Personal god

Page Contents

A personal god is a deity who can be related to as a person instead of as an impersonal force, such as the Absolute, “the All”, or the “Ground of Being”.

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 2008 survey by the National Opinion Research Center reports that 67.5% 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.

“Because I am God, your personal God, The Holy of Israel, your Savior.” ~ Isaiah 43:2-3

Abrahamic religions

Christianity

Islam

Most Islamic sources teach that God is a personal God, he speaks in the Quran in first person and has personal attributes, yet the Quran still maintains that God is unique in nature and substance and has no similarity to anything else. Islam also teaches that God is beyond comprehension and the best way for Muslims to have a relationship of God is to obey his commands.

The Quran asserts the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world: a unique and indivisible being who is independent of the entire creation. The Qur’an clearly opposes conceiving God as resembling “the creation” and it maintains that whatever image a believer has of God is not God, and that he is truly transcendental. According to the Qur’an:

“Say: He is God, the One and Only; God, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him.” (Sura 112:1-4, Suraah Ikhlaas)

Thy Lord is self-sufficient, full of Mercy: if it were God’s will, God could destroy you, and in your place appoint whom God will as your successors, even as God raised you up from the posterity of other people.” (Sura 6:133, Yusuf Ali)

Sura Ihlas (Unity)

Judaism

Jewish theology 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. As God is beyond human understanding, there are different ways of describing him. He is said to be both personal and impersonal, he has a relationship with his creation but is beyond all relationships.

Deism

In general, most deists view God as a personal God. This is illustrated by the 17th-century assertions of Lord Edward Herbert, universally regarded as the Father of English deism, which stated that there is one Supreme God, and he ought to be worshiped. However, deism is a general belief encompassing people with varying specific beliefs, and the notion of God as a personal God cannot be ascribed to all deists.

Christian Deism

Christian deism is a term applied both to Christians who incorporate deistic principles into their beliefs and to deists who follow the moral teachings of Jesus without believing in his divinity. With regard to those who are essentially deists who follow the moral teachings of Jesus, these are a subset of classical deists. Consequently, they believe in a personal God, but they do not necessarily believe in a personal relationship with God.

Classical deism

Classical deists who adhere to Herbert’s common notion certainly believe in a personal God, because those notions include the belief that God dispenses rewards and punishments both in this life and after it. This is not something which would be done by an impersonal force. However, a personal relationship with God is not contemplated, since living a virtuous and pious life is seen as the primary means of worshiping God.

Humanistic deism

Humanistic deists accept the core principles of deism but incorporate humanistic beliefs into their faith. Thus, humanistic deists believe in a personal God who created the universe. The key element that separates humanistic deists from other deists is the emphasis on the importance of human development over religious development and on the relationships among human beings over the relationships between humans and God. Those who self-identify as humanistic deists may take an approach based upon what is found in classical deism and allow their worship of God to manifest itself primarily (or exclusively) in the manner in which they treat others. Other humanistic deists may prioritize their relationships with other human beings over their relationship with God, yet still maintain a personal relationship with the Supreme Being.

Pandeism

Pandeists believe that in the process of creating the universe, God underwent a metamorphosis from a conscious and sentient being or force to an unconscious and unresponsive entity by becoming the universe. Consequently, pandeists do not believe that a personal God currently exists.

Polydeism

Polydeists reject the notion that one Supreme Being would have created the universe and then left it to its own devices which is a common belief shared by many deists. Rather, they conclude that several gods who are superhuman but not omnipotent each created parts of the universe. Polydeists hold an affirmative belief that the gods who created the universe are completely uninvolved in the world and pose no threat and offer no hope to humanity. Polydeists see living virtuous and pious lives as the primary components of worshiping God, firmly adhering to one of the common notions set forth by Herbert. Thus, polydeists believe that there are several personal Gods. Yet, they do not believe they can have a relationship with any of them.

Scientific deism

Scientific deists believe, based on an analysis utilizing the scientific method, that a personal God created the universe. This analysis finds no evidence of a purpose God may have had for creation of the universe or evidence that God attempted to communicate such purpose to humanity. It therefore concludes that there is no purpose to creation other than that which human beings choose to make for themselves. Thus, scientific deists believe in a personal God, but generally do not believe in relationships between God and human beings, since there is no proof of a purpose for creation.

Spiritual deism

Spiritual deism is a belief in the core principles of deism with an emphasis on spirituality including the connections between humans and each other, nature and God. Within spiritual deism, there is an absolute belief in a personal God as the creator of the universe along with the ability to build a spiritual relationship with God. While Spiritual deism is nondogmatic, its followers generally believe that there can be no progress for mankind without a belief in a personal God.

Indian religions

Hinduism

Vaishnavism and Shaivism, traditions of Hinduism, subscribe to an ultimate personal nature of God. The Vishnu Sahasranama declares the person of Vishnu as both the Paramatma (supreme soul) and Parameshwara (supreme God) while the Rudram describes the same about Shiva. In Krishna-centered theology (Krishna is seen as a form of Vishnu by most, except Gaudiya Vaishnavism) the title Svayam Bhagavan is used exclusively to designate Krishna in his personal feature, it refers to Gaudiya Vaishnava, the Nimbarka Sampradaya and followers of Vallabha, while the person of Vishnu and Narayana is sometimes referred to as the ultimate personal god of other Vaishnava traditions.

Jainism

Jainism explicitly denies existence of non-personal transcendent god and explicitly affirms existence of personal gods. All gods in Jainism are personal.

One of the major point of dispute between Digambara and Shwetambara is the gender of the gods. Digambara gods can only be men and any man of at least eight years of age can become god if he follows the right procedure.

Jain gods are eternal, but they are not beginningless. Also, Jain gods are all omniscient, but not omnipotent. They are sometimes called quasi-gods due to this reason.

Gods are said to be free from the following eighteen imperfections:

janma – (re)birth;
jarā – old-age;
triśā – thirst;
kśudhā – hunger;
vismaya – astonishment;
arati – displeasure;
kheda – regret;
roga – sickness;
śoka – grief;
mada – pride;
moha – delusion;
bhaya – fear;
nidrā – sleep;
cintā – anxiety;
sveda – perspiration;
rāga – attachment;
dveśa – aversion; and
maraņa – death.

The four infinitudes of god are (ananta cātuṣṭaya) are:

ananta jñāna, infinite knowledge
ananta darśana, perfect perception due to the destruction of all darśanāvaraṇīya karmas
ananta sukha, infinite bliss
ananta vīrya – infinite energy

Those who re-establish the Jain faith are called Tirthankaras. They have additional attributes. Tirthankaras revitalize the sangha, the fourfold order consisting of male saints (sādhus), female saints (sādhvis), male householders (śrāvaka) and female householders (Śrāvika).

The first Tirthankara of the current time cycle was Ṛṣabhanātha, and the twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara was Mahavira, who lived from 599 BCE to 527 BCE.

Jain texts mention forty-six attributes of arihants or tirthankaras. These attributes comprise four infinitudes (ananta chatushtaya), thirty-four miraculous happenings (atiśaya), and eight splendours (prātihārya).

The eight splendours (prātihārya) are: