrast, is finite; thus, humans can…
Read More…science because they believed that God is omnipotent and that his will is entirely free; from this it follows that God could, if he so wished, make any apparent truth a falsehood and any apparent falsehood—even a logical contradiction—a truth. The human intellect, by contrast, is finite; thus, humans can…
Read More
philosophical anthropologyMedieval prelude…internal to the mind of God gave a very different character to the whole conception of the soul-mind and the goal of its knowledge. Mainly under the influence of the Christian philosopher St. Augustine (354–430), the vocation of the soul was redefined as an aspiration for a vision of and…
Read More…internal to the mind of God gave a very different character to the whole conception of the soul-mind and the goal of its knowledge. Mainly under the influence of the Christian philosopher St. Augustine (354–430), the vocation of the soul was redefined as an aspiration for a vision of and…
Read More- philosophical anthropologyThe idealism of Kant and Hegel
…the being of an infinite God—the very consciousness that had led so many into skepticism and religious despair—was the key to a revitalization of authentic religious faith understood as a “leap” into another dimension of reality. For Nietzsche, by contrast, the great task for human beings was to fill the…
Read More…the being of an infinite God—the very consciousness that had led so many into skepticism and religious despair—was the key to a revitalization of authentic religious faith understood as a “leap” into another dimension of reality. For Nietzsche, by contrast, the great task for human beings was to fill the…
Read More
St. AugustineThe Trinity…Trinity—that is, the threeness of God represented in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Augustine’s Africa had been left out of much of the fray, and most of what was written on the subject was in Greek, a language Augustine barely knew and had little access to. But he was…
Read More…Trinity—that is, the threeness of God represented in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Augustine’s Africa had been left out of much of the fray, and most of what was written on the subject was in Greek, a language Augustine barely knew and had little access to. But he was…
Read More- St. AugustineChief works
…the presence of a powerful God.
Read More…the presence of a powerful God.
Read More - St. AugustineThe City of God
…leapt to the defense of God’s ways. That his readers and the doubters whose murmurs he had heard were themselves pagans is unlikely. At the very least, it is clear that his intended audience comprised many people who were at least outwardly affiliated with the Christian church. During the next…
Read More…leapt to the defense of God’s ways. That his readers and the doubters whose murmurs he had heard were themselves pagans is unlikely. At the very least, it is clear that his intended audience comprised many people who were at least outwardly affiliated with the Christian church. During the next…
Read More - St. AugustineAugustine’s spirit and achievement
…of his reverence for a God who is remote, distant, and mysterious as well as powerfully and unceasingly present in all times and places. “Totus ubique” was Augustine’s oft-repeated mantra for this doctrine, “The whole of him everywhere.”
Read More…of his reverence for a God who is remote, distant, and mysterious as well as powerfully and unceasingly present in all times and places. “Totus ubique” was Augustine’s oft-repeated mantra for this doctrine, “The whole of him everywhere.”
Read More