Does the Abrahamic God Have to Be Anthropomorphic?

[AbdulMuhd]

Well Levite said that he shouldnt have said "always" and I certainly don't think Judaism has ONLY viewed the verse to mean free will and reason, so I don't find it to be a perplexing question at all.

One of the main reasons I love Judaism so much is because there is such wide range of thoughts and ideas for pretty much every theological topic. It certainly isnt a religion that says this is the ONLY way to do something, or this is the ONLY right way to live your life - and I like that. So here is a classic example of one verse in which there are many, many good interpretations.

I skimmed the book once again and I couldnt find the quote, so I must have read it somewhere else but I honestly dont know where. I did a quick google search and found a few links that support the idea of it meaning free will and reason, as well as several other interpretations here and here. It's pretty easy to see that such a concept is has been supported by Judaism for a long time. aish.com also has an article that supports the idea. And most other interpretations I've read definitely support the idea that the verse means man was given great intellect and the ability to understand and discern.

As for Cohen's book.. I haven't studied Talmud before, for as of right now I have only studied Torah. Many people have recommended that I study Talmud or even Kabbalah, but I feel like I am not ready yet and need more years of Torah study. But I decided to buy a book that gave a real basic introduction the what the Talmud has to offer and I thought Everymans Talmud sounded great. You may or may not like the fact that Cohen has basically created his own organization system of theological topics with each having many subtopics. He essentially has taken the entire Talmud and organized it into basic theological concepts, and tells us what the Talmud says regarding each topic. I love what he has done, for it makes for a great reference system and certainly gives a great understanding of Judaism, but if you would rather study Talmud in the traditional structure/organization system it was written in, then this book might not be for you.

Here is the organization system he has created:

Ch 1 - The doctrine of God
Ch 2 - God and the universe
Ch 3 - the doctrine of man
Ch 4 - revelation
Ch 5 - Domestic Life
Ch 6 - Social Life
Ch 7 - Moral Life
ch 8 - physical life
Ch 9 - folk lore
Ch 10 - Jurisprudence
Ch 11 - The hereafter (afterlife)

And then just keep in mind that each chapter has many great subtopics

punkdbass, I looked at some of your links. Thanks for the resource. But surely they were allegorical, i.e., man in the likeness of God. Man come all all shaped and sizes and colours and range from Israel to Alaska to Africa to China to Papua New Guinea. I have also studied the Jewish genealogical tree originating with Adam downwards, is this factual or allegorical?

 

[ScottySatan]

Well, does it? If not, what does it mean when Abrahamics say 'God made us in his image'.

He was also a lamb, a lion, a burning bush, the sun, a dove, a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud, a dark amorphous cloud, sapphires, and I'm sure I must be forgetting some. Those are only the explicit ones in the bible. Scholare have also picked out some implicit forms.

 

[Randy Cavitts]

Judaism has always interpreted "in God's image" to mean with free will.

From what I've read about Islam, this is also true for the Muslims. The Quran, as I know doesn't explicitly say that Man was created in "God's Image," but the Islamic creation story of Adam is similar to the Jewish one. In Islam, God does not have a physical form which can be visualized; i.e. the image that the Creator is an old man with a flowing white beard who sits on a throne in Heaven is considered to be heretical.