God: (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine
Being. It is the rendering1. of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong;
2. of 'Eloah, plural 'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is
used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in
all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only
other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is
uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed
in small capitals.
The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is
nowhere any argument to prove it. He who disbelieves this truth is
spoken of as one devoid of understanding
(Psalms 14:1) The arguments
generally adduced by theologians in proof of the being of God are:
1. The a priori argument, which is the testimony afforded by
reason.
2. The a posteriori argument, by which we proceed logically from
the facts of experience to causes. These arguments are,
a. The cosmological, by which it is proved that there must be
a First Cause of all things, for every effect must have a
cause.
b. The teleological, or the argument from design. We see
everywhere the operations of an intelligent Cause in
nature.
c. The moral argument, called also the anthropological
argument, based on the moral consciousness and the history
of mankind, which exhibits a moral order and purpose which
can only be explained on the supposition of the existence
of God. Conscience and human history testify that "verily
there is a God that judgeth in the earth."
The attributes of God are set forth in order by Moses in
(Exodus 34:6,7)
(see also)
(Deuteronomy 6:4; 10:17; Numbers 16:22; Exodus 15:11; 33:19)
(Isaiah 44:6; Habakkuk 3:6)
(Psalms 102:26; Job 34:12) They are also systematically classified in
(Revelation 5:12; 7:12)
1. God's attributes are spoken of by some as
a. absolute, i.e., such as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah,
etc.
b. relative, i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to
his creatures.
2. Others distinguish them into
a. Communicable, i.e., those which can be imparted in degree to
his creatures: goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.;
b. Incommunicable, which cannot be so imparted: independence,
immutability, immensity, and eternity.
3. They are by some also divided into
a. natural attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.
b. moral, holiness, goodness, etc.
