God is a person

[Man of Faith]

Therefore he wills, feels, thinks, enjoys, loves, desires, and suffers like any person does. And I can cultivate a relationship with him just like I can with any person. I wouldn’t tell any person that they don’t exist, use their name while cursing, or do what they don’t want me to if I want to cultivate a relationship with them. I would talk to them and try to find out how to please them.

 

[Reptillian]

Are you sure God is the kind of person you'd want to have a relationship with? Based on what I've seen, God seems like the kind of guy who tells you he loves you and will always be there for you, then doesn't lift a finger to help when you actually need him most.

 

[Noaidi]

And I can cultivate a relationship with him just like I can with any person.

Can you, though? How? How do you physically interact with your god?
I'm genuinely interested in this view that you and others have.

 

[PolyHedral]

Does God prefer red or black ants?

 

[Man of Faith]

Are you sure God is the kind of person you'd want to have a relationship with? Based on what I've seen, God seems like the kind of guy who tells you he loves you and will always be there for you, then doesn't lift a finger to help when you actually need him most.

Do you want God to make a special case for you? Do you want God to appear to you and take away your sufferring? He has set out his plan and it works.

 

[Man of Faith]

Can you, though? How? How do you physically interact with your god?
I'm genuinely interested in this view that you and others have.

I communicate with God through my soul and conscious. Do you believe that man has found all the ways to communicate? What about when man only talked face to face with other people, do you think they thought that was the only way to communicate? What about when the telegraph came along, then telephones, then internet, then cell phones, are we finally at the end of our ways to communicate? Or are there ways to communicate that man doesn’t know about today? I suggest there is.

 

[Man of Faith]

Does God prefer red or black ants?

I don't understand the link, but do you ask people which child they prefer over the other?

 

[Noaidi]

I communicate with God through my soul and conscious. Do you believe that man has found all the ways to communicate? What about when man only talked face to face with other people, do you think they thought that was the only way to communicate? What about when the telegraph came along, then telephones, then internet, then cell phones, are we finally at the end of our ways to communicate? Or are there ways to communicate that man doesn’t know about today? I suggest there is.

I agree that communication has developed over time, but the methods you outlined are tangible and available to everyone and can be verified by anyone.
You mentioned communicating via your soul and 'conscious' - that's what I'm interested in. How do you do it and how is it a verifiable means of communication? What are the processes involved?

 

[tumbleweed41]

Therefore he wills, feels, thinks, enjoys, loves, desires, and suffers like any person does. And I can cultivate a relationship with him just like I can with any person.

I find this to be a very limiting concept of God.
Anthropomorphism has always seemed to me to be an attempt to bring God down to a human level.

 

[Man of Faith]

I agree that communication has developed over time, but the methods you outlined are tangible and available to everyone and can be verified by anyone.
You mentioned communicating via your soul and 'conscious' - that's what I'm interested in. How do you do it and how is it a verifiable means of communication? What are the processes involved?

When people communicated only face to face, was the method of cell phone communication tangible and available to everyone and can be verified by anyone? These things take time.

 

[Eliot Wild]

Do you want God to make a special case for you? Do you want God to appear to you and take away your sufferring? He has set out his plan and it works.

If God is this amazing 'person' which you are describing, then why doesn't He make a 'special case' for everyone?

I can't speak for anyone else, but yes, I'd like God to personally appear to me. I'll leave up to Him as to whether or not he wants to take away mine or anyone else's suffering. I will say this, however, in that regard: If I were God and had all the powers that were acribed to Him, then I'd be glad to take away people's suffering. As a matter of fact, I probably would have engineered the universe in such a manner as to avoid suffering.

What is his 'Plan' and how does it 'Work'? I see no evidence of any plan, and just simply stating that one exists certainly does not make it true. But I often hear about this plan from many Christians. Well, what is it? And how can you tell it is working. We're all ears.

 

[Man of Faith]

I find this to be a very limiting concept of God.
Anthropomorphism has always seemed to me to be an attempt to bring God down to a human level.

This has nothing to do with humanity. God is not a human, but a person. There is a difference and we can see that when people want to give dolphins personhood status.

 

[Noaidi]

When people communicated only face to face, was the method of cell phone communication tangible and available to everyone and can be verified by anyone? These things take time.

This doesn't answer my question, though.

I wrote: You mentioned communicating via your soul and 'conscious' - that's what I'm interested in. How do you do it and how is it a verifiable means of communication? What are the processes involved?

 

[PolyHedral]

I don't understand the link, but do you ask people which child they prefer over the other?

In Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan has a conversation with an army general, who is trying to persuade Manhattan to join the US in the Cold War. It's already been established by this point that Manhattan is only a few steps short of being completely omnipotent, including the abilities to see the future and manipulate atom structure. Manhattan asks the general "Do you prefer red or black ants?" The general is confused by this, and says he doesn't have a preference. Manhattan responds that that's exactly why he is not getting involved, and leaves for Mars.

Why should God prefer red or black ants?

 

[Man of Faith]

If God is this amazing 'person' which you are describing, then why doesn't He make a 'special case' for everyone?

I can't speak for anyone else, but yes, I'd like God to personally appear to me. I'll leave up to Him as to whether or not he wants to take away mine or anyone else's suffering. I will say this, however, in that regard: If I were God and had all the powers that were acribed to Him, then I'd be glad to take away people's suffering. As a matter of fact, I probably would have engineered the universe in such a manner as to avoid suffering.

What is his 'Plan' and how does it 'Work'? I see no evidence of any plan, and just simply stating that one exists certainly does not make it true. But I often hear about this plan from many Christians. Well, what is it? And how can you tell it is working. We're all ears.

You don't know what God knows. This is like a person saying, if I was in that situation, I would do this and such. Nobody knows what we would do unless we were in that situation. God did engineer the universe to be without suffering for humans, but he gave us free will to ruin that. That is the free will defense.

I understand his plan to be that as intelligent beings with personhood status like himself, we can use our knowledge while on this world to better life for ourselves, love others and love him and that works, meaning that gives fulfillment to many millions when they do that.

 

[Man of Faith]

This doesn't answer my question, though.

I wrote: You mentioned communicating via your soul and 'conscious' - that's what I'm interested in. How do you do it and how is it a verifiable means of communication? What are the processes involved?

My best answer is I don't know how it works, just like when cell phones weren't invented yet, people didn't know how they worked. I will have to wait on scientists to figure it out like everyone else does. Today it seems that only God and maybe satan uses that type of communication.

 

[tumbleweed41]

I find this to be a very limiting concept of God.
Anthropomorphism has always seemed to me to be an attempt to bring God down to a human level.

This has nothing to do with humanity. God is not a human, but a person. There is a difference and we can see that when people want to give dolphins personhood status.

It has everything to do with humanity. In your own OP you gave God human traits.

he wills, feels, thinks, enjoys, loves, desires, and suffers like any person does

Of course, these traits could also be applied to Bonobo apes, and as you pointed out, dolphins. Which is why I find this attempt at anthropomorphism to be unsettling.

 

[Eliot Wild]

You don't know what God knows. This is like a person saying, if I was in that situation, I would do this and such. Nobody knows what we would do unless we were in that situation. God did engineer the universe to be without suffering for humans, but he gave us free will to ruin that. That is the free will defense.

I understand his plan to be that as intelligent beings with personhood status like himself, we can use our knowledge while on this world to better life for ourselves, love others and love him and that works, meaning that gives fulfillment to many millions when they do that.

How in the world do you know what I know? Besides that, how in the world do you even start to think you know what God knows? You don't know what either one of us know.

And you're wrong. I certainly can say what I'd do if I were God in a particular situation. If I were God I'd never order any human to murder another. If I were God, I wouldn't send people to a Hell of eternal torture simply for being confused. If I were God, I wouldn't condone War of any kind, and I would use my Godly powers to restrict anyone from attaching my name to a War or to any politically-motivated agenda.

There's a lot of others things I would do if I were God, and I don't have to be in a particular situation to consider what my actions might be. We, as humans, have the ability to think hypothetically. And I know exactly what to expect of God in certain situations based on the attributes and characteristics ascribed to him.

Many Christians say that God is lawful and just, but then they claim the Bible is the infallible word of God, an instrument that tells His story, and it contains sections where God orders innocent people, such as women, children and servants at Jericho, to be murdered. It also claims that God ordered surrendering soldiers and those attempting to flee the battle be massacred.

I may not know what God will do in every situation, but I damn sure know what He'll do in very specific situations, that is, if He wants to keep his holy arse consistent.

 

[Man of Faith]

In Watchmen, Dr. Manhattan has a conversation with an army general, who is trying to persuade Manhattan to join the US in the Cold War. It's already been established by this point that Manhattan is only a few steps short of being completely omnipotent, including the abilities to see the future and manipulate atom structure. Manhattan asks the general "Do you prefer red or black ants?" The general is confused by this, and says he doesn't have a preference. Manhattan responds that that's exactly why he is not getting involved, and leaves for Mars.

Why should God prefer red or black ants?

I think I'll pass on this conversation because it doesn't seem to be useful.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Therefore he wills, feels, thinks, enjoys, loves, desires, and suffers like any person does.

God desires? Doesn't desire imply lack? What does God lack?