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Is God to you more of a .....

God to me seems mostly like a...

  • Friend

    Votes: 11 42.3%
  • Father

    Votes: 5 19.2%
  • Authority

    Votes: 4 15.4%
  • Myth

    Votes: 6 23.1%

  • Total voters
    26

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I think God is a mental puppet.

An extension of one's personality made manifest through which the person acts and says on "behalf" of the deity.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Friend, a father, an authority or a myth?

If it is the god of my understanding there is no cultural definition to describe it a person-like entity. Its not because it is greater; it is not. It's not necessary to define god in human terms when god is an experience and some experiences are best kept to self.

Sustainer and force and energy that creates new things into existence, be the life , age, and dying process of all life, without being hidden so that humans can be aware of it/this experience and process themselves.
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Those options dont apply to how I see god. It's not a person and has no culture behind it so there are no emotions, no human roles, and no myths that defines what it is.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
I chose "myth", but I see God as mainly a conceptual tool.

People should take responsibility both for which god-concepts they decide to lend prestige to, if any, and for the way in which they interpret and use those.

Much of the damage that religion suffered along its history comes from abusing god-concepts, from relying on them over one's own discernment.
 
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metis

aged ecumenical anthropologist
To me, more of a "Father" because of the teachings, but I'm not one to be a "Son" that takes all the teachings as somehow being set in "stone".
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Those are all poor choices to describe the nature of my gods. Granted, much of that comes from being a polytheist and the fact that different gods have different natures.

"Friend" suggests a level of camaraderie and personableness that is lacking in relationships with the gods. The domains and natures of particular gods may align with my own, but that hardly makes them my "friends" except perhaps in the loosest sense. And I'm not loose with the word "friend."

"Father" suggests a biologically male authority figure and reeks of the human cultural patriarchy. Just... no. Few gods even have a biological sex, much less a father-like relationship with human persons. Anthropomorphisms can be a useful tool for relating to the gods, but personally? Not a fan. Especially when they hinge on biological sex from a human standpoint when most of the universe is asexual (and most life forms are bisexual).

"Authority" is what I actually voted because it was the only poll option that sounded remotely correct. But what I mean by "authority" is probably not what the poll author intended. My gods are the various facets of reality. That is, they are literally things like the biological evolution, gravity, laws of motion, the sun our planet orbits around, etc. When your gods are reality, they are the "authority" that defines reality and all of its natures and limits.

"Myth" (meaning deep truth or sacred story) while appropriate, is a better descriptor for the human relationship to the gods than the gods themselves. We tell sacred stories about the gods and our relationships with them to better reconcile life's meaning and purpose. The stories are not the gods. That's important actually - the map is not the territory. The mythos of the gods is not the gods.


 

GoodbyeDave

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure whether I believe in God with a capital G, so I suppose I should tick "myth". If such a being exists, I see no evidence that it's particularly concerned with humans. As for the gods, they can be all sorts of things besides the options listed above.
 

sayak83

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Friend, a father, an authority or a myth?
My relationship with God is like that between a squirrel and the giant ancient redwood tree on whose branches it lives and whose acorns it stores.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
Well, Zeus is the head of my pantheon and He is the OG Heavenly Father. :cool: He is the Father of both Gods and humans but He's also a ruler as King. I view Him as a fatherly figure one can feel close to, but also respect Him as a wise elder and just King who protects His beloved humanity and oversees justice and cosmic order. So He is certainly an authority figure, as well. Just not a menacing one or a tyrant. So I will vote "authority".
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
I have a question for some of you guys. When you say god is a friend, authority, and/or father are you "feeling" friendship, authority, role of a child?

Like I havent felt love-love growing up. Now I have a friend we've known each other for going on thirteen years. Now, I know love. I can feel it sometimes especially when talking.

Is that a similar feeling just with an invisible non material source?
 

savagewind

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I have a question for some of you guys. When you say god is a friend, authority, and/or father are you "feeling" friendship, authority, role of a child?

Like I havent felt love-love growing up. Now I have a friend we've known each other for going on thirteen years. Now, I know love. I can feel it sometimes especially when talking.

Is that a similar feeling just with an invisible non material source?
Yes.
 
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