Exod. 24:9,10; Amos 9:1; Gen. 26:2; and John 14:9
God CAN be seen:
"And I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my backparts." (Ex. 33:23)
"And the Lord spake to Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his friend." (Ex. 33:11)
"For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Gen. 32:30)
God CANNOT be seen:
"No man hath seen God at any time." (John 1:18)
"And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live." (Ex. 33:20)
"Whom no man hath seen nor can see." (1 Tim. 6:16)
2007-10-27 18:31:03 · 6 answers · asked by Shawn B 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
C.L., this is an honest question. Can you explain the contradictions?
2007-10-27 18:39:08 · update #1
Apparently not.
2007-10-27 18:40:26 · update #2
No one has seen God. A burning bush that doesn't burn is not God; but through a stroll in the mountains what would grab your attention?
No contradiction here; this only suggest the existance of a Trinity. The contradiction exists in our understanding, not in the Bible; if the people of the Old Testament professed that they have seen God, the Almighty they did not profess that they have seen the Father. If God is a Trinity, then John 1:18 is not a problem either because in John chapter one, John writes about the Word, which is Jesus, and God who is the Father. In verse 14 it says the Word became flesh. In verse 18 it says no one has seen God. Since Jesus is the Word, God then, refers to the Father, and the apparent contradiction is easily resolved, especially when this is examined in the light of Jesus' words in John 6:46 where He said that no one has ever seen the Father. Therefore, Almighty God was seen, but not the Father. It was Jesus before His incarnation.
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am."
Exodus3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
2007-10-27 18:36:13 · answer #1 · answered by Sam 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Those who consider the entirety of all phenomena to be the presence of God see Him everywhere at all times, those who consider a super-guider in the sky their deity, wait until after they die.
2007-10-28 11:28:19 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You do realize, don't you, that when you take verses out of context and twist them to make a pointless point you only appear more foolish to those who know better?
Edit: They AREN'T contradictions, so yes, I can...although I'll have to pause and laugh out loud at the thought of you being "honest". Whenever people have seen God it's because he appears to them in a human form, a form they are used to, of course, because they are human. I'm surprised you didn't use Jesus Christ as an example here, because he was God and he appeared to millions. When the scriptures say that God cannot be seen, it is referring to the glory and perfection of God - God in God form, if you will. He has to hide that part of himself from us in order to come into our presence because we are a fallen creation. We are wicked. If exposed to his full perfection we would be overtaken and perish simply because he IS perfect.
2007-10-28 01:35:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
You can't see God. You can see His impact on your life.
Those who don't see Him aren't looking.
Those who don't hear Him aren't listening.
2007-10-28 01:34:49 · answer #4 · answered by Skunk 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The question is "Is God recognized or not recognized?"
2007-10-28 01:34:53 · answer #5 · answered by bobanalyst 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I cannit see him.Can you?.
2007-10-28 15:32:18 · answer #6 · answered by the rocket 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋