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Who is the God of Abraham to you?

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
Who is the God of Abraham to you? I've seen a couple of featured threads about the God of Abraham today but first we could ask who is He and can we define Him? So often when we discuss the God of Abraham we have vastly different concepts.

Is He a he, her or transcendent about human conception of gender. Is He knowable, unknowable and how can we know. Did He send Prophets, Messengers, Avatars or Manifestations? Do scriptures inform us of who He is? Which scriptures enlighten us and which lead us to confusion? Does He exist or not exist? What else should we know? Who is the God of Abraham to you?
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
He is the God of the Bible, Qur'an, and Baha'i scriptures, any of anyone who takes therefrom.
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
As a Hindu, irrelevent. I don't believe in him, or I see him as an Asura (jealous anti-gods).
Hinduism is a diverse religion that incorporates polytheism, monotheism, pantheism, monotheism and atheism. But I accept your view as being reflective of a significant proportion of Hindus.
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
He is the God of the Bible, Qur'an, and Baha'i scriptures, any of anyone who takes therefrom.

That would certainly be the view of most Christians, Muslims and Baha'is, particularly in reference to their respective scriptures. I presume you would include Jews and Hebrew scriptures?
 

Marcion

gopa of humanity's controversial Taraka Brahma
I see those Abrahamic renderings of who God is as somewhat primitive. More primitive than the more sophisticated philosophical (later) descriptions from the Indian subcontinent. Somewhat comparable perhaps to the early Vedic ideas about God, also from outside of India. If you look at the Christian New Testament, there is a more developed rendering of who God is (started by Jesus who seems to be linked to Indian forms of mysticism), but it is still not free from the earlier more primitive ideas as the New Testament does not stay true to the teachings of Jesus.
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
I do not understand. Where do you see a contradiction?
I associate polemic with an fierce attack on particular ideologies, which is true to a varying extend with all the Abrahamic Faiths. Some ideologies merit such attention, others do not. Therein lies the potential contradiction between the words polemic and ethical.
 

Dawnofhope

Non-Proselytizing Baha'i
Staff member
Premium Member
I see those Abrahamic renderings of who God is as somewhat primitive. More primitive than the more sophisticated philosophical (later) descriptions from the Indian subcontinent. Somewhat comparable perhaps to the early Vedic ideas about God, also from outside of India. If you look at the Christian New Testament, there is a more developed rendering of who God is (started by Jesus who seems to be linked to Indian forms of mysticism), but it is still not free from the earlier more primitive ideas as the New Testament does not stay true to the teachings of Jesus.

So Abrahamic theism is a primitive and inferior theism in comparison to some philosophical descriptions from the Indian subcontinent. Christianity may be closer to such philosophical descriptions than Islam or Judaism?
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Who is the God of Abraham to you? I've seen a couple of featured threads about the God of Abraham today but first we could ask who is He and can we define Him? So often when we discuss the God of Abraham we have vastly different concepts.

Is He a he, her or transcendent about human conception of gender. Is He knowable, unknowable and how can we know. Did He send Prophets, Messengers, Avatars or Manifestations? Do scriptures inform us of who He is? Which scriptures enlighten us and which lead us to confusion? Does He exist or not exist? What else should we know? Who is the God of Abraham to you?

If I played devil's advocate, I'd see it as a personification of what people are missing and want to see and experience in life. A god of love is an example.

With manifestations, prophets, and incarnations, people need guidance.

Both sides make sense-needing someone to tell about an unknown god and the other experience god to know it.

I find the use of god in a healthy way changes people's lives.

As for god described in scripture I don't know how believers relate to that written version of god.

It makes me think the god I described above quite a puzzling experience one would have from that God version.

As for god as a being I sure do wish someone can describe that if that's how they define god.

I know many nontheist describe god like a being but I don't know and would like to know who believes in that concept (though in a positive way).
 
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Marcion

gopa of humanity's controversial Taraka Brahma
So Abrahamic theism is a primitive and inferior theism in comparison to some philosophical descriptions from the Indian subcontinent. Christianity may be closer to such philosophical descriptions than Islam or Judaism?
No, I would never add the word 'inferior'. Human beings have a personal relationship with God and I see that as real no matter how.
Firstly human beings related to God through different gods that they imagined were connected to the forces of nature.
Then some of them advanced by imagening God as a singular cause behind the universe.
But the philosophical ins and outs of that single God were developed gradually and more so in India where life was easier (better soils and better climate) and so there was more scope for intellectual and spiritual development.

I do think that Christianity comes somewhat closer because Jesus imagined God as a loving Father (Abba or Baba) and embodied that idea as a guru.
Marcion tried to rid Christianity of the more primitive ideas about God, but the version of Christianity centered on Rome won out in the end and surpressed that Marcionite half of Christianity.
Although the God of Jesus comes closer to the Indian philosophical descriptions of God, it is very brief. Just like the teachings of Jesus are very brief compared to the parallel mystical or tantric-yogic teachings of India. Because of this brevity, the older, more primitive view of God still has quite some hold among many Christians.

Due to the influence of Jesus himself, it is debateable whether Christianity is really a part of the 'Abrahamic' group of religions. Many modern scholars would say it is not.
 
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SigurdReginson

Grēne Mann
Premium Member
Yahweh is a god that I do constantly find myself interacting with on a regular basis whether I want to or not. Being surrounded by Christians, working in a Christian hospital, and having Christian friends and family, it's kind of inevitable.

Since you're asking me what Yahweh is to me, I'd say that he is an interesting topic of study, and he has had a major impact on history. He isn't much more than that, though.
 

Psalm23

Well-Known Member
Who is the God of Abraham to you? I've seen a couple of featured threads about the God of Abraham today but first we could ask who is He and can we define Him? So often when we discuss the God of Abraham we have vastly different concepts.

Is He a he, her or transcendent about human conception of gender. Is He knowable, unknowable and how can we know. Did He send Prophets, Messengers, Avatars or Manifestations? Do scriptures inform us of who He is? Which scriptures enlighten us and which lead us to confusion? Does He exist or not exist? What else should we know? Who is the God of Abraham to you?

He is immensely glorious. I desire to see his glory and know the depths of his love for me.



Exodus 33:18 resonates with me as does the prayer in Ephesians 3:17-19.
 
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