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

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.

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 ...

. 2008. * Pelikan, Jaroslav. ''Development of Christian Doctrine: Some Historical Prolegomena''. London: Yale University Press. 1969. * _______ ''The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition (100-600)''.

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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