what "is" God?

expert101

i'm not a religious person myself so i don't know much about what God is supposed to be. the only conception i have is of some big being on a cloud. i know this is simplistic so what is God really supposed to be?

OfflerCrocGod

Sort of like Santa Claus.

Asiaprod

God is many different things to different people.
To some he is everything , to others he does not even exist :eek: .
To some he was a god made man who was born under strange medical circumstances, died on a cross for our sins and was resurrected from the dead, rose into heaven (maybe on a cloud) and will return again someday to pass judgment on us all.
Apart from the non-existing bit, the above applies mostly to the Jewish/Christian concept of God.
Next we have all the Gods and Goddesses (the female versions) of all other religions/belief systems. Where he/she fills a million different niches.
You have asked the million dollar question . People have spent their lives and their sanity trying to work this one out. Take your pick from all the definitions you will no doubt get to read over the next day or two and ask questions, there are some very intelligent people on this board .
However, don`t be too disappointed, I suspect that sitting around on clouds won`t have to much to do with it :rolleyes: .
Peter Kearney

Karl Hungus

I believe Karl Marx said God is the opiate of the masses.

Dades

What GOD is depends on your religion/inclination.
Peter describes the God concept that is usually relevant to this forum.
Atheists for example don't believe in the existance of a "god" per se.

You really need to pick a religion and Wiki it.
But there are too many conflicting definitions to objectively say what God is.

Excelsior

I'd disagree with all the above posters on some or all of what they have said. I would also point out that (without wishing to be pedantic but being wholly serious) the first 3 responses were contrary to the 2nd and/or 3rd points of the charter that founded this forum.

You asked on the Christianity forum and so croc is perposterously and unsupportabley way off when he says he is like Santa. For one thing, Santa doesn't exist.

Karl, I think you'll find Marx called religion and not God, the opium and not the opiate of the people.

And Atheist is as usual on the button. But I'll unpack the Christian idea of God. Its interesting that you put the "in" in inverted commas in your thread title. God, for Christians, "is" in a way different to everything else since He is the Creator. We and everything else are his creatures and his creations. He is not a contingent being. He doesn't depend on anything. So the major characteristic of God is that he is pre-existing to all that exists.

Christianity further believes that he has a bunch of omni's- he is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniescent. What this means is that there is no bounds on what he can do.

Christianity begins to differ from an Aristotlean model of God as the unmoved mover when it starts talking about God's personality. It believes God has one because he has revealed it through the Bible, through the way he has created the world and through his son Jesus. From these 3 sources, but mostly from Jesus, we see that God loves us each and every one of his creatures to an infinite degree and as inaccurate as it may be to talk about his passion, it would be that we get back into relationship with him and live as we were designed to live.

But it gets complex (and fascinating) when you consider that Jesus is also God. The Christian God is trinitarian, which means he is composed of 3 distinct personalities that make one whole. It is not tri-theistic, meaning 3 Gods. It is monotheistic. The three are all of 1. Irish people are familiar with the old tale about Patrick explaining this mystery through a shamrock. So the primary aspect of God that has been revealed to us through those 3 sources is that he is 3-fold. The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Each of these 3, we are told in the Bible, live for the others- praising and honouring and appreciating the other's glory and goodness. They are all, it says, unified in their mission to bring every human being back on good terms with them. And from this example of perfect relationship, Christians feel very sure that they can offer a picture of what community and interaction between humans can and ought to be.

I'll stop rambling here so you can respond, if you like. This answer may not have been of any benefit at all but feel free to question it.

expert101

So the major characteristic of God is that he is pre-existing to all that exists.

i know what those words mean but that sentence don't make sense to me.

can you elaborate?

Villain

LOL Santa doesn't excist but God does, tbh I'd find it easier to believe that Santa did excist. Imo God is something invented by humans to try and explain the un-explained.

Imo if god does excist he's one nasty bit of work.

OfflerCrocGod

Excelsior wrote:

You asked on the Christianity forum and so croc is perposterously and unsupportabley way off when he says he is like Santa. For one thing, Santa doesn't exist.

I believe he exists. Have faith Excelsior, you must open up your heart to the good news that is Santa Claus.

Asiaprod

Posted by Elxelsior:

I'd disagree with all the above posters on some or all of what they have said. I would also point out that (without wishing to be pedantic but being wholly serious) the first 3 responses were contrary to the 2nd and/or 3rd points of the charter that founded this forum.

Excelsior, While I have no problem with you disagreeing with what what posted, or even believing/not-believing in Santa , I do have a problem with you saying my post (the second in the series) was contrary to the 2nd/3rd points in the charter :mad: . I cannot for the life of me see how. :rolleyes: Could you enlighten me as to how you arrive at this since I do happen to respect the charter.
Peter Kearney

Excelsior

Croc, there are documents and references existing in the secret annals of Coca Cola Inc that unveil the vast Santa conspiracy for what it is- an effort to protect the social hegemony build on a firm patriarchy that Dr. John Pemberton, founder and inventor of Coca Cola cherished so dearly.

If only you'd open your eyes and read this pamphlet published by Dan Brown and Richard "I-used-to-be-a-scientist" Dawkins- it discusses how the secret fabrication of Santa, who in truth was a travelling cynic spreading wisdom around the villages of Northern Finland, has permeated every aspect of our society.

irish1, I think you'll probably have to make a pretty good argument, or even an argument, to keep up with folk like Asiaprod, Sapien and The Atheist who post on this forum. LOLing at the prospect of God existing doesn't enlighten any of us as to why you reject the idea. Why is it?

Peter, I pm'ed you.

Excelsior

Excelsior wrote:

So the major characteristic of God is that he is pre-existing to all that exists.

expert101 wrote:

i know what those words mean but that sentence don't make sense to me.
can you elaborate?

God is the source of everything else. Not in the sense that it somehow flowed out of Him but that he designed everything for a purpose and a reason. Orchids can be used in fashion ads as phallic images because God made orchids a particular way. Racoon dogs feel an urge to travel into new territory in the 1st year because God wanted it that way. And so on.

He was before everything. He will be around when everything else (us included) passes away. God is the permanent fixture and compared to him, all else is temporary.

Does that help at all? I'm crap at this kind of stuff. If any Christian out there feels like writing a story to explain God's atemporality then please come and help.

Villain

Excelsior wrote:

irish1, I think you'll probably have to make a pretty good argument, or even an argument, to keep up with folk like Asiaprod, Sapien and The Atheist who post on this forum. LOLing at the prospect of God existing doesn't enlighten any of us as to why you reject the idea. Why is it?

My apologies Excelsior, that was a moment of humour.

Its not that I reject the idea of him excisting, its possible as is everything that he does excist. However I have never seen proof of excistance that has convinced me.

This may not be the appropiate thread for this so feel free to delete it, but my thinking on religion is that we are trained to believe what our parents believe, i.e. if your parents are Catholic you will believe in that religion, if your parents are Buddhists that is the religion you will believe.

Another thing that has annoyed me is the reasoning people give for natural disasters etc. i.e. god gave us free will and its our fault. I mean surely if god does excist and is so powerful he wouldnt let millions of american's homes get destroyed by a hurricane???

Asiaprod

Excelsior wrote: Does that help at all? I'm crap at this kind of stuff. If any Christian out there feels like writing a story to explain God's atemporality then please come and help.

Hahaha, I don`t believe it :eek: . You say you are crap at something....no way . Rise to the challenge man, you always do. Actually, I would like to read the answer.
And thanks for the PM, understand and agree with the points you raised.
Peter Kearney.