In modern Western societies, the concept of 'God' typically entails a monotheistic, supreme, ultimate, and (in some sense) personal being, as found in the Christian and Hebrew traditions. Classical theism holds that God possesses every possible perfection, including omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence.
Some classically theistic philosophical approaches arrive at such perfections by beginning with a root concept of God such as "the prime mover" or "the uncaused cause", "the ultimate creator",or "a being that than which nothing greater can be conceived" from which the classical properties may be deduced. By contrast, much of Eastern religious thought (chiefly Pantheist) posits God as a force contained in every imaginable phenomenon. For example, Spinoza and his followers use the term 'God' in a particular philosophical sense to mean the essential substance/principles of nature. The phenomenon of emergence could be argued to support either the Eastern or Western view.
In monotheisms outside the Abrahamic traditions, the existence of God is discussed in similar terms. In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, reality is ultimately seen as a single, qualityless, changeless being called nirguna Brahman. Advaitin philosophy introduces the concept of saguna Brahman or Ishvara as a way of talking about Brahman to people. Ishvara, in turn, is ascribed such qualities as omniscience, omnipotence, and benevolence
Some classically theistic philosophical approaches arrive at such perfections by beginning with a root concept of God such as "the prime mover" or "the uncaused cause", "the ultimate creator",or "a being that than which nothing greater can be conceived" from which the classical properties may be deduced. By contrast, much of Eastern religious thought (chiefly Pantheist) posits God as a force contained in every imaginable phenomenon. For example, Spinoza and his followers use the term 'God' in a particular philosophical sense to mean the essential substance/principles of nature. The phenomenon of emergence could be argued to support either the Eastern or Western view.
In monotheisms outside the Abrahamic traditions, the existence of God is discussed in similar terms. In the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, reality is ultimately seen as a single, qualityless, changeless being called nirguna Brahman. Advaitin philosophy introduces the concept of saguna Brahman or Ishvara as a way of talking about Brahman to people. Ishvara, in turn, is ascribed such qualities as omniscience, omnipotence, and benevolence
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