Antisectarian
Glossary
This glossary has been written to encourage debate and discussion.
It has been written from a Scottish perspective. This means terms used within Scotland may not have equivalent meaning when transferred to another part of the world. It has also to be remembered that terms are evolving and developing all the time and what is offered here reflects the discussions as it stands when this was written in June 2004.
Keyword search
| God | The root of the term (from Gothic root gheu; Sanskrit hub or emu, "to invoke or to sacrifice to") means either "the one invoked" or "the one sacrificed to." This indicates that whatever one calls "God," the relationship is not passive - instead, there is an active submission of the believer. Some common characteristics of Gods include: supernatural, powerful or all-powerful (omnipotent), loving or all-loving (omnibenevolent), wise or all-knowing (omniscient), creator of all existence, etc. Theists (those who believe in a God or gods) often offer a wide variety of attributes, which characterise the nature of God. Understanding debates about the existence of God requires understanding these characteristics and how they interact. |
|---|