I hadn't realized you were Christian when I wrote that answer above, but thought I was responding to
@Nimos , since I didn't look closely at your info, and ya'll both have small animal pics ! heh heh So, Nimos, my answer was sorta to you also, if you like.
I assume that it is post #11?
What type of thing is he? -- We seem to be made to be like Him
That doesn't really answer the question of what he is suppose to be
I don't believe that the bible tells exactly what he is, except that he is the creator and obviously they assign a lot of attributes to him.
What does he look like? -- We don't know precisely, as we could not in these mortal bodies look at His face and the mortal body survive that, but we are made "in His image" -- so much like us in that way it would seem.
I didn't get the impression that God looked anything like a human when I read the bible at least, except maybe in genesis but otherwise, I would probably understand him as one of two things depending on what passage you talk about, one as presence, something that is there and unseen or he have taken some form to his liking, such as the burning bush etc.
What does he want? -- From reading fully through the common bible with listening to try to get the intended meanings, God wants us to trust in the Good, trust/value Love. Thus to trust in Him, since "God is Love" (1rst John chapter 4). And, to wish/long for righteousness, which is doing what is best, doing the good, living in mutual peace/love/brotherhood.
Yes and no, depending how and what parts of the bible one read
In the OT, God is only interested in the Jews and them doing what he tells them and them seeing him as their God. He really doesn't give a rats *** about anyone else to be honest, in general. Depending on how one define love, I guess you are right, but lets just say that a lot of people, especially the Jews as his chosen ones die a lot, because they don't do as God want them to. He even tried to kill Moses
Exodus 4:20-26
20 - So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.
21 - And the LORD said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.
22 - Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the LORD, Israel is my firstborn son,
23 - and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’”
24 - At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death.
25 - Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!”
26 - So he let him alone. It was then that she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.
So the OT God is a very different kind of love, I would say to put it nicely.
Also remember despite all the stuff that Moses have done for God, he won't allow him to enter Israel, because Moses "pissed" him off.
As you move to the NT and Jesus comes into the picture, God is mostly in the background and we follow Jesus and him talking about love etc. However Jesus at no point, say that what God said in the OT is not true. So if I should put it in regards to love, then God want his version of what love means, which doesn't really seem to take general human beings into consideration. He again, seem to care somewhat for the Jews, all the stuff about everyone else, is added in the NT and barely found or mentioned in the OT as far as I remember, unless its in relationship to the Jews, such as them having to take care of foreign traders and so forth. Meaning something that would benefit the Jews.
Does he have a plan? -- Yes, the Teacher, Jesus, came to instruct us in very many things about what God wants from us, and what is His plan for us.
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Its not really obvious what exactly God want, again in the OT, he want the Jews to follow him and he will be their God. There is no mentioning of an afterlife or people being judged and going to heaven or hell or a new Earth etc. At least not what I remember. All that is added later in the NT. But even here, it doesn't really tell us anything about why or what his plan is, because if that is what he wanted, he could just do it. According to revelation it doesn't seem to be a huge problem for him to do.
Does he favour some people over others? Or some groups over other groups? --
No.
Romans 2:11 For God does not show favoritism.
and:
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Bible Gateway passage: Galatians 3:28 - New International Version
Again, the God of the OT is completely different than the one in NT, he does not care about the gentiles or anyone else for that matter general speaking, except the Jews and only as long as they do not **** him off, as he will then spend most time killing and punishing them or complain to Moses about how ungrateful and useless they are, and Moses have to talk God out of killing to many of them. In regards to those that don't like or are the enemies of the Jews, God help or order the Jews to kill them, with no regards to whether they are children, women or whatever, that you would expect from a loving God, if he did in fact love all people. There is a lot of killing going on
