How can a God have emotions, i.e. jealousy, anger, sadness, love, etc., if he is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent? Emotional states are reactionary for the most part. How can God react to us if he is all-knowing and has a divine plan?
2006-07-19 10:44:01 · 24 answers · asked by IRunWithScissors 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
we were made in His image, He gave us free will. we have emtions because He has emotions. He reacts because He wanted us to make a different choice. He lets us choose, and knows what the outcome would be were we to take the other choice as well as this one. He does not only exist on this one timeline. He is above time, eternal, and sees more than one effect of every cause.
2006-07-19 11:16:59 · answer #1 · answered by lordaviii 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you consider that the two categories are mutually exclusive, then consider which parts of each are probably due to man's mistaken interpretation of God's characteristics. Likewise, who has said that being all-knowing and having reactions are mutually exclusive?
If a parent warns a child that a certain action will cause pain, (for example; walking barefoot across a field of thorns,) then why cannot that parent respond with sadness or anger when the child ignores the warning and suffers a painful consequence? If the child is young, the parent may console and comfort, but an older child may get a rebuke. I believe God responds similarly, based on our level of understanding to what He's telling us what to do or to not do. (AKA 'commandments'.)
Foremost of all, God feels love for us, and a desire for us to be happy. That's why he gave commandments; to help us avoid the painful consequences of bad decisions. His 'reaction' doesn't indicate a lack of control or weakness on His part. Some of the best teachers I ever had displayed the God-like attribute of patience, repeating their lesson as often as required until I finally understood that simple point that I was missing.
2006-07-19 11:15:53 · answer #2 · answered by Todd F 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Omnipotent- all powerful; Omniscient- all knowing; Omnipresent- all present. I'm not sure what these have to do with emotions...
But OK, I'll answer your question as best as I can. God reacts to us emotionally because He cares about us. He wants to have a personal relatioinship with us, and there's got to be some kind of feedback in those relationships on both parts (God's and ours). I don't see how those attributes (the omni's you mentioned earlier) inhibit His emotions.
2006-07-19 10:51:26 · answer #3 · answered by ATWolf 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Lord Almighty IS a mystery, yet He makes it known in the Holy Bible He is "emotional".
While the Lord is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, we, as His children, must obey and react to Him. The Lord is entitled to "reacting" to us, as His plan is to have an Eternal Kingdom for those who believe, and it will be His right to judge us as is written in The Book of Life.
2006-07-19 10:52:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'm still stuck on what a bible-goer is....in the event you mean church-goer or bible reader.....
being neither, (i have read the bible, but i don't tote one around hitting people over the head with it) that is what makes God, God. He cannot be explained, scientifically proven, nor seen to the naked eye. Therefore he needs no verification to exist.
Since i don't have the time and energy to prove a human that i know on a day to day basis is even all that powerful, why would worry about what God can handle? or what he wants? or what he has planned? or what choices he provides us to make?
2006-07-19 12:04:32 · answer #5 · answered by Bella 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It can't of course.
God is, after all, nothing more than a fabrication. Something made up in the minds of bronze age sheperds to explain what they could not explain. And to force others to believe (and pay them money) they ascribe human feelings to it (that everyone can understand).
Mythology is like that in all cultures. I hoped that mankind would be over that childish need by now. Sadly though it seems that only some of us have grown up mentally as well as physically.
2006-07-19 10:47:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Emotional states are not necessarily reactionary. But for the sake of argument, lets say they are.
Now, knowing something will happen does not lessen the hurt ot the joy you feel. You KNOW on Saturday your getting married, does that lessen your love and joy? You KNOW your spouse is about to admit to an affair, you already have the proof, does that lessen the hurt? You know your child is going to die, cancer, on its death bed, does that lessen your sadness?
2006-07-19 10:50:58 · answer #7 · answered by sweetie_baby 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Guess that is the wonders of His power, the thing that interests me the most is how He can have a relationship with millions of people who believe in Him. That's God for ya, I know we won't have all the answers here on earth but that is the point of faith in God, trusting what we don't know now.
2006-07-19 11:05:12 · answer #8 · answered by AlwaysLaughing 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have been created in the IMAGE and LIKENESS of God. He has His emotions under control. We are to exercise the fruit of the Holy Spirit, self-control, in the area of our emotions. Besides this, He is PROactive, we are REactive. Hope this helps you understand. (That is if you wanted a real answer.)
2006-07-19 10:49:06 · answer #9 · answered by higherground_pastor 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Before Jesus died and became the Almighty God, He was human and experienced every pain that everyone has!!! Do you not think that while He was on the cross, He didn't suffer??? The crown of thorns, the nails in His hands and His feet, and the wound in His side????
2006-07-19 10:50:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋