102,807
edits
Changes
From Nordan Symposia
Jump to navigationJump to searchno edit summary
Deities assume a variety of forms, but are frequently depicted as having human or animal form. Some faiths and traditions consider it blasphemous to imagine or depict the deity as having any concrete form. They are usually immortal. They are commonly assumed to have personalities and to possess [[consciousness]], [[intellect]]s, desires, and emotions similar to those of [[human]]s. Such natural phenomena as lightning, floods, storms, other 'acts of God', and miracles are attributed to them, and they may be thought to be the authorities or controllers of every aspect of human life (such as birth or the afterlife). Some deities are asserted to be the directors of time and fate itself, to be the givers of human law and morality, to be the ultimate judges of human worth and behavior, and to be the designers and creators of the Earth or the [[universe]].
Deities assume a variety of forms, but are frequently depicted as having human or animal form. Some faiths and traditions consider it blasphemous to imagine or depict the deity as having any concrete form. They are usually immortal. They are commonly assumed to have personalities and to possess [[consciousness]], [[intellect]]s, desires, and emotions similar to those of [[human]]s. Such natural phenomena as lightning, floods, storms, other 'acts of God', and miracles are attributed to them, and they may be thought to be the authorities or controllers of every aspect of human life (such as birth or the afterlife). Some deities are asserted to be the directors of time and fate itself, to be the givers of human law and morality, to be the ultimate judges of human worth and behavior, and to be the designers and creators of the Earth or the [[universe]].
<center>For lessons on the [[topic]] of '''''[[Deity]]''''', follow [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Deity '''''this link'''''].</center>
==Etymology==
==Etymology==
The word "deity" derives from the [[Latin]] ''"dea"'', ("goddess"), and '''"deus"'', ("god"). Related are words for "sky": the Latin "''dies''" ("day") and "''divum''" ("open sky"), and the [[Sanskrit]] "''div''," "''diu''" ("sky," "day," "shine"). Also related are "divine" and "divinity," from the Latin "''divinus''," from "''divus''."
The word "deity" derives from the [[Latin]] ''"dea"'', ("goddess"), and '''"deus"'', ("god"). Related are words for "sky": the Latin "''dies''" ("day") and "''divum''" ("open sky"), and the [[Sanskrit]] "''div''," "''diu''" ("sky," "day," "shine"). Also related are "divine" and "divinity," from the Latin "''divinus''," from "''divus''."
