Theism

I

Introduction

Theism, from the term theos (Greek for “god”), belief in one God who is personal and worthy of worship, who transcends the world but takes an active interest in it, and who reveals his purpose for human beings through certain individuals, miraculous events, or sacred writings. A theistic God is personal if he can be understood by analogies drawn from human experience and if human beings can enter into a personal relation with him and petition him in prayer. Such a God is considered worthy of worship because he is believed to be morally perfect and infinitely powerful.

Broadly speaking, theism is the belief in any god or gods. However in its typical philosophical and theological usage, theism is a form of monotheism, the belief in only one God. In contrast to theism, pantheism is the view that God is identical with the world or is completely immanent, pervading everything that exists in the world. Deism is the belief that God created the world but then had no further connection with it. Theism should also be contrasted with atheism and agnosticism, both of which have several variations. In the broadest sense, positive atheism is a disbelief in all gods including the theistic God, whereas negative atheism is simply the absence of belief in any god. Negative atheism is compatible with agnosticism, the denial that a person can know either that God exists or does not exist. Some agnostics draw the conclusion that one should suspend one’s belief, a view known as agnostic atheism. Other agnostics choose to believe in a theistic God on the basis of faith, a view known as agnostic theism.

II

Scope of Theism

Three of the major world religions—Christianity, Islam, and Judaism—are primarily theistic and today comprise about 3 billion followers. Theistic strands can also be found in Hinduism, although this religion usually interprets God in an impersonal and pantheistic way. Several other Eastern religions, including Theravada Buddhism and Jainism, reject the theistic idea of God as creator of the universe. Although it is uncertain if the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius believed in some kind of God, it is clear that a theistic God plays little, if any, role in Confucianism, the moral, social, and political practices associated with his name.

The theistic religions of Christianity and Judaism, and to a lesser extent Islam, have greatly influenced the laws, morality, science, culture, and political institutions of the West. However, the rise of modern science and scientific Biblical criticism beginning in the 17th century has put theistic religions on the defensive. Theistic religions have been challenged to integrate a belief in miracles, divine purpose, and revelation with an increasing acceptance of a scientific worldview and with the acknowledgment of inconsistencies and errors revealed by Biblical scholarship.

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III

Faith and Reason

In Western theistic religions, especially Christianity, faith is often contrasted with reason. The precise nature of this contrast varies from denomination to denomination and from theologian to theologian. In the 13th century, Italian theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas maintained that the truths of faith are compatible with and supplement the truths of reason. He held that while one can prove the existence of God by reason, doctrines such as the Trinity (the doctrine that God exists as three persons united in one being) must be accepted on faith. Aquinas also argued that since the doctrine of the Trinity is derived from the Bible, and because there is good reason to believe the Bible was divinely inspired, such acceptance is reasonable. On the other hand, 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard argued that it is inappropriate to base belief in God on reason. Instead Kierkegaard emphasized the necessity of irrational leaps of faith. He claimed that religious belief is a passionate and unconditional commitment to God that not only transcends reason and evidence but also stands in direct conflict with it.

IV

Arguments for Theism

Despite Kierkegaard’s skepticism about the value of reason in supporting belief in God, many philosophers have attempted to demonstrate the existence of God by rational argument.

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