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Concept

God

The supreme being of theistic traditions: creator, sustainer and object of worship.
Ancient Greek
theos θεός
Latin
deus
Arabic, Islam
Allāh الله
Sanskrit, Vedānta
īśvara ईश्वर

Definition

In the theistic traditions, God is the supreme, personal source of all things: creator and sustainer of the world, perfect in power, knowledge and goodness, and the object of worship, love and obedience. Judaism, Christianity and Islam confess one God who has spoken to human beings in revelation; Hindu theism speaks of Īśvara, the Lord, in forms such as Viṣṇu and Śiva; Sikhism proclaims one God beyond every religion’s names.

Philosophers and theologians have long distinguished between what can be said of God and what God is in God’s self. The “God of the philosophers”, the first cause and necessary being, is set beside the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, who speaks and acts in history, a contrast made famous by Pascal. The mystics go further: Eckhart distinguishes God from the hidden Godhead, the Kabbalists the revealed God from Ein Sof, and Advaita the personal Lord from Brahman beyond qualities.

Some traditions, such as Buddhism, Jainism and classical Daoism, do not centre on a creator God at all, and the comparison of “God” with their ultimate principles must be made with care.

In the traditions

Islam

Allāh, the one God, creator, merciful and just, who has no partner; known through the Qurʾān and the signs of creation.

Judaism

The one God of the covenant, who created the world and gave the Torah; in Kabbalah, the revealed face of the hidden Ein Sof.

Christian Mysticism

The triune God, known in Christ, with whom the soul seeks union; some mystics speak of a Godhead beyond God.

Buddhism

No creator God is taught; gods exist within the cycle of rebirth, but are not the source or goal of liberation.

Questions

Authors

Cite this entry
Chicago (bibliography)

“God.” Concept. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/god.

Chicago (note)

“God,” concept, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/god.

MLA

“God.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/god.

BibTeX
@misc{concepts-god,
  title = {{God}},
  howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society},
  note = {Concept. Last modified November 7, 2026},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/concepts/god}
}

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Often equated with records a common equation; whether the two are the same is contested.

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Traditions