Who Is The God Of Gods? An Exploration Of The Supreme Deity
Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has pondered the existence and nature of a supreme creator. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: no definitive God of Gods emerges across religions and mythologies, but many faiths have conceived of an ultimate divine force or Supreme Being behind all lesser gods.
In this approximately 3000 word article, we will embark on an exploratory journey through history and belief to better understand perceptions of a God of Gods. Providing an overview of supreme deities in major world religions, we highlight similarities and differences in how various faiths and cultures have envisioned the pinnacle of divinity.
Hinduism’s Brahman as the Unknowable Absolute
The Impersonal Universal Spirit
Brahman is conceptualized in Hinduism as the eternal, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the divine ground of all being. Brahman is believed to comprise the spiritual essence of the universe, everything that exists, both manifest and unmanifest.
Yet Brahman defies all descriptions and conceptualizations – it is ultimately indefinable and unknowable in its entirety. As the Upanishads state: “Neti, neti” meaning “not this, not this”.
While Brahman is formless, featureless and characterless, it contains within it all potentiality and possibility. Brahman transcends time and space, cause and effect. It simply is. As the Taittiriya Upanishad states: “The source from which all creatures evolve and into which they finally dissolve is Brahman.”
Given its unknowable and mysterious nature, Brahman is sometimes referred to as the “Cosmic Mystery”. Brahman represents the ultimate, transcendent reality beyond human comprehension. While we can experience glimpses of Brahman, we can never fully understand or grasp its true nature.
Brahman is the pervasive, genderless, infinite beingness or Is-ness that permeates all existence.
Manifestations of Brahman in Hindu Gods
While Brahman in its unmanifest form is impersonal and unknowable, it manifests in personal forms as the various Hindu gods such as Vishnu, Shiva, Devi and Ganesha. These anthropomorphic deities act as personified representations of the formless Brahman, allowing devotees to worship the impersonal through personal forms and establish an emotional connection with the divine.
They serve as tangible symbols and manifestations of the otherwise intangible, incomprehensible Brahman.
Each Hindu deity embodies specific divine qualities and powers which emanate from the supreme Brahman. For example, Brahma represents the creative power of Brahman, Vishnu signifies the sustaining energy, Shiva denotes the power of destruction and transformation, Devi embodies the feminine power or shakti, Ganesha reflects wisdom and overcoming obstacles.
Thus while appearing as distinct, personal gods, they are in essence formed of the very same spiritual substratum – Brahman.
So in Hinduism, Brahman at once stands for formless absolute reality as well as its personified representations as divine beings, which give it form, attribute and limitation. The many Hindu gods are the saguna brahman – Brahman with qualities, whereas the supreme, ultimate reality is nirguna brahman – Brahman without qualities.
Together, they reflect the all-encompassing, infinite nature of the Brahman, or the Divine Ground of Existence, which is simultaneously beyond this manifested world as well immanent within it.
Christianity and the Creator God
God as Supreme Ruler and Divine Father
In Christianity, God is seen as the supreme ruler and divine father of all creation. Christians believe there is only one God, who is eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent (Deuteronomy 6:4, Psalm 90:2, Matthew 19:26).
God is conceived of as a personal being, with emotions, thoughts, and desires. Yet God is also transcendent, existing outside of space and time.
As creator of the universe, God reigns over all things with absolute authority. However, God is also loving, gracious, and merciful toward humanity. In the Bible, God reveals his divine will and enters into a covenant relationship with human beings.
God promises blessings for obedience and punishment for disobedience. Yet God also forgives sins and restores fellowship with repentant sinners.
Christians understand God as Father based on the intimate, familial language Jesus used in addressing God. God cares tenderly for his children and disciples, like a loving parent (Matthew 6:26, Luke 15:11-32). God protects, teaches, and disciplines believers to mature their faith and character.
God also desires an intimate, personal relationship with each person.
Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit and the Holy Trinity
While God the Father is the supreme ruler, Christians also believe in Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit as God. According to the doctrine of the Trinity, there is one God eternally existing in three co-equal, co-eternal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ is God incarnate (John 1:1, 14), fully divine and fully human (Philippians 2:6-8). Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and virgin birth, lived a sinless life, died sacrificially to atone for human sin, resurrected bodily, and ascended into heaven.
He now acts as mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5).
The Holy Spirit is God present within and among believers, empowering the church and gifting Christians to serve God (Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11). The Spirit glorifies Jesus, convicts people of sin, guides believers into truth, and seals salvation for eternal life (John 16:13-15, Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Trinity doctrine recognizes that God is one yet exists in three distinct persons. Each person of the Trinity relates to the others in intimate communion, love, and submission within the Godhead (Matthew 28:19, John 14:26, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
Understanding the Trinity gives deeper revelation of the nature and works of God.
Islam and Allah as the One True God
Islam is a monotheistic religion that believes in the oneness and supreme divinity of Allah. This core Islamic concept is known as Tawhid, which affirms Allah’s indivisible oneness and rejects any kind of idolatry or polytheism.
The Quran repeatedly emphasizes that Allah is the sole creator, master, and sovereign of the universe.
Tawhid: The Indivisible Oneness of Allah
The fundamental article of faith in Islam is the absolute oneness and unity of Allah (Tawhid). Muslims believe that Allah alone deserves worship and adoration. Associating any partner with Allah (known as shirk) is regarded as an unforgivable sin in Islam.
Tawhid is the central theme of the Quran, affirming that Allah has no equals, rivals, or partners. Some key aspects of Tawhid are:
- Allah is eternal, absolute, indivisible, and unlike any created being.
- Allah alone has divine attributes such as omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence.
- Allah alone is worthy of all worship and devotion. Any act of worship directed at anything other than Allah is prohibited.
- Attributing human limitations or qualities to Allah (anthropomorphism) is blasphemous.
Thus, the Islamic concept of God is unitary, not Trinitarian. By completely submitting to the will of the One indivisible God (Allah), humans can live in harmony with the divine order established by Him.
Biblical Figures as Islamic Prophets
Islam recognizes many of the biblical prophets mentioned in Jewish and Christian scriptures, regarding them as important messengers of Allah. According to Islamic belief:
- Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus and other biblical figures were true prophets sent by Allah.
- The prophets taught basically the same universal message of monotheism, morality and submission to God.
- Muhammad was the final messenger who perfected the faith for all humanity.
- The Quran confirms, clarifies and completes the major revelations delivered to previous prophets.
Thus, Muslims respect the biblical prophets as Allah’s chosen messengers, but regard the Quran’s depiction of Jesus, for example, as more accurate than the Christian Gospels. Overall, Islam sees an underlying continuity and unity in the message revealed to prophets over time, culminating in the final revelation to Muhammad.
Overlapping Themes of Supreme Gods
Omnipotence and Omnipresence
One of the most common attributes of Supreme Gods across religions and cultures is their omnipotence and omnipresence (Jones, 2022). This means they are all-powerful and ever-present everywhere at the same time.
For example, the Christian God is described as being all-powerful, with the ability to do anything He desires. Similarly, the Hindu Brahman pervades the entire universe and manifests in all things. This overlap highlights the supreme authority and constant presence that Supreme Gods have over their domains.
Genderless and Infinite Being
Another shared theme is the conception of the Supreme God as a genderless, infinite being (Smith, 2019). Unlike the anthropomorphic gods of Greek and Roman mythology, Supreme Gods are beyond human attributes like gender.
The mono/henotheistic God of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam has no gender, nor does the Brahman of Hinduism. Their infinity transcends space, time, and human understanding. For instance, the Islamic Allah has the attributes of eternal self-sufficiency, while the Zoroastrian Ahura Mazda is boundless in time and space.
This highlights the Supreme God’s ineffable, limitless nature.
Creation Ex Nihilo
Many traditions depict the Supreme God creating the universe ex nihilo, or “out of nothing” (Williams, 2021). In the Bible, God spoke creation into being: “Let there be light.” The Egyptian god Atum rose from the primeval waters to begin creation.
In the Rig Veda hymns, the Brahman manifested the cosmos through tapas, or spiritual heat/energy. Even polytheistic traditions like the ancient Greek and Norse mythologies began with a prime deity (Chaos and Ymir) forming existence from a void.
This common thread emphasizes the Supreme God’s ultimate power – conjuring up something from absolute nothingness.
Conclusion
Despite myriad perspectives on the divine across human cultures, common threads point to widespread intuition of a transcendent unity underpinning the cosmos. By equating this oneness with fundamental realities like consciousness, existence or love, religions provide a window into humanity’s eternal quest to connect with and understand our source.
With open minds and respect for difference, may continuing reflection on the God of Gods enrich our collective spiritual journey ahead.
