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<h1>Conceptions of God</h1>
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<p class="paragraph">Religion has been a significant part of human culture since time immemorial. Different cultures have their own ways of conceptualizing their god or gods, including understanding the powers that those gods hold over humans, the world, and the universe. There are many different ways of approaching the concept of the divine. <span class="term">Monotheistic</span> religions, for instance, believe in only one god. <span class="term">Polytheistic</span> religions believe in many. Some of the most prevalent monotheistic religions today include Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, which are collectively known as Abrahamic religions. In these religions and others, God is considered extraordinarily powerful.</p>
<p class="paragraph">God is sometimes described as <span class="term">omnipotent</span>, meaning all-powerful; <span class="term">omniscient</span>, meaning all-knowing; and <span class="term">omnipresent</span>, meaning present everywhere at all times. The prefix 'omni' comes from the Latin for 'all.' The attributes of God as omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent have complex philosophical questions attached.</p>
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<h2>Omnipotent God</h2>
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<p class="paragraph">The idea of an omnipotent god refers to a deity who is infinitely powerful. According to this approach to conceptualizing God, there is nothing that an omnipotent god cannot do. Most monotheistic traditions posit their god as the creator of the universe and the ultimate authority who can bend the entirety of creation to his will. Interestingly, omnipotence raises a <span class="term">paradox</span> that philosophers have worked to solve for centuries. The paradox is if God is able to do anything, can he create a stone that is too heavy for him to lift? A simple yes or no answer to the question leads to problems with omnipotence. If yes, then there is something that God cannot do: he cannot lift the stone. If no, then there is something that God cannot do: he cannot create such a stone. <span class="term">St. Thomas Aquinas</span> resolved this paradox by limiting God's omnipotence to the creation of possible situations. René Descartes resolved it differently by stating that God can create such a stone and lift it.</p>
<h3>Examples of an Omnipotent God</h3>
<p class="paragraph">The Christian Bible is full of examples of an omnipotent god. In the first book of the Bible, God's omnipotence is on full display. The opening lines of the <span class="term">King James Version</span> of the Bible are:</p>
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In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:1-1:10)
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<p class="paragraph">God is powerful enough to create the entire universe, and he continues to display his power throughout the remainder of the text.</p>
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<h2>Omniscient God</h2>
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<p class="paragraph">Another important tenet of the approach to God in most <span class="term">monotheistic religions</span> is that God is omniscient, meaning that God is all-knowing. Unlike omnipotence, there is less scriptural precedent in Christianity to explicitly suggest omniscience. However, Christians and members of other Abrahamic religions still typically consider God omniscient because it follows logically from other elements of their conception of him. A perfect, all-powerful being should also have access to infinite knowledge because lacking knowledge would make God less powerful and less perfect. Omniscience presents fewer philosophical problems than omnipotence, but some mathematicians working with set theory have raised some objections. According to most monotheistic theologies, God knows everything about all moments in time, past, present, and future.</p>
<h3>Examples of an Omniscient God</h3>
<p class="paragraph">In Hebrew scripture, there are several names for God that suggest omniscience. In I Samuel 2:3, God is called the 'God of Knowledge.' In Genesis 22:14, God is called 'the Lord Who Sees.' Job 12:13 states that 'With Him are wisdom and might; to Him belong counsel and understanding.' These verses all suggest that God knows everything, which has become a core tenet of Jewish theology just as it has become important in Christianity and Islam. One possible way to resolve philosophical objections to the concept of omniscience, employed by some theologians, is to say that humans do not have enough knowledge to fully understand what omniscience is or how it works; only God can know those things.</p>
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<h2>Omnipresent God</h2>
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<p class="paragraph">The third major principle of monotheistic religions' conceptions of God is that God is omnipresent. That means that he is present everywhere at all times, from the universe's beginning until its end. Although God is immaterial according to most monotheistic conceptions, he is still considered to be present within and around all things in the universe. One potential consequence of this belief is a particular consideration of or respect for all things and all people in the world, as they contain a piece of God. Omnipresence is the least philosophically controversial of the three beliefs; few philosophers have raised major objections to it in theory, besides questions about what God is, and if he is immaterial and omnipresent. The omnipresence of God is sometimes used as a way to deter people from committing sins, as God is always present and always watching.</p>
<h3>Examples of an Omnipresent God</h3>
<p class="paragraph">As in Judaism and Christianity, God is considered omnipresent in Islam. God has no form or gender, and there is no way to see or hear God directly. However, religious faith can allow people to have a closer connection with the god that is already around them. Islam, like most other monotheistic religions, also conceives of God as omnibenevolent, meaning a god who always acts with good intentions. Omnibenevolence raises questions about why evil exists in the world, which theologians from a number of different religions have attempted to resolve in a number of different ways. Although they are distinct religions, there is a lot of overlap in the approaches that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam take in their understanding of God.</p>
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<h2>Lesson Summary</h2>
<p class="paragraph">Religions that believe in only one god are called <span class="term">monotheistic</span> religions. They are contrasted with religions that have many gods, which are <span class="term">polytheistic</span>. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all major monotheistic religions. In these religions, God is said to be <span class="term">omnipresent</span>, <span class="term">omnipotent</span>, and <span class="term">omniscient</span>. All of these words derive from the Latin prefix 'omni,' meaning 'all.' Omnipresence refers to a god who exists everywhere all at once. Omnipotence describes an all-powerful god, and omniscience refers to an all-knowing god. A fourth concept, called omnibenevolence, refers to a god who is always good.</p>
<p class="paragraph">These concepts may sound fairly straightforward, but they actually present complex philosophical questions. Omnipresence is relatively uncontroversial philosophically, but omniscience raises questions about what it would actually mean to know everything. Omnibenevolence requires an explanation for the problem of why evil exists in the world, for which there are a number of possible answers. Omnipotence is perhaps the most complex concept, as it raises paradoxes like, can God create a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it? Resolving these paradoxes is theologically challenging, though solutions have been presented.</p>
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<h2>FAQs</h2>
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<summary class="faq-question">What are the attributes generally associated with a god?</summary>
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<p class="paragraph">The attributes associated with a god depend on the religion in question. In monotheistic religions, God is usually associated with omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.</p>
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<summary class="faq-question">What is an omnipresent god?</summary>
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<p class="paragraph">An omnipresent god is a god with the ability to be everywhere all at once. Omnipresence is the least philosophically complex attribute of God.</p>
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<summary class="faq-question">What is an omniscient god?</summary>
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<p class="paragraph">An omniscient god is a god who knows everything. Such a god would have the power to know the future, the present, and the past.</p>
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<summary class="faq-question">What is an omnipotent god?</summary>
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<p class="paragraph">An omnipotent god is a god with unlimited power. In monotheistic religions, God created the universe and there is nothing that he cannot do.</p>
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