Who Is God?

[Shantanu]

I like the view of Muslims about the identity of God because they come close to absolute humility.

This quoted from Wiki:

• 
  
  
  • In Islam, God (Arabic: الله‎, translit. Allāh, contraction of الْإِلٰه al-ilāh, lit. "the God") is indivisible, the God, the absolute one, the all-powerful and all-knowing ruler of the universe, and the creator of everything in existence. Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular (tawḥīd ): unique (wāḥid ), inherently One (aḥad ),[1] also all-merciful and omnipotent.[2] God is neither a material nor a spiritual being.[3] According to Islamic teachings, beyond the Throne[4] and according to the Quran, "No vision can grasp him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things."[

Mormons say he is flesh and bone. Someone else says he is a Spirit. Many say he is three beings in one. He says,"I am that I am". And I'm pretty certain that none of us knows anything of value about God, G_d, Allah SWT. When we try to define God, we try to limit him. (IT, Her, He).

It is presumptuous and egocentric to say we know.

I followed God using a digital clock where certain times seen meant messages from God to tell me what I should do in terms of the objectives that I had and how to achieve them. That way I found out what God is like.

 

[Ellen Brown]

The image of a male god has become persistent. Inanna, Astarte, Ishtar, Athena, Hekate, were among many warlike and politically capable female deities, perhaps all cultural versions of the one idea.

But in the Tanakh, God was already divorced from his earlier consort Asherah by the time the story starts, and across the three Abrahamic religions has remained unattached and plainly male until after WW2. He was therefore the god of both sides in countless wars across the centuries, something I never understood as a child and which still seems theologically absurd, though since H sap is a gregarious species, it makes excellent anthropological sense.

I think that the Abrahamic Books don't scratch the surface of the Creator's history. There is a "deleted" (?) Youtube Video that explores the screenwriter's script for the movie "Prometheus" and his take on it is that Aliens that have been around for Billions of years have been Genetically modifying life throughout the cosmos. It mentions Melchizedek and Jesus as a couple of those Genetic experiments. All that is probably not plausible, but it still makes me think.

IMO, the leaders of the organized belief systems all seem to eventually get thinking far too highly of themselves and start spouting things that God did not say. I can't be more specific because "they" might think I am attacking one of those belief systems. Yes, rules to prevent conflict that actually muzzle the dissenters.

 

[blü 2]

I think that the Abrahamic Books don't scratch the surface of the Creator's history. There is a "deleted" (?) Youtube Video that explores the screenwriter's script for the movie "Prometheus" and his take on it is that Aliens that have been around for Billions of years have been Genetically modifying life throughout the cosmos. It mentions Melchizedek and Jesus as a couple of those Genetic experiments. All that is probably not plausible, but it still makes me think.

The trouble with the aliens hypothesis is that EITHER humans can become as smart as aliens by natural evolution, in which case we don't need the alien hypothesis, OR the aliens must owe their smartness to an earlier set of genetically tinkering aliens, who in turn must owe their smartness to an earlier &c in infinite regression.

IMO, the leaders of the organized belief systems all seem to eventually get thinking far too highly of themselves and start spouting things that God did not say.

The gods, of course, could prevent this problem by running their own information service instead of relying on those self-serving humans. Why don't they? Is it that they're not real, just expressions of human tribal coherence reinforcement?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

God is the memory of your dad when you were four ─ huge, helpful, providing, protecting, able to solve any problem you had ─ but not always around the house.

That's certainly not my sperm donor! Physically abusive, a sex addict, criminal, a deadbeat and ran off with a 14 year old girl over 20 years ago, taking the rent money and leaving my mother and I with nothing.

When I was a Christian, I viewed the Father as the father I really wanted to have. Viewing the Supreme Being in more feminine terms is more intuitive for me, though.

 

[Ellen Brown]

The trouble with the aliens hypothesis is that EITHER humans can become as smart as aliens by natural evolution, in which case we don't need the alien hypothesis, OR the aliens must owe their smartness to an earlier set of genetically tinkering aliens, who in turn must owe their smartness to an earlier &c in infinite regression.
The gods, of course, could prevent this problem by running their own information service instead of relying on those self-serving humans. Why don't they? Is it that they're not real, just expressions of human tribal coherence reinforcement?

I just do my best to obey the knowledge that I know. So many belief systems build rules upon rules to the point that the common believer is convinced that they can not understand, and must have a Priestcraft holder. Increasingly, it is my opinion that God's rules are really simple and basic and easy to follow.

 

[SonOfElElyon]

The image of a male god has become persistent. Inanna, Astarte, Ishtar, Athena, Hekate, were among many warlike and politically capable female deities, perhaps all cultural versions of the one idea.

But in the Tanakh, God was already divorced from his earlier consort Asherah by the time the story starts, and across the three Abrahamic religions has remained unattached and plainly male until after WW2. He was, therefore, the god of both sides in countless wars across the centuries, something I never understood as a child and which still seems theologically absurd, though since H sap is a gregarious species, it makes excellent anthropological sense.

No no no, Asherah in Deut 21 should be translated " asherah of any kind of wood", an Asherath was a large pole used to furnish a fire, it was fuel for the sacrifice of a bullock. It was found near the altars of Baal, and, down to the days of Josiah, near those of Yhwh also, not only at Samaria but even at Jerusalem. Sometimes it was carved in revolting shapes and at times, perhaps, draped.

This is another human need to bring (what they think to be) balance to divinity by adding a feminine aspect. Fantasy, runaway love stories.

This is where your perception of God is skewed, I hope one day you come to learn that he has no need for a wife. He does what is NEEDED, from sprung from necessity. He doesn't need to reproduce, he performs tasks and dies... then gets woken back up the next time **** is about to hit the fan. God means to be "called upon", summoned.

Hate to pop your bubbles. <3

 

[SonOfElElyon]

That's certainly not my sperm donor! Physically abusive, a sex addict, criminal, a deadbeat and ran off with a 14 year old girl over 20 years ago, taking the rent money and leaving my mother and I with nothing.

When I was a Christian, I viewed the Father as the father I really wanted to have. Viewing the Supreme Being in more feminine terms is more intuitive for me, though.

WOW @ your "tag line"... "the darkness in the light". So you're the one I'm having to go behind, you're the one casting doubt in the psyche of my loved ones eh? Ok, I'm locked in now.

So feminizing God works for you because it "feels true", well by all means that must make it so then! Run with that, it's worked well for others in the past who went ahead because "it felt right". Eve was told "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." and it was intuitive for her too. She ran with it and well, the rest is history.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

WOW @ your "tag line"... "the darkness in the light". So you're the one I'm having to go behind, you're the one casting doubt in the psyche of my loved ones eh? Ok, I'm locked in now.

So feminizing God works for you because it "feels true", well by all means that must make it so then! Run with that, it's worked well for others in the past who went ahead because "it felt right". Eve was told "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." and it was intuitive for her too. She ran with it and well, the rest is history.

I'm agnostic about a Supreme Being. Such a concept is irrelevant to Germanic religion, your snide comment aside.

 

[Ellen Brown]

No no no, Asherah in Deut 21 should be translated " asherah of any kind of wood", an Asherath was a large pole used to furnish a fire, it was fuel for the sacrifice of a bullock. It was found near the altars of Baal, and, down to the days of Josiah, near those of Yhwh also, not only at Samaria but even at Jerusalem. Sometimes it was carved in revolting shapes and at times, perhaps, draped.

This is another human need to bring (what they think to be) balance to divinity by adding a feminine aspect. Fantasy, runaway love stories.

This is where your perception of God is skewed, I hope one day you come to learn that he has no need for a wife. He does what is NEEDED, from sprung from necessity. He doesn't need to reproduce, he performs tasks and dies... then gets woken back up the next time **** is about to hit the fan. God means to be "called upon", summoned.

Hate to pop your bubbles. <3

Have you stopped taking your medications?

 

[SonOfElElyon]

Have you stopped taking your medications?

I don't get down like yall. LOVE the way you challenge what I say, with clear rebuttals and cited sources. Excellent. Par for the course.

 

[blü 2]

That's certainly not my sperm donor! Physically abusive, a sex addict, criminal, a deadbeat and ran off with a 14 year old girl over 20 years ago, taking the rent money and leaving my mother and I with nothing.

That's also sad to hear.

When I was a Christian, I viewed the Father as the father I really wanted to have. Viewing the Supreme Being in more feminine terms is more intuitive for me, though.

I mentioned goddesses of old in my reply to Ellen Brown above, ones who include a warrior / ruler aspect. Have any of that kind struck a chord with you? (I feel a rapport with Athena, except when distracted by Aphrodite. But if you read the stories, they were both tough, smart ladies.)

 

[Epic Beard Man]

I like the view of Muslims about the identity of God because they come close to absolute humility.

This quoted from Wiki:

• 
  
  
  • In Islam, God (Arabic: الله‎, translit. Allāh, contraction of الْإِلٰه al-ilāh, lit. "the God") is indivisible, the God, the absolute one, the all-powerful and all-knowing ruler of the universe, and the creator of everything in existence. Islam emphasizes that God is strictly singular (tawḥīd ): unique (wāḥid ), inherently One (aḥad ),[1] also all-merciful and omnipotent.[2] God is neither a material nor a spiritual being.[3] According to Islamic teachings, beyond the Throne[4] and according to the Quran, "No vision can grasp him, but His grasp is over all vision: He is above all comprehension, yet is acquainted with all things."[

Mormons say he is flesh and bone. Someone else says he is a Spirit. Many say he is three beings in one. He says,"I am that I am". And I'm pretty certain that none of us knows anything of value about God, G_d, Allah SWT. When we try to define God, we try to limit him. (IT, Her, He).

It is presumptuous and egocentric to say we know.

Allah, Tuhan, God, HA'Shem, or whatever name you call this deity is the single deity that is above all mental comprehension. The one whose sole rule is the multiverse. God is also the all-compelling, hearing, seeing, of course not in the human sense but is aware of creation.

God is the one who saved me as a child damn near dying on my bed when I was allergic to demoral. God is the one who is both personal and impersonal. The caring and uncaring. God fits no grand description only based on the presumption of our experiences.

Edit: When I mention God is caring and uncaring I mean God (according to my observation), can either help you, or leave you stranded. If it means to teach you something I believe God allows bad things to happen to people so either the individual may learn something, or to help humanity learn or perhaps for things to happen just because. God owes no human being in this universe an explanation why things are the way they are. Existence itself is a constant and to learn and grow is a part of existing as a species.

 

[SonOfElElyon]

Have you stopped taking your medications?

And the irony of your tagline "Sorry, just trying to sort the NONSENSE"!!! Impeccable timing! Have you started taking yours? You're gonna need it.

 

[SonOfElElyon]

Allah, Tuhan, God, HA'Shem, or whatever name you call this deity is the single deity that is above all mental comprehension. The one whose sole rule is the multiverse. God is also the all-compelling, hearing, seeing, of course not in the human sense but is aware of creation.

God is the one who saved me as a child damn near dying on my bed when I was allergic to demoral. God is the one who is both personal and impersonal. The caring and uncaring. God fits no grand description only based on the presumption of our experiences.

HOLY ****! YOU ARE THE CLOSEST ONE YET!

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

That's also sad to hear.
I mentioned goddesses of old in my reply to Ellen Brown above, ones who include a warrior / ruler aspect. Have any of that kind struck a chord with you? (I feel a rapport with Athena, except when distracted by Aphrodite. But if you read the stories, they were both tough, smart ladies.)

Yes, I was a worshipper of Athena for a time. The goddess Kali was huge in my life, too. Interestingly, there appears to be more known female deities in Germanic religion than male deities. Despite the macho reputation of the Northern tribes, they had a religion that was heavily female, with powerful female shamans being the most revered leaders.

 

[blü 2]

I just do my best to obey the knowledge that I know. So many belief systems build rules upon rules to the point that the common believer is convinced that they can not understand, and must have a Priestcraft holder. Increasingly, it is my opinion that God's rules are really simple and basic and easy to follow.

It's my view that your standard model H sap is born with instinctive decency ─ and mirror neurons ─ which are the basis of any morality. It's substantially confirmed by observations in very small infants, and separately by surveys of societies around the world. Tribalism is built in too, and can get in the way, but very usually the good things are all in there, available to be used, with or without gods.

 

[blü 2]

No no no, Asherah in Deut 21 should be translated " asherah of any kind of wood", an Asherath was a large pole used to furnish a fire, it was fuel for the sacrifice of a bullock.

I was referring to >the goddess Asherah<.

This is where your perception of God is skewed

Once I thought I knew what was meant by 'God'. In later years it's occurred to me that in fact I have no idea what real thing or being is meant to be denoted by the word 'God'; and since then I've found that no one else knows either.

So I don't have a perception of God to be skewed, and I'm inclined to think that all versions of God are aspects of the imagination of the individual, perhaps with some evolved / genetic reinforcement.

I hope one day you come to learn that he has no need for a wife.

I think the term for gods is 'consort'. And how would God know whether a consort was a good idea or not unless he'd tried it?

 

[SonOfElElyon]

It's my view that your standard model H sap is born with instinctive decency ─ and mirror neurons ─ which are the basis of any morality. It's substantially confirmed by observations in very small infants, and separately by surveys of societies around the world. Tribalism is built in too, and can get in the way, but very usually the good things are all in there, available to be used, with or without gods.

Absurd, tabula rasa...

 

[SonOfElElyon]

I was referring to >the goddess Asherah<.
Once I thought I knew what was meant by 'God'. In later years it's occurred to me that in fact I have no idea what real thing or being is meant to be denoted by the word 'God', and since then I've found that no one else knows either.

So I don't have a perception of God to be skewed, and I'm inclined to think that all versions of God are aspects of the imagination of the individual, perhaps with some evolved / genetic reinforcement.
I think the term for gods is 'consort'. And how would God know whether a consort was a good idea or not unless he'd tried it?

I said your perception was skewed it seemed you were trying to make God having a wife fit, I shouldn't have read into it. I'm sorry. The term for God or god or gods is not consort, a consort is a spouse of a reigning monarch.

 

[blü 2]

Absurd, tabula rasa...

Tabula rasa is self-evident nonsense. If you've ever seen a new-born infant, you'll know we hit the ground running ─ knowing to move our limbs, knowing to make eye contact, knowing how to suckle, to cry for attention, shortly knowing to reflect expressions, movements, sounds, to look in the direction of a sound or a gesture.

And very quickly tendencies of personality and affect are there to be seen ─ curious or passive, smiley or whiny, social or defensive and so on.

You may find a primer helpful: the best I presently know is The Secret Life of the Mind by Mariano Sigman. You'll find it fascinating to read how much we've learnt since Aristotle, Locke, Freud and the rest of the tabula rasa crowd.

You can also keep track of brain research on the net eg Science Daily.