OldBoring wrote:Hmm interesting. When Buddhists write "God" do they mean Siddharta Gautama?
I have no idea. I think the last time I saw this use of "God" was in an article in English (but in a magazine that otherwise was all in Thai) about the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity. But I'm pretty sure they were referring to the Buddhist concept of God as "God," not just the Christian one.
dEhiN wrote:I remember a pastor preaching once about how the word god just meant powerful one. I've been trying to find out the etymology of the word or even just a definition apart from deification, but can't. I presume though, that is god somehow came from a term meaning anyone who is powerful, this is why in feudal societies, the king or ruler or leader was called god/God. But can anyone confirm this? Was there a meaning to this word before its current association with deities and deified beings?
Nah, "god" in English comes from a PIE etymon meaning 'invoked one'.