I would like to hear people's opinion on, not only the existence of God, but also the nature of God, whether you think He/She is an omnipotent God of human form, or simply a spark of energy that brought about life in the universe.
PS This is meant to produce debate rather than be an exercise in rhetoric and the recital of doctrine. Thanks.
2007-01-12 02:03:58 · 32 answers · asked by AaronO 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
These are some great answers. I find it interesting the atheist answered the most vehemently and thus, echoes the zeal of religion whilst denying the existence of a God. I also really like the addition of mathematical answers using quantum physics. It has been said the language of God is pure math. Thanks again to all those who have answered.
2007-01-12 02:20:37 · update #1
If there is a god, or a universal mind I do not believe such an essense created the universe, but is outside the borders of existence, residing in non-existence.
I would believe the nature of God or the Divine spirit etc, is of the most profoundest notions of Love (compassion) and knowledge (wisdom).
God would be neither male nor female, nor would such a Divine spirit be responsible for the crimes of humanity or the imperfection of life and existence.
I would suggest that god is made up of pure untainted consciousness, which neither has a name nor a identity which can be visualised or contained by religious dogma.
It is neither born nor does it die.
It does not need any human spokesman (prophets) but can be found by way of inspiration through poetry, art, science and nature.
For god resides within our minds.
2007-01-13 07:21:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess I'll just use my own words and answer this question for you, I didn't copy this if that is what your thinking!
Who is God?
The question "Who is God?" is a good question. It is better than asking "What is God?" This is because God exists, created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent the Son to redeem us. If we were to ask "What is God?" we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or something like that. In some respect, this would be true. But the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.
The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has been and always will be only one God. God was never created, is completely loving, completely just, completely holy, completely merciful, and that He desires the best for us. God is holy and He can have nothing to do with sin as the Bible says, "His eyes are too pure to look upon evil," (Hab. 1:13). This does not mean that God cannot see what someone does that is wrong. It is a way of describing how holy God is. God cannot sin. He is perfect.
In Christianity, God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons, not three gods. Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the same person as the other; yet there are not three gods but one. This is similar in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past, present, and future. The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future. But, there are not three times. There is only one thing called time.
The reason the word "person" is used in describing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood -- not in a body of flesh and bones, but in personality. In other words, each has a will, loves, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc. These are attributes of personhood and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrate these qualities.
Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in the form of the Son, and still exist in such a way so that He can run the universe. Therefore, the Son can communicate to us on our level.
Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.
Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
The Bible says there is only one God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah 45:5). Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called God.
Below is a very brief chart that shows that each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares. But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have wills, and speak, etc. Therefore, we say there are are three persons.
FATHER SON HOLY SPIRIT
Called God Phil. 1:2 John 1:1,14; Acts 5:3-4
Creator Isaiah 64:8 John 1:3; Job 33:4, 26:13
Everywhere 1 Kings 8:27 Matt. 28:20 Psalm 139:7-10
All knowing 1 John 3:20 John 16:30; 21:17 1 Cor. 2:10-11
A Will Luke 22:42 Luke 22:42 1 Cor. 12:11
Speaks Matt. 3:17; Luke 5:20; 7:48 Acts 13:2
2007-01-12 02:07:53 · answer #2 · answered by Luke 3 · 2⤊ 5⤋
The nature of God, in my opinion.
The nature of god is that of a crutch, it is to keep someone from questioning and retards social growth. One who asks "what is next" or" why am i here" seeks those answers thus gaining intellect. Perhaps some understanding of self in the search.
Those that believe in a god have answers given to them. they are not earned through the seeking. They refuse blame, they refuse a reality and they can not comprehend the damage they have allowed to the inner quest.
I do not believe in God. I find it falsifies logic to do so.
As far as the universe and it's creation goes. I don't believe we really know squat about it. All is conjecture. Theory... and as time passes answers will be gained. The Mind of man is a powerful tool when used and a powerful weapon when controlled.
2007-01-12 02:21:44 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Look into Quantum mechanics and Superstring theory. Here's what you'll find:
There is no such thing as matter. The fundamental constituent of nature is a packet of concentrated energy.
There is no reality without a conscious observer. There exists only a field of probablity until acted upon by consciousness. Once acted upon by consciousness the probability field collapses into our chosen reality.
Therefore consciousness and energy not only pre-exist what we perceive as reality but act together to form reality.
Consider the scale of the universe. There are six billion people on this planet. There are two hundred billion stars in our galaxy. There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the observable universe. A light year is 4 trillion miles, and the observable universe is 14 billion light years across. It is theorized that our visible universe is only one of a possibly infinite number of other universes we cannot see.
Now, what name would you give to a consciousness and energy source that could form such a creation if not God?
Further, consider the nature of an infinite and Loving God.
Infinity is a difficult concept to wrap your finite mind around. Infinity is by definition without beginning and without end, all-encompasing. You cannot add to or subtract from infinity. If an infinite God created you and I what would he have to work with? Only Himself, because everything that exists would be a part of God and nothing that exists would NOT be a part of God. Anything God created would also be a part of God because God is infinite.
This fits extremely well with our scientific observations which show that at the most fundamental level everything is connected via a background sea of energy. Separation is only an illusion, in reality All is One. Belive it or not Quantum mechanics tells us that we are literally manifestations of God.
As literal manifestations of God we are also eternal. Our eternal consciousness and individual personalities currently reside in an animal body for the purpose of experiencing physical life. We have been given the glorious opportunity to experience Love and laughter, pain and suffering, hot and cold, and one of my favorites - milk and cookies. When this physical body has reached the end of it's feasability our consciousness will return to it's true home - the loving arms of God. Once there we will give the gift of our experiences back to the Creator, and begin planning the lessons we will learn in our next life.
You have no beginning and no end. As a literal manifestation of the Divine Creator you are eternal. Evolution is the process whereby we attain higher and higher states of consciousness until we learn to love every aspect of the Creator, as demonstrated in the life of Jesus.
There is no judgement, there is no hell. There are eternal laws of cause and effect so your actions do have consequences, but God loves every aspect of himself equally and ultimately nobody gets left behind on the path back to the Creator. The only guarantee in the universe is unlimited joy and unconditional love.
2007-01-12 02:12:39 · answer #4 · answered by Elmer R 4 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Well, i personally believe that God is omnipotent and that he looks like us (or we look like him). He is omnipotent, because he knows us through and through, and he knows our nature. He created us after his image, and knowing us so well, he sent us to this earth to gain knowledge to someday be like him. A lot of people see him as the guy with the big beard and toga just WAITING for the chance to start throwing lightning bolts at us, and that he wants to punish us when we anger him. I find him to be a rather just God. He gives us repentance to get a second chance when we mess up. He sent his Son to die for our sins that we may return to him. He gave us our bodies to experience what it's like to walk, laugh, touch, eat (yay) and so much more. Even though we experience pain and sorrow, he understands all of that, and if we pray to him, we can find comfort in many different forms.
2007-01-12 02:13:56 · answer #5 · answered by whit-to-the-ney 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
First, God is he. Goddess is she. Your question only invites useless speculation. It is far, far beyond our mind's capacity to have any idea about "the nature of God". Say, a three year old may imagine God as an old man with a long beard floating around up in the sky. From there, depending on age, IQ etc., people may have various ideas about God. But needless to say, in this context; "our knowledge is a drop, and our ignorance the ocean".
2007-01-12 02:22:46 · answer #6 · answered by Ivar 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
who first said there was a god anyway /was it a man
every one has there own visual image of a god /me i think your all nuts even to dwell on the subject .you live you die and lets face it if you believe and get to "heaven" you can find out first hand .just be patient
god -he /she or even It huh
so it has been said the language of god is pure math thats a new one suppose god told someone thats the way he speaks huh or i wonder if any one has told god thats the way he speaks
2007-01-12 02:14:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
The nature of God, is love.
And as for our perspective of God, I think its based on our relationship with Him. Even though a postmodern perspective may conceive God to be non-existant (difficult to explain an absolute truth, in a world where 'truth' doesn't exist), it also offers the opportunity for us to develop a relationship with God, based on a subjective understanding and interpretation of Him.
2007-01-12 02:13:00 · answer #8 · answered by Jeni-wren 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Who is God?
The question "Who is God?" is a good question. It is better than asking "What is God?" This is because God exists, created us, loves us, is concerned for our being, desires to provide for us, and sent the Son to redeem us. If we were to ask "What is God?" we might be tempted to say that God is the infinite being, the creator, a presence, or something like that. In some respect, this would be true. But the first question brings us closer to understanding more of who God really is in His character and His love for us as revealed in the Bible.
The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has been and always will be only one God. God was never created, is completely loving, completely just, completely holy, completely merciful, and that He desires the best for us. God is holy and He can have nothing to do with sin as the Bible says, "His eyes are too pure to look upon evil," (Hab. 1:13). This does not mean that God cannot see what someone does that is wrong. It is a way of describing how holy God is. God cannot sin. He is perfect.
In Christianity, God is a Trinity. This means that God is three persons, not three gods. Technically, the doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each is not the same person as the other; yet there are not three gods but one. This is similar in analogy to the nature of time. Time is past, present, and future. The past is not the same as the present, which is not the same as the future. But, there are not three times. There is only one thing called time.
The reason the word "person" is used in describing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is because each exhibits attributes of personhood -- not in a body of flesh and bones, but in personality. In other words, each has a will, loves, speaks, is aware of others, communicates with others, etc. These are attributes of personhood and we see the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each demonstrate these qualities.
Because of the Trinity, God can become flesh in the form of the Son, and still exist in such a way so that He can run the universe. Therefore, the Son can communicate to us on our level.
Following are a couple verses that hint at the Trinity.
Matt. 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."
2 Cor. 13:14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all."
The Bible says there is only one God: "I am the Lord, and there is no other;
Besides Me there is no God," (Isaiah 45:5). Yet, the Bible teaches that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each called God.
Below is a very brief chart that shows that each of the persons in the Trinity share the same attributes that only God shares. But remember, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each have wills, and speak, etc. Therefore, we say there are are three persons.
FATHER SON HOLY SPIRIT
Called God Phil. 1:2 John 1:1,14; Acts 5:3-4
Creator Isaiah 64:8 John 1:3; Job 33:4, 26:13
Everywhere 1 Kings 8:27 Matt. 28:20 Psalm 139:7-10
All knowing 1 John 3:20 John 16:30; 21:17 1 Cor. 2:10-11
A Will Luke 22:42 Luke 22:42 1 Cor. 12:11
Speaks Matt. 3:17; Luke 5:20; 7:48 Acts 13:2
2007-01-12 02:06:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 9⤋
I think God must be omnipontent because there needs to be a creator (at least for the human mind to explain creation). Although the creator could be a "what" rather than a "who".
It's nice to think God is loving and why wouldn't he (because he has a penis - clearly) be nice? or he might be evil, or he might be curious. Who knows? It's nicer to think he (likes beer and football)
is nice. Perhaps he only exists because we believe in him. Or if
women had souls God might be female?
2007-01-12 02:15:50 · answer #10 · answered by Paul E 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋