The word 'God' and its meanings - Essay Example

The Word ‘God’ and Its Meanings In the dictionary, ‘God’ is generally referred to as “A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe.” This denotative meaning further states that God is “A being of supernatural powers or attributes” and “the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions” (Farlex). Apparently, based on this definition alone, God emerges to be a Supreme One whose unity constantly dwells in the absolutism of character that occurs to possess all the ideal traits of perfection.

It may as well be inferred herein that since God can be perceived to bear the ultimate potential of creation and of knowledge in all, God’s might and intellectual capacity must be far beyond the measure which men could possibly hold in depths of thought or imagination. For Christians, this view of God corresponds to the unseen Creator and Father who neither has a beginning nor an end and who is widely known for His unconditional love for mankind despite the weak nature of the latter. As a full manifestation of this love, Christians believe that this same God established a ‘covenant’ with men in the ancient times through the prophets and carried out His plan of salvation at the expense of the death of Christ by crucifixion in order to save human souls from the perilous evil of committing sins, upon repentance.

A Gnostic group called the Marcionites claim that “the Christian Gospel was wholly a Gospel of Love to the absolute exclusion of Law” (Gray, 2002) so that this leads to the notion that the God in whom Christians express their prayerful faith is even magnified as a loving God who is, above all, a merciful Redeemer and not a ruthless Punisher. On the other hand, the dictionary-based definition coincides with the manner “Allah” or the God of Islam is depicted as “the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of the universe” where, in the 112th chapter of Qur’an, the text reads “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate” and includes that Allah is “the One God, the Everlasting Refuge, who has not begotten, nor has been begotten, and equal to Him is not anyone” (WAMY Series).

Similar to the illustration of God via the Christian principle, the image of Allah prevails as God with abundant reserves of mercy and an unparalleled God of providence whose existence is considered infinite on both ends of time. Among the monotheistic systems of belief such as those adhered to by Muslims and Christians, the concept of God appears to converge on the perspective that God pertains not merely to a deity of one aspect but that which encompasses all. God, unlike the pagan gods embodied by several forms and elements, is chiefly understood in the light of discerning the essence of spirituality and profound sense of divine intervention.

Often, decorous institutions as churches and mosques are built for the sake of formal worship because God is highly revered being Most Holy and the ministers during a sacred worship service are acknowledged as God’s instruments. Works CitedFarlex. “God.” The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/god on March 8, 2013.Gray, Patrick (November 2002). “A Meaning Worthy of God: Origen and Biblical Integrity in a Pre-Constantinian Age.” Quodlibet Journal. Vol. 4, No. 4. Retrieved from http://www.quodlibet.net/articles/gray-origen.

shtml on March 8, 2013.WAMY Series. “Concept of God in Islam.” Retrieved from http://www.sultan.org/articles/god.html on March 9, 2013.