godswithin a culture and the acknowledgement of the powers of goddesses that
influences male attitudes towards women. Nonetheless, there are some
feminist writers who welcome the advent of the goddess into Western cul-
ture to counterbalance male-dominated concepts of divine beings.
Further reading: Hultkrantz (1983); Kinsley (1975); Murphy (1983); Olson
(1983)
GODS
A masculine divine being who can be either transcendent and thus beyond
human perception or immanent within the world as an incarnation who
is visible to sight. A God is often defined as all-powerful, omniscient,
eternal, creative, wrathful, moral, and an active judge. Gods can be active
in the daily lives of people, or distant and inactive. Greek gods act as
immoral humans, the ancient Hebrew God chooses a people and enters
into a covenant with them, the Christian God is declared Trinitarian, the
Muslim God is singular, the Hindu god Śiva is androgynous, Krishna is
playful and erotic, and other Hindu gods, such as Agni, Indra, and Varuna,
are historically eclipsed by more recent figures. Gods are distinguished
by their religious context in three fundamental ways: monotheism (a
single deity): polytheism (many deities); and pantheism (equates god
with forces and laws of the universe).
Although possibly active originally creating the world, some deities
become distant, inactive creators, who tend to disappear from the ritual
cult. Being basically distant and inactive, they are replaced by other
supernatural figures such as ancestors’ fertility spirits, or a great god-
dess. An excellent example of a distant, inactive, and silent god is Olorum
of the Yoruba of Africa. Forever aloof from the course of history, creation
is executed by his intermediates as he reigns as a secluded and imper-
sonal monarch. Olorum’s nature excludes any possibility of a personal
relationship with humans.
A more prominent historical figure is Nhialic of the Dinka of Africa,
who creates humans from clay. He continues to act as the sole creator
of human beings by shaping them in the womb and by giving them
life. Nhialic, a personal and fatherly figure, helps to alleviate major
misfortunes.
A more complex divine being is found among the Native American
Sioux with Wakantanka, a name derived from wakan (sacred) and tanka
(great, large, big), who is called the Great Spirit or Great Mystery.