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What Does the World Think About God?

Can we see God?


  • Total voters
    16

opuntia

Religion is Law
What does the world think about God? There are so many viewpoints that one is hardpressed to exclaim that one’s view is the right one, for there will always be someone who will object. What then is the right view?

When the scriptures began to be written, these men called prophets had the correct viewpoint as they had seen God face to face or one of His messengers the angels. There was no better witness than the direct one. These days there are no prophets it seems that can corroborate the claims made in scripture. All we have to rely upon are centuries-old records since we have no accepted new scripture. We owe our debt and gratitude to a long-dead people and the records they left behind.

Recordkeeping through the ages relied upon the pen or writing instrument in the hands of men who wrote on what was available to them, papyrus, sheepskin, sometimes metal sheets, or some other medium. The records sometimes were lost or were misinterpreted if translated. Transcribers misplaced or forgot to add the correct word or made the mistake of adding a new word. Scribes can tire at times and make mistakes. At times deliberate alterations were made to records. Nature at times marred the writings. Various things can and did happen to records through the centuries that what we have today may not be the original writings.

Who then can say what God is like if we were to observe Him? The records leave us with some views on God. For instance:

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:27; KJV).

"Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:

"And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone." (Exodus 24:9-10).

"And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." (Exodus 33:11).

"And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream.

"My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.

"With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" (Numbers 12:6-8).

"If ye had known me [Jesus], ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

"Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

"Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" (John 14:7-9).

Apparently, Jesus was the best witness of the Father. Who was Jesus? How shall He appear to us if He were to come to us today? How did He appear to the early disciples? They saw a man in bodily form there is no doubt. Jesus was a carpenter who helped His earthly father, Joseph, in the trade. Then He walked the dusty roads of Palestine with the disciples. He laid His hands upon the sick and healed them.

"And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.

"And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought.

"And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

"After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly." (Mark 8:22-25).

These are the scriptural accounts that can be found in any Holy Bible whatever the translation, and they all say that Jesus was crucified on the cross and arose on the third day and appeared unto the disciples. See Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21; Acts 1. In Luke 24, we have the record that after the resurrection, Jesus, upon appearing to the disciples, showed them his hands and feet (v. 40) and then asked for something to eat (vv. 41-43).

"Behold my hands and my feet [apparently to show them the marks of the cross as a witness], that it is I myself: handle me, and see: for a spirit hath not flesh and bones [the disciples, having never seen a resurrected being, Jesus being "the firstfruits of them that slept" (1 Corinthians 15:20), thought they saw a ghost], as ye see me have.

"And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.

"And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat?

"And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.

"And he took it, and did eat [as another witness] before them."

How, then, shall God appear to us when we approach Him on that prophesied Judgment Day, when all who lived on this earth will be judged? Will we see Him? Apparently so. If we have done well, with joy, and if we have not, with sadness.

These are the words that can be found in our present-day records, and I will suppose that naysayers will appear as they always have, even when Jesus was in Palestine and preached the gospel of the Kingdom.

EDIT:

What say you about this verse from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount:

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8).
 

evearael

Well-Known Member
All references in the scriptures of God having a human form are figurative, not literal. God is beyond human comprehension, in my humble opinion.
 

Squirt

Well-Known Member
No, we cannot see Him, but it is not because He is invisible. It is because He has, for the time being, elected not to show Himself.
 

alextemplet

New Member
We can see God. There are numerous scripture references where people saw God, and when Jesus was on this earth everyone could look at Him and see Him. Even today He can appear to us through visions or dreams, just as He did to Saul/Paul when he was on the way to Damascus.
 

1nharmony

A Coco-Nut
We cannot see God because a spirit is not a visible entity. If a spirit takes on a physical form, one still does not see the spirit, but only the form.
 

Squirt

Well-Known Member
1nharmony said:
We cannot see God because a spirit is not a visible entity. If a spirit takes on a physical form, one still does not see the spirit, but only the form.
Are you a spirit? I believe that I am. I am an embodied spirit, which means that I have a spirit component that inhabits my physical body.
 

Buttercup

Veteran Member
No, we cannot see God in his physical form. But we can see his creation all around us.
We are made in the image of God. So when you love others you are loving God.
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
evearael said:
All references in the scriptures of God having a human form are figurative, not literal. God is beyond human comprehension, in my humble opinion.
I would say that they are literal, but spiritual. We are way too focused on the physical.

"God is Spirit. Those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth!"
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
1nharmony said:
We cannot see God because a spirit is not a visible entity. If a spirit takes on a physical form, one still does not see the spirit, but only the form.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
NIV

The Spirit became flesh, and we still have that Spirit inside of us: for everyone to see.
 

jorylore

Member
No. We cannot see God. John 1:18 plainly tells us that "no man has see God at any time...". We have, however, seen his only begotten son, Jesus Christ(an all together seperate spiritual person) who according to v.14 of that same chapter "became flesh and resided amoung us...".

We can feel the affects of God's presence everyday. He talks to us through the creation and his written word. And we talk to him in prayer.
 

alextemplet

New Member
Jesus is God, and people did see Jesus when He was on this earth. Jesus also appears to people in visions and dreams; He did this to Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus and has also done so to many other people since. Since Jesus can and sometimes does appear to us, and since He is God, therefore we can see God, if God so chooses to be seen.
 

islandpony2004

New Member
If the Bible is to be taken literally, or in the way most evangelicals interpret it, the God was seen for thirty odd years in the form of Jesus Christ, who was 100% God as well as 100% human.

However, I am not an evangelical, so I will give my opinion:

I have not physically seen him with my own two eyes. I have, however, seen him in the same way one sees the wind. I've seen his effects in my life and in the lives of those around me.

I also believe that he could reveal himself to anyone and may have revealed himself in previous history. That is for Him to know and me to ponder...

On a more sentimental note, I'd like to believe that when we perceive God it will not be with our eyes or any other sense we now possess. I think it would be awesome to perceive him with a sense we don't have on Earth. A bit of a romantic thought, don't you think?:p
 

ashai

Active Member
alextemplet said:
We can see God. There are numerous scripture references where people saw God, and when Jesus was on this earth everyone could look at Him and see Him. Even today He can appear to us through visions or dreams, just as He did to Saul/Paul when he was on the way to Damascus.


1nharmony said:
We cannot see God because a spirit is not a visible entity. If a spirit takes on a physical form, one still does not see the spirit, but only the form.

Ushta Dear Friends:

People! I am no Christian but its clear, to me, that the Bible itself agrees with us (Zoroastrians) in that God is immanent in his creation, does not the Bible teach God is omnipresent? Well arguing from the Bible alone, if God is omnipresent , then , you in fact 'see' him every day!:dan:

Now the trick is how do we 'see' him? Well Zarathushtra taught that God is known to us by His Aspects and attributes. One of this is Asha which, to simplify, is both the Order of Physical and Ethical Laws that uphold, protect and promote the realization of all creation, AND ethically speaking only, it is what is right, what ought to be.:)

Well if Asha is an Aspect of God's ( Ahura Mazda or Lord of Most Wisdom to us) nature then it follows , that the very physical laws that make things exist are Ahura Mazda . So, to just give you an example, when i take a breath, the electrical impulses and chremical reactions that go on in my brain as it orders the diaphragm to expand and contract, is Asha and the osmosis that takes place in my lungs is Asha and moreover it is God as Asha.:curtsy:

Thus every time you see a person, a sunset a flower. anything at all, you are 'seeing' God. That is the beauty, elegance and wisdom of God. Do not look to see him with your naked eye, see him with the eye of your understanding of His Message!:dan:

Ushta Ve
Ashai
 

may

Well-Known Member
what does the world think about God
That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah,​

You alone are the Most High over all the earth psalm 83;18.... hmmmmmmm you tell me, what does the world think about God? and those who represent him, i think the world in general are very much like pharoah in moses day,
But Phar´aoh said: "Who is Jehovah, so that I should obey his voice Exodus 5;2
I do not know Jehovah at all and, what is more, I am not going to send Israel away
(John 16:3) But they will do these things because they have not come to know either the Father or me.
 
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