Omnipresence
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Omnipresence or ubiquity is the property of being present anywhere and everywhere. The term omnipresence is most often used in a
The omnipresence of a supreme being is conceived differently by different religious systems. In monotheistic beliefs like Christianity and Judaism, the divine and the universe are separate, but the divine is present everywhere. In pantheistic beliefs, the divine and the universe are identical. In panentheistic beliefs, the divine interpenetrates the universe, but extends beyond it in time and space.
Etymology
The word omnipresence derives from the Latin prefix omni-, meaning "all", and the words praesens, meaning "present". Thus the term means "all present".[1]
Introduction
Hinduism, and other religions that derive from it, incorporate the theory of transcendent and immanent omnipresence which is the traditional meaning of the word, Brahman. This theory defines a universal and fundamental substance, which is the source of all physical existence.
Divine omnipresence is thus one of the divine attributes, although in Western Christianity it has attracted less philosophical attention than such attributes as omnipotence, omniscience, or being eternal.
In Western theism, omnipresence is roughly described as the ability to be "present everywhere at the same time",[1] referring to an unbounded or universal presence. Omnipresence means minimally that there is no place to which God’s knowledge and power do not extend.[2] It is related to the concept of ubiquity, the ability to be everywhere or in many places at once.[3] This includes unlimited temporal presence.[4]
Omnipresence in religions
Several ancient cultures such as the
Judaism
In traditional Jewish monotheism belief of panentheism, or an omnipresent God, is rejected.
Islam
Islam, Shia or Sunni, do not believe in omnipresence.
In Sunni Islam, the God has no body or direction and is not bound by space or time.[10]
According to Shia tradition in
- "He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation."
- “He is not inside things in the sense of physical [pervasion or] penetration and is not outside them in the sense of [physical] exclusion [for exclusion entails a kind of finitude].”
- “He is distinct from things because He overpowers them, and the things are distinct from Him because of their subjection to Him.”[11]
Christianity
 | This article uses secondary sources that critically analyze them. (August 2023) ) |
In Christianity, as well as in Kabbalistic and Hasidic philosophy, God is omnipresent. However, the significant difference between them and other religious systems is that God is still
Specifically, Oden states that the Bible shows that God can be present in every aspect of human life:
- God is naturally present in every aspect of the natural order, in every level of causality, every fleeting moment, and meaningful event of natural history... (Psalm 8:3, Isaiah 40:12, Nahum 1:3)
- God is bodily present in the Colossians2:9)
- God is sacredly present and becomes known in special places where God chooses to meet us, places that become set apart by the faithful remembering community (
Marbaniang points out that omnipresence does not mean divine occupation of all space, nor divine distribution overall space, nor indwelling of every entity, nor that God cannot move in space, nor the diversification of the universe, but means that God is fully present everywhere and that God can do different things at different places at the same time.[13]
See also
- Ubiquitous computing
- Panentheism in Judaism
- laws of physics
- Immanent realism
References
- ^ a b "Definition of Omnipresence".
- ^ Craig, William Lane. "Doctrine of God (part 9)". Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ^ "ubiquity". Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ "Nature and Attributes of God". Catholic Encyclopedia. NewAdvent.org. September 1, 1909. Retrieved 2013-01-18.
- ^ Craig, William Lane. "Doctrine of God (part 8)". Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- Srisa Chandra Vasu in his The Upanishads - with the commentary of Madhvacharya, Part I (https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.282411)
- ^ "The Upanisads Part I". September 14, 1909 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Saadia Gaon in his HaNivchar BaEmunot U'va-Deot, II, 11 (English translation of portion free online at end of this post Archived 2017-08-17 at the Wayback Machine; Rosenblatt translation [The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, Yale University, 1948], p. 124-125; Arabic/Hebrew Kafih ed. [הנבחר באמונות ובדעות, Jerusalem, 1970] p. 106). Cf. Maimonides' rejection of panentheism in his Commentary on the Mishnah, Tractate Sanhedrin, 10:1, third principle (English translation by Rosner in Maimonides' Commentary on the Mishnah: Tractate Sanhedrin [New York, 1981], p. 151; p. 141 in Kafih's Hebrew edition of the Order of Neziqin with Maimonides' Commentary [Jerusalem, 1963]) and Is Judaism Panentheistic? – A Brief Mekori Perspective Archived 2017-09-06 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Ilan, Yehudah B. Parashat Vayetze: HaMakom – God’s Place or the Place of God? Archived 2017-08-17 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2016-02-16.
- ^ Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam (2009-05-28). "Where Is Allah". SeekersGuidance. Archived from the original on 2023-07-22. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
Imam al-Tahawi (Allah have mercy on him) states in his famous al-Aqida al-Tahawiyya: "He (Allah) is beyond having limits placed on Him, or being restricted, or having parts or limbs. Nor is He contained by six directions as all created things are." (P. 9). Imam al-Nasafi (Allah have mercy on him) states: "He (Allah) is not a body (jism), nor an atom (jawhar), nor is He something formed (musawwar), nor a thing limited (mahdud), nor a thing numbered (ma'dud), nor a thing portioned or divided, nor a thing compounded (mutarakkab), nor does He come to end in Himself. He is not described by quiddity (al-ma'hiya), or by quality (al-kayfiyya), nor is He placed in space (al-makan), and time (al-zaman) does not affect Him. Nothing resembles Him, that is to say, nothing is like Him." (See: Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani & Najm al-Din al-Nasafi, Sharh al-Aqa'id al- Nasafiyya, 92-97).
- ^ http://www.duas.org/pdfs/Nahjul-Balagha.pdf pg 42
- ^ Oden, Thomas C . The Living God. Systematic Theology Vol. 1, 67-69
- ^ Domenic Marbaniang, "Omnipresence", Light of Life, Mumbai, February 2018
External links
