What is God?

[Sky Dancer]

It's occurred to me to ask this question, because we often have threads that expect everyone to somehow have the same understanding of God without exploring what it means?

Are God, Yahweh, Shakti and Shiva, Buddha, Higher Power, the Goddess, and Allah the same or different?

What are common to these labels of essence nature or divinity?

What are the unique ways that using our concepts of God can free us from our concepts of God to direct experience of 'that-which-cannot be imagined or described'?

Some say "God is love". If so, isn't love available to all of us--even those of us who say we don't 'believe in God'?

What are your thoughts?

If you call yourself Christian, do you respect all other Christian traditions?

 

[KittenKoder]

I go by the true definition of the word:

That which is giver and taker of life ... which right now, thanks to science, haws to be something unknown or unimagined to us.

 

[Zoom-boing]

My dad always held the theory that there was big keg and all beers came from it (yes, he's wrong on this). But maybe God works this way . . . . there is one God, one entity, and all the different religions stem from this 'One' . . . but in the end there is just the 'One', rather than many. The different religions are just different ways for people to have faith and express themselves.

 

[AllieBaba]

Heavenly Father and Creator, as well as the ultimate righteous judge.

I have respect for traditions of other Christians inasfar as they are traditions. I think it's nonsense to quibble over traditions...

But if they aren't biblical, I won't pretend they are.

 

[mattskramer]

God - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[manifold]

You forgot to include the Flying Spagetti Monster.


Friggin bigot!

 

[Valerie]

Maybe someone just left out that extra "O" ?

The origin of what is GOOD = God ?

 

[Sky Dancer]

I go by the true definition of the word:

That which is giver and taker of life ... which right now, thanks to science, haws to be something unknown or unimagined to us.

Wow. That's kind of fascinating. I've never heard of the definition of God as the 'giver and taker of life'.

Unknown, and unimagined, I agree with.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Maybe someone just left out that extra "O" ?

The origin of what is GOOD = God ?

I like that. It makes the commandment to love God make more sense. To love goodness for it's own sake.

I've reflected on what I learned as a child: "God is the supreme being who made all things."

With 30 years of Buddhist practice how I relate to that teaching now is that God is being, original nature, unborn and unceasing and free of flaws. From this state of being, which is supreme moment to moment awareness of 'how things truly abide', all else arises as if in a dream.

 

[xotoxi]

God is an aging white man with a long white beard dressed in a toga floating on a cloud.

We all know that!

 

[Sky Dancer]

God is an aging white man with a long white beard dressed in a toga floating on a cloud.

We all know that!

Yes. That was my concept of God when I was a child too.

 

[Terral]

Hi Sky:

It's occurred to me to ask this question, because we often have threads that expect everyone to somehow have the same understanding of God without exploring what it means?

Are God, Yahweh, Shakti and Shiva, Buddha, Higher Power, the Goddess, and Allah the same or different?

God is ‘The Almighty’ (Rev. 1:8) is the “Creator” (Rom. 1:25), or the “God and Father” (Eph. 4:6) of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Yahweh” represents the “Lord” God, or our Lord Jesus Christ, who formed Adam from the dust of the ground on this ‘seventh day’ that began in Genesis 2:4+. Allah is the Islamic name for the same “God” (link) of our Lord Jesus Christ. Shakti, Shiva, Buddha are something else entirely. :0)

What are common to these labels of essence nature or divinity?

Your question is too vague and can be answered many different ways . . . You are going to know more about your Creator through His Living Word (Christ and Scripture), which is the only way a mortal being can grasp the concept of anything truly INFINITE.

What are the unique ways that using our concepts of God can free us from our concepts of God to direct experience of 'that-which-cannot be imagined or described'?

The missing link of your earthly experience is ‘Christ-IN-You’ (Col. 1:27 = Fig 2). The natural man simply cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him (1Cor. 2:14); while some among us have the ‘mind of Christ.’ 1Cor. 2:16. The great misconception among men is that people decide to become real Christians, when in truth God calls you through the gospel (2Thes. 2:13-14) by sending the ‘preacher.’ Romans 10:14-17.

Some say "God is love". If so, isn't love available to all of us--even those of us who say we don't 'believe in God'?

Some might say “God is a tuna fish sandwich,” but our knowledge of the “Only True God” (John 17:3) must be derived from His Living and Active Word. Jesus Christ is Lord ‘and’ God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9) on the third day (1Cor. 15:3-4). Our redemption is IN Christ (Rom. 3:24) and our forgiveness is through His precious blood (Eph. 1:7).

What are your thoughts?

If you call yourself Christian, do you respect all other Christian traditions?

No way. There are true ‘Body of Christ’ (Church #2) Christians, saved by God’s grace through faith ‘apart’ from works (Gospel #2) ‘and’ there are many ‘servants of righteousness’ serving their ‘angel of light’ (2Cor. 11:14-15) only thinking they are saved.

The "many" are on the road to destruction and the 'few' are on the path to life. Matthew 7:13-14.

GL,

Terral

 

[TofuDog]

Can somebody please turn Terral off? I think he's on a loop.

God is probably like a good hit of heroin, all encompassing and warm.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Hi Sky:

It's occurred to me to ask this question, because we often have threads that expect everyone to somehow have the same understanding of God without exploring what it means?

Are God, Yahweh, Shakti and Shiva, Buddha, Higher Power, the Goddess, and Allah the same or different?

God is ‘The Almighty’ (Rev. 1:8) is the “Creator” (Rom. 1:25), or the “God and Father” (Eph. 4:6) of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Yahweh” represents the “Lord” God, or our Lord Jesus Christ, who formed Adam from the dust of the ground on this ‘seventh day’ that began in Genesis 2:4+. Allah is the Islamic name for the same “God” (link) of our Lord Jesus Christ. Shakti, Shiva, Buddha are something else entirely. :0)

What are common to these labels of essence nature or divinity?

Your question is too vague and can be answered many different ways . . . You are going to know more about your Creator through His Living Word (Christ and Scripture), which is the only way a mortal being can grasp the concept of anything truly INFINITE.



The missing link of your earthly experience is ‘Christ-IN-You’ (Col. 1:27 = Fig 2). The natural man simply cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God, because they are foolishness to him (1Cor. 2:14); while some among us have the ‘mind of Christ.’ 1Cor. 2:16. The great misconception among men is that people decide to become real Christians, when in truth God calls you through the gospel (2Thes. 2:13-14) by sending the ‘preacher.’ Romans 10:14-17.

Some say "God is love". If so, isn't love available to all of us--even those of us who say we don't 'believe in God'?

Some might say “God is a tuna fish sandwich,” but our knowledge of the “Only True God” (John 17:3) must be derived from His Living and Active Word. Jesus Christ is Lord ‘and’ God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9) on the third day (1Cor. 15:3-4). Our redemption is IN Christ (Rom. 3:24) and our forgiveness is through His precious blood (Eph. 1:7).

What are your thoughts?

If you call yourself Christian, do you respect all other Christian traditions?

No way. There are true ‘Body of Christ’ (Church #2) Christians, saved by God’s grace through faith ‘apart’ from works (Gospel #2) ‘and’ there are many ‘servants of righteousness’ serving their ‘angel of light’ (2Cor. 11:14-15) only thinking they are saved.

The "many" are on the road to destruction and the 'few' are on the path to life. Matthew 7:13-14.

GL,

Terral

Terral--

It sounds like you're preaching rather than conversing. I'm not interested in being converted.

I'm trying to find common ground, and it feels like you're trying to grind me into the ground.

How about taking one point at a time and with a minimum of scripture. I have no intention of debating the meaning of scripture with you. Talk about your everyday experience of the questions I've posed please.

Thanks,

sky

 

[xotoxi]

God is an aging white man with a long white beard dressed in a toga floating on a cloud.

We all know that!

Yes. That was my concept of God when I was a child too.

And if you dress him in red, he becomes Santa!

 

[Sky Dancer]

Can somebody please turn Terral off? I think he's on a loop.

God is probably like a good hit of heroin, all encompassing and warm.

I think God may be all encompassing and warm, and it makes sense to me that some may be looking for God when they shoot heroin.

If we think God is a complete absence of pain--that is.

 

[xotoxi]

Terral, you do realize that the above image only makes sense to you.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Heavenly Father and Creator, as well as the ultimate righteous judge.

I have respect for traditions of other Christians inasfar as they are traditions. I think it's nonsense to quibble over traditions...

But if they aren't biblical, I won't pretend they are.

Ok, that makes complete sense. God is the ultimate righteous judge, so to be god-like you aim to be righteously judging of yourself and others.

You have respect for other Christians only because you have respect for traditions? What about Hindus, Jews? Do you respect them because they are spiritual tradtions too?

 

[AllieBaba]

What are you blathering about now?

I don't judge anyone. But the bible specifically tells us not to water down the Word, and I won't just because some self-satisfied little nitwit tells me I should, to be warm and fuzzy.

Where the hell did you get the rest? As I said, you live in your own world. Where you got the idea I have respect for other Christians only because I have respect for traditions is about as garbled as anything I've seen, and I suspect you must have reading comprehension problems because I said absolutely nothing even remotely like that.

But I suspect it's more a combination of stupidity and lying - the better to mislead.

Honey, you aren't smart enough to pull it off.

 

[Old Rocks]

A Diety that is capable of creating and understanding the universe, would be completely outside of the abilities of a human to understand. Those that claim to speak for such a Diety, have to be charlatans. Our limited intellectual capabilites allow us only to understand a projection of our own image, with all it's frailties and failures. It is like an intelligent dog or cat trying to understand what a human is thinking. Only the gap is several orders of magnitude larger, if a Diety does exist.

My favorite image of a Diety is the Native Americans "Great Spirit". Less a projection of humans, and more a recognition of the interconnectedness of the whole of the universe.