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A Personal god is a deity that is, and can be related to as, a person. The personhood of God is one of the characteristic features of monotheism. In the sacred scriptures of Judaism, Islam and Christianity, God is conceived and described as being a personal creator, with a purpose for the creation. In the Pentateuch, for example, God talks and instructs his prophets and is conceived as possessing volition, emotions (such as anger, grief and jealousy), intention, and other attributes characteristic of a human person. In Vaishnavism the reality of God is always not in an idealization, but the actual impact of God in the life of man. Islam however, very clearly opposes conceiving God as resembling "the creation" - refraining from anthropomorphism. The Qur'an maintains that whatever image a believer has of God, is not God, and that he is truly transcendental.
However, the conception of God as a person should not be equated with a simple anthropomorphism. Relating to God as a Father (as in Christianity) or a Friend (in Sufism) is only a way of approaching God and the intimacy possible with one's own maker. It is this intimate relationship with God that is at the core of the Holy Spirit concept, which refers to God's real presence in each living human being.
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Ancient polytheistic religions
The broadest definition of this term is a god who is a personal being, i.e. a being with a personality, including the capacity to reason and feel love, as in the cases of Zeus, Apollo, Athena and other deities common to European Pagan polytheism.
Christianity
Christian theologian Alister McGrath writes that there are good reasons to suggest that a "personal god" is integral to the Christian outlook, but that one has to understand it is an analogy. "To say that God is like a person is to affirm the divine ability and willingness to relate to others. This does not imply that God is human, or located at a specific point in the universe."[1]
In the case of the Christian belief in the Trinity, whether the Holy Spirit is an impersonal god — that is, a "force...often likened to electricity"[2] by some — or a personal one,[3] is the subject of dispute,[2] with experts in pneumatology debating the matter. Jesus and Yahweh are considered the same personal god.[4] Jesus is of the same "ousia" or substance as Yahweh, manifested in three "hypostasis" or persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit). These views are intended to challenge the concept of deity, which is merely a guiding principle, a blind creative force or a philosophical ideal.
Moreover, the belief in Holy Communion and Last Supper implies an intensely communal understanding of religion which very often goes beyond the boundaries of individuality, in what theologians have called the "mystical body".
Nontrinitarian Christians dispute that Jesus is equal to Yahweh.
Deism
A narrower interpretation of a personal god is a deity who takes a personal interest in the world in general and worshipers in particular. This view is intended to challenge a deistic outlook.
A still narrower definition would be a god whose personal interest in worshipers is so great that the deity communicates directly with them and actively intervenes in their lives through miracles.
Judaism
Jewish theology clearly states that God is not a person. 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.[5]
See also
Notes and references
- ^ McGrath, Alister (2006). Christian Theology: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 1405153601.
- ^ a b http://www.spotlightministries.org.uk/personhoodofthespirit.htm
- ^ http://christianity.about.com/od/topicalbiblestudies/a/whoisholyspirit.htm
- ^ http://www.dtl.org/trinity/article/jehovah/pt-2.htm
- ^ http://www.jewfaq.org/g-d.htm
External links
Christianity
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