God (神 Kami?) usually refers to a higher being, often with immense power and influence, and usually the subject of worship by religion. There are different concepts and interpretations between religions, and the nature of what a God is often varies between them.
Principles[]
Gods or deities are a type of entity present in various religions and mythologies across the world, usually the highest or among the highest class of beings.
Due to the rise, spread, change and decline of various religions around the world, various gods from one religion or traits associated with them are often assimilated into other religions. In some cases, such as with the spread of Christianity, pagan gods of old may be reclassified and reduced to the role of fairies or demons.[1]
Common concepts[]
In many religions and mythologies, gods possess immortality, and often reside in domains separate from the rest of the world and the realms of humanity.
In certain religions, gods are said be absolute, possessing traits such as omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience. Others have gods which are not absolute but still possess high levels of power. In many cases, they are attributed with having created the various aspects of the universe and play an important role in maintaining them.
Relationship with humanity[]
Gods are the subject of worship by religion, and receive prayer, offerings and dedications from the followers of those religions, with shrines and temples often dedicated as places of worship for them. Gods are said to answer these prayers and offerings with aid, blessings and protection against evil. On the other hand, a fair number have little tolerance for disrespect or inadequate offerings.[2][3] Such actions, along with sins and blasphemy, may earn a person divine punishment.
In most religions and mythologies, humankind cannot defeat gods, but instead they may attempt to negotiate with them through offerings, prayers and the like to overcome difficult situations and slightly alter their path to something closer to what is most convenient for them.[4] There may also exist ways of pacifying certain evil gods.[5]
While gods may at times rampage and bring suffering to humans due to human actions or their own temperaments, they just as often carry out a role in bringing happiness to mankind, using their immense power to make the difference between the two known and bring about miracles.[6][7]
Depending on people and circumstances, gods may be classed by humanity as good or evil, and some might even be classed as neither.[5][8][7]
Religions, Mythology and Magic[]
Christianity[]
- Main article: Christianity
The various factions of Christianity all worship the same God, considered to be the one true God. The doctrine known as the Trinity defines God in three persons but at the same time the same one God, these being the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.[9]
The Christian God is indicated by a set of four hidden letters (Y-H-V-H), known as the tetragrammaton, held to be unpronounceable and unfathomable by humans, and an inadequate indication.[9] From this is also derived the pentagrammaton, five holy letters (Y-H-Sh-V-H) indicating the Son of God, with 'Sh' being added to construct a bridge.[9]
Norse Mythology[]
- Main article: Norse Mythology
The gods of Norse mythology, like many polytheistic religions, are not absolute and have emotions much like humans, both positive and negative. Gathered together, the gods compensated for each other's weaknesses, creating a sturdy and flexible system.[10] Unlike in certain other mythologies, the Norse gods are capable of being killed and many of them will perish during Ragnarok.
It is implied that certain Norse legends, particularly those concerning the chief god Odin, may have been influenced or derived from the actions and power of Othinus.[11]
Shinto[]
- Main article: Shinto
In Shinto, the concept of god (or kami) is a broad and changing one, and there are many different beings, including various deities, spirits and phenomena, that are revered and worshipped as such. Harming one is considered manageable but highly frowned upon.[12]
Magic Gods[]
- Main article: Magic God
Magic Gods (魔神 Majin?) are magicians which have mastered magic to the degree that they can bend all things in the world through magic, transcending normal magic and stepping into the realm of God.[13] This position, with the title of a god, is one of the highest positions, if not the highest position a Magician can reach, though the chances of one reaching that position are extremely remote.
Encompassing every possibility, a Magic God is capable of distorting the world to their whim. However, due to encompassing every possibility, both positive and negative, Magic Gods initially have an equal chance of success and failure with their magic.[14] Impure or failed Magic Gods who've stopped their growth before this point lack this problem but don't have the power that a pure Magic God would have.[15] Once these possibilities are united in one direction however, a Magic God can freely change the world and everything in it as they please with their power.
Being in a position with the title of god, those possessing the qualities of a Magic God, such as Othinus and Ollerus, are unaffected by certain spells which would affect humans, such as the Einherjar spell, while certain other spells, such as the "Turn into a fairy" spell, are specifically designed to target them.[1] In the case of Othinus, a pure and perfect Magic God, they have also been shown to possess lifespans far beyond that of humans.[16]
Other[]
There are many other religions which revolve around gods and similar beings; monotheistic, polytheistic or otherwise. Between these religions, certain similar systems share similar characteristics. In polytheistic religions, every god possesses a name and role which they are meant to carry out, and gathered together form the gears making up the system of their mythologies.[10][8]
The symbolic attributes associated with the gods are often used in magic through Idol Theory,[17] channelling spells in forms based on their legends, and sometimes bringing forth energy forms and magical constructs in their form.[18][19] As part of this, some magicians follow specific gods, such as Salome following Manannán,[20] and Toyama Luca following Legba Atibon,[21] and some, such as the members of Gremlin, assume their names.
Aside from magic based off religion and mythology, there are a few other forms of magic, some of which are fairly recent, which make use of the concept of gods and very similar ideas. The cosmic horrors of the Cthulhu Mythos for instance, are considered by some as evil gods which no human can stand up against.[22]
Despite most religions and mythologies holding that humans cannot defeat gods, there are forms of magic designed to fight some gods or at least pacify them. Ollerus's Fairy spell is one of them, based on Christianity's tendency to reduce pagan gods into fairies or demons, and meant for use against Magic Gods.[1] Another is a technique of Aleister Crowley, who has an immense hatred for the Magic Gods as well as the God said to be the creator of the world and its rules.[23] Used by Kihara Noukan through the Anti-Art Attachment, it channeled Aleister's willpower in a form capable of destroying a Magic God.[24] Aleister also made use of a spell which severely weakened the true Gremlin, using the Magic Gods' base parameters and swapped out with their own spell.[25] Kanzaki Kaori was able to make use of the aspect of Shinto involving the possibility of being able to harm gods, applied to fighting divine beings from another religion such as Christianity (though in this case, it was used against Archangel Gabriel rather than God), to a certain extent.[12]
One notable phrase in the Book of the Law, "every man and every woman is a star", explains that everything in the world has meaning and that all things are intertwined,[26][27][28] with further elaboration that people have an inner self that can achieve wisdom, separate from their surface consciousness, and if everyone were to awaken to it and act according to their meaning, the world would turn at maximum efficiency.[27] Another interpretation or implication, considered by Anna Sprengel and Aleister Crowley with regards to the Aeon of Horus and the nature and plans of Bridge Builders Cabal, is that anyone could potentially create a monster or become a god, though doing so would mean changing the very definition of the word 'god'.[29][30]
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 08 Epilogue
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 14 Chapter 2 Part 10
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 14 Chapter 3 Part 2
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 09 Chapter 8 Part 5
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 13 Between the Lines 1
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 14 Chapter 3 Part 4
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 14 Chapter 4 Part 4
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 13 Chapter 3 Part 13
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 21 Chapter 4 Part 1
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 09 Chapter 8 Part 7
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 09 Chapter 8 Part 4
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 04 Chapter 4
- ↑ Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume SS2 Chapter 7
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 05 Chapter 1 Part 5
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 04 Profound Destruction
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 09 Chapter 8
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 05 Chapter 2 Part 1
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 10 Chapter 13 Part 5
- ↑ Toaru Majutsu no Index SS: Necessarius Special Admission Test Chapter 4 Part 7
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 15 Chapter 2 Part 2
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 17 Chapter 2 Part 6
- ↑ Toaru Majutsu no Index SS: Necessarius Special Admission Test Chapter 4 Part 9
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 14 Epilogue
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 13 Chapter 4 Part 12
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 12 Epilogue
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 18 Chapter 4 Part 5
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 18 Chapter 3 Part 9
- ↑ Shinyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 18 Chapter 4 Part 7
- ↑ Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 07 Chapter 2 Part 7
- ↑ Souyaku Toaru Majutsu no Index Light Novel Volume 07 Epilogue