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Personal god
A personal god, or personal goddess, is a deity who can be related to as a person (anthropomorphic), instead of as an impersonal force, such as the Absolute. In the context of Christianity and the Baháʼí Faith, the term "personal god" also refers to the incarnation of God as a person. In the context of Hinduism, "personal god/goddess" also refers to Ishtadevata, a worshipper's personal favorite deity.
In the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions, God is described as being a personal creator, speaking in the first person and showing emotion such as anger and pride, and sometimes appearing in anthropomorphic shape. In the Pentateuch, for example, God talks with and instructs his prophets and is conceived as possessing volition, emotions (such as anger, grief and happiness), intention, and other attributes characteristic of a human person. Personal relationships with God may be described in the same ways as human relationships, such as a Father, as in Christianity, or a Friend as in Sufism.
A 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center reported that, of U.S. adults, 60% view that "God is a person with whom people can have a relationship", while 25% believe that "God is an impersonal force". A 2019 survey by the National Opinion Research Center reported that 77.5% of U.S. adults believe in a personal god. The 2014 Religious Landscape survey conducted by Pew reported that 57% of U.S. adults believe in a personal god.
Jewish theology states that God is not a person. This was also determined several times in the Torah, which religious Jews traditionally believed to be an indisputable authority for their faith (Hosea 11:9: "I am God, and not a man"; Numbers 23:19: "God is not a man, that He should lie"; 1 Samuel 15:29: "He is not a person, that He should repent"). However, there exist frequent references to anthropomorphic characteristics of God in the Hebrew Bible such as the "Hand of God". Judaism holds that these are to be taken only as figures of speech. Their purpose is to make God more comprehensible to the human reader.[citation needed]
In mainstream Christianity, Jesus (or God the Son) and God the Father are believed to be two members of a trinity. Jesus is believed to be of the same ousia (or substance) as God the Father. The Christian God manifests in three hypostases (or persons): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nontrinitarian Christians dispute that Jesus is a "hypostasis" of or a person within a broader God. Whether the Holy Spirit is impersonal or personal is the subject of dispute, with experts in pneumatology debating the matter.
Islam rejects the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation and the notion of a personal god as anthropomorphic because both demean the transcendence of God. The Qur'an prescribes the fundamental transcendental criterion in the following verse: "There is nothing whatever like Him" [Qur'an 42:11]. Therefore, Islam strictly rejects all forms of anthropomorphism and anthropopathism of the concept of God, and thus categorically rejects the Christian concept of the Trinity or division of persons in the Godhead.
Islamic theology confirms that Allah (God) has no body, gender (neither male nor female), or comparison. However, due to grammatical limitations in the Arabic language, masculinity is the default grammatical gender if the noun is not specifically feminine. This does not apply to the word "Allah" because, according to Islamic theology, Allah has no gender. Allah is also a singular noun and cannot have a plural form. The "We" used in the Qur'an in numerous places is used only as the "royal we", as has been a tradition in most other languages. It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. Nothing can be used as a similitude or for the purpose of comparison to Allah, even in allegorical terms, because nothing can be compared with him. Thus, the Qur'an says: "Do you know any similar (or anyone else having the same Name or attributes/qualities, which belong) to Him?" [Qur'an 19:65]. According to mainstream theological accounts, Allah is the creator of everything that exists and transcends spatial and temporal bounds. He has neither any beginnings nor any end and remains beyond the bounds of human comprehension and perceptions. This has been described in the Qur'an at various places, such as the following: "He knows (all) that is before them and (all) that is behind them (their past and future, and whatever of intentions, speech, or actions they have left behind), whereas they cannot comprehend Him with their knowledge." [Qur'an 20:110]
In one of the most comprehensive descriptions, as revealed in Surat al-Ikhlas, the Qur'an says:
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Personal god
A personal god, or personal goddess, is a deity who can be related to as a person (anthropomorphic), instead of as an impersonal force, such as the Absolute. In the context of Christianity and the Baháʼí Faith, the term "personal god" also refers to the incarnation of God as a person. In the context of Hinduism, "personal god/goddess" also refers to Ishtadevata, a worshipper's personal favorite deity.
In the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions, God is described as being a personal creator, speaking in the first person and showing emotion such as anger and pride, and sometimes appearing in anthropomorphic shape. In the Pentateuch, for example, God talks with and instructs his prophets and is conceived as possessing volition, emotions (such as anger, grief and happiness), intention, and other attributes characteristic of a human person. Personal relationships with God may be described in the same ways as human relationships, such as a Father, as in Christianity, or a Friend as in Sufism.
A 2008 survey by the Pew Research Center reported that, of U.S. adults, 60% view that "God is a person with whom people can have a relationship", while 25% believe that "God is an impersonal force". A 2019 survey by the National Opinion Research Center reported that 77.5% of U.S. adults believe in a personal god. The 2014 Religious Landscape survey conducted by Pew reported that 57% of U.S. adults believe in a personal god.
Jewish theology states that God is not a person. This was also determined several times in the Torah, which religious Jews traditionally believed to be an indisputable authority for their faith (Hosea 11:9: "I am God, and not a man"; Numbers 23:19: "God is not a man, that He should lie"; 1 Samuel 15:29: "He is not a person, that He should repent"). However, there exist frequent references to anthropomorphic characteristics of God in the Hebrew Bible such as the "Hand of God". Judaism holds that these are to be taken only as figures of speech. Their purpose is to make God more comprehensible to the human reader.[citation needed]
In mainstream Christianity, Jesus (or God the Son) and God the Father are believed to be two members of a trinity. Jesus is believed to be of the same ousia (or substance) as God the Father. The Christian God manifests in three hypostases (or persons): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nontrinitarian Christians dispute that Jesus is a "hypostasis" of or a person within a broader God. Whether the Holy Spirit is impersonal or personal is the subject of dispute, with experts in pneumatology debating the matter.
Islam rejects the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation and the notion of a personal god as anthropomorphic because both demean the transcendence of God. The Qur'an prescribes the fundamental transcendental criterion in the following verse: "There is nothing whatever like Him" [Qur'an 42:11]. Therefore, Islam strictly rejects all forms of anthropomorphism and anthropopathism of the concept of God, and thus categorically rejects the Christian concept of the Trinity or division of persons in the Godhead.
Islamic theology confirms that Allah (God) has no body, gender (neither male nor female), or comparison. However, due to grammatical limitations in the Arabic language, masculinity is the default grammatical gender if the noun is not specifically feminine. This does not apply to the word "Allah" because, according to Islamic theology, Allah has no gender. Allah is also a singular noun and cannot have a plural form. The "We" used in the Qur'an in numerous places is used only as the "royal we", as has been a tradition in most other languages. It is a feature of literary style in Arabic that a person may refer to himself by the pronoun nahnu (we) for respect or glorification. Nothing can be used as a similitude or for the purpose of comparison to Allah, even in allegorical terms, because nothing can be compared with him. Thus, the Qur'an says: "Do you know any similar (or anyone else having the same Name or attributes/qualities, which belong) to Him?" [Qur'an 19:65]. According to mainstream theological accounts, Allah is the creator of everything that exists and transcends spatial and temporal bounds. He has neither any beginnings nor any end and remains beyond the bounds of human comprehension and perceptions. This has been described in the Qur'an at various places, such as the following: "He knows (all) that is before them and (all) that is behind them (their past and future, and whatever of intentions, speech, or actions they have left behind), whereas they cannot comprehend Him with their knowledge." [Qur'an 20:110]
In one of the most comprehensive descriptions, as revealed in Surat al-Ikhlas, the Qur'an says: