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[Avatar4321]

Was God ever a man? I am having a debate on some other forums and im curious what the people here say. Im surprised at the answers. particularly from christians

 

[Bullypulpit]

Was God ever a man? I am having a debate on some other forums and im curious what the people here say. Im surprised at the answers. particularly from christians

From a Buddhist perspective it is possible for a human to become a god, over long ages of working to eliminate negative karma and engender positive karma. But wishining to remain in a state of godhood is nothing more than petty clinging to and grasping after that which is impermanent and transitory, resulting in reincarnation in the hell realms upon death.

 

[KarlMarx]

Was God ever a man? I am having a debate on some other forums and im curious what the people here say. Im surprised at the answers. particularly from christians

That's simple ---- No -- for God the Father and Yes --- for God the Son

If God the Father were a man, He would be subject to the laws of this universe, which to me seems a contradiction.

God the Father is not subject to time or space.... in fact His name is YAHWEH -- meaning "I AM"

If you analyze it... "I" --- meaning God the Father has an individuality

"AM" - God the Father exists

"I AM" - God the Father exists in an everlasting "present" without a past or a future.... He was not created, nor was He born, nor does He age, nor will He die.

However, God the Son (that is Jesus) was a man.... and being a man, He was subject to birth, death and suffering.... which is what His whole purpose for coming to this Earth was... i.e. to be a sin offering on our behalf so that we can at least get a chance at salvation.

 

[KarlMarx]

From a Buddhist perspective it is possible for a human to become a god, over long ages of working to eliminate negative karma and engender positive karma. But wishining to remain in a state of godhood is nothing more than petty clinging to and grasping after that which is impermanent and transitory, resulting in reincarnation in the hell realms upon death.

So.... does Buddhism acknowledge that eventually the universe will end?
According to what we know, the universe does not have enough mass to contract back onto itself. That means that the universe will keep on expanding indefinitely. If that is so, eventually all the energy will be used up and we will have nothing but entropy. Even matter will eventually disintegrate leaving behind a very very very thin cloud of subatomic particles or perhaps even superstrings.

BTW --- have you ever heard of a "palya"? I once read about it when I was a kid. A palya was, as I recall, the amount of time required to empty a well a mile deep and a mile wide filled with fine hairs, but removing a single hair once a century. According to my calculations a palya is about 10 raised to the 17th power years.

If what I read about the universe is true.... it will take 10 to the 17th power "palya" or 10 to the 34th power years (at least) before all the matter in the universe evaporates.

 

[5stringJeff]

Was God ever a man? I am having a debate on some other forums and im curious what the people here say. Im surprised at the answers. particularly from christians

John 1:1-5, 14:

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it... And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."

We see this about the Word (Jesus):
1. He is God.
2. He existed from the beginning (which is to say, He has always been God).
3. He created the world (another act of God, see Genesis 1).
4. He became flesh - i.e. became a man.


Also, Hebrews 2:10-17:

"For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,

"I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise."

And again,

"I will put my trust in him."

And again,

"Behold, I and the children God has given me."

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people."

According to this passage, it was necessary for Jesus to be fully human, so that He could provide a fitting sacrifice for the sins of humans. If non-human blood could have satisfied the justice that God required, then the animal sacrifice system set up in the Mosaic Law would have sufficed. But it was not sufficient; it was, as the author of Hebrews goes on to say, a shadow of that which was to come.

 

[pllove]

That's simple ---- No -- for God the Father and Yes --- for God the Son

If God the Father were a man, He would be subject to the laws of this universe, which to me seems a contradiction.

God the Father is not subject to time or space.... in fact His name is YAHWEH -- meaning "I AM"

If you analyze it... "I" --- meaning God the Father has an individuality

"AM" - God the Father exists

"I AM" - God the Father exists in an everlasting "present" without a past or a future.... He was not created, nor was He born, nor does He age, nor will He die.

However, God the Son (that is Jesus) was a man.... and being a man, He was subject to birth, death and suffering.... which is what His whole purpose for coming to this Earth was... i.e. to be a sin offering on our behalf so that we can at least get a chance at salvation.

funny.

 

[dmp]

funny.

Are you simply replying to build up your post count? That reply makes no sense.

 

[softwaremama]

That's simple ---- No -- for God the Father and Yes --- for God the Son

If God the Father were a man, He would be subject to the laws of this universe, which to me seems a contradiction.

God the Father is not subject to time or space.... in fact His name is YAHWEH -- meaning "I AM"

If you analyze it... "I" --- meaning God the Father has an individuality

"AM" - God the Father exists

"I AM" - God the Father exists in an everlasting "present" without a past or a future.... He was not created, nor was He born, nor does He age, nor will He die.

However, God the Son (that is Jesus) was a man.... and being a man, He was subject to birth, death and suffering.... which is what His whole purpose for coming to this Earth was... i.e. to be a sin offering on our behalf so that we can at least get a chance at salvation.

No, it's not that simple. In Hebrew, it means many things--the meaning is much richer than in English. Please...

 

[KarlMarx]

No, it's not that simple. In Hebrew, it means many things--the meaning is much richer than in English. Please...

I'm sure it is.... and I would like to know.... do you have a link?

 

[Mr. P]

A Bible scholar I'm not...Heck, I can barely remember the "now I lay me down to sleep" stuff.
But, what about the "created in his own image" thing?

My answer is, Yes.

 

[no1tovote4]

Was God ever a man? I am having a debate on some other forums and im curious what the people here say. Im surprised at the answers. particularly from christians

From a Buddhist perspective:

All things alive are part of the Amida Buddha or Greater Compassion. Each of us is but one piece of what most Christians would call God.

http://www.geocities.com/scimah/God.htm

Here is a good article on the Buddhist Faith and the understanding of God.

And some points from withing the article:

Omniscient - Yes, all that ever was, ever will be, ever could have been, and ever might still be - are included within God. Their actualisation as experiences depends upon the choices made by sentient beings.

Omnipotent. -Yes, in the sense that all potentials are present. The driving power to make anything that could logically occur actually occur ('breathe fire into the equations') is available.

Compassionate Yes, the samsaric universe, for all its apparent faults, provides a path for deluded primordial mind to achieve enlightenment. Thus from the viewpoint of an Awakened Being, the universe is a perfect ground for advanced beings to rescue other migrators and bring them to enlightenment.

Judgemental - No, all beings will eventually be saved (Bodhisatva vow)

God within time or outside time? Neither - time operates within God - She is pregnant with possibility, and time consists of a series of instances of actualisation of those possibilities.

 

[Bonnie]

Was God ever a man? I am having a debate on some other forums and im curious what the people here say. Im surprised at the answers. particularly from christians

Yes God was a man his name was Jesus...........he was a man and god at the same time. He was and is perfection, as a man he suffered what no ordinary man could suffer.

The holy trinity talks of the Father, Son, and Holy spirit being one entity, and yet seperate entities.

 

[Avatar4321]

Yes God was a man his name was Jesus...........he was a man and god at the same time. He was and is perfection, as a man he suffered what no ordinary man could suffer.

The holy trinity talks of the Father, Son, and Holy spirit being one entity, and yet seperate entities.

See you guys get it. Yet the guy i was talking to said he was a Christian, and i dont doubt he has faith in Christ but he couldnt see the contradiction he was making when he was insisting that Christ is God made flesh but God was never made flesh. i was just like

 

[KarlMarx]

See you guys get it. Yet the guy i was talking to said he was a Christian, and i dont doubt he has faith in Christ but he couldnt see the contradiction he was making when he was insisting that Christ is God made flesh but God was never made flesh. i was just like

Wow.... sounds like a Manichean..... but that heresy died out in the 4th or 5th century.....

Manicheans believed that spirit was good and matter evil.... therefore.... Jesus was not REALLY flesh and blood (and hence, evil).... but then, if he wasn't flesh and blood ---- how could he die for our sins? St. Augustine was originally a Manichean, but abandoned it after he met St. Ambrose..... eventually the Roman Empire became Christian and one of the emperors (Constantine?) assembled the Council of Nicea (where we get the Nicene Creed and the dogma of a Holy Trinity became formalized). The Council of Nicea declared Manicheanism a heresy... and that was the beginning of the end of that philosophy.

 

[Adam's Apple]

I don't have any trouble with the concept that God may once have gone through a human existence to get to the place where he is now. Is that what you were asking?

 

[Bullypulpit]

So.... does Buddhism acknowledge that eventually the universe will end?
According to what we know, the universe does not have enough mass to contract back onto itself. That means that the universe will keep on expanding indefinitely. If that is so, eventually all the energy will be used up and we will have nothing but entropy. Even matter will eventually disintegrate leaving behind a very very very thin cloud of subatomic particles or perhaps even superstrings.

BTW --- have you ever heard of a "palya"? I once read about it when I was a kid. A palya was, as I recall, the amount of time required to empty a well a mile deep and a mile wide filled with fine hairs, but removing a single hair once a century. According to my calculations a palya is about 10 raised to the 17th power years.

If what I read about the universe is true.... it will take 10 to the 17th power "palya" or 10 to the 34th power years (at least) before all the matter in the universe evaporates.

The universe is a dependently arisen phenomena. Thus it will indeed end, but that end is so far in the future as to effectively remove it from the realm of human experience.

As for string theory, new interpretations posit the existence of multiple strings stretched into "membranes", each representing a universe in its own right. It is posited that contact between these membranes is what gives rise to new universes. Such a contact is held to be the source of the "Big Bang" which formed our own universe.

 

[Bonnie]

I don't have any trouble with the concept that God may once have gone through a human existence to get to the place where he is now. Is that what you were asking?

I think you put it very well here. Mary was born without original sin so she could carry the perfect sinless Jesus and give him life. He was and is the son of God and also God himself....And yes he was put here soley to plant the seeds of Christianity, and to suffer unimaginable torment and death to ransom our souls from the Devil. Imagine how much he loved us to do that. When he was in the Garden of Gethseme awating his capture by soldiers, he was constantly being told by Satan that his sacrifice was in vain as he would not save any souls, and Satan also gave him a preview of the suffering he was about to endure, so frightened was the mortal part of Jesus that he sweated blood from his entire body, but the God in him allowed him to endure the pain, as he knew that was what his father wanted of him........it was the way it had to be.

 

[Bonnie]

See you guys get it. Yet the guy i was talking to said he was a Christian, and i dont doubt he has faith in Christ but he couldnt see the contradiction he was making when he was insisting that Christ is God made flesh but God was never made flesh. i was just like

The trinity is one of those mysteries that even scholarly theologians debate and have a hard time with, it's just a concept that we can't quite grasp just like there was always God, before time started..........It's a lot to take in

 

[Adam's Apple]

I believe the Scriptures make the nature of the Trinity clear. When Jesus was baptised, he came straightway up out of the water, God's voice could be heard speaking from heaven, and the Holy Ghost alighted on him in the form of a dove (Matthew 3). All three took part separately on this special occasion. This indicates to me they are one in UNITY, but separate entities. Each has a separate work to do, but they are united in purpose in doing this work.

 

[5stringJeff]

See you guys get it. Yet the guy i was talking to said he was a Christian, and i dont doubt he has faith in Christ but he couldnt see the contradiction he was making when he was insisting that Christ is God made flesh but God was never made flesh. i was just like

Maybe he meant that God the Father had never been made flesh...?