From an Abrahamic perspective, Why is God emotional?

[Tumah]

If we do this that God is a cold hunk of nothing and his words are pointed at us but meaning nothing for Him.
There is so much that you could morph about Him
God created the heavens and the Earth. (throw out?)
It could even go into the category like here...
If someone kills your daughter, accident or on purpose.
Depending on the circumstance ( I don't like using circumstances)
Are you stating that the feeling is retribution (whether pain or anger) based on something you did from a distant God you feels nothing.
Even by his words of compassion.
If something goes will that day it's not because God had anything to do with it or your life. You on your merit did something so you have joy and God feels nothing...
LGod says that he is pleased,
You know how dehumanization begins don't you?

I'm not sure exactly what your point is, but with regarding "dehumanizing" G-d, I'd say that's probably a good idea since G-d is not a man.

 

[meghanwaterlillies]

These emotions that are seen in the Scriptures, such as Anger of God, is symbolic. It is only a mode of addressing. Because that is how, mankind knows if they are doing wrong things. By expressing the anger of God in scriptures, the Message is, a particular people are doing wrong things. God speaks according to the level of understanding of people of the time.
Also, God chastises Mankind, not because He is angry, but as to make them awake. Through suffering, people become more pure. This punishment is expressed as anger of God, as a response from the Heavenly Educator of Mankind. So, in Reality, from a Bahai View, God is not like human, to have such emotions.

Suffering you guys become more pure ...
You know what I already know where you guys are headed.
You need to study WW2 again.

 

[meghanwaterlillies]

I'm not sure exactly what your point is, but with regarding "dehumanizing" G-d, I'd say that's probably a good idea since G-d is not a man.

Suffering you guys become more pure ...
You know what I already know where you guys are headed.
You need to study WW2 again.

 

[meghanwaterlillies]

I can see your lack of love for a real God.

 

[Tumah]

Suffering you guys become more pure ...
You know what I already know where you guys are headed.
You need to study WW2 again.

I have no idea...

 

[meghanwaterlillies]

I have no idea...

Good don't lean on your own understanding
I guess...

 

[Flankerl]

I have no idea...

Jesus etc.

 

[Tumah]

Jesus etc.

I guess...
I'm having a lot of difficulty understanding what she's writing.

 

[Scott C.]

Emotions are biochemicals, we humans have them, Why does God?

Where did emotions originate, especially anger? Was God ever angry before all of creation?

Mormons are somewhat unique, I believe, in our belief that God weeps for us. Look at these verses from our Book of Moses. I consider these to provide profound insights into God's feelings towards humankind.

Moses 7

And ... the God of heaven looked upon the residue of the people, and he wept; and Enoch bore record of it, saying: How is it that the heavens weep, and shed forth their tears as the rain upon the mountains?

And Enoch said unto the Lord: How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, and from all eternity to all eternity?

And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations; ... and ... also thou art just; thou art merciful and kind forever; And ... naught but peace, justice, and truth is the habitation of thy throne; and mercy shall go before thy face and have no end; how is it thou canst weep?

The Lord said unto Enoch: Behold ... I gave unto them their knowledge, in the day I created them; ... gave I unto man his agency; And unto thy brethren have I said, ... that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood; And the fire of mine indignation is kindled against them...

Behold, I am God; Man of Holiness is my name... Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also..,

But behold, ... Satan shall be their father, and misery shall be their doom; and the whole heavens shall weep over them, even all the workmanship of mine hands; wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?...

And that which I have chosen hath pled before my face. Wherefore, he suffereth for their sins; inasmuch as they will repent in the day that my Chosen shall return unto me, and until that day they shall be in torment;

Wherefore, for this shall the heavens weep, yea, and all the workmanship of mine hands.

 

[muhammad_isa]

Of course G-d doesn't have emotions. Emotive words used in Tanach in relation to G-d are just our perception of His actions. When we see someone in Tanach sin and is penalized, we say that G-d was angry because that's the emotion that precedes an act of retribution. Not because G-d feels it, but because we need a label for the stage preceding the manifestation of the punishment. And the same for all of them.

Surely it's a bit more complicated than that .. mankind was made "in His image".
This refers to Almighty God's attributes, such as Mercy, Loving, Sympathy, Wrath etc.

However, we are imperfect whereas G-d is Pure, Holy. I do agree with you that you can't directly translate these attributes/emotions .. Almighty God's love is not hormonal, for example, and His wrath is in proportion and never uncontrollable.

 

[Tumah]

Surely it's a bit more complicated than that .. mankind was made "in His image".
This refers to Almighty God's attributes, such as Mercy, Loving, Sympathy, Wrath etc.

However, we are imperfect whereas G-d is Pure, Holy. I do agree with you that you can't directly translate these attributes/emotions .. Almighty God's love is not hormonal, for example, and His wrath is in proportion and never uncontrollable.

It is definitely more complicated than that. And its also definitely not what you say here. G-d is the most simple One. Mercy, Loving, Sympathy, Wrath etc. are not one, they are a many. And were G-d to be - for example - Merciful today and tomorrow Wrathful, G-d would be changing. Since G-d is One and G-d is unchanging, G-d is not these things.

 

[muhammad_isa]

...
And were G-d to be - for example - Merciful today and tomorrow Wrathful, G-d would be changing. Since G-d is One and G-d is unchanging, G-d is not these things.

No .. He's ALL those things simultaneously .. G-d doesn't change ..

What do you understand by "made in His image" ?

 

[Tumah]

No .. He's ALL those things simultaneously .. G-d doesn't change ..

So in your religion, G-d is multiple things at once. More similar to Christianity than I had thought. That's cool, I didn't know that.

What do you understand by "made in His image" ?

By G-d, His knowledge and His awareness and His everything are really only one thing that we are experiencing or perceiving as either knowledge, awareness, etc. As a metaphor, if G-d is a white light, then sometimes He shines His light through a red lens or blue or green. The light remains the same white, but our perspective of the light changes based on the lens we receive the light from. So G-d is one and we perceive anger, knowledge, creation, love, etc. The lenses are not a part of G-d, but the creation through which out finite selves can relate to the Infinite Oneness.

To bring the metaphor here, we were made as a composite of different colored lenses (of a similar nature albeit of infinitely lower quality) that is our mind and body. And a soul that shines through them.

 

[muhammad_isa]

...
By G-d, His knowledge and His awareness and His everything are really only one thing that we are experiencing or perceiving as either knowledge, awareness, etc. As a metaphor, if G-d is a white light, then sometimes He shines His light through a red lens or blue or green. The light remains the same white, but our perspective of the light changes based on the lens we receive the light from. So G-d is one and we perceive anger, knowledge, creation, love, etc. The lenses are not a part of G-d, but the creation through which out finite selves can relate to the Infinite Oneness.

To bring the metaphor here, we were made as a composite of different colored lenses (of a similar nature albeit of infinitely lower quality) that is our mind and body. And a soul that shines through them.

Thankyou .. we're more or less in agreement then

 

[meghanwaterlillies]

So in your religion, G-d is multiple things at once. More similar to Christianity than I had thought. That's cool, I didn't know that.


By G-d, His knowledge and His awareness and His everything are really only one thing that we are experiencing or perceiving as either knowledge, awareness, etc. As a metaphor, if G-d is a white light, then sometimes He shines His light through a red lens or blue or green. The light remains the same white, but our perspective of the light changes based on the lens we receive the light from. So G-d is one and we perceive anger, knowledge, creation, love, etc. The lenses are not a part of G-d, but the creation through which out finite selves can relate to the Infinite Oneness.

To bring the metaphor here, we were made as a composite of different colored lenses (of a similar nature albeit of infinitely lower quality) that is our mind and body. And a soul that shines through them.

I think I know what that is
You should have said your pink floydd-ing this stuff.
Have you ever seen from dusk till dawn.
I'll try not to turn the moon red.. right
Or how Hellenistic really.

 

[savethedreams]

So are we stating God has always had emotions, sense 'he' is eternal, or God created emotions and poured it upon himself?

 

[Tumah]

I think I know what that is
You should have said your pink floydd-ing this stuff.
Have you ever seen from dusk till dawn.
I'll try not to turn the moon red.. right
Or how Hellenistic really.

I still have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Tumah]

So are we stating God has always had emotions, sense 'he' is eternal, or God created emotions and poured it upon himself?

Are you asking if all Abrahamic religions have the same concept of G-d?

 

[Thanda]

Emotions are biochemicals, we humans have them, Why does God?

No they are not. Emotions are what trigger the biochemicals.

Where did emotions originate, especially anger? Was God ever angry before all of creation? Was is the common belief amongst Christians, Muslims, Jews, Bahi?

Emotions are a reaction to events. Either an event will bring positive emotions or negative emotions (depending on whether the event was a good or bad event). If anything happened before creation that was similar to the things that happened after creation which made God angry then, yes God was angry before creation.

Why would an all powerful person make itself have these feelings as if they have no control?

Now you are stepping into illogical territory. No matter how all powerful God is, there is no reality in which the word all powerful includes the power to create oneself. Therefore if God has emotions, it is because that is what he is. And there is no evidence that God has no control over his emotions.

I don't understand the humanizing, and common belief behind it?

It isn't humanizing God. God said he created man in his own image and likeness. Therefore we feel love because God can feel love and we feel anger because God can feel anger.

 

[Thanda]

G-d Himself is not angry. G-d is unchanging so He can't become angry or sad or happy. He just is.
The system G-d created through which we can relate to Him gives us the perception that G-d is expressing anger (or some other thing). Its this system that these types of verses are referring to. Since we can only relate to G-d through what we can perceive, the Tanach uses terminology that conforms to our perception, with this understanding in mind.

I cannot agree with this. If God has no emotions then what motivates him to act? The only thing I know that acts without emotion is a robot - and the robot only does so because it was programmed to do so.

Now I can agree that we may not always understand the exact emotion God is feeling when he does any particular thing - (E.g. when a parent prevents their child from going to a club a child may think the emotion that caused the refusal is hate and selfishness; and there is a good chance the child is wrong) - but to say he has no emotions and that having emotions would mean that it violates his characteristic of being unchanging is wrong in my opinion.