What is the Nature of God?

[Shaihulud]

Something to measure things against.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

What is the Nature of God?

Hmm, no way of knowing for sure. The only evidence we have to go on is a universe.

 

[Veritass]

Hmm, no way of knowing for sure. The only evidence we have to go on is a universe.

I agree. And we only have one example of this. We need a larger sample size to extrapolate from.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Our petri dish runneth over

 

[CurtSibling]

There is no way to know the nature of an unproven archetype.

Unless dementia of the mind is involved in the process...

On the other hand, it depends if you think of a god as a character or as an idea.

I cannot answer either way.

.

 

[Eukaryote]

God is peacful, positive, loving, forgiving, and rightous! In short: God is Great!

Anyway I'd like to hear from CivGenral.

 

[GenMarshall]

God is peacful, positive, loving, forgiving, and rightous! In short: God is Great!

Anyway I'd like to hear from CivGenral.

Look in Post #38 in this thread

 

[Eukaryote]

Look in Post #38 in this thread

I read that already, very interesting, I must add that I also accept trinity. Anyway, what did you think about what I said?

 

[Quasar1011]

He is omnibenevolent - His love for us is infinite. However, His powers are limited. There are fundamental laws of the universe that He could not violate without ceasing to be God. Among these are justice - He cannot violate justice, He must seek another way to satisfy it. He also cannot, merely by desiring it, turn humans into divine beings. It has to be done the hard way. He can do anything that can be done in the universe, but He is not omnipotent.

Actually, God is omnipotent. He can do anything He wants to do. No one can force Him to do what He doesn't want to do. He can even do things outside the universe.

I agree with you about His infinite love. However, I don't follow you when you imply that He can turn humans into Divine beings the hard way. Please explain.

Hmm, no way of knowing for sure. The only evidence we have to go on is a universe.

That, plus an obscure historical character named Jesus Christ.

 

[Markus6]

That, plus an obscure historical character named Jesus Christ.

Well, if you want the 'historical' character he was named Jesus of Nazareth. That he was the Christ is the matter of belief. His mail wasn't addressed 'Mr. Christ'.

I guess my view on the nature of God is pretty typical for a Christian. I try not to think of God as a dude. Personifying him can really limit your view of him (though obviously makes things a lot easier), and, as is being discussed in another thread, making him exclusively male also has it's issues.

On the omnipotence thing: I'm not sure he truly is, the obvious "can God make a stone he can't lift" logical contradictions being a sign of this. However, from my perspective I don't think it really matters. He has so much more power than I do it might as well be infinite. I think the "God can't be both all loving and all powerful" argument has a better rebutal than "Alright he's not all powerful". Namely that suffering exists because the final outcome will be 'better' than if it didn't.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Actually, God is omnipotent. He can do anything He wants to do. No one can force Him to do what He doesn't want to do. He can even do things outside the universe.

I agree with you about His infinite love. However, I don't follow you when you imply that He can turn humans into Divine beings the hard way. Please explain.

Well, I see the idea of an omnibenevolent and omnipotent God logically inconsistent with the existence of evil. Why didn't He set it up so that our free will didn't cause suffering? And why is free will so important anyways, to risk pain, death, and damnation for it?

The only reason I can see is that free will is the only way we can become like Him. If we don't make choices for ourselves we cannot grow. He lacks the power to just point His finger and say, "Alright, you are all like Me now."

And I also don't think He can operate outside the universe, but that is a question of definitions; there is nothing "outside" the universe.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

That, plus an obscure historical character named Jesus Christ.

As evidence, the Bible would never hold up in court, its all hearsay. The universe though is pretty solid evidence.

 

[Narz]

I dont claim to know one way or another what if any emotions God experiences. However since our emotions are in large part determined by chemical interactions in our brains, Id say that the chances of God experiencing similar emotions must be nil.

How do you know God doesn't have a brain? I imagine He must've had a very big one to create this whole universe.

Also, can you prove that a person cannot have emotions without a brain (say in an afterlife or something)?

Faithfulness.

Why does God need to be faithful. He of all people should already know He exists.

That sums up most of what I believe about the nature of God He is just enough to administer punishment for disobedience, but loving enough to sacrifice himself to save his universe.

If God sacrificed Himself would you become atheist?

God is a feeling. God is something you feel that gives one a sense of connection to the world, or a sense of beauty. The string that ties it all together so to speak.

I tend not to believe in God as a physical manifestation, or as a being that would punish what it created. God does not exist to lay down a silly law. That is for humans. God should be higher than mere legislation of sin and other such trifle matters. It doesn't matter if you sin or not, because he's God after all. He should know what you are really made of.

I also tend not to believe many holy men when they claim they know what God wants. How can something so powerful and transcendent be so readily understandable by a mere human such as yourself? For all we know, God doesn't give a damn about us, or what we do.

By the way, I'm an agnostic.

Nicely put.

Considering I am an atheist, I think god does not exist.

But, hypothetically speaking, should he (or she) exist then I'd consider him a failure...

Why's that?

Something to measure things against.

How can we measure against something intangible?

Actually, God is omnipotent. He can do anything He wants to do. No one can force Him to do what He doesn't want to do.

Kind of like me with enough time.

He can even do things outside the universe.

That's pretty cool! I didn't even know there was an "outside the universe".

As evidence, the Bible would never hold up in court, its all hearsay. The universe though is pretty solid evidence.

As far as I know, the Bible is commonly "held up" in court.

 

[civ2]

God is God!
(See some other related threads for explaination. )

 

[Bozo Erectus]

How do you know God doesn't have a brain? I imagine He must've had a very big one to create this whole universe.

When you say 'brain', do you mean he's got a meatball between his ears like us? God isnt a human being, or I should say, God isnt limited to being human. Everything there is, is Gods brain. Words fail me.

Also, can you prove that a person cannot have emotions without a brain (say in an afterlife or something)?

I never said that God doesnt have emotions, I said that whatever sorts of emotions he experiences are nothing at all like ours, because ours are produced through chemical interactions in our little minds.

As far as I know, the Bible is commonly "held up" in court.

Its 'held up' because it cant stand up

 

[Narz]

I never said that God doesnt have emotions, I said that whatever sorts of emotions he experiences are nothing at all like ours, because ours are produced through chemical interactions in our little minds.

Maybe his "big mind" produces similar emotions. Our "little mind" by the way is the most complex system ever discovered in the universe AFAIK.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Our "little mind" by the way is the most complex system ever discovered in the universe AFAIK.

Is the earth as a complete system more or less complex than the brains of the creatures that are part of it?

 

[Sidhe]

Is the earth as a complete system more or less complex than the brains of the creatures that are part of it?

In actuality no, in scope and imagination yes, we are all more than the sum of our parts, the human and animal mind/s is infinite in its scope, the Earth is merely a small planet in a not a typical system, in an arm of a not atypical galaxy etc. etc. etc.

 

[Birdjaguar]

In actuality no, in scope and imagination yes, we are all more than the sum of our parts, the human and animal mind/s is infinite in its scope, the Earth is merely a small planet in a not a typical system, in an arm of a not atypical galaxy etc. etc. etc.

I am confused by your answer. Are you saying that in actuality the earth sytem is less complex than our brains and in scope and imagination it is more complex than our brains?

 

[Sidhe]

No just simply "our" brains as a whole are more complex in scope by the nature of our imagination, sorry if it came out badly.

Think your taking the system as simply defined by our brains as they are now, and not the scope they are capable of. We are and always have been more than the sum of the parts, given creative thought as a variable.