Describing God

[PoliticalChic]

1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:

"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144

But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?





2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD

But that’s not enough.


“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager




And I found this on the board:

“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."

Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.



Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid


See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia

All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.




But….there is more….

 

[irosie91]

I need that depiction as a nice tray------for my table

 

[PoliticalChic]

3. But the best job I found was in Dennis Prager’s new book, “The Rational Bible.”

“…a Creator of the universe…. nothing preexisted Genesis 1:1. … only God can create from nothing.



…everything—with the exception of God—has a beginning. Prior to God’s creating, there was nothing. That includes time. Thanks to Einstein, we know that time, too, had a beginning. God, therefore, also created time, which means God exists not only outside of nature but outside of time. God precedes time and will outlive time.

…unlike pre-Bible creation stories, there is complete silence regarding a birth of the deity. The God of Genesis 1:1, the God of the Bible, is not born….a god who is completely separate from nature—because God created nature. God, for the first time, is not part of nature.


4.So, if the basic description of God is that He is a creator….’the Creator’….it puts atheists at this disadvantage. None can deny that everything is here, has been created, and even atheistic science calls for a beginning, that Big Bang…..

…..then, what was there before the Big Bang?


At least religious folks have an explanation….
The Rational Bible: Genesis by Dennis Prager - Book - Read Online




Is there any basis to doubt a Creator???

 

[Tijn Von Ingersleben]

I need that depiction as a nice tray------for my table

Blasphemous.

 

[irosie91]

yeah---me-----I is a doubter Are you really sure that no OTHER religion has
a "god" that was not "created". Was SHIVA created?

 

[irosie91]

I need that depiction as a nice tray------for my table

Blasphemous.

yeah?-----I have a copper plate depicting an etching of Wolf Huber that I use for
jello molds--------very dramatic------under strawberry jello

 

[PoliticalChic]

yeah---me-----I is a doubter Are you really sure that no OTHER religion has
a "god" that was not "created". Was SHIVA created?

"According to Vishnu Purana, Lord Shiva was born on the brink of Vishnu's forehead and Brahma Dev appeared in the navel of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that the birth of Lord Shiva is due to being the forehead of Lord Vishnu, Shiva always lives in yoga posture."
How has Lord Shiva born? - Quora

https://www.quora.com › How-has-Lord-Shiva-born

 

[PoliticalChic]

Is there any basis to doubt a Creator???

Of course there isn't.




5. Taught in government school that there is no God, and to be amused that others adhere to such ….superstition….the graduated secularists turn from the clear and evident fact that they and everything around them, exists.



And no matter how one cuts it, the explanation that the question of origin provides is

a) everything always existed, or

b) things created themselves….or….

c) there must have been a Creator. This choice is most palatable, logically.




6. Some choose a middle road.

Charles Krauthammer: “I’m not the first to say it. I don’t believe in God, but I fear Him greatly”
(interesting juxtaposition, huh?)
“This is not to say that Krauthammer is an atheist.

When [Dennis] Prager asked if he is one, Krauthammer took the opportunity to ridicule the atheistic notion that the universe was created ex nihilo [from nothing]:

"I believe atheism is the least plausible of all theologies." Krauthammer follows the "kind of theology that [Thomas] Jefferson and Albert Einstein had, which is a recognition of the mystery of the universe and that it is impenetrable," but remains "skeptical of the notion of some interventionist being in human history." Ultimately, Krauthammer echoes the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, "You can only say what God is not." http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2013/11/26/whats_the_matter_with_krauthammer.html



Another way to put it…..


"If you want my final opinion on the mystery of life and all that, I can give it to you in a nutshell. The universe is like a safe to which there is a combination. But the combination is locked up in the safe."
Peter De Vries

 

[PoliticalChic]

7. Those who are less able to think leave government school with the idea that believing in God is irrational. The very opposite is the case,….just look around and try to deny the existence of the entire universe and everything in it. Aquinas put his finger on this view…….



“The universe is not self-explanatory. In the final analysis, only something beyond the universe, something that is not contingent, can account for it.

What is typically known as “the argument from contingency” is another with a long history.

Whatever is contingent is dependent upon other things for its existence. This would include everything and anything that has ever actually existed within the spatial-temporal universe, as well as almost anything and everything that we could imagine. Human beings; animals; plants; insects; buildings; cars; planets; stars; Superman; King Kong; Santa Claus; unicorns—all are alike contingent upon and limited by other beings.



Now, it is logically impossible for there to exist nothing but contingent beings. As the great Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) noted back in the 13th century, whatever depends upon another for its existence at some juncture did not exist.

… if the only things to have ever existed are contingent, then since a contingent thing is something that at one point does not exist, then at some point, nothing would have existed.

Since whatever depends upon another depends upon that being to bring it into existence, prior to that point it did not exist. Thus, if each thing that ever existed is contingent, then at some point there would’ve been nothing.

But if there was nothing then, there would be nothing now, for from nothing, comes nothing.

Or, if you will, something can’t come from nothing.



…the only conclusion that we can draw is that there is at least one being whose existence is most definitely not dependent upon anything or anyone else.

In order to account for this world of mutually dependent beings, we must look beyond it to a being that exists, not contingently, but necessarily.” Food for Thought: Some Rational Arguments for God’s Existence

Hence….that which created everything…what believers call God

 

[Penelope]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

 

[irosie91]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

WC ? water closet?

 

[PoliticalChic]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

Wanna take a shot?



I have a comment on that question, next.

 

[Penelope]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

WC ? water closet?

Wheelchair, now can you say what God is?

 

[Penelope]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

Wanna take a shot?

No since you created this thread. What is God? J

Jewish philosopher Maimonides, "You can only say what God is not."

So what is God??

 

[PoliticalChic]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

WC ? water closet?

Wheelchair, now can you say what God is?

Can you?

 

[Crepitus]

1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:

"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144

But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?





2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD

But that’s not enough.


“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager




And I found this on the board:

“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."

Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.



Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid


See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia

All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.




But….there is more….

Well, he/she's most likely not orange no matter what you nut-bars think.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

Wanna take a shot?

No since you created this thread. What is God? J

Jewish philosopher Maimonides, "You can only say what God is not."

So what is God??

Did you miss this?


2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD

But that’s not enough.


“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager




And I found this on the board:

“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."

Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.



Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid

See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia


All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.

 

[irosie91]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

WC ? water closet?

Wheelchair, now can you say what God is?

so he had lots of time to study, learn and form his concepts

 

[PoliticalChic]

1. Ineluctably, political discussions touch on some relationship to God…as in:

"It is a great irony of communism that those who did not believe in God believed that godlike knowledge could be concentrated at a central point. It was believed that government could be omnipotent and omniscient. And in order to justify the idea that all lives should be determined by a single plan, the concomitant tendency of communist regimes was to deify the leader- whether Lenin, Stalin, Mao, or Kim Il-sung."
Tom Bethell, "The Noblest Triumph," p. 144

But, do Stalin, or Mao, or even the one Liberals called God, Obama, have the necessary defining characteristics?





2. Looking up the definition… “the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe”
Definition of GOD

But that’s not enough.


“An ancient proverb teaches, “To spare the ravening leopard is an act of injustice to the sheep.” That is why the Rabbis spoke of mercy and justice as the two necessary attributes of God—and therefore of a decent society.”
Dennis Prager




And I found this on the board:

“Omnipotence means all-powerful. Monotheistic theologians regard God as having supreme power. This means God can do what he wants. It means he is not subject to physical limitations like man is. Being omnipotent, God has power over wind, water, gravity, physics, etc. God's power is infinite, or limitless."

Still not enough for what is generally accepted as that definition.



Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees"). Hieronymus Bosch, in the painting 'The Seven Deadly Sins'

"The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things" is a painting that has traditionally been attributed to Hieronymus Bosch, …
Four small circles, detailing the four last things — "Death of the Sinner", "Judgment", "Hell" and "Glory" — surround a larger circle in which the seven deadly sins are depicted: wrath at the bottom, then (proceeding clockwise) envy, greed, gluttony, sloth, extravagance (later replaced with lust), and pride, in scenes from life rather than in allegorical representations of the sins.
At the centre of the large circle, which is said to represent the eye of God, is a "pupil" in which Christ can be seen emerging from his tomb. Below this image is the Latin inscription Cave Cave Deus Videt ("Beware, Beware, God Sees").”
Hieronymus Bosch «The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things» around 1500, Museo del Prado, Madrid


See the painting here: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things - Wikipedia

All-seeing is an essential element in the definition of God, as it reminds believers that what they do, good or evil, will not go unnoticed.




But….there is more….

Well, he/she's most likely not orange no matter what you nut-bars think.

Why is it you government school grads are unable to construct a substantive post?

Or....able to avoid putting your foot in your mouth: it is the Liberals/Democrats who called your candidate God, Jesus and the messiah.
We're still laughing at you for that.....

 

[PoliticalChic]

Krauthammer was a jew, and he had been in a WC ever since he college and he studied the Talmud.

Who can say what God is??

WC ? water closet?

Wheelchair, now can you say what God is?

Seems you don't care to opine.....

There are two camps, with very different responsibilities for describing God.....and one may be consistent with your complaint about
Krauthammer being in a wheelchair.



8. There is another side to the view that the universe must have had a Creator….and that those with faith name that Creator, God. But, part of the description of God requires that he be just and merciful….beneficent.

Ok, then, says the atheist…if I grant that a creator must exist, and that he is beneficent… how come there is murder, torture, disease, earthquakes....people in wheelchairs…..where is the beneficence in that???


A good point.


Rick Perry said, "I don't know that there's any human being that has the ability to interpret what God and his final decision-making is going to be. That's what the faith says. I understand, and my caveat there is that an all-knowing God certainly transcends my personal ability to make that judgment black and white."


Obama, answering a variation of the question, said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity … is above my pay grade.”




Milton Steinberg said “The believer in God has to account for the existence of unjust suffering; the atheist has to account for the existence of everything else.”



Now…where is the atheist’s explanation for the universe, for life, self-awareness, emotions, art or music?