How do you view God?

[Neophyte365]

I wonder if it's possible that the universe is the physical body of God, and the essence of God is the universe's soul, or its animating principle.

 

[suncowiam]

I view God kind of like myself actually.

Why? Because I believe we live in a simulation and this simulation is programmed by some godly software engineer like myself, except for the godly part.

 

[interminable]

Note: I use masculine pronouns out of habit and for ease of writing.

How do you view God? Can you describe Him and what He looks like? Have you ever given it some serious thought? I doubt God is a white male with long flowing hair and crystal blue eyes. That, to me, is a biased human construct.

I do not view God as an immortal human father figure, living in the sky, and complete with all the anatomical male body parts. If anything, I view God an an incorporeal "force," perhaps energy, that is transcendent. I can't give any physical descriptions for God, because I (to my knowledge) have never seen God.

foremost in religion is the acknowledgement of Him
the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him
the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness
the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure
and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognises His like and who recognises His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognises parts for Him; and who recognises parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed at Him; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.
Whoever said in what is He held that He is contained; and whoever said on what is He held He is not on something else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments.He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation.He is only One such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.

This is the first Shia imam's statements about knowing God

If u coul read it in Arabic it would be fantastic.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

Something like the entire Universe, where all matter (and anti-matter?) within said universe are like cells in a body. This body is sentient but doesn't always know what's going on at the "cellular" level. If you are a particular red blood cell, you have no way of sensing the overall "person" who contains you, nor is the "person" aware of every single cell in the body.

 

[Reggie Miller]

I view God in the person of Jesus Christ per Hebrews 1:3

He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.

 

[Tabu]

foremost in religion is the acknowledgement of Him
the perfection of acknowledging Him is to testify Him
the perfection of testifying Him is to believe in His Oneness
the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him Pure
and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it is attributed and everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute. Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognises His like and who recognises His like regards Him two; and who regards Him two recognises parts for Him; and who recognises parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him pointed at Him; and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him; and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him.
Whoever said in what is He held that He is contained; and whoever said on what is He held He is not on something else. He is a Being but not through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence. He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of movements and instruments.He sees even when there is none to be looked at from among His creation.He is only One such that there is none with whom He may keep company or whom He may miss in his absence.

This is the first Shia imam's statements about knowing God

If u coul read it in Arabic it would be fantastic.

Hope this helps , the next best alternative to reading the Arabic text , also among my most favorite during my devotee life.

 

[Tabu]

Note: I use masculine pronouns out of habit and for ease of writing.

How do you view God? Can you describe Him and what He looks like? Have you ever given it some serious thought? I doubt God is a white male with long flowing hair and crystal blue eyes. That, to me, is a biased human construct.

I do not view God as an immortal human father figure, living in the sky, and complete with all the anatomical male body parts. If anything, I view God an an incorporeal "force," perhaps energy, that is transcendent. I can't give any physical descriptions for God, because I (to my knowledge) have never seen God.

 

[Jainarayan]

I wonder if it's possible that the universe is the physical body of God, and the essence of God is the universe's soul, or its animating principle.

There is a verse from the Chandogya Upanishad, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma meaning "all this is truly Brahman" (God, if you will). In Kashmir Shaivism, Shiva is the entirety of the universe. So you could say the universe is his body.

Like many other humans, I anthropomorphize God, because it's difficult (but not impossible) to relate to an unmanifested God. "For those whose minds are attached to the unmanifested, impersonal feature of the Supreme, advancement is very troublesome. To make progress in that discipline is always difficult for those who are embodied." Bhagavad Gita 12.5

 

[Quintessence]

How do you view God? Can you describe Him and what He looks like? Have you ever given it some serious thought?

Of course. Study of the gods is a major part of my path. For that, any and all experiences of the world tell us things about the gods. When it comes to studying the gods and developing a picture of them, my direct, personal experiences are the most important and trump all else. For sources of information, the sciences most strongly influence how I understand the gods. I'm not much for the old lore, but I have been known to examine those on occasion. I'd much prefer to engage in my own creative tale weaving about the gods than read the old tales.

As an example, I have four shrines in my home dedicated to the Four. Coming up with appropriate objects and images for those shrines was a way of exploring the nature of these gods. What colors do you pick? What shapes and forms? The natures of the Four in particular transcend capturing... so it makes for a fun and interesting challenge - an exploration of symbolism, metaphor, allegory. Exploring symbolic languages like this are pretty bread-and-butter for contemporary Paganisms, whether for setting up shrines like these or conducting ritual worship of the gods. But it's important to remember that the map isn't the territory - the symbol is not the thing. Well, usually. If I'm doing a ritual to honor the Spirit of Trees and have an actual bonsai on my altar, that's not really symbolic.

 

[Luciferi Baphomet]

Someone who is evil and doesn't care about anyone.

 

[Kapalika]

Note: I use masculine pronouns out of habit and for ease of writing.

How do you view God? Can you describe Him and what He looks like? Have you ever given it some serious thought? I doubt God is a white male with long flowing hair and crystal blue eyes. That, to me, is a biased human construct.

I do not view God as an immortal human father figure, living in the sky, and complete with all the anatomical male body parts. If anything, I view God an an incorporeal "force," perhaps energy, that is transcendent. I can't give any physical descriptions for God, because I (to my knowledge) have never seen God.

Of course he isn't white with flowing hair and blue eyes.

He's blue with dreadlocks and a trident. He likes to do a lot of yoga and meditation. He's also a woman because he's his own wife at the same time, except when he's his mom which is also his consort depending on which point of view or tradition we are talking about. She may or may not have a bunch of money and jewelry with lotuses or she might forgo that for using body parts instead and eat demonic blood.

I guess you could say he lives in the sky, or rather lives in everything. But that is because he is everything.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I wonder if it's possible that the universe is the physical body of God, and the essence of God is the universe's soul, or its animating principle.

I guess it would be the universe is the visible part of "god" and energy is the "invisible" part of god. We can't have energy with the "physical" regardless if tangible that makes it up. We can't have anything without energy.

I love poetry and language, but why do you (and any reader) think the only way to describe god is by using words like essence, soul, spirit, and so forth. Even poetry, if describing love "love is the withering tree whose depressed by fall but cheers up in the spring." I'm still saying "love sometimes is painful while at other times it is exhilarating".

Although I love the former, why are we afraid to describe god like I did the later? Can you make god actually exist even if you can't describe him in physical form or is it by poetic form the only means to make god existent?

Like a character popping out of a book only when the author writes about him rather than him existing independent of the author?

 

[Naganami]

You are God and the Universe. The truth is within yourself and your DNA. Humans won't comprehend this unless they delve within themselves.

 

[arthra]

Note: I use masculine pronouns out of habit and for ease of writing.
How do you view God? Can you describe Him and what He looks like? Have you ever given it some serious thought? I doubt God is a white male with long flowing hair and crystal blue eyes. That, to me, is a biased human construct. I do not view God as an immortal human father figure, living in the sky, and complete with all the anatomical male body parts. If anything, I view God an an incorporeal "force," perhaps energy, that is transcendent. I can't give any physical descriptions for God, because I (to my knowledge) have never seen God.

Well thanks for the great topic "Neo Deist"! I see that you are a Doctor of Theology and Divinity as well... so who better to start such a discussion?

As a Baha'i we don't see God as an image with blue eyes and long flowing hair nor do we see Him with "anatomical male body parts" or "living in the sky".

The essence of God is unknowable to us however we do believe God has "attributes" and that He sends His Messengers to humanity from time to time. We believe the Messengers are what we call "Manifestations of God" and are the closest we can gather about the nature of God through Them. I think a fairly good summary of how we "see" God was summarized by an article in wikipedia:

The Bahá'í concept of the intermediary between God and humanity is expressed in the term Manifestation of God.[1] Bahá'ís believe in a single, imperishable God, the creator of all things, including all the creatures and forces in the universe.[4] Though inaccessible directly, God is nevertheless seen as conscious of his creation, with a mind, will and purpose. Bahá'ís believe that God expresses this will at all times and in many ways, including through a series of divine messengers referred to as Manifestations of God.[5] In expressing God's intent, these Manifestations are seen to establish religion in the world.[1]

Manifestation of God - Wikipedia

 

[Meander_Z]

I had to laugh when I read the opening post, because this is exactly how I see God, and I'm absolutely down with this being an image based on my cultural biases.

I'd like to say that I don't envision the absolute almighty creator of the universe this way. She's more like a giant cosmic snake monster of shadow and color, but she's always made me a bit uncomfortable. So when I want a personal deity for advice, comfort, or company. I go for the white guy with long flowing hair... never really gone in for the blue eyes though. His eyes are hazel. Hazel eyes are rarely piercing and I like that.

Did I mention that God is gay? He is very very gay. I think that's especially important mostly because he is white. It's okay to be white if you're gay, and this is especially important for God.

I once had a conversation with God that went like this. "God, I'm a little bothered that my image of you is so traditional. I feel like you should be a beautiful black woman, or an asian child, or anything other than an old white man." And God replied, "Yes, I know, but it isn't all bad, at least I'm gay."

God is no longer old these days. He's young and sexy... still white... still gay. I like him. Worship is interesting to say the least.

 

[Curious George]

Ummm...from a safe distance, and through #14 welding glass?

.

Do you by chance put in a quarter at a time and are you in a seedy part of town?

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

Do you by chance put in a quarter at a time and are you in a seedy part of town?

Glitzy...the word is glitzy...