Man in God's own image...exactly.

[phantom]

When we here stories from the Bible, why is it that the contemporary Christian and Ancient God has so many character traits of a wise human? I view an all knowing conciousness to be content and passive, yet all I see is a wise ancient being interfering in every path.

The Greek gods resembled the greek people and played out there existence like a dramatic soap opera, and yet, I wonder what is so different from the Christian and Catholic representations of a God. A God who is 'slow to anger' and 'omnipotent yet caring enough to allow us to fail' seems just as human as the ancient Greek gods.

I'm open to ideas of Christians who have their own view of their God, and welcome them in this chat area. Please express your thoughts and convince me that your God is not as human as he seems.

regards

 

[Master Vigil]

The Tao has no human characteristics. Is not loving, all knowing, all powerful, just, man, woman, good, evil... The Tao is all things, contains all things, gives rise to all things. In its essence it is the perfect balance between all opposites. Perfect in its simplicity. It is not a being, but an essence. A force which binds all things. It is Tao.

 

[Runt]

I'll tell you a myth:

Long ago there was Mankind. Mankind recognized that he was superior to all other things on this planet: he could control fire to cook his food, he could defy wind and weather with shelter and clothing, and he could force other creatures to do his will and destory them if they did not. Gradually, he began reshaping earth in an image pleasing to him, in a way that would serve himself.

He wondered, "Why am I different than all other things on this planet? For what purpose does my intelligence exist?"

He came to the conclusion that he was different because he had a destiny: his destiny was to tame the earth, to bring it out of Chaos and introduce Order. For this reason he had intelligence, for it was a tool to help him achieve this destiny.

Then he thought, "Where did this destiny come from? I have control over everything on this planet, and yet this destiny is in control of me..."

It could not have come from the other creatures on the planet; he was superior to them. Therefore, it had to come from something beyond him, something superior to him.

He did not see this thing that was superior to him, but he decided that the reason he could not sense this superior thing was because, being superior, it was beyond his ability to see or understand. But he knew without a doubt that it existed; where else had his destiny come from, if not from something superior to him?

Unable to see this thing that wa superior thing, he tried to use his admittedly insuffiecient intellect to understand it. "It is superior to everything, including me," he thought. "And I am superior to everything on this planet. Therefore, it must be like me, only better."

So he thought, "What is good about me? Those things which make me superior must surely be traits that this entity possesses, only in greater abundance. And that which makes me weak, and makes other creatures on this planet weak, must be traits that this entity lacks."

"Therefore," he reasoned, "This entity must be intelligent, for intelligence is what makes me superior to all that is around me. But because my intelligence is limited, and this entity is superior to me, its intelligence must be unlimited. And this entity must be immortal, for mortality is a trait that makes me weak and which this entity does not possess. And this entity must be able to control everything on this planet and beyond, for I am able to control this planet and this entity is superior to me and thus can control so much more."

And thus were the Gods of man born.

 

[Lightkeeper]

It would appear that God is made in man's image. There is one stream of thought that God want's to become human.

 

[InHisService]

Reading the Bible will reveal to you that unlike other religons, Christianity presents God as reaching out to man rather than man reaching towards God.
Man naturally rejects God and wants to do his own thing. what other god ever became a man in order to die for those He loves? Jesus claimed to be God.

 

[Ronald]

Learn from the source tongue, Hebrew, learn to think in Hebrew. The Greek Bible, you think in Greek. Greek thinking is what brought Christianity to "Replacement Theology".

 

[phantom]

what other god ever became a man in order to die for those He loves? Jesus claimed to be God.

That is the point. He loves. He has righteous anger. He takes human form. All things about Him we cannot understand, yet he takes HUMAN form and we can?

to me, it has tell-tale signs of man creating that which he can relate to, human suffering. I'm sure when every baby is killed in an abortion procedure, christ would endure 10x the pain of the cross right?

dying on a cross is not sacrafice when you ARE A GOD.

at least, not in my eyes.

 

[InHisService]

Yes but he was God in human form. God becoming as a man to show His love. How could a holy perfect God reveal Himself to man? He chose one people the Israelites,
and allowed His Son, to be born of a woman to, and He chose to die for us.
through out the Old Testament, the animal sacrifices were only representative of what Jesus would ultumately do.

 

[dan]

God is not trying to be human, He's trying to help us become like Him: a perfect human. He is the superlative man. That's why He is referred to as the "Man" in many O.T. texts. Christ calls Himself the "Son of Man," referring to the Almighty, Omniscient Man.

 

[Ardhanariswar]

pah, why is homosexuality doing in Man made in God's image thread?

ah, im so confused. maybe i dont see your point. bah.

 

[Pah]

Oh dear, I wrongly read Ronalds post - my apologies to the readership and thanks to Gerani.

Post deleted (we can do that now, you know)

 

[tumble_weed]

eh...okkay...rightio

God is not trying to be human, He's trying to help us become like Him: a perfect human. He is the superlative man. That's why He is referred to as the "Man" in many O.T. texts. Christ calls Himself the "Son of Man," referring to the Almighty, Omniscient Man.

wait God is all powerful...yes...so why not just make us all perfect...why not just make everything and everyone gods that surely would solve all problems...why did God create humans when he could have just initially created "superlative" humans...

God becoming as a man to show His love

I don't understand this how did this show his love also does that mean he only has shown his love while Jesus was alive? Does he not show his love any more? did he not show his love before Jesus was around?

Runt: Also one more trait that humans have is that they are highly creative.

 

[Ardhanariswar]

a form of God may be the perfect human, what we all strive to be. but there are other forms of God to visualize and worship.

 

[Ardhanariswar]

i you say that God is what people strive to be, i believe a form of God is a volumptous black woman living in a penthouse in manhattan, dining on caviar and wine. oh, and she drives a mercedes. yep, thats God.

 

[Holmes]

The God of the Bible has no body, no limitations (ie. limited knowledge, power, life-span, etc.). And His nature is characterized by "perfection". Are all those things 'non-human' enough for you? Being in His image doesn't make us little deities; it just means that we have a spirit and soul - the capacity to have a relationship with God; the capacity to interface with the spiritual realm - that we are first "spiritual" and then physical. By the way I'm new to this forum - is there a way to actually "chat" with people - immediate feedback?
Holmes

 

[Green Gaia]

Welcome, Holmes! Please make an introduction in the Member Intros so everyone can welcome you. Yes we have Chat, but haven't really used it much.

 

[dan]

eh...okkay...rightio

wait God is all powerful...yes...so why not just make us all perfect...why not just make everything and everyone gods that surely would solve all problems...why did God create humans when he could have just initially created "superlative" humans...

I don't understand this how did this show his love also does that mean he only has shown his love while Jesus was alive? Does he not show his love any more? did he not show his love before Jesus was around?

Runt: Also one more trait that humans have is that they are highly creative.

The journey is what makes life rich and enjoyable. I like roadtrips, not because I get somewhere, but because I love to drive long distances and enjoy time spent with my friends and family. Joy is something that comes from a composite of many experiences, both good and bad. The more pain experienced, the more potential joy. Life is about progress and growth, not about instant results. Our society has perpetuated the idea that faster is better, and it has robbed many of life. Despite all the advances we have made, did you know an average person has less free time now than an average person in the mid-nineteenth centruy? You should read "Fight Club." It's kinda messed up, but the idea is interesting, even if disturbing.

 

[Runt]

Runt: Also one more trait that humans have is that they are highly creative.

Yes... but why are you telling me this? *is confused* God is a creator because the humans who made God in their image are creative? That would be my conclusion...

 

[Ardhanariswar]

God made humans from his image? that from the bible is highly metaphorical. but i doubt it has meaning in it. God lives in everything. therefore its not a matter of image, but images, not physical signs (facial features) but embodiment of love and goodness that God and His creation (nature, humans, animals) all share. God has no specific image. if he does, everyone's and everything's image make Him up.

 

[Sunstone]

Phantom writes,

“…why is it that [people’s gods have] so many character traits of a wise human?”

Have you considered, too, that people have gods with traits that in a human would be pathological? For instance, humans might envision a rather needy, co-dependent god who demands to be worshipped as a compensation for His own insecurities. Such a god could be so emotionally disturbed that He casts into Hell any one of his creatures who fails to worship him. Krishnamurti said, “A petty mind can only envision a petty god”.

People create their gods in their own image.