The Form of God

[Jumi]

Inspired by a couple of threads that mention anthropomorphism, I'm curious how members here view their God. It would appear in this painting by Michelangelo, likely the most popular and recognizable depiction of God, that many anthropomorphize God.

It's a nice picture if taken symbolically.

What form does God take in your belief structure?

No form at least not one that humans can understand.

If you anthropomorphize your God(s), what is the purpose ofdoing so?

Only in a symbolic way. Sadly there is a section of people who have trouble understanding symbolic and literal, so it's better to avoid talking symbolic things with a large group of random people.

 

[outlawState]

Some days the "form of God" feels like this.

 

[Sunstone]

I think the West takes anthropomorphism too seriously and therefore becomes trapped by it. The literalists become trapped thinking that god must be literally what their scriptures tell them god is. The nonliteralists become trapped thinking the literal representations of god have no meaning to them. Neither group comes within decent distance of the opening lines of the Tao Teh Ching, which although about the Tao, and not about god, are far more profound than what at least half of us Westerners come up with.

 

[syo]

the form of the trinity is divine fire. the son took the form of jesus, the human form, 2000 years ago. the holy spirit came as a dove at jesus' baptism.

 

[Phantasman]

Inspired by a couple of threads that mention anthropomorphism, I'm curious how members here view their God. It would appear in this painting by Michelangelo, likely the most popular and recognizable depiction of God, that many anthropomorphize God.

What form does God take in your belief structure?

If you anthropomorphize your God(s), what is the purpose of doing so?

The painting brings God down to mans level.

God is far above our understanding and any image is a lie.

John 5:37

Jesus told John how to imagine the Father in Secret John. That's still above understanding though.

And I asked to know it, and he said to me, "The Monad is a monarchy with nothing above it. It is he who exists as God and Father of everything, the invisible One who is above everything, who exists as incorruption, which is in the pure light into which no eye can look.

"He is the invisible Spirit, of whom it is not right to think of him as a god, or something similar. For he is more than a god, since there is nothing above him, for no one lords it over him. For he does not exist in something inferior to him, since everything exists in him. For it is he who establishes himself. He is eternal, since he does not need anything. For he is total perfection. He did not lack anything, that he might be completed by it; rather he is always completely perfect in light. He is illimitable, since there is no one prior to him to set limits to him. He is unsearchable, since there exists no one prior to him to examine him. He is immeasurable, since there was no one prior to him to measure him. He is invisible, since no one saw him. He is eternal, since he exists eternally. He is ineffable, since no one was able to comprehend him to speak about him. He is unnameable, since there is no one prior to him to give him a name.

"He is immeasurable light, which is pure, holy (and) immaculate. He is ineffable, being perfect in incorruptibility. (He is) not in perfection, nor in blessedness, nor in divinity, but he is far superior. He is not corporeal nor is he incorporeal. He is neither large nor is he small. There is no way to say, 'What is his quantity?' or, 'What is his quality?', for no one can know him. He is not someone among (other) beings, rather he is far superior. Not that he is (simply) superior, but his essence does not partake in the aeons nor in time. For he who partakes in an aeon was prepared beforehand. Time was not apportioned to him, since he does not receive anything from another, for it would be received on loan. For he who precedes someone does not lack, that he may receive from him. For rather, it is the latter that looks expectantly at him in his light.

"For the perfection is majestic. He is pure, immeasurable mind. He is an aeon-giving aeon. He is life-giving life. He is a blessedness-giving blessed one. He is knowledge-giving knowledge. He is goodness-giving goodness. He is mercy and redemption-giving mercy. He is grace-giving grace, not because he possesses it, but because he gives the immeasurable, incomprehensible light.- Secret John

Sums it up for me. We can only know the mother and son. Holy Spirit and Christ.

 

[Fool]

Inspired by a couple of threads that mention anthropomorphism, I'm curious how members here view their God. It would appear in this painting by Michelangelo, likely the most popular and recognizable depiction of God, that many anthropomorphize God.

What form does God take in your belief structure?

If you anthropomorphize your God(s), what is the purpose of doing so?

evidently michael angelo saw god as a brain

 

[Yochanan]

What form does God take in your belief structure?
If you anthropomorphize your God(s), what is the purpose of doing so?

We are created in His image and in His likeness. To then conceive of Him as looking as we do, then, is not really anthropomorphism. Being Jewish, I am aware of morning prayer/poem that says He has no semblance of a body. And He is Spirit. But He does have a body. Moshe and the elders saw Him. Prophets saw Him. Adam and Hava saw Him. Thousands saw Him. 500 saw Him bodily alive again after His crucifixion.
Better question: Are you in His image and likeness? One refers to physical form. The answer there is 'yes.' The other refers to spirit/mind soul. Atheism and any unbelief/disobedience drags the latter in humans down to that of mere animals, both in theory and in practice. But with His help, and our faith-filled obedience we can be restored upward again to be fully in both His image and likeness. But presently, we do not fully know, but when the Righteous do finally fully see Him, we will see Him as He is and we will be like Him.

 

[Sunstone]

Atheism and any unbelief/disobedience drags the latter in humans down to that of mere animals, both in theory and in practice.

So true! Just last night I caught an atheist siphoning off the gas in my car. When I approached him about it, he would only bark at me like an animal. That's when I realized he was an atheist. You can tell them by the animal-like sounds they make*




*It's very important not to allow your atheist friends to order for you in a restaurant. They'll just bark at the waiter, and you'll end up being served dog food. Every time! Trust me, I have experience of these things.

 

[Devaki]

I think God can take any form that suits the worshipper, but is fundamentally formless/beyond form.
As for what purpose anthropomorphizing God serves ... for me it helps maintain focus on the divine and in particular if one wants to focus on specific aspects of it, I guess.
Like I believe that basically everything is God, but it takes various shapes in the real world too, so if you wanted to focus on one manifestation of divine energy, you would then imagine God in a particular way.
I don't think I'm making much sense lol.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

So true! Just last night I caught an atheist siphoning off the gas in my car. When I approached him about it, he would only bark at me like an animal. That's when I realized he was an atheist. You can tell them by the animal-like sounds they make*

*It's very important not to allow your atheist friends to order for you in a restaurant. They'll just bark at the waiter, and you'll end up being served dog food. Every time! Trust me, I have experience of these things.

For some reason this reminded me of harry and the the hendersons

Dont ask.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

We are created in His image and in His likeness. To then conceive of Him as looking as we do, then, is not really anthropomorphism. Being Jewish, I am aware of morning prayer/poem that says He has no semblance of a body. And He is Spirit. But He does have a body. Moshe and the elders saw Him. Prophets saw Him. Adam and Hava saw Him. Thousands saw Him. 500 saw Him bodily alive again after His crucifixion.
Better question: Are you in His image and likeness? One refers to physical form. The answer there is 'yes.' The other refers to spirit/mind soul. Atheism and any unbelief/disobedience drags the latter in humans down to that of mere animals, both in theory and in practice. But with His help, and our faith-filled obedience we can be restored upward again to be fully in both His image and likeness. But presently, we do not fully know, but when the Righteous do finally fully see Him, we will see Him as He is and we will be like Him.

Does this bring you closer to god?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Why does god need any form to be god?

 

[GoodbyeDave]

I do not anthropomorphise the gods: they do that themselves. As it says in the Chaldean Oracles (Fr. 142) "bodies have been attached to our self-revealed apparitions for your sakes"; i.e. the gods manifest in forms that we can relate to. But this is not entirely unnatural, since the gods are our kin, as it were; we are all part of the same universe and born of the same mother, as Pindar said.

 

[Rival]

We are created in His image and in His likeness. To then conceive of Him as looking as we do, then, is not really anthropomorphism. Being Jewish, I am aware of morning prayer/poem that says He has no semblance of a body. And He is Spirit. But He does have a body. Moshe and the elders saw Him. Prophets saw Him. Adam and Hava saw Him. Thousands saw Him. 500 saw Him bodily alive again after His crucifixion.
Better question: Are you in His image and likeness? One refers to physical form. The answer there is 'yes.' The other refers to spirit/mind soul. Atheism and any unbelief/disobedience drags the latter in humans down to that of mere animals, both in theory and in practice. But with His help, and our faith-filled obedience we can be restored upward again to be fully in both His image and likeness. But presently, we do not fully know, but when the Righteous do finally fully see Him, we will see Him as He is and we will be like Him.

Maybe you are born Jewish and now you are a Christian, I don't know, but whatever the case you are not theologically Jewish and it is shameful for you to parade yourself around as though you are.

 

[Yochanan]

So true! Just last night I caught an atheist siphoning off the gas in my car. When I approached him about it, he would only bark at me like an animal. That's when I realized he was an atheist. You can tell them by the animal-like sounds they make*




*It's very important not to allow your atheist friends to order for you in a restaurant. They'll just bark at the waiter, and you'll end up being served dog food. Every time! Trust me, I have experience of these things.

What I said is true. Down much lower than what we were created to be. Down to base carnality...like an animal. Btw, the "any unbelief/disobedience" phrase was aimed at supposed believers when their doctrines affect the same results as those of atheism... which, unfortunately, is often.

 

[Sunstone]

What I said is true. Down much lower than what we were created to be. Down to base carnality...like an animal.

Sure. Whatever you say.

 

[Yochanan]

Y

The fact that you are clearly a Christian and yet call yourself a 'True Jew' is so disgusting, so deceptive and so sad that I can't understand why you'd do it. Just call yourself a Christian. Maybe you are born Jewish and now you are a Christian, I don't know, but whatever the case you are not theologically Jewish and it is shameful for you to parade yourself around as though you are. All you gain by doing this is making your religion look bad, make Jewish people even more suspicious and confuse other people with no interest in either. It also makes everything else you say and do look fake.

This is pure deception and it's wrong.

You don't define me. Nor do you decide what other Jews may believe. I am Jew. If people could follow barKoseva - who was clearly a false Messiah - and Akiva (G-d Himself struck 24000 of his followers) - and still be called Jews, or can be Buddhists or athiests and still be called Jews, then I can chose Whom to call Messiah too and still be respected as a Jew.
I and my declaration are anything but disgusting. Btw, i do not like or practice Christianity. I am orthodox, Torah-observant.

 

[Rival]

@Sunstone

I believe what he's trying to say, in a convoluted sort of weird way, is the doctrine in Judaism that there is both a spirit and soul. Every being has a spirit, be it an animal or a human, but only a human has a soul (put simply, G-d's breath) and it is this Divine Breath, or Spark, that makes us human, in a manner of speaking. When one ceases to follow the path given, i.e, Torah, he is said to be 'dead', that is, not bodily in a coffin, but that since he is not feeding his soul i.e. with worship, mitzvos and so-on, he is 'dead'. Not that he ceases to be human or such.

 

[Rival]

You don't define me. Nor do you decide what other Jews may believe. I am Jew. If people could follow barKoseva - who was clearly a false Messiah - and Akiva (G-d Himself struck 24000 of his followers) - and still be called Jews, or can be Buddhists or athiests and still be called Jews, then I can chose Whom to call Messiah too and still be respected as a Jew.
I and my declaration are anything but disgusting. Btw, i do not like or practice Christianity. I am orthodox, Torah-observant.

You are a Christian, are you not?

 

[Sunstone]

@Sunstone

I believe what he's trying to say, in a convoluted sort of weird way, is the doctrine in Judaism that there is both a spirit and soul. Every being has a spirit, be it an animal or a human, but only a human has a soul (put simply, G-d's breath) and it is this Divine Breath, or Spark, that makes us human, in a manner of speaking. When one ceases to follow the path given, i.e, Torah, he is said to be 'dead', that is, not bodily in a coffin, but that since he is not feeding his soul i.e. with worship, mitzvos and so-on, he is 'dead'. Not that he ceases to be human or such.

Thanks for the clarification. Makes more sense than the way he put it.