Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
,
spirituality, and
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
that deals with the ability of God to be "
present" with human beings.
According to some types of
monotheism God is
omnipresent; hence, the
rabbinic teaching: "The Divine presence is everywhere."
Conceptualizations
The concept is shared by many religious traditions, is found in a number of independently derived conceptualizations, and each of these has culturally distinct terminology. Some of the various relevant concepts and terms are:
*
Immanence
The doctrine or theory of immanence holds that the divine encompasses or is manifested in the material world. It is held by some philosophical and metaphysical theories of divine presence. Immanence is usually applied in monotheistic, pant ...
– usually applied in
monotheistic,
pantheistic,
pandeistic, or
panentheistic faiths to suggest that the spiritual world permeates the
mundane. It is often contrasted with
transcendence
Transcendence, transcendent, or transcendental may refer to:
Mathematics
* Transcendental number, a number that is not the root of any polynomial with rational coefficients
* Algebraic element or transcendental element, an element of a field exten ...
, in which the divine is seen to be outside the material world.
*
Inner light – in various religions, the presence of God as a "light". The
Religious Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
regards this concept as a fundamental belief.
*
Divine light – an aspect of divine presence with qualities of
illumination:
thought,
intellect,
knowledge,
insight,
wisdom,
being,
divine love.
*
Numen
Numen (plural numina) is a Latin term for " divinity", "divine presence", or "divine will." The Latin authors defined it as follows:For a more extensive account, refer to Cicero writes of a "divine mind" (''divina mens''), a god "whose numen ev ...
– Latin term for "presence", used historically to refer to a Roman religious concept.
*
Theophany – the appearance of a
deity to a human.
*
Higher consciousness–is the consciousness of a higher Self, transcendental reality, or God.
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
*
Angel of the Presence – an entity variously considered angelic or else identified with God himself.
*
Shekhinah – the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God and his cosmic glory.
The Sages of Israel have given expression of the Divine Presence (
Hebrew: ''Shekhinah'') in their writings:
Christianity
*
Immanuel – "God with us," is a Biblical concept that deals with the concept of divine presence, often used by Christians as a
title for Jesus
*
Incarnation (Christianity) – Believed to be the second person of the
Trinity, also known as
God the Son
God the Son ( el, Θεὸς ὁ υἱός, la, Deus Filius) is the second person of the Trinity in Christian theology. The doctrine of the Trinity identifies Jesus as the incarnation of God, united in essence (consubstantial) but distin ...
or the
Logos (Word), "
became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of
Mary.
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...
generally recognize a special presence of Christ in the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...
, although they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. While all agree that there is no perceptible change in the elements, some believe that they actually become the
body and blood of Christ Body and Blood of Christ may refer to:
*Eucharist, a Christian rite considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others involving the consumption of bread and wine in memory of Christ
*Blessed Sacrament, a devotional name used in the ...
, others believe the true body and blood of Christ are really present
in, with, and under the bread and wine which remain physically unchanged, others believe in a real but purely spiritual presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and still others take the act to be only a symbolic reenactment of the Last Supper.
*
Transubstantiation – Catholic and Orthodox (terminology differs) concept of Christ fully, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist with the physical species being substantially absent.
*
Consubstantiation – Lutheran concept of Christ being "infused" within the species of communion with these aspects still substantially present.
Indian religions
In
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, an
avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...
is the appearance or
incarnation of a
deity on Earth.
See also
*
Incarnation
*
Logos (Christianity)
* ''
The Kingdom of God Is Within You
''The Kingdom of God Is Within You'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Царство Божие внутри вас, Tsárstvo Bózhiye vnutrí vas) is a non-fiction book written by Leo Tolstoy. A Christian anarchist philosophical trea ...
''
References
Bibliography
* Borgen, Peder. ''Early Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism''.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
: T & T Clark Publishing. 1996.
* Brown, Raymond. ''An Introduction to the New Testament''.
New York: Doubleday. 1997.
*
Dunn, J. D. G. ''Christology in the Making''. London: SCM Press. 1989.
*
Dupuis, Jacques. ''Christianity and the Religions''. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis. 2002.
* Ferguson, Everett. ''Backgrounds in Early Christianity''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing. 1993.
* Greene, Colin J. D. ''Christology in Cultural Perspective: Marking Out the Horizons''. Grand Rapids: InterVarsity Press. Eerdmans Publishing. 2003.
* Letham, Robert. ''The Work of Christ''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1993.
*
Macleod, Donald. ''The Person of Christ''. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1998.
*
McGrath, Alister
Alister Edgar McGrath (; born 1953) is a Northern Irish theologian, Anglican priest, intellectual historian, scientist, Christian apologist, and public intellectual. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in ...
. ''Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. 1998.
*
*
Macquarrie, J. ''Jesus Christ in Modern Thought''.
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
: SCM Press. 1990.
*
Neusner, Jacob. ''From Politics to Piety: The Emergence of Pharisaic Judaism''. Providence, R. I.: Brown University. 1973.
* Norris, Richard A. Jr. ''The Christological Controversy''.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
: Fortress Press. 1980.
*
O'Collins, Gerald. ''
Christology: A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study of Jesus.'' Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
. 2009.
* _______ ''
Jesus: A Portrait''. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 2008.
* _______ ''Salvation for All: God's Other Peoples''.
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
:
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...
. 2008.
* Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''Development of Christian Doctrine: Some Historical Prolegomena''. London: Yale University Press. 1969.
* _______ ''The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600)''.
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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: University of Chicago Press. 1971.
*
Rahner, Karl. ''Foundations of Christian Faith'', trans. W.V. Dych. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 1978.
* Tyson, John R.'' Invitation to Christian Spirituality: An Ecumenical Anthology''. New York: Oxford University Press. 1999.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Divine Presence
Theology