Deus otiosus

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Deus otiosus or "idle god" is a theological concept used to describe the belief in a creator god who largely retires from the world and is no longer involved in its daily operation, a central tenet of Deism. A similar concept is that of the deus absconditus or "hidden god" of Thomas Aquinas (Weber: 220). Although Aquinas was a Catholic and not a deist, both his concept of the "hidden god" and the concept of the "idle god" refer to a deity whose existence is not readily knowable by humans through solely contemplation or examination of divine actions. The concept of deus otiosus often suggests a god who has grown weary from involvement in this world and who has been replaced by younger, more active gods, whereas deus absonditus suggests a god who has consciously left this world to hide elsewhere.

In Sumer, En-lil and En-ki are the younger gods who replace the deus otiosus An (Elaide: 57). In Greek religion, the older gods like Uranus and Gaia are replaced by the Olympians Zeus and Hera. In Hinduism, in many medieval puranas, Indra appears as a deus otiosus, whereas Shiva and Vishnu are the younger, more active gods who are both more readily knowable and approachable. In the Baltic mythology Deivas most probably was deus otiosus.^[1] In Christianity, Martin Luther used the notion of deus absconditus to explain the mystery and remoteness of God.^[2]

[edit] References

• Eliade, Mircea. (1978). A History of Religious Ideas: From the Stone Age to the Eleusinian Mysteries, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
• Weber, Max. (1978). Max Weber: Selections in Translation, edited by Walter Garrison Runciman. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29268-9