Key Terms
Theism
Many English
words that describe theories
of a god or gods and the study of god or
gods, such as theism, are based on the
Greek word theos.
Theists see the work of a perfect, allpowerful, all-loving, personal supreme
being, in the world.
They believe that this powerful being was
fully present in the creation of the universe
and can intervene at any time.
Deism
 Comes
from the Latin word deus, meaning god.
 Deists see a divine machine running – they
believe that a supreme being created this
machinery, but remains absent.
 The supreme being does not reveal
himself/herself (revelation) to human beings or
intervene by performing miracles.
 If this supreme being intervened, it would imply
that a mistake in the original creation required a
kind of omnipotent cosmic repair.
Polytheism
The prefix poly- comes from a
Greek word meaning many.
Polytheists see the world
containing many powerful gods,
each with a particular role to
fulfill in the governing of the
universe.
Monotheism
Monotheists see the work of one supreme,
perfect and all powerful maker.
Many of the world’s monotheistic religions,
such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam,
maintain that the supreme being is a
personal being characterized by a mind, a
will and an ability to communicate, as well
as by certain emotions, such as love and
compassion.
Pantheism vs. Panentheism
PANTHEISM
PANENTHEISM
The Greek word pan means all.
“en” refers to God in all of creation.
The supreme being is everywhere or
identical to creation.
Everything that exists, is part of God.
This being is identical to nature.
God is reflected in all of creation.
Pantheists believe in a divinized nature
and a naturalized divinity.
Nature is not divine.
Everything in the universe is of the same
substance as this being (monism).
The creator and the creation are two
different substances (dualism).
This divinity is not a personal supreme
being or a supreme being with human
characteristics, it is impersonal.
Rejects the idea that this being is like a
person. Placing human properties on this
being, distorts God’s reality.