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Divine presence

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Divine presence, presence of God, Inner God, or simply presence is a concept in religion, spirituality, and theology 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."[1]

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:

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:

The Divine Presence rests not [upon man] through sadness, neither through sloth, nor through jesting, nor through levity, nor through loquacity, nor through [a host of] vain pursuits, but rather through the joyful performance of keeping one’s religious duty.[3]

Christianity

Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in the Eucharist, 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, 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.

  • Consubstantiation – Lutheran concept of Christ being "infused" within the species of communion with these aspects still substantially present.
  • Transubstantiation – Catholic and Orthodox (terminology differs) concept of Christ fully, truly and substantially present in the Eucharist with the physical species being substantially absent.

Indian religions

In Hinduism, avatar refers to the appearance or incarnation of a deity on Earth.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Babylonian Talmud (Baba Bathra 25a)
  2. ^ "Theophany". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
  3. ^ Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 30b)
  4. ^ Geoffrey Parrinder (1997). Avatar and Incarnation: The Divine in Human Form in the World's Religions. Oneworld. pp. 19–20. ISBN 978-1-85168-130-3.

Bibliography

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  • Brown, Raymond. An Introduction to the New Testament. New York: Doubleday. 1997.
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  • 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.
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  • Macleod, Donald. The Person of Christ. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press. 1998.
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  • _______ Jesus: A Portrait. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 2008.
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  • Rahner, Karl. Foundations of Christian Faith, trans. W.V. Dych. London: Darton, Longman & Todd. 1978.
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