Do you think man made god in his own image?

Question

I have heard the statement that man made God in his image. We refer to god as having emotions, (love, hate, revenge), that god has preferances etc. If God is an omnipotent being, wouldn't he transcend human emotions & logic? Isn't it rather hubris of us to believe that our insignificant actions could directly influence this divine being by making him angry with us?

I am aware of the quote "God made man in his image". I am purposly asking if perhaps "Man made God in his image".

Answer 1

You have a few things backwards here, though they are common mistakes. Please allow me to help.
God did make man in His own image. Man has an immortal soul. Man will live forever, just as God does (though our bodies will perish). Man has intelligence and knowledge.

We do refer to God as having love, hate, revenge, etc. These are emotions that God refers to Himself as having (in the 10 commandments, God states that he is a jealous God).
You ask why God did not transcend human emotion and logic? Because emotion and logic are that "in His image" we just talked about. These are what separate us from the beasts of the field. This is part of what makes us in God's image. God does not transcend these, because they are of God.

Is it hubris that we believe God cares about us? No. God has declared that He loves us, and wants the best in life for all of us. All we need to do is truly love Him back. That's it.
We can choose to hate God, or worse yet...believe that He does not exist. That does anger God. Imagine giving $1,000,000 to someone, to include a lifetime supply of exotic food, a home, cars, etc.,...and then having that person declare that they hate you for not giving them more. Now imagine that person says you do not exist. Hurts, doesn't it?
God allows us to communicate with Him. This is called prayer. God listens to us. Therefore, we can affect God. He tells us to call upon Him, and He will come to our aid. Thus, we can change our course in life by invoking the power of God...through prayer and request to God.
No hubris...in fact, it is humbling to have to ask for help. But, we all need God's help.

Answer 2

Well, the bible says that God made man in His own image, so yes, I believe He did. God is described as being angry, loving, merciful, compassionate, kind, just, etc. Since God is not human, but spirit, I agree it is puzzling to know how to think about this. But, if the bible says He has these qualities, then I believe He does. And sin is not insigficiant to God. The world angered Him so much that He flooded it once. And there will be another judgment coming upon the earth, as well. It's called the Tribulation Period, and it will be God's wrath poured upon a Christ-rejecting world.

I don't want to be here...I hope you won't either.

Answer 3

The Bible says that God created man in His image. (Genesis 1:27) It also says that God loves (John 3:16) and that He hates sin. (Proverbs 6:16-19) Maybe all this is difficult to understand because God does transcend human logic.

Answer 4

No, it isn't hubris to think that God is angry with us.

But first: Why does being omnipotent automatically exempt God from having what you describe as emotions? God has consciousness, so why is it unthinkable that he would also have traits characteristic of consciousness?

As best as I understand God--which is just that: as best as I understand him--he loves and he hates. These are not emotions, per se. Emotions are fleeting things--glee, sorrow, petty envy. Love and hate are lasting things. That is, if I love you unconditionally, that love NEVER changes. If it is unconditional, nothing can ever alter it. Hatred, then, would be that which is not love. And so it seems "reasonable" that if God loves--which is not emotional love but solid, eternal love that is unconditional--then he can also hate. He loves that which is of God and hates that which is not. He loves sinners (which are of God) and hates sin (which is not). In other words, God created people, who are sinners, but God did not create sin. Therefore, he can love his creation and hate what is not of him.

Anger--God's anger--can be expressed when he encounters that which he hates...which, to recap, is sin. God hates nothing else EXCEPT sin. He can be angry when one he loves (a sinner) engages in sin.

As far as other emotions go, I don't understand God to be subject to them. They are temporal things, things contingent upon the moment, upon fleeting thoughts. God is not a fleeter, and he lives outside of time. So his feeling momentarily gleeful or else sad for ten days is out of the question. There is nothing for him to feel gleeful or sad about. He doesn't get pumped up, and he doesn't go down in the dumps. He is, in this way, stable.

But love and hatred are in their own category. And they are arguably eternal. Unconditional love for people, unconditional hate for sin. Since they are "unconditional," nothing can change them, ever, and so they are not emotions...they are states of being, or something.

Answer 5

Yes I do believe that man made God in his own image. How else could you explain that humans (specifically men) seem to be at the center of the Christian universe? If God was so powerful, wouldn't he have created all sorts of other life forms besides man? And even if he only created mankind, then is this the best he could do?

Answer 6

Reverse that statement. God made man in His image. Please read Genesis 1 & 2 in the Bible. Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to OUr likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.""

Genesis 1:27 "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

God does have emotions, that's why Jesus came to live on earth. The Trinity is made up of the Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Those three are One. God created Jesus Christ so that He would know what emotions humans go through.

I believe every action we make is significant and I believe it takes a LONG TIME for God to show His anger. He's a very patient God. Here's the kicker where I think many struggle. Once you accept Jesus Christ into your heart, the road doesn't necessarily get "easier". I think the misconception with Christians is why is God doing this to me? That's actually an ok question. A better wording of it would be: Why is God allowing this to happen? There is always a lesson to be learned when God allows us to go through trials.

God loves us SO much that He died on the cross (a very brutal, excruciating death, I might add) just so that you and me and anyone else who accepts Jesus into their hearts will be forgiven of ALL sins. It still doesn't mean your walk with Christ will be easy. God loves us SO much that as we walk with Him, He encourages us to grow. The only way you can grow is through pain. What kind of growth? Galatians 5:22,23 talks about the fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It is sometimes hard to have joy and see the joy in your life when you are experiencing a trial, but when you realize that God is with you, for you and in you, suddenly you know that God is in control. It's going through the trial and accepting that God is trying to grow you because He loves you that alot of people think it's too hard and walk away.

Hebrews 13:5 "...for He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,"

You might not be a believer of Jesus Christ and so believing that God is in control might be a hard one to swallow. Think about it though.

I just did a study on God's omnipotence. Check out my blog @ http://360.yahoo.com/gideonsgirl77

Answer 7

It was intended as a pithy remark. The bible says the opposite, so they sarcastically reversed it.

People who say that don't believe it in the literal sense. They believe God is nothing more than a figment of our imaginations. They're saying there is no God.

You're right, though, it is a very prideful thing to say.

Answer 8

Yes I do think that, exactly the way that Greeks did it before (but they had a much better imagination so they made up lots of gods with much better stories). Most Christians (that I know) think that Greek gods' stories are preposterous but they don't realize how much they resemble their own god's stories.

Answer 9

Not the awesome, all-powerfull God of the Bible. Gods that men create can be controlled by men in one way or another. We can't understand the trinity, let alone make it up. Hope this helps. May my God bless you as you seek Him.

Answer 10

No. and because God is a rational being He thinks and behaves in a rational manner, he can't transcend the laws of logic because they are an aspect of who He is. God does have emotions they fact that we do to is because He made us as He is, spiritual beings. Why would God make us in a way that is totally unrelatable to Himself?