Theism

Theism (from Greek: θεός theós "God") in the narrow sense refers to the belief that there is (precisely) one personal, transcendent Creator God who rules over all. In the broader sense, it refers to the general belief that there is at least one God. Theism in this broader sense includes polytheism. According to Rudolf Steiner, theism, which he assigns to the Sun, is one of the three soul tones by which any of the 12 worldviews he mentions can be modified.

„Theism arises when man clings to everything external in order to find his God, when he seeks his God in the external. Ancient Hebrew monotheism was preferably a theistic worldview.“ (Lit.:GA 151, p. 62)

Theism understands God as the creator of the world, who also sustains it and intervenes in it in a guiding way. In this way, theism differs from deism, which denies any intervention of God in the world. In theistic religions, God is predominantly transcendent; in some cases, he also has immanent elements and manifestations. He does work in the world (for example through miracles and revelations), but is completely different from it in substance (duality of creator and creation). In this, theism differs from pantheism and panentheism.

The term was coined as a categorising term of religious philosophy in the Age of Enlightenment (17th century) in opposition to atheism, but also as a distinction from deism.

Literature

• Norbert Hoerster: Die Frage nach Gott. becksche reihe 1635, München 2005. ISBN 3-406-52805-8
• John Leslie Mackie: The Miracle of Theism. Arguments for and against the Existence of God. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1982 (deutsch Das Wunder des Theismus. Argumente für und gegen die Existenz Gottes. Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart 1985).
• John A. T. Robinson: Gott ist anders. Honest to God. Chr. Kaiser, München 1970.
• Richard Swinburne: Gibt es einen Gott? ontos, Frankfurt 2005, ISBN 3-937202-91-9.
• Karl Ballmer: Die Überwindung des Theismus als Gegenwartsaufgabe, Siegen 1996, ISBN 3-930964-53-8
• Rudolf Steiner: Der menschliche und der kosmische Gedanke, GA 151 (1990), ISBN 3-7274-1510-X Template:Vorträge

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