God is not human

[rawprawn]

When the author penned the words that God created man in his own image in Genesis he set up the idea that God is human, and most people seem to have swallowed that idea. Those words put God in man's control, they place God in a box.

But God is not human. Has anyone here considered God beyond human confinement? Humans are very limited. Most of what we do is motivated by emotion. Is your God emotion driven? Humans have limited knowledge and make decisions from that limitation. Is your God limited by knowledge and experience? Humans have very limited communication systems. Does your God communicate?

I could go on about time, space, physical limitations, etc. etc.

When we read the Bible God is presented as very human. We even have countless pictures of a very human God.

I think the real study of God is science. Stare into a microscope and we are discovering God.

What do you think?

[LynnDel]

Knowing that God is a spirit makes in the image of have deeper ramifications than physical appearance.

Since God created science, makes the universe work through science, we can discover Him through science -- but it is a tricky business, since it seems so many scientists deny the existence of God. Why is that?

[Naomi]

I'm impressed: It is apparent you have given much thought to this subject. Perhaps we need pictures of a God who looks like us so that in our humaness we can identify with him.

Mr Webster has many definitions on image: Of which one is a mental representation; idea; conception.

I have asked this question, but it is no longer of importance to me. Farther along we'll understand ..............

One day we'll have the answer.

[phkrause]

I don't see it that way at all rawprawn. No Jew that I know sees God as human. It could be that some that don't want God to be seen as the Creator bring him down to our level

[Bravus]

God is infinite. He contains all possibilities. I agree, rawprawn[1], that to limit Him to human form is very unfortunate, since it makes God in our image, rather than the reverse.

[1] With that handle you'd just about *have* to be a fellow Aussie, right?

[Stan]

(those Aussies are ... like EVERYWHERE!)

[Gail]

Great thoughts going on! The thing that excites me more than anything is the fact of how BIG God is, the more I try to understand Him.

[Gibs]

Jesus is the son of God and Mary. So don't the son resemble the Father, in this case God.

Now Jesus tells us,that God is a Spirit, Joh 4:24 and Jesus told Philip that if he had seen Jesus he had seen the Father".

And for sure He isn't Human except in Jesus Christ, for we know the Father dwelt in Him and made Him equal to Himself.

Read Joh 1:1 and 1:14

In the flesh after Bethlehem.

May we all be blessed in Him.

[rawprawn]

LynnDel what do you mean when you say that God is Spirit?

Science proves to me over and over that there is order and structure in everything. To me that is the law of God, not the ten commandments. They are not bad or wrong, but they are human creations.

[rawprawn]

dgrimm what makes you believe man was made in God's image at all? What do you know about the person who wrote that? When was the idea first conceived? We know nothing about the person who came up with that idea.

[rawprawn]

JESUS was made in human form. Where did the idea that jesus was more than human come from? How do you know it is true?

[rawprawn]

Naomi have you consider the implications of God not being Human? Makeing God human makes it easy for people to have a concept of God. My problem with that is it puts God under man's control. We claim to adhere to the commandments, yet they suggest that we do not carry in us an image of God, an idea of what God is like. SDA's claim to not have graven images, but we have countless books written that define God in human form. SDA's seem to have God all worked out.

The Christian God is very much a human image. I think some of the Biblical authors knew this was a problem. That is where all of our religions come from; each one has it's own image of God.

I don't have one. It's not an easy place to be. But I do know what God is like when I see the amazing discoveries science makes each year about our universe, the micro and the macro. To me god is creator of order and structure at every level.

[rawprawn]

pk if Jews don't see God as human, it renders their history as the children of God the chosen nation, redundant. The Old Testament depicts a very human God, emotional, jealous, angry, and disappointed. He writes with his own finger for crying out loud. lol I think they tried to avoid the humanization of God by rendering the name Yahweh unpronounceable, but we humans just have to be in control and so they found ways to get around it.

[rawprawn]

You have me nailed Bravus.

[rawprawn]

What does it mean when Jesus said God is a spirit, Gibs?

[teresaq]

If we tend to think of God as "human", then I would say that is more our problem than the bible writer's problem. If we are created in God's image then we are created in His likeness, but not His being, meaning that we were not created to be "gods". Having a humanoid form does not automatically mean "human" in the case of God. Its more like we are Godoid.

My question is, why does God have to be some kind of invisible, incorporeal something in order to be all amazing? Air and vapor don't especially impress me.

But a Being, a real, physical, material Being that has a brain capable of thinking and creating the awesome wonders that "He" has created awes me. What would vapor/air want with a material world full of material beings? And if its so great why shouldn't we want to become vapor/air? Why were limited to these bodies? Why shouldn't we be like the Greed philosopher's and long for freedom from this "prison" we are in?

[Dr. Waite]

If you believe in the trinity doctrine, are you created in the image of a third god called "God the Holy Spirit" that is a "real, physical, material Being that has a brain capable of thinking and creating the awesome wonders that "He" has created" ?

[teresaq]

I see my name tagged so are you asking me that question?

[Dr. Waite]

Yes

[teresaq]

What you are describing is called "tritheism" not "trinity".

Trinity means 3 persons in one being. So if we have a 3-headed being, or the triangle that is supposed to explain this trinity idea...well then we aren't 3-headed, nor are we triangular....

And then there is the SDA understanding which we have been accused of hi-jacking the term "trinity" to describe.

Soooo, you want to narrow it down for me. :)

[Dr. Waite]

The fundamental beliefs of SDA, have one doctrine for "God the Father" and another for "God the Son" and another for "God the Holy Spirit". This teaches that there are three gods. Is this not "tritheism"?? Just because there is a "unity" of the three Gods does NOT take away the fact that the fundamental beliefs teach that there are three gods.

[fccool]

Not necessarily. Not all trinitarian perspective revolves around the concept of 3 separate beings. They merely see it as the 3 functions, or manifestations of God to people.

As far as God having anthropomorphic description, I think would likewise should invoke the thought of human-shaped god, created in human image. I think it's an important thought to ponder and avoid ruling out.

I does not mean that God is not there, just means that IT would be highly unlikely an anthropomorphic being. Likewise, humans ascribe God a super-human characteristics. Definition of God becomes everything that limits humans, or what humans are not.

Humans are physical - God is not

Humans have limited knowledge - God does not

Humans die - God does not

and etc.. and etc...

Anthropomorphic God, in a way, seems to be a comic-book hero of ancients. In fact, much of mythology revolve around rather comic-booky overtones.

For example, we have the Satan, who is very one-dimensional villain. There's not background as to why, but he appears to be evil for the sake of having an antagonist to pin the terrible things on in the story of our universe.

It's very difficult to pin God down, because God is more of an abstract concept... just like "love", "hate", "relationship", and so on. In fact, "God concept" is even more abstract, because we describe something we don't directly experience. I know that there are "experiences" of God, but that's not what I mean by direct experience.

Much of the ideas about God also seem to evolve with the culture. On one hand, we have a rather angry and vengeful gods of the more ancient and savage cultures, then gods seem to improve with society, and are not as violent and fickle, but seem to care about humanity a bit more and toy less with the flow of human events...

Until we come to the world of today, where our ideas about god seems to heavily rely on 2000++ year old perspective of who/what god is. Yet, whether you see it or not, we pick and choose the attributes of God and his laws as these suits our modern society.

[Stan]

Deuteronomy 6:4 declares that our God is one Lord.

And in Mark 12:29 Jesus quotes that passage and refers to it as the first of all commandments.

[fccool]

That's not a commandment . That's a description.

[Tom Wetmore]

Depending on how you translate what Jesus said, he could have meant first as the beginning, foundation, origin, or source of all the commandments.

And just as first is not necessarily and only ordinal, the word "one" is not necessarily quantitative. Especially in the Hebrew, numbers had very significant qualitative symbolism. The concept of being one is better understood as oneness or unity rather than an expression of how many.

This qualitative uses and meaning of numbers is used extensively in the book of Revelation by John, drawing heavily on OT imagery and symbols and Hebrew thinking. The consistent symbolic use of the number 3 spoke of the divine, of God. Even if not explicitly stated as a number, symbols grouped as 3 had divine significance and gave symbolic evidence of God either as being present in the picture or that which was being portrayed as the act of, or significantly about God. Put the 3 angels messages in that context.