What is God?

Question

Please provide an ACADEMIC definition of what God is or defines a god. I know this is tough, but think before you post something trite.

Answer 1

God: (noun) An entity that simultaneously exists both inside, outside, and as part of the natural universe human beings exist in; that possesses supreme knowledge of our universe and thus sustains the universe and has complete control over it; and is the creator of our universe from whom the nature of right and wrong is dictated to us mere mortals.

Answer 2

God is a law of nature that dictates the way things are holding up together in the universe, everything is linked, because the natural law says that nothing is created nor disapear, therefore, everything must become more organized to free some energy, and human beings are such complexe representation of the primordial energy organizing itself into a lower conscious state of matter. In other words, every beings, everything that exist is linked in a way or another with the rest of the universe. You can visualized it like this, in an explosion, can you tell that a small flame that compose it, doesn't share any relationship with the rest of the explosion? Of course not, because such flame share its momentum, and its initial energy state with the rest of the explosion, human are such small flame, and we are part of a much larger system, that we can feel, it is not only a biological process, as science is yet to discover all the intricacies of life. Also, I can tell you from my experiences, they are things out there that happen and cannot be explained with rational precepts, and in a way this is logical if we cannot perceive exactly how the world work, how can we predict anything singular??

Answer 3

"There is a lack of consensus as to the appropriate scientific treatment of religious questions, such as those of the existence, nature and properties of God - mainly because of the lack of a common definition of God. A major point of debate has been whether God's existence or attributes can be empirically tested or gauged." - wiki

This in mind, I cannot give you an academic answer. Sorry. However, there is a fairly good read, for a short explanation, on wikipedia.

Answer 4

God springs forth from the primitive limbic system of your brain, the last remnants of your reptillion past. The area where our raw emotions reside, including the irrational belief systems.

The 'religious' experience is triggered by deep depression, starvation, near death, or other highly charged situations. The 'born-again' christian phenomena has a scientific basis....yes, your limbic system. Why has man evolved this mechanism you might ask? Simple...it was a survival mechanism of our cave man ancestors to cope with a hostile and unknown universe.

The cerebral cortex is a more recent development. Here is where our rational and logical thought processes take place. It is here that the atheists have found their basis in reality.

In reality, there is no sentient, omnipresent, omnipotent supernatural being or force....therefore all the inequities and misery of the world will always persist, no matter how hard some try to get that limbic brain of theirs to work...sorry

Answer 5

Christ as the Slave-Savior did not come to be served, but to serve; He served us in the past, He still serves us in the present, and He is going to serve us in the future (Mark 10:45, Luke 22:26-27; 12:37)
The story of the gospel and the meaning of salvation are that Christ loves and serves us first, and then we love and serve him; whenever we have a need, we can come to the Lord and let Him serve us so that He can serve others through us. (Matt 26:13, 1 John 4:19; john 13:12-17; Rom 1:1; Gal 6:17; 1 John 3:16)

Answer 6

I don't know is this is "acadamic" enough... but to me God is a weakness.
People are weak by nature, our rationality make us what we are (humans) then we lost the "animal side", instinct. I guess that's beacause we suppouse to have feelings, and those feelings (especially the negative ones), make us need for faith, which lead us to believe in some invisible invention of other people to take over the masses... which is way too ironic beacuse, being rational, how can we belive something that we cannot see?... and what is God?... I guess it just depended of who made it... maybe a poor sacrifieced carpenter (to feel pity about), some almighty all-seeing eye (to be afraid about) or simply a conqueror (To wish share that power)...

P.D: Do I have to say I'm agnostic? =P

Answer 7

God is the ultimate end of men and women. God is the Supreme Being and the Creator of all things seen and unseen. He is the Uncaused Cause. He is the ultimate Cause of all things. He is the beginning and the end of all things. He is all powerful, all just, all knowing, all perfect, all good, all merciful, etc. He is everywhere. He is the Prime Mover of all things. He is the First Cause of all things. He is the Final End and the Final Good of all things. He is the Necessary Being. God has no imperfections. He is all beautiful, all kind, all gracious, all forgiving, etc. There is no evil in God. He is the Source of all graces and good things. He is the Giver of all life. God is our Father. God wants all souls to be saved. God gives us all the graces we need to go to heaven. God is Eternal. He has no beginning and no end. God is Love. Where love is God is there too.

Answer 8

God: (noun) An entity that simultaneously exists both inside, outside, and as part of the natUral universe human beings exist in; that possesses supreme knowledge of our universe and thus sustains the universe and has complete control over it; and is the creator of our universe from whom the nature of right and wrong is dictated to us mere mortals.

but its just a figure of ur imagination,
i mean how does anyone know that god exists
for all we know, maybe he was just created by some1's dreams and it was a story
and throughout the years, ppl thought it was real

the day time travel exists, we will find out

but until then
its just Ur beliefs
and i believe Christians r idiots, they say Jesus is the only one and if u believe in another god, u go to hell
in my religion, it says to appreciate all other religions and gods

Answer 9

God /gɒd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[god] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, verb, god·ded, god·ding, interjection
–noun 1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.
2. the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute: the God of Islam.
3. (lowercase) one of several deities, esp. a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs.
4. (often lowercase) a supreme being according to some particular conception: the god of mercy.
5. Christian Science. the Supreme Being, understood as Life, Truth, Love, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Principle.
6. (lowercase) an image of a deity; an idol.
7. (lowercase) any deified person or object.
8. (often lowercase) Gods, Theater. a. the upper balcony in a theater.
b. the spectators in this part of the balcony.

–verb (used with object) 9. (lowercase) to regard or treat as a god; deify; idolize.
–interjection 10. (used to express disappointment, disbelief, weariness, frustration, annoyance, or the like): God, do we have to listen to this nonsense?

Answer 10

God is nothing, really. He lives unaware of us in the intermundia and never takes part in human affairs. God cannot be thought or explained, but just noticed, detected, lived. The awareness of his existence cannot be grasped by words. You might be worried about death, but death is nothing, really: you have nothing to do with it. Please notice that when you are, death is not, and when death is, you are not: so you and death never cross paths. If I had the power to bring you back to life from a billion year sleep, you would not identify with yourself. When you cling on to this present and realize its perpetual presence you also catch onto the nature of God. The problem is not you will die, but rather you can’t. Einstein was right when he understood space and time as relative magnitudes-his equation on light’s relativity depends on this. God and death should not bother you, really; just mind life: you have a good deal to do with it.