Anthropomorphizing God

[averageJOE]

Is there a true reason as to why the religions of Christianity and Islam anthropomorphize their god? Some individuals in their religion do it more than others. They feel the need to give their god a personality and human emotions and attributes.They refer to their god as "He".

These are just a few attributes, actions, and emotions I've either heard people say and/or read here in these forums:

God loves...
God believes...
God desires...
God chooses...
God needs...
God judges...
God decides...
God knows...
Gods children...
Gods son...
Gods mind...
Gods plan...
Gods purpose...
God sacrificed...
God allows...
God thinks...
God hates...
God says...
God rewards...
God demands...
God punishes...
etc. etc. etc.

One reason I've been given is because god created us in "his" likness. However, when asked "what created God?" the answer is usually along the lines of "God is eternal and exists outside the relms of time and space". If this were true, wouldn't that mean that all the human attributes I listed above (plus more) also exist outside of time and space and are also eternal? Judging is an eternal action that exists outside of time and space?

I would lean more towards the idea that these attributes, actions, and emotions are beneath the god concept. They are what defines and limits us as humans. So why give them to their god?

 

[InformedIgnorance]

Personally I use an extremely minimalist approach to ascribing characteristics to the concept of god (or any supernatural concepts), as far as I am concerned attribution of each characteristic (even existence itself, let alone a discrete existence or a cognitive existence) requires justification.

That stated, most revealed religions use their records of 'revelation' to justify innumerable claims about the nature of the supernatural and concepts such as god. Without assigning characteristics to such a god it is difficult to suggest you know what god is, what god has done, or intends for people.... for this reason people tend to ascribe characteristics that would support their belief of what god 'must' be, what god 'must' have done, or what god 'must' want from us. It is harder to use such a god concept with few characteristics to explain what people do not understand, such as why the sun goes up and down in the sky. It is harder to tell people what to do if your god concept with few characteristics has none that would suggest it cares what they do. A god concept with few characteristics is a god concept that is incredibly difficult to see any practical use for, which is what most god concepts entail - it was not about simply having a valid concept of god but rather having a use for that god concept: to explain things to control things and so forth, for this reason, gods are ascribed characteristics which support the desired use of that god concept.

 

[ChristineES]

I suppose we/they use that to relate with God. It would be hard to relate with a formless spirit. The religions of Abraham have always tried to relate to God. We know, however, than He is mostly beyond our understanding.

 

[fantome profane]

I think that any completely unanthropomorphized concept would no longer be recognized as a "God" concept.

I could be wrong about this, so could anybody tell me what this unanthropomorphized thing is, and why it should be called "God".

Anthropomorphism can also be used for purely poetic or metaphorical reasons, and I fully respect that. But I think once you use that three letter word "God" you are anthropomorphizing in one way or another.

Edit: I would add that I think the whole "God" concept may have begun as the anthropomorphizing of nature. Take away that and you again are left with nature.

 

[Sir Doom]

And we don't have to anthropomorphize nature, it did that to itself.

 

[fantome profane]

And we don't have to anthropomorphize nature, it did that to itself.

hmm.

 

[George-ananda]

Is there a true reason as to why the religions of Christianity and Islam anthropomorphize their god?

Because common people understand best through things they can conceptualize. The imperfect concept of God as a super father figure is something the non-mystic can kind of get his head around. Jesus, and others, believed this kind of conceptualizing helpful. The common man can really only grasp things he can conceptualize.

 

[Sir Doom]

hmm.

Honestly, I really only believe that god created life. Not necessarily human beings. I'm sure it must have known sentience was inevitable, but considering the diversity of life it seems more like a 'throw-it-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks' approach than anything precisely engineered. It certainly explains the 'hands-off' attitude god seems to have a lot better than 'mysterious ways' if you ask me. It sort of reduces my existence to a science experiment, but that's better than nothing, I suppose. And all of that is an anthropomorphization of course.

Guilty as charged

 

[Nyingjé Tso]

Vanakkam,

God is formless, attributeless.
Yet He is also with forms and attributes.
He is outside and inside the world.
We cannot grasp the concept of the formless, attributeless God. Thus He took forms and attributes to serve as a ladder for us to climb higher in the spiritual path and one day in one life being able to realize Him.


Aum Namah Shivaya

 

[Breathe]

I echo what others have said. It's hard to talk about, or know without any form of direct experience (many people who never have a mystic experience with the Divine), if you don't give it some form of anthromorphic qualities.

 

[George-ananda]

Vanakkam,

God is formless, attributeless.
Yet He is also with forms and attributes.
He is outside and inside the world.
We cannot grasp the concept of the formless, attributeless God. Thus He took forms and attributes to serve as a ladder for us to climb higher in the spiritual path and one day in one life being able to realize Him.


Aum Namah Shivaya

You said what I said but in a more beautiful way. Cheers.

You are a frubal machine!

 

[outis]

Is there a true reason as to why the religions of Christianity and Islam anthropomorphize their god? Some individuals in their religion do it more than others. They feel the need to give their god a personality and human emotions and attributes.They refer to their god as "He".

Chrisitanity being all about a man-god, it seems the answer to your question is obvious.
Islam is more interesting in this respect. There's some theology that's relevant this issue. Look up tanzih and tashbih for instance.

 

[outis]

so could anybody tell me what this unanthropomorphized thing is, and why it should be called "God".

Tradition. It's just a word. Semantics is all about tradition.

 

[Azekual]

There's a simple answer to this: it makes God easier to relate to. When you can more easily make his views your own, whether right or wrong, he becomes easier to follow.

 

[averageJOE]

I suppose we/they use that to relate with God. It would be hard to relate with a formless spirit. The religions of Abraham have always tried to relate to God. We know, however, than He is mostly beyond our understanding.

Do you do this only to relate to god? I know you said god is mostly beyond understanding, which I agree with, but do you think that your god actually possesses these attributes?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Because there's no point in creating an ego-extension of yourself that doesn't reflect an image of yourself back at you.

 

[Alex_G]

The ironic truth that god was in fact created in mans image speaks volumes. All the info that exists about a god will tell you a lot more about the people to whom the god is of, than any objective truth about any 'real' god.

 

[ChristineES]

Do you do this only to relate to god? I know you said god is mostly beyond understanding, which I agree with, but do you think that your god actually possesses these attributes?

Which attributes? We have no way of knowing. Since we Christians believe that we are reconciled to God then we would need a way to relate to Him in some way. It is also written that we are made in His image- I am not sure what this means, however.

 

[averageJOE]

Which attributes? We have no way of knowing. Since we Christians believe that we are reconciled to God then we would need a way to relate to Him in some way. It is also written that we are made in His image- I am not sure what this means, however.

Let's just narrow it down, for now, to judging. Something that a lot of Christians say god will do upon our death. If god is eternal and exists outside of time and space, is the act of "judging" eternal as well?