What is God?

[evansvillethompsongunner]

in before the rapture??????

In before the rants....

and....

incoming!

 

[jblomenberg16]

I was thinking "In before the rock" as in an the often joked about Asian trying to say "lock."

 

[Denny347]

This says far more about your perception of the average forum member's maturity than it does about my intentions.

For the record, I posted this thread because I think the movie's premise is thought-provoking, and hoped that at least a person or two on this board might have something insightful to contribute to the discussion. I'm withholding my answer for the moment because as with every other topic, I find myself incapable of giving a simple answer (or, for that matter, a moderately complicated one). Plus I don't want to bore anyone to death if they're truly not interested in the discussion.

Well, I think about it this way. There are MANY Gods that people all over the world worship. Of those who believe, most people will fall into just 1 religious category and likely do not believe in the "other" Gods worshiped. They are "atheists" in regards to those "other" Gods because they do not believe in them. I just take it one God further .

 

[JetGirl]

incoming!

 

[Fletch]

Well, I think about it this way. There are MANY Gods that people all over the world worship. Of those who believe, most people will fall into just 1 religious category and likely do not believe in the "other" Gods worshiped. They are "atheists" in regards to those "other" Gods because they do not believe in them. I just take it one God further .

Seems like a good segue for me to link my thoughts on the topic (warning: LOOOOOOOONG):

Surly Curmudgeon: What is God?

 

[MoparMan]

God is Everywhere and Creater of Everything.
My

 

[WheelGloryDame]

The Challenge

Perhaps the question should not be what is God, because 1 John 4:8 tells us what God is. God is love. Perhaps the question should be Who is God. What are his rules? What is his character like? Whom does he favor? Is he active in our lives today. Is He all power, and if He is, why is there suffering? Who is God's enemy? Will we meet God?

To answer such questions you must go back to the beginning, which is of course a very good place to start after all. I issue a challenge to anyone who does not believe in the God of the Bible. Spend the next year and read the Bible from beginning to end. Read it as you would a story book with chapters, instead of a text book, with parts. You will find torrid romance intrigues, stories of immense courage in battle and in life. There will be long stories, and short ones, you will learn the entire genealogical background of the Israelites. And you will learn of God. The creator who loves you and has made a way to be with you for all eternity. When you have questions you can send me a message and I will try to answer it to the best of my knowledge, and if I don't know I will use all of my resources to find the answer. A vast wealth go knowledge can be gleaned about the Bible from Moody radio. (you can listen to it online if you can't get it in your area.) Another source I recommend is the teachings of Peter Heck. You can find his speeches online as well.
Just spend 10 minutes a day reading. P.S. I'm committing to read everyday as well. Also I suggest choosing the King James Version, but get yourself a good bible dictionary. It will help. I have one anyway and it helps me.

 

[hornadylnl]

Peter Heck has a great book on God and our founding fathers.

 

[packing_preacher]

I believe in the inspiration of the Bible (both the Old and the New Testaments); the creation of man by the direct act of God; the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; His identification as the Son of God; His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; the resurrection of His body from the tomb; His power to save men from sin; the new birth through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit; and the gift of eternal life by the grace of God.

 

[Fletch]

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth....And in one Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotton Son,...Very God of Very God...and in the Holy Ghost, who with the Father and the Son are woshiped and glorified.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in the inspiration of the Bible (both the Old and the New Testaments); the creation of man by the direct act of God; the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; His identification as the Son of God; His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; the resurrection of His body from the tomb; His power to save men from sin; the new birth through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit; and the gift of eternal life by the grace of God.

I'm not wanting to pick on anyone, but these really seem like doctrinal statements more than answers to "What is God?" These statements presuppose the existence and nature of God, and simply reference His actions. "God" is assumed to be understood by the reader.

So if we were talking, you said this to me, and then I blinked in confusion and said "Who or what is this 'God' you're talking about?"... what would you say next?

 

[flightsimmer]

What is God? That is a BIG question. I have heard it expressed as a group of blind men touching and trying to discribe an elephant. Each one feels it differently. This may or may not be a good discription but it may give you a rough idea of how difficult it is to discribe God.
God is a spirit amoung many other things . (The spirit of God moved upon the waters of the deep). One of God's prophets was told to go and tell God's people a message from Him and the prophet asked "who shall I say has sent me and God replied "tell them the great (I AM) has sent you".
Sounds simple or even simplistic but that is how God discribed Himself. He is. God is omnipresent (everywhere around us at all times). He is infinate, while we are finite. Hard to understand isn't it? Jesus (God in the flesh) said "without me, you can do nothing". God gave us a spirit when we were born, without this spirit we could not live in this body, it is this life force that allows us to exist. Our soul is what we are or what we become.
When our body dies our spirit returns to God from which it came and our soul goes either to paradise or hell depending on whether we have accepted Christ, Jesus attoning sacrifice for our sins to await the judgement day.
No man made church on this earth is the true church of Jesus the Christ. It is not a church building or a denomination or a religion or any such thing. There is no priest or pastor or deacon or pope or rabi or any such person who is in charge of Christ church, only Christ himself. He said "I am the door and no one comes in or goes out accept by me" and he alone is the only one who can forgive our sins. If we repent of our sinful ways and ask for forgivenes from Christ, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and add our name to the Lamb's book of life.
There is so much more that I could share but it is tiring to type this with just one finger. My left hand is in a cast and forgive my spelling as I do not have access to a spell checker or a dictionary here in this rehabilitation center and I'm using a barrowed computer but praise God I'm still alive and able to witness for Christ, Jesus.
I pray for everyone who do not yet know Christ as Lord and Savior, that his Holy Spirit will come upon them and convince them of their need for salavtion.
Have a great week and remember, God is.

 

[Shadowbeach]

.

 

[243rem700]

God-the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-is the reason to live, to be. If it weren't for God what would we be doing on this earth? Wandering around aimlessly waiting for death.

God gives us purpose. We should share the news with others about 'what God is' that they too may enjoy eternal life in the most perfect place imaginable and then some. He gives us hope while we make our way through this relatively miserable existance, a hope that we may one day be with Him. He is the infinitely powerful 'thing' that has given us this life, and will one day take it away. And He is the only reason that we should not fear death, but rather welcome it.

 

[jsharmon7]

I issue a challenge to anyone who does not believe in the God of the Bible. Spend the next year and read the Bible from beginning to end.

How about the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Talmud, etc. too? We aren't talking about a Christian God necessarily here. If you are to read and believe in one, you should have read all of the others you can find as well. The problem is that we are raised by our parents (usually) to believe in one religion or the other. You are as likely to grow up a Christian or a Buddhist as you are to grow up rich or poor, Republican or Democrat, white or wheat.

People have believed in a higher power since the beginning of mankind and Christian belief would be that they are all "wrong." I find it sort of pretentious I guess to think that after almost 200,000 years of human existence, we've figured it out in the last 2,000 and everyone else has been/are wrong. I guess my beliefs are that I'm open-minded and that maybe we haven't figured it out yet.

 

[jblomenberg16]

How about the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Talmud, etc. too? We aren't talking about a Christian God necessarily here. If you are to read and believe in one, you should have read all of the others you can find as well. The problem is that we are raised by our parents (usually) to believe in one religion or the other. You are as likely to grow up a Christian or a Buddhist as you are to grow up rich or poor, Republican or Democrat, white or wheat.

People have believed in a higher power since the beginning of mankind and Christian belief would be that they are all "wrong." I find it sort of pretentious I guess to think that after almost 200,000 years of human existence, we've figured it out in the last 2,000 and everyone else has been/are wrong. I guess my beliefs are that I'm open-minded and that maybe we haven't figured it out yet.

Fair point. To counter / even support it, I would say:

• We've believed in a higher power since the beginning as that is where we came from when God created Adam and Eve.
• Over the years the power of the Devil has lead many astray, and to create other "false" gods, which sometimes may be very closely based on the real God, but with slight human added elements. (Hence the formation of Buddism, Islam, Paganism, Aetheism, etc.)
• God became flesh ~ 2000 years ago in Jesus Christ, died for our sins, and Christianity was formed, with the charge of bringing unbelievers back to the True God.

 

[LPMan59]

i personally always found it interesting that the Commandment is "I am the Lord, your God. You shall have no other gods before Me."

it doesnt say "I am the only God." interesting phrasing with 2 very different meanings. if i am misquoting, please forgive me. Hebrew Scripture is not my area of expertise.

 

[BE Mike]

There is nothing wrong with God, but there is really something wrong with men and women who want to kill innocent people in the name of God. They are all Muslims, the last time I heard.

 

[Cbarnett]

There is nothing wrong with God, but there is really something wrong with men and women who want to kill innocent people in the name of God. They are all Muslims, the last time I heard.

I think it's better to call them radicals or extremist - they exist in all faiths.

 

[LPMan59]

There is nothing wrong with God, but there is really something wrong with men and women who want to kill innocent people in the name of God. They are all Muslims, the last time I heard.

+1 on sentence #1.

on sentence #2:
not so much.