We explain what a god is, his role in various cultures and his characteristics. Also, differences between monotheism and polytheism.
What is a god?
A god is a mystical and/or religious concept, which consists of a supreme entity to which supernatural powers are attributed and various roles in the functioning of the world. It is one of the oldest concepts of human civilization, fundamental in the emergence of the first religions and mythologies.
In broad terms, a supernatural, eternal entity is called a god or deity. endowed with control over some (or all) aspects of nature and to which human beings can resort in situations of pressure, suffering or gratitude, through ritual practices.
Depending on the religion and culture, the gods can be many and very diverse (polytheism) or one and absolute one (monotheism). In the latter case, he is usually attributed with the creation of the universe, of life and especially of human beings, to whom he would also have given the gift of reason and certain moral or existential codes through which to guide themselves in existence.
The word god comes from Latin deusand this in turn from the Indo-European root Dyeulinked to daylight or daylight; this is because The vast majority of ancient religions worshiped the sun and the sky often attributing to him the role of fertilizing father of the earth or responsible for keeping the cosmic order going.
Thus, the ancient Egyptians called the sun Ra; The ancient Greeks headed their pantheon with the father god Zeus (dyeus), owner of lightning and the heavens; and the later Romans did the same with Jupiter (dyeu-piter) who was evoked as “father” (father).
The gods always played a protective and guiding role in the formation of human societies, and their wills were understood, interpreted and communicated by priests, shamans or other types of spiritual leaders, many of whom at the same time held political leadership.
Although historically polytheisms, that is, religions with many gods, were the first and most common, monotheisms played a vital role in the religious composition of the world. In general, the religions of a single god were much less tolerant of the beliefs of others, since they understand their deity as the true one and those of others as lies, deviations or misinterpretations.
For this reason, monotheisms actively sought the conversion of others to their creed, which allowed the cultural unification of entire regions and established a common ideology among people of different languages, ethnicities, and nationalities. This, of course, also had a gigantic historical cost in blood and war. The three great monotheisms were and still are: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
In the modern world, especially in the West, considerations about the existence or absence of God were central and controversial. Frederick Nietzsche's phrase that “God is dead” is well known, meaning that in the way of thinking of modern human beings, the idea of an all-powerful supernatural entity went from being a public and central issue in society, to be something rather intimate and subjective.
According to this theory, everyone can believe in the god or gods they like and profess that faith in their own way. However, the different churches and organized religions continue to exist and play an important role in the moral and spiritual guidance of their congregation.
People who do not believe in any god are known as atheists; While those who believe in God in their own way, without practicing any specific religion, or simply think that the existence of God is something that transcends human understanding, are called agnostics.
Characteristics of a god
It is very difficult to establish a universal pattern of characteristics for all the gods in which humanity believes or has believed. However, broadly speaking we can talk about:
- A god is an eternal or almost eternal entity which exists on a plane higher than that of humanity. In some traditions they are represented anthropomorphically, that is, in human form, as men and women endowed with certain features and certain implements. Thus, the Greek god Apollo was represented as a young man carrying a bow and arrow or a lyre, while the Hindu god Ganesha has a human body with four arms and an elephant head; For its part, Islam prohibits any type of representation of God.
- The gods are usually responsible, directly or indirectly, for the creation of the universe and especially of the human species. The latter would have been assigned some type of mission or meaning, generally related to divine veneration or the practice of a spiritual code, that is, the gods would have created humanity to guide it or to be venerated by it. This is why the gods often occupy a paternal or maternal role, even engendering offspring among human beings, as was the case with Greek heroes.
- In polytheisms, the gods usually divide the dominion of the earth reigning over skies, seas, mountains, or over the world of the dead. Each god would have absolute dominion over their specific realm, and often equivalents in the natural world (such as sacred animals) or in the emotional world of humans (such as emotions associated with them, or specific protective roles: the Greek god Hermes, for example). , protected messengers, thieves and rogues). The gods could be at peace or at war with each other.
- Rarely do the gods show themselves to mortal eyes and when they do, it is usually through symbols, enigmas or dreams, so their will often requires interpretation by a priest or spiritual guide. This will can be mysterious and capricious, or open and frontal, depending on the cult and also the god considered. Thus, for example, there would be protective gods, cruel gods, compassionate gods, major gods and minor gods, or different aspects of a single god, who can be terrible and loving at the same time, as in the case of the Judeo-Christian god.
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References
- “God” on Wikipedia.
- “God, sa” in the Dictionary of the Language of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Etymology of God” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “Concepts of God” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- “God (deity)” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
