theism

Elizabeth Barrette Browning

Theism is the belief in the existence of God. The view that there is a God, Supreme Being, Divinity. This belief has always existed in the many different societies throughout the world and history, along with the contrary view that there is no God. Belief in the existence of God is remarkably consistent across various religious and theological differences.

In all theistic religions traditions, God is the ruler of all, the Highest of the High, the One above all else. God is that Ultimate Reality from whom all beings and materiality comes into being. God is the judge of all, the one who requires justice, truth, and righteousness of us, to whom we must answer for our choices and actions in life.

All things come from God, rely on God for their very existence and return to God when the material aspect passes away through the natural process of physical existence. Nothing can exist on its own, come into being on its own, preserve its existence on its own. Everything and everyone is dependent on God for its very being.

God is not one type of being among many forms but That Singularity, Eternal Self-existent Perfection from whose unconditioned Being all things derive their existence. The qualities of all existence arise from its source in God. The characteristics which distinguish each individual thing and being arise from the infinite qualities and characteristics which are God's. What and who we are comes from God.

God is That Supreme which stands above all else, which is other than all else, yet which is the source and sustenance of all that is. Nothing exists outside of God; all that is comes into being, exists, and pass away within God. This is reflected most beautifully in the Christian scripture that speaks of God "in whom we live and move and have our being."

Theism is the view or opinion that there is a God. But most religious traditions go further than the simple belief that there is a God, to the belief in God. When one speaks of belief in God, it implies a deep committed trust, self-effacing surrender, and unhesitating acceptance of the supremacy of God.

Most religions have embodied this belief in God in both public and personal expressions of worship and devotion. Belief in God changes one's focus and direction in life; it orients our primary intentions away from ourselves and toward that One Perfection from Whom all things come, in Whom all reside, to Whom all return.

Belief in God requires that we see ourselves, the world, and life differently. It makes us behave differently, think differently, feel differently. What matters to us changes. Simply believing that there is a God really changes nothing. It is only when belief in the existence of God changes to belief in God that the human spirit is transformed.