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{{about|"God" in the context of [[monotheism]]|the general concept of "a god"|Deity}} 
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'''God''' is a being or spirit worshipped as a [[deity]]. God is considered to be the creator of the [[universe]] in some religions. [[Theist]]s believe that God created everything that [[wikt:exist|exist]]s and has ever existed. Some theists think God is [[immortality|immortal]] (cannot die) and has power without limits.<ref name="Swinburne">{{citation |last=Swinburne |first=R.G. |chapter=God |editor=Honderich, Ted |title=The Oxford Companion to Philosophy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1995 |quote=...most philosophical theologians... have generally regarded him as a personal being, bodiless, omnipresent, creator and sustainer of any universe there may be, perfectly free, omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good, and a source of moral obligation; who exists eternally and necessarily...}}.</ref>  [[Deism]] is the belief that God exists, but God does not very often change or never changes things in the [[universe]].  [[Pantheism]] is the belief that the universe ''is'' God, while [[atheism]] is the belief that there are no deities. [[Agnosticism|Agnostics]] think we cannot know for sure whether God or gods exist, but still might (or might not) believe at least one deity exists.  People who believe that the word "''God''" should be defined before taking a [[theology|theological]] position are [[Ignosticism|ignostic]].

In some religions, there is only one deity, God. This is called [[monotheism]]. Some monotheistic religions are the [[Abrahamic religion]]s ([[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], and [[Islam]]), the [[Bahá'í Faith]], and [[Sikhism]]. In other religions there are many [[Deity|gods]]. This is [[polytheism]]. Some polytheistic religions are [[Hinduism]], [[Shinto]], [[Taoism]], [[paganism]], [[Wicca]] and some variants of [[Buddhism]]. Some say that there is one God who can come in many forms, or that there is one God that is more powerful than the other gods. 

In [[philosophy]] and [[theology]], people normally write about a God that has a [[personality]] but no [[body]] and is everywhere at once; that God made the world and time and is separate from the world; that no-one made God; that God knows everything and has all power; that God is both [[Freedom|free]] and [[good]]; and that God is perfect and the start of all [[morality]].

There are different names for God in different religions. Some examples are [[Yahweh]], [[Elohim]] in [[Judaism]] and [[Christianity]], [[Allah]] in [[Islam]], Baha in [[Bahá'í Faith]], and [[Ahura Mazda]] in Zoroastrianism.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ibelieve.com/faith/10-powerful-names-of-god-and-what-they-mean-for-us-today.html | title=10 Powerful Names of God (And What They Mean for Us Today) }}</ref>

In English, people may write the words "god" and "gods"  in lowercase letters. People that believe in only one god (monotheists) like to write ''God'' with a [[capital letter]]. Some people that believe in more than one god (polytheists) also like to use capital letters when writing about their gods. Most people that believe in God or gods do not believe in the gods of other religions.

== Does God exist? ==
Many people have asked themselves if God exists. Philosophers, theologians, and others have tried to prove that it exists. Others have tried to disprove the [[hypothesis]]. In [[Philosophy|philosophical]] terminology, such arguments are about the [[epistemology]] of the [[ontology]] of God. The debate exists mainly in philosophy, because science does not address whether or not [[supernatural]] things exist.

There are many philosophical issues with the existence of God. Some definitions of God are not specific.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2002/entries/omnipotence/|title=Omnipotence (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy/Summer 2002 Edition)|website=plato.stanford.edu}}</ref> Arguments for the existence of God typically include [[metaphysics|metaphysical]], [[empiricism|empirical]], [[inductive reasoning|inductive]], and subjective types. Some theories try to explain order and complexity in the [[world]] without [[evolution]] or [[scientific method]]. Arguments against the existence of God typically include [[Empiricism|empirical]], [[deductive reasoning|deductive]], and [[Inductive reasoning|inductive]] arguments. Conclusions sometimes include: "God does not exist" ([[atheism|strong atheism]]); "God almost certainly does not exist"<ref name="Dawkins">{{cite web 
| last=Dawkins 
| first=Richard 
| authorlink=Richard Dawkins 
| title=Why There Almost Certainly Is No God 
| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-dawkins/why-there-almost-certainl_b_32164.html 
| accessdate=2007-01-10
| work=The Huffington Post| date=23 October 2006 
}}</ref> (''de facto'' [[atheism]]); "no one knows whether God exists" ([[agnosticism]]); "God exists, but this cannot be proven or disproven" ([[deism]] or [[theism]]); and "God exists and this can be proven" (theism). There are many variations on these positions, and sometimes different names for some of them. For example, the position "God exists and this can be proven" <ref>{{Cite web|last=Corbett|first=Andrew|date=2004-02-17|title=5 Proofs For God's Existence which persuaded a prominent atheist|url=https://www.andrewcorbett.net/articles/apologetics/5-proofs-for-the-existence-of-god/|access-date=2023-09-28|website=Biblical Thinking with Dr Andrew Corbett|language=en-AU}}</ref> is sometimes called "gnostic theism" or "strong theism".

== Believing in God ==
[[File:Europe belief in god.svg|thumb|250px|The percentage of people in European countries who said in 2005 that they "believe there is a God". Countries with [[Eastern Orthodox]] (i.e.: [[Greece]], [[Romania]], etc.) or [[Muslim]] (Turkey) majorities tend to poll highest.]]
By the year 2000, approximately 53% of the world's population were part of one of the three main Abrahamic religions (33% Christian, 20% [[Islam]],  less than 1% [[Judaism]]), 6% with [[Buddhism]], 13% with [[Hinduism]], 6% with [[Chinese folk religion|traditional Chinese religion]], 7% with various other religions, and less than 15% as non-religious. Most of these religious beliefs involve God or gods.<ref>National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World, p49.</ref> Some religions do not believe in a god or do not include the concept of gods.

== God in the Abrahamic religions ==
[[Abrahamic religions]] are very popular monotheistic ones. Well-known Abrahamic religions include [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]]. [[Monotheistic]] means the people in these religions believe there is only one God. The name of God is usually not allowed to be said in [[Judaism]], but some Jews today call him [[YHWH]] (Yahweh) or Jehovah. [[Muslim]]s say the word [[Allah]], which is the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word for "God".

Believers in the Abrahamic religions (except Islamic believers) believe that God has created [[human beings]] in his [[image]], but this idea is not easily understood by humankind. One artistic idea is that of an wise elder man in use since the [[Renaissance]].

=== God in Christianity ===
{{main|God in Christianity}}
The [[Christian]] [[Bible]] talks about God in different ways. Within Christian [[Canon (Bible)|canon]] the [[Old Testament]] talks about "God the Father", whilst the [[Gospels]] in the [[New Testament]] are about [[Jesus]], or "God the Son". Many Christians believe that Jesus was God's [[incarnation]] on Earth. Christians consider the  [[Holy Spirit]] to be God as well, the third person of God.

In the [[New Testament]], there are three beings who are said to be God in different forms: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (also known as the Holy Ghost). This is called the [[Trinity]]. Although the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible, the word used for God in chapter one of [[Genesis]] is actually [[plural]], and the phrase "in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit' is used in the [[New Testament]], (e.g. [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 28:19). Another word that Christians believe has exactly the same meaning as "Trinity" is the word "Godhead", which ''is'' in the Bible.

Christians believe that [[Incarnation (Christianity)|God incarnated]] in a human body, through the normal birth process, normally growing up into a man named [[Jesus]] or (Yeshua), coming to Earth specifically to give every person an opportunity of [[Salvation (Christianity)|salvation]] from their own evil, called [[sin]]. The effect of personal evil far transcends the repercussions humans cause to one another in the world, but affects one's relationship with God the Father, and that aspect of the self cannot be addressed through one's own self-improvement efforts, but requires God to intervene in order to set one right. When Jesus prayed and talked to God, he called him "Father," and taught others to do the same.

Jesus also taught that one must be born again in order to receive God's Spirit, otherwise one remains separated from God, acting merely from their own mind, thus being vulnerable to deception by human philosophies or the many spiritual philosophies which do not come from God but from [[fallen angel]]s, which are within various false religions. After a person consciously accepts the free gift of eternal life, which Jesus's sacrifice offers, God comes to live in the individual, as God lived in humankind before [[Fall of Man|the Fall]].

== God in Eastern religions ==
In [[Hinduism]], there is only one God, named [[Brahman]], but Brahman is said to have taken on many different [[incarnation]]s. Some of these are [[Rama]], [[Krishna]], [[Buddha]], [[Shiva]], [[Kali]], [[Parvati]], and [[Durga]]. To many outsiders, the worship of God's different incarnations is considered to be the worship of many gods. However, it is really only the worship of one God in different ways.

Some Hindus also believe that the spirit of God lives in everyone. This idea is called [[Advaita Vedanta]], which is the Hindu term for [[Monism]].

Religions like [[Buddhism]] and [[Confucianism]] involve the worship of many gods, or sometimes no gods at all.

In [[Shinto]], there is not a single specific God, as is in most religions, but instead, a wide variety of [[Deity|deities]] called ''[[kami]]'', they are the [[spirit]] and essence of all [[nature]] things, both animate and inanimate, even including [[rocks]], [[tree]]s and [[poetry]], for example. As Shinto is a  [[Polytheism|polytheistic]] religion, it is usually believed that there are ''eight-million [[Kami]]'' (八百万の神 yaoyorozu-no-kami), in the [[Japanese language]], the number "eight-million" is normally used to mean [[infinity]].

== God in Western philosophy ==
Philosophers can talk about God or god; sometimes they talk about a specific god, but other times they are just talking about the idea of god.

One of the earliest Western philosophers to write about God in a monotheistic way was the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Aristotle]], who describes god as the Supreme Cause. Aristotle saw God as a being that makes everything happen, but is not influenced by anything else.

The idea of an "all powerful" God raises some interesting questions. One of them is called the [[God paradox]]. It asks whether God can make a mountain (or rock) that is so heavy he cannot lift it. The question considers if a god "who can do anything" could do two things that are mutually contradictory.

There have been several attempts to prove the existence of God with [[logic]]. [[Blaise Pascal]] said that it is better to believe there is a god, than to believe there isn't. This argument is known as [[Pascal's Wager|Pascal's wager]] today. Note that Blaise Pascal was a [[mathematician]], and he used this argument to illustrate the concept of [[expected value]] in [[statistics]]. Other attempts known as the [[ontological argument]], the [[cosmological argument]], and [[teleological argument]] today. [[Kurt Gödel]] formulated an argument for the existence of God using [[modal logic]] in the 1970s.

==Related pages==
*[[Cosmogony]]
*[[Deity]]
*[[Thomas Aquinas]]
*[[Immanuel Kant]]

== References ==
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[[Category:Gods and goddesses]]