Who is God ? or what are God's attributes ?

[loverOfTruth]

Since this is a thread for Comparative Religion Learning - I thought it would be nice to see what everyone really thinks of God.

I am a muslim and I believe our Creator, who is the creator of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in it, and everything known and unknown to us is our God/Allah. "'Allah' is simply the Arabic word for God. Allah for Muslims is the greatest and most inclusive of the Names of God, it is an Arabic word of rich meaning, denoting the one and only God."[From jannah.org 'TOP TEN MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT ISLAM']. It is not any other special deity or anything like that. Even Arab Christians use 'Allah' for 'GOD'.

Who can be better than GOD to explain who He is ? As Allah(GOD) says in the Holy Qur'an:

"There is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees all things." (Al-Qur'an 42:11)

"Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory)." (Al-Qur'an 2:255)

"Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him."
(Al-Qur'an 112:1-4)

"Say (O Muhammad to mankind):If the sea were ink for (writing) the Words of my Lord, surely, the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if we brought (another sea) like it for its aid."
(Al-Qur'an 18:109)

Peace to all.

 

[Quintessence]

What do I think about gods? Which ones? I'm going to assume from your OP that you mean something along the lines of classical monotheism: the one-god proposed by the Abrahamic faiths. In that case, I default to Karen Armstrong. She has significantly more useful things to say about that deity than I do. That god has a tremendously complicated history and many varying interpretations. It's not my theology, so I don't honestly put a lot of thought into it. Attempting to work with transcendent aspects of deity isn't my thing.

 

[Thief]

One term....Almighty.

Bigger, faster, stronger, more intelligent and greatly experienced.
Top that with the power of creation (only one creator).....stacked deck.

 

[loverOfTruth]

I believe the essence of Religion is not only following some rules and rituals(even though those are part of it) - it is an immensely spiritually rewarding experience if you can know and communicate with your creator. Hence, my opinion is that you should go deeper than 'Almighty' and should really explore to see what does it really mean to be 'Almighty'. There are 99 attributes of God listed in the Qur'an. I guess to help humanbeings (with our limited knowledge) know who He really is - because human brain can never comprehend fully who God is. You would be amazed to see some of those attributes. And sometimes I would feel, wow, never even could I think of that. You can check some of them here :
godnames.org/godnames.php?f=99Names

 

[1137]

I don't like to put subjective concepts onto God, nor would I use writings of man as evidence to what God is like.

 

[zenzero]

Friend LoverOfTruth,

here are two concepts below for your comparision:

Brahman (Sanskrit: ब्रह्म, "the Supreme Being; the Absolute Reality; Godhead"), from the verb brh, "to grow", and connotes "immensity" — is the impersonal and immanent, infinite cause and support of the universe that has no form or attributes. The uncaused cause of the Universe; satchidānanda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss Absolute), The Eternal Changeless Reality, not conditioned by time, space and causation. Brahman is the basis, source and support of everything — the transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this universe. Its nature consists of the three incommunicable attributes of (1) sat (Absolute Being), (2) chit (Consciousness), (3) ananda (Bliss). This Supreme Being assumes a dual nature — Male and Female. The male aspect is known as Purusha which means “that-which-fills” — and the Female aspect is known as Shakti which translates as “Energy” or “Dynamic Force” or Prakriti — material nature. Also called as Paramātman (Universal Self), Parasiva, Ultimate Reality, Supreme Being or the Absolute.

Dao can be roughly thought of as the flow of the universe, or as some essence or pattern behind the natural world that keeps the universe balanced and ordered.[7] It is related to the idea of qi, the essential energy of action and existence. Dao is a non-dual concept – it is the greater whole from which all the individual elements of the universe derive. Keller considers it similar to the negative theology of Western scholars,[8] but Dao is rarely an object of direct worship, being treated more like the Hindu concepts of karma or dharma than as a divine object.[9] Dao is more commonly expressed in the relationship between wu (void or emptiness, in the sense of wuji) and yinyang (the natural dynamic balance between opposites), leading to its central principle of wu wei (non-action, or action without force).
Dao is usually described in terms of elements of nature, and in particular as similar to water. Like water it is undifferentiated, endlessly self-replenishing, soft and quiet but immensely powerful, and impassively generous.[10] Much of Daoist philosophy centers on the cyclical continuity of the natural world, and its contrast to the linear, goal-oriented actions of human beings.
[edit] De

Main article: De (Chinese)
De (德 "power; virtue; integrity") is the term generally used to refer to proper adherence to Dao; De is the active living or cultivation of the way.[11] Particular things (things with names) that manifest from Dao have their own inner nature that they follow, in accordance with the Dao, and the following of this inner nature is De. Wuwei (Pinyin: wúwéi) or naturalness are contingent on understanding and conforming to this inner nature, which is interpreted variously from a personal, individual nature to a more generalized notion of human nature within the greater universe.[12]

Am sure you will make a comparision chart to show the results for everyone to show how each differs or how they finally are all saying the same thing.

Love & rgds

 

[K.Venugopal]

God - The Creator. This is probably the best and simplest definition of God. However, since this does not answer the question "Who created God?", I am averse to use God with this meaning. For me God is simply the Totality - not merely the sum of the parts but the very essence of the parts.

 

[Madhuri]

God is Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan.

Bhagavan: The personal deity, Creator of all that exists.
Paramatma: God residing within the core of every living being as our friend and mentor.
Brahman: All-pervading Consciousness. The essence of all things. Spirit.

These are the three features of Godhead. There are also three characteristics of God: Eternity, Knowledge and Bliss. This means that God was never created and cannot be destroyed. It means that God possesses all Knowledge, is fully aware. And Bliss relates to the eternal state of being that come from the unity of God, which is the connection of all things and is another term for Love.

And here is an artist's depiction:

 

[loverOfTruth]

This means that God was never created and cannot be destroyed.

Strongly agree. However, as soon as you draw a picture(as you have done above) or create a statue depicting God - the above statement doesn't seem true anymore, does it ? You can both create or destroy both as per your imagination. God is so great and so powerful and so majestic that He is truly beyond our comprehension and He is unlike anything you can compare with.

 

[Madhuri]

Strongly agree. However, as soon as you draw a picture(as you have done above) or create a statue depicting God - the above statement doesn't seem true anymore, does it ? You can both create or destroy both as per your imagination. God is so great and so powerful and so majestic that He is truly beyond our comprehension and He is unlike anything you can compare with.

Drawing something creates a symbol. The statement that God can never be created or destroyed is not affected by an artist's depiction of Him.
According to my religion, God is both formless and possessing form. The scriptures provide some descriptions as to the qualities and characteristics of this form.

According to my religion and ability to use logical thinking, one whose intention is to think of God will therefore be thinking of God. Having an inaccurate image in ones mind does not change the fact that you are thinking of God. Just like if you tell me what you look like but I have never actually seen you, it is still you that I am thinking of despite having an inaccurate image in my mind.

 

[Pegg]

For us, Allah/God is the Almighty Creator. He alone is the true God over all. He created all things by his power and he is the one who governs the universe with laws both physical and moral laws.

The name of God is Yahweh according to the Holy Bible. His personal name is written as the hebrew characters YHWH. In english we say Jehovah.
This is the name he identified himself with to Moses:

Exodus 3:13 Nevertheless, Moses said to the [true] God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of YOUR forefathers has sent me to YOU,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel,...‘Jehovah the God of YOUR forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to YOU.’ This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation

The attributes of Jehovah are revealed in the scriptures:

Deuteronomy 32: 4 The Rock, perfect is his activity, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice;
Righteous and upright is he.

Job 37:23 As for the Almighty, we have not found him out; He is exalted in power

1John 4:8 He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love

Isaiah 6:3 And this one called to that one and said: “Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all the earth is his glory

Exodus 34:6 And Jehovah went passing by before his face and declaring: “Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth

1Timothy 1:11 '...according to the glorious good news of the happy God, with which I was entrusted'

 

[K.Venugopal]

Strongly agree. However, as soon as you draw a picture(as you have done above) or create a statue depicting God - the above statement doesn't seem true anymore, does it ? You can both create or destroy both as per your imagination. God is so great and so powerful and so majestic that He is truly beyond our comprehension and He is unlike anything you can compare with.

Agree that Islam does not draw pictures or create statues of God and thereby give form to the formless. But has Islam not named God as Allah and thereby given name to the nameless? The point is, the human mind needs either name or form to grasp something, though God Himself may be formless and nameless. Therefore Islam is travelling in the same boat as idol-worshipers.

 

[Madhuri]

Agree that Islam does not draw pictures or create statues of God and thereby give form to the formless. But has Islam not named God as Allah and thereby given name to the nameless? The point is, the human mind needs either name or form to grasp something, though God Himself may be formless and nameless. Therefore Islam is travelling in the same boat as idol-worshipers.

I would go further to say that neither are idol-worshipers.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

As a Buddhist, my view on gods is going to be completely different than anything else posted here. The view on the various gods in Buddhism is that they do indeed exist, but that they are not creators, they are not sustainers, they do not act in the world, except on vary rare occasions, they are not eternal in the sense that they always were and always will be gods, they do not control men's fate, they do not hand out rewards and punishments. They are simply sentient beings that are spiritually more evolved than us, so they reside on a higher plane, due to their karma, and eventually, even though their lifespans are much greater than ours, they will be removed from their heavenly realms, and be reborn into the human realm.

However, I do believe their is an underlying divine reality, in which case, I agree with zenzero that this divine reality can be explained by the Taoist concept of Tao, and a non-dual, pantheistic concept of the Hindu Brahman.

 

[K.Venugopal]

I would go further to say that neither are idol-worshipers.

Hindus have the scope to go beyond idol worship when the worshiper discovers him/herself to be the worshiped. Muslims don't have that scope because Allah is forever separate from the worshiper.

 

[dyanaprajna2011]

Hindus have the scope to go beyond idol worship when the worshiper discovers him/herself to be the worshiped. Muslims don't have that scope because Allah is forever separate from the worshiper.

So what you're suggesting is, in reality, Muslims are actually more of idol worshipers than Hindus? That's an interesting concept. I like you're way of thinking.

 

[K.Venugopal]

So what you're suggesting is, in reality, Muslims are actually more of idol worshipers than Hindus? That's an interesting concept.

Yes. It is a simple premise. Anything outside the subject is an object. So long as Muslims worship Allah they are worshiping an object outside of them - because Islam is a rigorous dualistic religion and will not allow any coalescing of subject and object. Well, that's idol worship.

 

[loverOfTruth]

For us, Allah/God is the Almighty Creator. He alone is the true God over all. He created all things by his power and he is the one who governs the universe with laws both physical and moral laws.

The name of God is Yahweh according to the Holy Bible. His personal name is written as the hebrew characters YHWH. In english we say Jehovah.
This is the name he identified himself with to Moses:

Exodus 3:13 Nevertheless, Moses said to the [true] God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of YOUR forefathers has sent me to YOU,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” 14 At this God said to Moses: “I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE.” And he added: “This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel,...‘Jehovah the God of YOUR forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has sent me to YOU.’ This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation

The attributes of Jehovah are revealed in the scriptures:

Deuteronomy 32: 4 The Rock, perfect is his activity, For all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice;
Righteous and upright is he.

Job 37:23 As for the Almighty, we have not found him out; He is exalted in power

1John 4:8 He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love

Isaiah 6:3 And this one called to that one and said: “Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all the earth is his glory

Exodus 34:6 And Jehovah went passing by before his face and declaring: “Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth

1Timothy 1:11 '...according to the glorious good news of the happy God, with which I was entrusted'

I thought you believe Jesus(pbuh) to be the God/son of God. I did not see anything similar to that effect in your statements/attributes related to God.

 

[loverOfTruth]

Agree that Islam does not draw pictures or create statues of God and thereby give form to the formless. But has Islam not named God as Allah and thereby given name to the nameless? The point is, the human mind needs either name or form to grasp something, though God Himself may be formless and nameless. Therefore Islam is travelling in the same boat as idol-worshipers.

First of all, Allah is the arabic word for God and even Arab Christians use Allah for God. Secondly, form and name are totally different things. A form/shape let's you visualize and compare where as name doesn't. If I give you just the following name 'Ajabajatumpypoja' of something, can you really visualize what it is ?

Now let's take the following 4 attributes of God: eternal, cannot be created, cannot be destroyed, nothing comparable to Him. If you create a picture or idol of God, none of those attributes hold true anymore. However, even if you call God with any specific name, all of those attribute still hold true.

According to wikipedia, " Idolatry is a pejorative term for the worship of an idol, a physical object such as a cult image, as a god,[1] or practices believed to verge on worship, such as giving undue honour and regard to created forms other than God.[2] "

And sorry we don't have any of those in Islam. So you can try to twist the truth as much as you want. But Islam is still the pure monotheistic religion worshiping only the Creator and nothing Created. And Idol worshiping is still idolatry.

 

[loverOfTruth]

So what you're suggesting is, in reality, Muslims are actually more of idol worshipers than Hindus? That's an interesting concept. I like you're way of thinking.

That's gotta be the biggest joke of the century ;-). I have explained why above.