How God Has Been Defined Theologically:

1. "God in the Gaps": Modern attempt to find God in unexplained natural phenomena.

Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod (1749) was seen by some as "thwarting God's will."

This creates the problem of evil: if God directs phenomena, what about those harmed?

2. Historically, "God" has been a variable, not a fixed idea with a questioned existence.
3. Philosophical Definitions of God:

Boethius/Augustine (following Neoplatonists): transcendent goodness/love.

Anselm of Canterbury: "that than which nothing greater can be conceived."

Thomas Aquinas (following Aristotle): unmoved mover, ultimate cause of existence.

Descartes: necessarily existing supreme perfection.

Spinoza: singular self-subsistent substance, synonymous with nature.