who's God?

Question

what sort of "person" is God? what is his "life story"? is it possible to approach him not as an object of religious reverence, but as the protagonist of the world's most well know book- as a character who possesses all the depths, contradictions and ambiguities of a Hamlet? please give well thought answers, i'm not trying anything funny, i just want see people to put some thought in to it. i am really curious.. thanks.

Answer 1

God is the universal carrot. The vegetable/animal paradox. The all wise know it all. The Captain Crunch of the galaxy.

Answer 2

It is possible to reduce God to a character in some book or play or just in your head if you like, but that character would not be God or anything like God. You could never give the character the depth of God, words don't go that deep. So why don't you just do like all the major religions do and make up a character then call it God.

Answer 3

Yes it is possible to do that. The old testament is especially well known for its entertaining stories, and its depiction of God as harsh rather than kind. In these stories God almost reminds me of the Greek Gods, he is violent, and even though he is perfect, he seems incredibly unfair. For some infractions as minor as forgetting to tap on a rock to create water he kills and punishes, and yet some characters get away with questioning the fairness of Gods actions, several times he threatens to destroy the Israelites, but is convinced that it would be wrong based on conversations with various prophets. God comes across as a logical version of the Greek Gods, the Greek Gods see humans as ants, while God sees them as part of him. As the story unfolds into a decidedly less exciting new testament God has a son, and becomes more understanding. God evolves, the people evolve, it is a very entertaining "story" if you choose to interpret it that way.

Answer 4

The Supreme Deity of the universe is God. He is the Almighty, the Creator and Sustainer of the Heavens, the earth and all things therein (Gen. 1.1; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 124:8; Isa. 40:26,28; 44:24; Acts 14:15; 17:24,25; Rev. 14:7). He alone is immortal (1Tim. 6:16). He is our God and Father and the God and Father of Jesus Christ (Jn. 20:17). He is the Most High God (Gen. 14:18; Num. 24:16; Deut. 32:8; Mk. 5:7) and the One True God (Jn. 17:3; 1Jn. 5:20).

Answer 5

Part of God we can comprehend.... such as the fact that he has a physical body like we do.... other things are just not fathomible to the human mind, such as the idea that God has existed forever and will exist forever. God is an interesting concept and many people understand him differently. I think utimately to find god (and his proper "story") one has to explore multiple religions....

Answer 6

God is that God is. Maybe God is the combined spirit, or mind power, of all consciousness in existence. Maybe, if It is in an anthropomorphic form, then there are more than one gods. How do we know? There is a Lakota term, Wakan Tanka. It means The Great Mystery.
That's what it is to me.

Answer 7

i wish i could tell you this, me and god drunk from the same baby cup when we were little, then shared the same bed, we talk frequently so there is nothing but absolutely nothing not to know about each other...
this a very simple yet complicated question, boy
for instance dalai lama said there is no god, of course i don't believe his holiness especially
another person called ramana maharishi said once that there is no need to keep your small luggage with you in your arms, that you can take a seat and relax cause the train will carry you at the destination anyway and the luggage with it , and I think he said this in a talk about god refering to god as the train and us as passengers
another christin saint said god will triumph over the ruins of our plans
personally i believe in god, add an o and it turns to good, so god must be good

Answer 8

I don't think God can be personified, and if He could, he would be the sum of all people. Everyone of us has God inside. He is an ultimate characteristic of everything 'perfect', something everyone is always striving for, so no matter what religion you are, as long you follow the 'golden rule' you are striving to discover God's character.

Answer 9

Do Buddhists believe in a creator god?

No, we do not. There are several logical reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern scientists, sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origins in fear. The Buddha says:

"Gripped by fear men go to sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines." *Dhammpada 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of god in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a creator god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a creator god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin of the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of Atheists, free-thinkers and Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a creator god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

But if there is no creator god how did the universe get here?

All religions have myths and stories which attempt to answer this question. In ancient times, when man simply did not know, such myths were adequate, but in the 20th century, in the age of physics, astronomy and geology, such myths have been superseded by scientific fact. Science has explained the origin of the universe without recourse to the god-idea.

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Answer 10

God is not a person. He is the only God. He created all. He has never been on earth. If you have any doubts here, tell me where the first atom came from to split into two, into four, into eight,.... to make all that is everywhere?
If you want all of his life's story, that he is willing to let us know of - read the Bible.