Hypertext Webster Gateway: "God"
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary (easton)
God
(A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the
Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) 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 (Ps. 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 Ex.
34:6,7. (see also Deut. 6:4; 10:17; Num. 16:22; Ex. 15:11;
33:19; Isa. 44:6; Hab. 3:6; Ps. 102:26; Job 34:12.) They are
also systematically classified in Rev. 5:12 and 7:12.
God's attributes are spoken of by some as absolute, i.e., such
as belong to his essence as Jehovah, Jah, etc.; and relative,
i.e., such as are ascribed to him with relation to his
creatures. Others distinguish them into communicable, i.e.,
those which can be imparted in degree to his creatures:
goodness, holiness, wisdom, etc.; and incommunicable, which
cannot be so imparted: independence, immutability, immensity,
and eternity. They are by some also divided into natural
attributes, eternity, immensity, etc.; and moral, holiness,
goodness, etc.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
God \God\, v. t.
To treat as a god; to idolize. [Obs.] --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
God \God\, a. & n.
Good. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
God \God\ (g[o^]d), n. [AS. god; akin to OS. & D. god, OHG. got,
G. gott, Icel. gu[eth], go[eth], Sw. & Dan. gud, Goth. gup,
prob. orig. a p. p. from a root appearing in Skr. h[=u], p.
p. h[=u]ta, to call upon, invoke, implore. [root]30. Cf.
{Goodbye}, {Gospel}, {Gossip}.]
1. A being conceived of as possessing supernatural power, and
to be propitiated by sacrifice, worship, etc.; a divinity;
a deity; an object of worship; an idol.
He maketh a god, and worshipeth it. --Is. xliv.
15.
The race of Israel . . . bowing lowly down To
bestial gods. --Milton.
2. The Supreme Being; the eternal and infinite Spirit, the
Creator, and the Sovereign of the universe; Jehovah.
God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth. --John iv. 24.
3. A person or thing deified and honored as the chief good;
an object of supreme regard.
Whose god is their belly. --Phil. iii.
19.
4. Figuratively applied to one who wields great or despotic
power. [R.] --Shak.
{Act of God}. (Law) See under {Act}.
{Gallery gods}, the occupants of the highest and cheapest
gallery of a theater. [Colloq.]
{God's acre}, {God's field}, a burial place; a churchyard.
See under {Acre}.
{God's house}.
(a) An almshouse. [Obs.]
(b) A church.
{God's penny}, earnest penny. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.
{God's Sunday}, Easter.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
God
n 1: the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and
omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the
universe; the object of worship in monotheistic
religions [syn: {God}, {Supreme Being}]
2: any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part
of the world or some aspect of life or who is the
personification of a force [syn: {deity}, {divinity}, {immortal}]
3: a man of such superior qualities that he seems like a deity
to other people; "he was a god among men"
4: a material effigy that is worshipped as a god; "thou shalt
not make unto thee any graven image"; "money was his god"
[syn: {idol}, {graven image}]
Additional Hypertext Webster Gateway Lookup
Gateway by dict@stokkie.net
stock only wrote the gateway and does not have any control over the contents;
see the Webster Gateway FAQ,
and also the Back-end/database links and credits.