What do you think of when you hear/read "God"?

[The Sum of Awe]

Do you think God in general? Do you think of Yahweh or Jesus? Do you think in Allah? Do you think of Abrahamic God in general?



I, personally, imagine a giant man with a beard, in the sky. Because that's what I believed earlier than 7 years old.

Why do you picture what you picture? Do you think, since you think about that specific image when you hear "God", you basically can conceptual picture an image of God, that you believe in some sort of God, unconsciously believe in God?

 

[Me Myself]

Depends onthe context.

Generaly something akin to a loving light.

I may think on wisdom, enlightment, Shiva, Ganesha, Myself, Jesus, Krishna.

A lot of options. Sometimes I think in one sometimes in other.

When I saw it just now the loving light thing was the first one I thought of.

 

[Penumbra]

Contextually dependent.

It's hard to say what I think of the term in an absolute vacuum, as it never occurs in a vacuum.

If some person brings it up around me in person, they're usually referencing either Yahweh/Jesus or some deist god.

If I'm thinking in general terms as part of philosophical discussion or something, I usually picture it as dissolution, which isn't exactly a descriptive image. Like an ocean or air or something.

 

[Vrindavana Das]

advaitam acyutam anadim ananta-rupam
adyam purana-purusham nava-yauvanam ca
vedeshu durlabham adurlabham atma-bhaktau
govindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami​

SYNONYMS

advaitam -- without a second; acyutam -- without decay; anadim -- without a beginning; ananta-rupam -- whose form is endless, or who possesses unlimited forms; adyam -- the beginning; purana-purusham -- the most ancient person; nava-yauvanam -- a blooming youth; ca -- also; vedeshu -- through the Vedas; durlabham -- inaccessible; adurlabham -- not difficult to obtain; atma-bhaktau -- through pure devotion of the soul; govindam -- Govinda; adi-purusham -- the original person; tam -- Him; aham -- I; bhajami -- worship.

TRANSLATION

I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who is inaccessible to the Vedas, but obtainable by pure unalloyed devotion of the soul, who is without a second, who is not subject to decay, is without a beginning, whose form is endless, who is the beginning, and the eternal purusha; yet He is a person possessing the beauty of blooming youth.

 

[Me Myself]

Contextually dependent.

You edited to not start saying the same thing I said!

And it was originaly you who had said it without typos

 

[Penumbra]

You edited to not start saying the same thing I said!

And it was originaly you who had said it without typos

Yup.

I started my post off with, "Depends on the context." and then submitted, and saw that while typing mine out, your post appeared above mine that started with the same thing, so I was like, "well, can't have that."

 

[ChristineES]

I don't really picture anything when I hear the word "God".

 

[waitasec]

i think of an angry bitter old man

 

[Orias]

I think of magic, willingness, and adherence to the laws of nature.

 

[chinu]

Why do you picture what you picture? Do you think, since you think about that specific image when you hear "God", you basically can conceptual picture an image of God, that you believe in some sort of God, unconsciously believe in God?

Well.. God is pictureless. But:

Like, colour of melon changes by seeing the another melon.

Or, by seeing a wrestler one gets inspire to be a wrestler.

Or, by hearing a singer one gets inspire to be a singer.

Similarly... by seeing, hearing or watching the person, the who is one with God, One gets inspire to be god. By seeing such person one can learn the qualities of God.
So.. all the past saints or gurus etc.. have been played the big role for the people of that time, to help them to understand what is God.

Jesus said: "One can go to the father, only through me". He means to say that he holds all the qualities of God that time, and that time only through him one can know what is God, or what are the qualities of God. And slowley by seeing and attaining the qualities of such a person like jesus day by day the nature of such person starts truning like jesus or god, and finally one day gets one with supreame God.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

Do you think God in general? Do you think of Yahweh or Jesus? Do you think in Allah? Do you think of Abrahamic God in general?



I, personally, imagine a giant man with a beard, in the sky. Because that's what I believed earlier than 7 years old.

Why do you picture what you picture? Do you think, since you think about that specific image when you hear "God", you basically can conceptual picture an image of God, that you believe in some sort of God, unconsciously believe in God?

Old white man with a beard on a throne pointing fingers at me. reach:

:sad:

 

[Breathe]

Do you think God in general? Do you think of Yahweh or Jesus? Do you think in Allah? Do you think of Abrahamic God in general?

Not Yahweh, Jesus, Allah, nor an Abrahamic God.

When I envision God, I do not envision a man or woman. No white hair, no beards, no clouds; not a human. I suppose the closest picture I could say I get is a multi-coloured (yet in its centre, mostly white) "thing", enveloping everything whilst permeating through it and experiencing it all.

That doesn't even sound right, still, but it's as close as I can get at 7:57AM without having any breakfast and without thinking about it in too much detail.

Why do you picture what you picture? Do you think, since you think about that specific image when you hear "God", you basically can conceptual picture an image of God, that you believe in some sort of God, unconsciously believe in God?

Why do I picture what I picture? Well, that's a secret.

When I imagine what I do, it's because it's the way I find that I understand God. It's not wholly accurate, but it's the way I think makes sense.

 

[SageTree]

When I think/read of God, in my own study, something along this line of thought comes to my mind,

"What's oppressive is letting your life be confined by old definitions of what everything is"

If I believed in your idea of God, Sum, I'd be an atheist as well.... although I don't consider myself a theist either, to be clear.

Oddly enough, for me 'getting back to God' was to remember what I felt and experienced before I was 7 years old, before the time I feel like I was taught to believe in a God that sounds like your conception of God.

Label wise, I prefer not to label God as it, imo, separates or divides my life... creates an 'other', which I don't hold to be true.

I prefer to just 'Be'

When I express 'thanks' when no one is around,
it's just me touching on the moment and knowing how I feel.
That moment helps me grow and that turns into more positive actions in my life.

I strive to just have my life be my Practice.


"God" to me is nothing more than three letters that bears the brunt of too many labels and definitions.

What God is.... well..... God is.

When I hear/read God in other contexts, I try to understand what they mean and also see if I can insert my own ideas into that framework.

 

[1137]

Depends on the individual who is saying it

 

[Erebus]

Do you think God in general? Do you think of Yahweh or Jesus? Do you think in Allah? Do you think of Abrahamic God in general?

Something like this:

There's a creator for you
Of course that's without any lead up to the topic of God that might influence my perception of it.

 

[Quintessence]

Interesting thread! For me it actually depends on whether or not the word is in proper case.

If it is "God" than I usually assume it is in reference to some sort of one-god concept, probably classical monotheism derived from Christianity. You know, that transcendent, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent abstract force? I have no image in my mind of that kind of god, because being transcendent, it would not have a discernible form. It would be like pure essence of Being and Existing, far too large and great for my puny human brain to comprehend.

If it is "god" in lower case, I usually assume it's a reference to some specific deity in a more polytheistic context. That could be anything from spirits of the land to organized pantheons from classical Pagan religions. The forms are countless and diverse, but I tend to picture nature images like the sun or a storm because... well... those are the kinds of gods I work with.

 

[9Westy9]

I think of the 'god' I used to worship. When it's "god" though I just think of some powerful being like Zeus or something

 

[A Troubled Man]

I envision Zeus trying to shove a bolt of lightning up Thors ....

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Do you think God in general? Do you think of Yahweh or Jesus? Do you think in Allah? Do you think of Abrahamic God in general?

I think Abrahamic in method, but as far as appearances go, something between a galaxy, Yog-Sothoth, and Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist.

Why do you picture what you picture? Do you think, since you think about that specific image when you hear "God", you basically can conceptual picture an image of God, that you believe in some sort of God, unconsciously believe in God?

I believe I have a definition of God, just as I have a definition of bumblebee, unicorn, and Pangaea.

 

[Penumbra]

and Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist.

He was a creeper.