:''This article is about deities or gods from a non-monotheistic perspective. See God for information about the monotheistic entity.'' A deity or a god, is a postulated preternatural being, usually, but not always, of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings. They assume a variety of forms, but are frequently depicted as having human or animal form. Sometimes it is considered blasphemous to imagine the deity as having any concrete form. They are usually immortality. They are commonly assumed to have personalities and to possess consciousness, intellects, desires, and emotions much like humans. Such natural phenomena as lightning, floods, storms, other "acts of God”, and miracles are attributed to them, and they may be thought to be the authorities or controllers of every aspect of human life (such as birth or the afterlife). Some deities are asserted to be the directors of time and fate itself, to be the givers of human law and morality, to be the ultimate judges of human worth and behavior, and to be the designers and creators of the Earth or the universe. ==Etymology== The English word ''deity'' is from the Latin ''deus'', meaning 'god'. Similar is the Sanskrit ''deva'', a god or celestial being. Related are words for the sky: Latin ''dies'', day, ''divum'', the open sky, Sanskrit ''div'', ''diu'', sky, day, shine. Also related are ''divine'' or ''divinity'' from Latin ''divinus'' from ''divus''. See also Dyeus. The English word ''god'' is from the Anglo-Saxon, and similar words are found in many Germanic languages (see God for etymology). ==Relation with humanity== They are generally thought to be invisible or inaccessible to humans -- to dwell mainly in otherworldly, remote or secluded and holy places, such as Heaven, Hell, the sky, the under-world, under the sea, in the high mountains, or deep forests, or in a supernatural plane or a celestial sphere -- choosing but rarely to reveal or manifest themselves to humans, and to make themselves known mainly through their effects. While the monotheistic God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is thought of as dwelling in Heaven, he is also said to be omnipresence, though invisible. In polytheism, gods are conceived of as a counterpart to humans. In Proto-Indo-European, humans were referred to as ''tkonion'' "earthly" as opposed to the gods, which were ''deivos'' "celestial". This almost symbiotic relationship is present in many later cultures: humans are defined by their station subject to the gods, nourishing them with sacrifices, and gods are defined by their sovereignty over humans, punishing and rewarding them, but also dependent on their worship. The boundary between human and divine in most cultures is by no means absolute. Demigods are the offspring from a union of a human with a deity, and most royal houses in Antiquity claimed divine ancestors. Beginning with Chephren (26th century), the Ancient Egypt Pharaohs called themselves "Son of Ra". Some human rulers, such as the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, the Tennos and some Roman Emperors, have been worshipped by their subjects as deities while still alive. The earliest ruler known to have claimed divinity is Naram-Sin (22nd century BC). In many cultures rulers and other prominent or holy persons may be thought to become deities upon death (see Osiris, ancestor worship, canonization). == Religion == ''Main article: religion''. Theories and narratives about, and modes of worship of, gods are largely a matter of religion. At present, the vast majority of humans are adherents of some religion, and this has been true for at least thousands of years. Human burials from between 50,000 and 30,000 B.C. provide evidence of human belief in an afterlife and possibly in gods, although it is not clear when human belief in deities became the dominant view. Some religions are monotheistic and assert the existence of a unique god. In the English language, the common noun "god" is equivalent to "deity", while "God" (capitalized) is the name of the unique deity of monotheism. Pantheism considers the Universe itself to be a deity. Dualism is the view that there are two deities: a deity of Good who is opposed and thwarted by a deity of Evil, of equal power. Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and gnostics sects of Christianity are, or were, dualist. Polytheism asserts the existence of several gods, who together form a pantheon. Henotheism is a form of polytheism in which one god is worshipped as supreme. Monolatrism is a type of polytheism in which gods are believed to exert power only on those who worship them. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit every existing thing, including plants, minerals, animals and, including all the elements, air, water, earth, and fire. The anthropology Edward Burnett Tylor argued that religion originally took an animist form. Theism is the view that at least one god exists. Atheism is either the denial of the existence of gods or God, or the absence of the belief that there are gods or God. It may not be readily apparent what form a religion actually takes. Religions that avow monotheism may in fact be henotheistic in that they recognize the existence of several echelons of supernatural, immortal, deity-like beings in addition to the supreme God, such as angels, saints, Satan, demons, and devils, although these beings may not be considered deities. Adherents of polytheistic religions, such as certain schools of Hinduism, may regard all gods in the pantheon as manifestations, aspects, or multiple personalities of the single supreme god, and the religions may be more akin to monotheism or henotheism than is initially apparent to an observer. The many List of religions do not in general agree on which gods exist, although sometimes the pantheons may overlap, or be similar except for the names of the gods. It is frequently argued that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same monotheistic god, although they differ in many important details. Comparative religion studies the similarities and contrasts in the views and practices of various religions. The Philosophy of religion discusses philosophical issues related to theories about gods. Narratives about gods and their deeds are referred to as myths, the study of which is mythology. The word "myth" has an overtone of fiction; so religious people commonly (although not invariably) refrain from using this term in relation to the stories about gods in which they believe themselves. In Buddhism gods are the beings in Six lower realms of Samsara, these beings are numerous and are not worshipped. ===Singular God=== In some cases, especially the God of monotheism, or the supreme deity of henotheistic religions, the divine entity is not thought of by some believers in the same terms as deities -- as a powerful, human-like, supernatural being -- but rather becomes esoteric, the reification of a philosophical category -- the Ultimate, the Absolute Infinite, the Transcendent, the One, the All, Existence or Being itself, the Paul Tillich, the monism substrate, etc. In this view, God (Allah, Brahman, Waheguru, Elohim, etc...) is not a god or deity, and the anthropomorphic mythology and iconography associated with Him is regarded as symbolism, allowing worshippers to speak and think about something which otherwise would be beyond human comprehension. ==See also== * List of deities ** List of self-proclaimed deities * Aesir * God * God (male deity) * Goddess * Death deity * Devas * Fairy * Life-death-rebirth deity * Lunar deity * Saint * Solar deity * Transtheism Deities
==Redirect== I wonder why this page redirects to God, a page that mainly describes the Christian view. I thing deity or deities could be a god starting point for a more NPOV-centered reference to various deities in various belief-systems and religions? --User:Tillwe 16:21 Nov 15, 2002 (UTC) :I disagree, if you read the article God, it isn't remotely close to focusing on a judeau christian God. I feel strongly this page aught to redirect, its a stub w no future, and no special definition of its own. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 21:57, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :I have to humbly disagree with you, Sam. Allow me to quote the first two lines of God ::''"God refers to the supreme being, often conceived of as a ruler or creator of the universe. This concept of God is common in monotheistic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, and Shaivism interpretations of Hinduism.'' ::''When used as a proper noun, "God" is typically capitalized. This article is not about the concept of gods, goddesses and deities in general."'' :That's plainly monotheistic... User:ClockworkTroll 22:05, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::You are correct sir. However, God is not necessarilly abrahamic. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 22:14, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::That, too, is correct. However, by definition a polytheistic religion does not have a single "supreme being" to the exclusion of other beings. In fact, God specifically states: ''"This article is not about the concept of gods, goddesses and deities in general."''l it ''could'' be made to be such, but serious effort would have to go into balancing the emphasis. Additionally, I feel that the monotheistic god is so subject-rich that it deserves its own page, and I disagree with you that deity is destined to remain a stub forever. Much can be written on the many regional Buddhist ideas of deities alone. User:ClockworkTroll 22:24, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :You have done a very good job, from what I have seen. I am now convinced this article is going somewhere, and that it should remain independant for the time being. I also think the different supernatural/spiritual entities aught to have a project, or template, or some sort of connection, and I agree with you that a reader might be looking for something other than the entry they find, or that they might well be interested in multiple entries on variations of spiritual entities. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 23:37, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :: Thank you, Sam Spade. I appreciate that. I haven't done much with it, but I think this little Deity article has some potential, and I'll be happy to get it moving in the right direction. User:ClockworkTroll 23:51, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) Sam's just informed me that this page now describes "deity" as excluding monotheism. I think that's incorrect, both in that it shouldn't exclude monotheism and also in that I don't think the article as it currently stands excludes monotheism. The disambiguation note at the top should be amended in light of that, IMO. User:Bryan Derksen 01:52, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC) Seems strange to talk about the sage brushes ... surely a section on Animism or something like that would be more appropriate than this highly specific entry? ==Definition== - The current definition seems too complex for the word. Isn't 'deity' just an [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=asexual asexual] (having no evident sex) way to say 'god', so in general is 'a god or goddess'? I kind of like dictionary.com's definition 2a of [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=deity deity], being "The essential nature or condition of being a god; divinity.", but again the main definition is 'a god or goddess'. - [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=deity Mirriam-Webster deity #2] states this. - [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=20451&dict=CALD Cambridge deity] states this. - It should be pointed out that "The Diety" as a proper noun would mean a different thing (more the one supreme creator god or some such), but that should not be the main definition. -User:Jayon 17:32, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC) == POV portion moved from article == Neither Gods nor other supernatural entities and forces figure in scientific theories, although scientists themselves may hold various religious views. But there have been controversial attempts to introduce God into science, for example, creationism, or Intelligent Design Theory, rejected by most scientists as pseudo-science. :I find this to be highly perjorative and innaccurate. Something very different could address these very ideas in an accurate, neutral manner. [[User:Sam Spade|User:Sam Spade User talk:Sam Spade [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Boardvote Wants ''you'' to vote!]]] 23:30, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Really, where do supernatural entities figure in any scientific theory? Or are you objecting to the characterization of creationism and IDT as pseudo-science? --User:BM 02:23, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) Absolute infinite is one obvious example. And yes, I object to the usage of "rejected by most scientists as pseudo-science", if nothing else I'd like a cite on that. [[User:Sam Spade|User:Sam Spade User talk:Sam Spade [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Boardvote Wants ''you'' to vote!]]] 11:05, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) Well that isn't a scientific theory. It is religious philosophy from a mathematician. That it was advanced by a mathematician doesn't make it science. I challenge you to find any evidence that the Absolute Infinite is taught in any level of mathematics courses, as mathamatics. You couldn't get a Ph.D. in Mathematics by writing about it. For that, you'd need to go to the Philosophy department, or perhaps you could get away with it as History of Science. --User:BM 12:02, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) ==definition== Isn't "supernatural entity" too vague (c.f. Talk:Atheism)? Deities in most books would presuppose consciousness. A formless "entity", maybe an algorithm, or an artefact, should not be classified as deities. Deities are in a sense 'alive', some may even die. Maybe "conscious being considered to be esentially above human comprehension" User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 12:49, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)
See other meanings of words starting from letter:
Words begining with Deity:
Deity
Deity
Deity
:''This article is about deities or gods from a non-monotheistic perspective. See God for information about the monotheistic entity.'' A deity or a god, is a postulated preternatural being, usually, but not always, of significant power, worshipped, thought holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, or respected by human beings. They assume a variety of forms, but are frequently depicted as having human or animal form. Sometimes it is considered blasphemous to imagine the deity as having any concrete form. They are usually immortality. They are commonly assumed to have personalities and to possess consciousness, intellects, desires, and emotions much like humans. Such natural phenomena as lightning, floods, storms, other "acts of God”, and miracles are attributed to them, and they may be thought to be the authorities or controllers of every aspect of human life (such as birth or the afterlife). Some deities are asserted to be the directors of time and fate itself, to be the givers of human law and morality, to be the ultimate judges of human worth and behavior, and to be the designers and creators of the Earth or the universe. ==Etymology== The English word ''deity'' is from the Latin ''deus'', meaning 'god'. Similar is the Sanskrit ''deva'', a god or celestial being. Related are words for the sky: Latin ''dies'', day, ''divum'', the open sky, Sanskrit ''div'', ''diu'', sky, day, shine. Also related are ''divine'' or ''divinity'' from Latin ''divinus'' from ''divus''. See also Dyeus. The English word ''god'' is from the Anglo-Saxon, and similar words are found in many Germanic languages (see God for etymology). ==Relation with humanity== They are generally thought to be invisible or inaccessible to humans -- to dwell mainly in otherworldly, remote or secluded and holy places, such as Heaven, Hell, the sky, the under-world, under the sea, in the high mountains, or deep forests, or in a supernatural plane or a celestial sphere -- choosing but rarely to reveal or manifest themselves to humans, and to make themselves known mainly through their effects. While the monotheistic God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is thought of as dwelling in Heaven, he is also said to be omnipresence, though invisible. In polytheism, gods are conceived of as a counterpart to humans. In Proto-Indo-European, humans were referred to as ''tkonion'' "earthly" as opposed to the gods, which were ''deivos'' "celestial". This almost symbiotic relationship is present in many later cultures: humans are defined by their station subject to the gods, nourishing them with sacrifices, and gods are defined by their sovereignty over humans, punishing and rewarding them, but also dependent on their worship. The boundary between human and divine in most cultures is by no means absolute. Demigods are the offspring from a union of a human with a deity, and most royal houses in Antiquity claimed divine ancestors. Beginning with Chephren (26th century), the Ancient Egypt Pharaohs called themselves "Son of Ra". Some human rulers, such as the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, the Tennos and some Roman Emperors, have been worshipped by their subjects as deities while still alive. The earliest ruler known to have claimed divinity is Naram-Sin (22nd century BC). In many cultures rulers and other prominent or holy persons may be thought to become deities upon death (see Osiris, ancestor worship, canonization). == Religion == ''Main article: religion''. Theories and narratives about, and modes of worship of, gods are largely a matter of religion. At present, the vast majority of humans are adherents of some religion, and this has been true for at least thousands of years. Human burials from between 50,000 and 30,000 B.C. provide evidence of human belief in an afterlife and possibly in gods, although it is not clear when human belief in deities became the dominant view. Some religions are monotheistic and assert the existence of a unique god. In the English language, the common noun "god" is equivalent to "deity", while "God" (capitalized) is the name of the unique deity of monotheism. Pantheism considers the Universe itself to be a deity. Dualism is the view that there are two deities: a deity of Good who is opposed and thwarted by a deity of Evil, of equal power. Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and gnostics sects of Christianity are, or were, dualist. Polytheism asserts the existence of several gods, who together form a pantheon. Henotheism is a form of polytheism in which one god is worshipped as supreme. Monolatrism is a type of polytheism in which gods are believed to exert power only on those who worship them. Animism is the belief that spirits inhabit every existing thing, including plants, minerals, animals and, including all the elements, air, water, earth, and fire. The anthropology Edward Burnett Tylor argued that religion originally took an animist form. Theism is the view that at least one god exists. Atheism is either the denial of the existence of gods or God, or the absence of the belief that there are gods or God. It may not be readily apparent what form a religion actually takes. Religions that avow monotheism may in fact be henotheistic in that they recognize the existence of several echelons of supernatural, immortal, deity-like beings in addition to the supreme God, such as angels, saints, Satan, demons, and devils, although these beings may not be considered deities. Adherents of polytheistic religions, such as certain schools of Hinduism, may regard all gods in the pantheon as manifestations, aspects, or multiple personalities of the single supreme god, and the religions may be more akin to monotheism or henotheism than is initially apparent to an observer. The many List of religions do not in general agree on which gods exist, although sometimes the pantheons may overlap, or be similar except for the names of the gods. It is frequently argued that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all worship the same monotheistic god, although they differ in many important details. Comparative religion studies the similarities and contrasts in the views and practices of various religions. The Philosophy of religion discusses philosophical issues related to theories about gods. Narratives about gods and their deeds are referred to as myths, the study of which is mythology. The word "myth" has an overtone of fiction; so religious people commonly (although not invariably) refrain from using this term in relation to the stories about gods in which they believe themselves. In Buddhism gods are the beings in Six lower realms of Samsara, these beings are numerous and are not worshipped. ===Singular God=== In some cases, especially the God of monotheism, or the supreme deity of henotheistic religions, the divine entity is not thought of by some believers in the same terms as deities -- as a powerful, human-like, supernatural being -- but rather becomes esoteric, the reification of a philosophical category -- the Ultimate, the Absolute Infinite, the Transcendent, the One, the All, Existence or Being itself, the Paul Tillich, the monism substrate, etc. In this view, God (Allah, Brahman, Waheguru, Elohim, etc...) is not a god or deity, and the anthropomorphic mythology and iconography associated with Him is regarded as symbolism, allowing worshippers to speak and think about something which otherwise would be beyond human comprehension. ==See also== * List of deities ** List of self-proclaimed deities * Aesir * God * God (male deity) * Goddess * Death deity * Devas * Fairy * Life-death-rebirth deity * Lunar deity * Saint * Solar deity * Transtheism Deities
Deity
==Redirect== I wonder why this page redirects to God, a page that mainly describes the Christian view. I thing deity or deities could be a god starting point for a more NPOV-centered reference to various deities in various belief-systems and religions? --User:Tillwe 16:21 Nov 15, 2002 (UTC) :I disagree, if you read the article God, it isn't remotely close to focusing on a judeau christian God. I feel strongly this page aught to redirect, its a stub w no future, and no special definition of its own. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 21:57, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :I have to humbly disagree with you, Sam. Allow me to quote the first two lines of God ::''"God refers to the supreme being, often conceived of as a ruler or creator of the universe. This concept of God is common in monotheistic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Brahmanism, Vaishnavism, and Shaivism interpretations of Hinduism.'' ::''When used as a proper noun, "God" is typically capitalized. This article is not about the concept of gods, goddesses and deities in general."'' :That's plainly monotheistic... User:ClockworkTroll 22:05, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::You are correct sir. However, God is not necessarilly abrahamic. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 22:14, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) ::That, too, is correct. However, by definition a polytheistic religion does not have a single "supreme being" to the exclusion of other beings. In fact, God specifically states: ''"This article is not about the concept of gods, goddesses and deities in general."''l it ''could'' be made to be such, but serious effort would have to go into balancing the emphasis. Additionally, I feel that the monotheistic god is so subject-rich that it deserves its own page, and I disagree with you that deity is destined to remain a stub forever. Much can be written on the many regional Buddhist ideas of deities alone. User:ClockworkTroll 22:24, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :You have done a very good job, from what I have seen. I am now convinced this article is going somewhere, and that it should remain independant for the time being. I also think the different supernatural/spiritual entities aught to have a project, or template, or some sort of connection, and I agree with you that a reader might be looking for something other than the entry they find, or that they might well be interested in multiple entries on variations of spiritual entities. User:Sam Spade http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=User_talk:Sam_Spade&action=edit§ion=new Spade 23:37, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) :: Thank you, Sam Spade. I appreciate that. I haven't done much with it, but I think this little Deity article has some potential, and I'll be happy to get it moving in the right direction. User:ClockworkTroll 23:51, 12 Oct 2004 (UTC) Sam's just informed me that this page now describes "deity" as excluding monotheism. I think that's incorrect, both in that it shouldn't exclude monotheism and also in that I don't think the article as it currently stands excludes monotheism. The disambiguation note at the top should be amended in light of that, IMO. User:Bryan Derksen 01:52, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC) Seems strange to talk about the sage brushes ... surely a section on Animism or something like that would be more appropriate than this highly specific entry? ==Definition== - The current definition seems too complex for the word. Isn't 'deity' just an [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=asexual asexual] (having no evident sex) way to say 'god', so in general is 'a god or goddess'? I kind of like dictionary.com's definition 2a of [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=deity deity], being "The essential nature or condition of being a god; divinity.", but again the main definition is 'a god or goddess'. - [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=deity Mirriam-Webster deity #2] states this. - [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=20451&dict=CALD Cambridge deity] states this. - It should be pointed out that "The Diety" as a proper noun would mean a different thing (more the one supreme creator god or some such), but that should not be the main definition. -User:Jayon 17:32, 22 Nov 2004 (UTC) == POV portion moved from article == Neither Gods nor other supernatural entities and forces figure in scientific theories, although scientists themselves may hold various religious views. But there have been controversial attempts to introduce God into science, for example, creationism, or Intelligent Design Theory, rejected by most scientists as pseudo-science. :I find this to be highly perjorative and innaccurate. Something very different could address these very ideas in an accurate, neutral manner. [[User:Sam Spade|User:Sam Spade User talk:Sam Spade [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Boardvote Wants ''you'' to vote!]]] 23:30, 13 Dec 2004 (UTC) :Really, where do supernatural entities figure in any scientific theory? Or are you objecting to the characterization of creationism and IDT as pseudo-science? --User:BM 02:23, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) Absolute infinite is one obvious example. And yes, I object to the usage of "rejected by most scientists as pseudo-science", if nothing else I'd like a cite on that. [[User:Sam Spade|User:Sam Spade User talk:Sam Spade [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Boardvote Wants ''you'' to vote!]]] 11:05, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) Well that isn't a scientific theory. It is religious philosophy from a mathematician. That it was advanced by a mathematician doesn't make it science. I challenge you to find any evidence that the Absolute Infinite is taught in any level of mathematics courses, as mathamatics. You couldn't get a Ph.D. in Mathematics by writing about it. For that, you'd need to go to the Philosophy department, or perhaps you could get away with it as History of Science. --User:BM 12:02, 14 Dec 2004 (UTC) ==definition== Isn't "supernatural entity" too vague (c.f. Talk:Atheism)? Deities in most books would presuppose consciousness. A formless "entity", maybe an algorithm, or an artefact, should not be classified as deities. Deities are in a sense 'alive', some may even die. Maybe "conscious being considered to be esentially above human comprehension" User:Dbachmann User_talk:Dbachmann 12:49, 12 Apr 2005 (UTC)
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D
DA | DB | DC | DE | DF | DG | DH | DI | DJ | DK | DL | DM | DN | DO | DP | DR | DS | DT | DU | DW | DX | DY | DZ |Words begining with Deity:
Deity
Deity
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