• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Why is God Up?

Caladan

Caladan

Agnostic Pantheist
Sunstone said:
Why do so many of us think of God as being located above us? Is there any particular reason for that? Or is it just historical accident?
Click to expand...
Depends on the god. There were several gods and goddesses that resided in the underworld, and some that just made the trip.
 
fantome profane

fantome profane

Anti-Woke = Anti-Justice
Premium Member
The Gospel of Thomas

3
3) Jesus said, "If those who lead you say, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."
Click to expand...

For what its worth. :shrug:
 
ChristineES

ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
Sunstone said:
Why do so many of us think of God as being located above us? Is there any particular reason for that? Or is it just historical accident?
Click to expand...

It depends on what you mean by up. In my pov, up is relative to where I am standing. But in in regard to to solar system, I am standing sideways. The scriptures tell us that the "kingdom of God is among us", which could mean it is right here and we just can't see or feel it. In another dimension, so to speak.
 
outhouse

outhouse

Atheistically
outhouse said:
If you placed your gods in realm humans could not get to while alive, those humans who opposed your religion could never prove your god false .


But in reality this would be because religions prior to the Abrahamic deity had their deities in these kind of places. Israelites compiled a family of deities into one and these resided in the heavens, even Egyptians had this kind of concept of heavens.

Israelites viewed their first deity El as the "God Most High" El Elyon, he was the father of all the deities and his wife was Asherah, Ball and Yahweh were their sons early on before some sects gave all Els attributes to Yahweh during times of war. Which finally led to monotheism under Yahweh.

Early attributes to Yahweh as a storm deity had him placed in the sky as well.

And on a side note, the name has slipped me, bit they didnt view the air as nothing, they viewed it as a substance.
Click to expand...


The word was Stoicheia, neat word if you want to look it up, applies to a lot of the NT to be able to place things in context.

And in early cosmology most believed in heaven but remember, they viewed it as layered heavens plural.
 
Madhuri

Madhuri

RF Goddess
Staff member
Premium Member
According to Hinduism, God is not 'up', but 'within'. We are constantly being told to find God within our own self (hence meditation).

Looking up can only be symbolic, as 'up' is a different direction for everyone depending on their location in the world.
 
9-10ths_Penguin

9-10ths_Penguin

1/10 Subway Stalinist
Premium Member
Two thoughts come to mind:

- there used to be a common idea of the "dome of the sky"... like the Earth was a terrarium, which would imply that God is outside the dome looking in.

- when we're children, our parents are taller... above us. Maybe thinking of God as above us fits into the idea of relating to God as a "father" or "mother".
 
WyattDerp

WyattDerp

Active Member
sandy whitelinger said:
According to Genesis God created the heaven and the earth. Supposing that God lives in heaven then heaven is obviously above earth.
Click to expand...

Unless Earth was a sphere.. then heaven would obviously be all around it. This could get kinda complicated if there was more than one planet though.
 
sandy whitelinger

sandy whitelinger

Veteran Member
WyattDerp said:
Unless Earth was a sphere.. then heaven would obviously be all around it. This could get kinda complicated if there was more than one planet though.
Click to expand...
Um, Earth is a sphere. Since we live on the surface of said sphere then anywhere on the earth heaven is up, down is earth. Also God then created the firmament of heaven which is space which put's heaven...wait for it...still up. :yes:
 
WyattDerp

WyattDerp

Active Member
sandy whitelinger said:
Um, Earth is a sphere. Since we live on the surface of said sphere then anywhere on the earth heaven is up, down is earth. Also God then created the firmament of heaven which is space which put's heaven...wait for it...still up. :yes:
Click to expand...

Yeah only if you stand on the moon, Earth is part of the heavens. If you stand on Earth, vice versa... :confused:
 
sandy whitelinger

sandy whitelinger

Veteran Member
WyattDerp said:
Yeah only if you stand on the moon, Earth is part of the heavens. If you stand on Earth, vice versa... :confused:
Click to expand...
according to genesis there are three heavens. Where God lives, space and the sky known as heaven, the firmament of heaven, and the open firmament of heaven. The moon therefore resides in the firmament of heaven not heaven.
 
4consideration

4consideration

*
Premium Member
Sunstone said:
Why do so many of us think of God as being located above us? Is there any particular reason for that? Or is it just historical accident?
Click to expand...

I think that somewhere along the lines people developed the idea that God was somewhere else, and up is the most reasonable place to look.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top