Classic Theist God

Definition of terms and explanation of concepts

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McCulloch
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Classic Theist God

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Post by McCulloch »

Your personal definition or your group's definition may vary, but these are commonly held attributes of God according to many.
  1. God is personal. That is God behaves purposefully. God has conscious preferences and behaves intelligently to bring about what he prefers. God thinks, calculates, plans, chooses and imagines. Emotions are optional.
  2. God is a spirit. God is not physical. He is not composed of atoms and energy.
  3. God is omnipotent, almighty. God can do anything that can be done.
  4. God is all knowing, omniscient. God knows everything that can be known.
  5. God is everywhere at once, omnipresent. God is not localized in space. For all practical purposes, the claim that God can accurately perceive what is going on everywhere and can effectively intervene anywhere, is equivalent to the claim that God is everywhere.
  6. God is perfectly good. God does not (or cannot) do that which is morally wrong.
  7. God is interested in humans.
  8. God made the entire physical universe. If there are more than one universe, God made them all. If there is a spiritual universe, God made that too. All out of nothing.
  9. God never changes. God cannot learn from experience because he already knows everything. It is disputed whether God exists outside of time or for all time.
  10. God is necessary. It is inconceivable that God does not exist.
This is the classic definition of God which can be differentiated from other less orthodox definitions of God such as
  1. The stupendously great but limited God
  2. The God of Process Theology
  3. Godlings, devas, demigods etc.
  4. Pantheist God
  5. Panentheist God
  6. Deist God
and others.
Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.
First Epistle to the Church of the Thessalonians
The truth will make you free.
Gospel of John

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