What do you know about God's attributes? - Page 2

[genifer]

Umsami, thats interesting bc (I apologise if I step on any jewish toes here but..) in our old testament, when Moses is called to liberate the Hebrews, He asks God 'Who do I say you are? Who am I to say is sending me?' And God replies (to the effect of... Im paraphrasing here, dont have time to really look up actual verses) God says 'I AM who I AM'. Some translations say 'I am the Great I AM' or 'I will be who I will be'. Ive heard it put another way 'I will be who I prove Myself to be'. That is my understanding of the translation of the Word/Name Yahweh, or Jehovah (english translation). This is my understanding after hearing bits and pieces thrown out there in various christian teaching as well as my own studying and walking in faith and gaining understanding as I do so. I believe God just IS. We cant make Him up. We cant contain Him or put Him in a box, he doesnt fit into any kind of imagination we may have of Him. He just IS what He IS and He reveals Himself to us, by His grace. I address Him in the masculine bc this is how He's revealed Himself in our Bible. He's our Father, Heavenly Father. And an amazing Daddy He is too. This is how he's revealed Himself to me. He's terrifying, but in that I know I can trust Him! I know that He is for me and not against me. We cant make up ways to come to Him. He's prescribed a way to Him. Yeah, He's accessable, approachable, but we gotta recognise Who He is, not in our way, but according to Who He is and how HE's chosen to reveal Himself to mankind.... This is my understanding of God, His attributes, and such.

I apologise for causing any offense, in case I have. These things are just things Ive come to be very certain of and when I talk about them I have NO intention of causing any kind of offense... its been my experience tho that this sort of talk does inevitably cause some one sort of offense or another. And before I post, I want to say that I apologise, bc I just have no intention of the sort.

[greenmamato2]

Genifer - that is very much the Christian view, and I can really appreciate it, having had that same view for many years. I respect it, and I respect those who have that view. Like you, I don't mean any offense at all, and I apologize if I do offend anyone.

I think for me, its a matter of not seeing the real life experiences all around me match up to the character of God that has me baffled. Sure there are instances where that ideal would fit, and I can see the reason for believing it to be truth. In my life, however, the biblical attributes of God are very different in practice than in theory... at least from my own experiences.

I tend to be one to believe that God / Higher Powers / the Spiritual Creator / ruler /etc... is something so vast that we are limited in our human understanding of it. Even one book couldn't possibly contain every bit of information there is to know about him/her/it. There are many many MANY things we don't understand.

In the Christian view this is often explained by faith. Faith in God's goodness, grace, plan, etc. Faith is a wonderful thing. It is the "bridge" between knowledge and trust. Even if we aren't sure of something, as Christians we would trust that God's character would remain constant throughout, and therefore, we should not attribute blame, anger, or discontent to the situation or to God.

But, logically speaking (removing emotion / spiritual experience from the equation), that lack of understanding which requires faith at times, can also be a great example of how little we truly know of God. Even the bible explains that we will never fully understand God as humans, but will one day see clearly.

He/she would be the creator of the universe, existing before time and space. With the Christian example of Creation, imagine how many millions of years that is before earth was even created that we know nothing of God's life/experiences/existence. What happened then? What made God who he/she is? How was God created? Did God have parents? The bible doesn't say anything about this type of thing before the creation of the earth, which began OUR history.

I've gone off on a tangent, but all that is to say that these are a few of the thoughts that brought me to the point of wondering how much I really truly know.

I'm not saying that the Bible is wrong, or that ANYONE is wrong in their pathway to God. I was a devoted Christian for over 25 years and even taught sunday school and led the youth group. I really do understand and respect that faith.

I think what I have come to believe personally at this point in my life is that God is MUCH bigger than we can understand in our short lifetimes, or within even the confines of text. I think we each find our own way to the spiritual world, and that God reveals himself in ways that are accessable to each of us. I do believe that the bible is one path and one way that God has revealed himself to people. I also believe that God is more than, bigger than, and harder to understand than we can even realize as individuals.

To me, I am finding that God is revealing him/herself through the small "miracles" around me. I hesitate to use that term, but it seems to be the best way to describe the magnificent world that thrives around me. The grass grows, flowers bloom, the sun rises every day. The amazing world around me thrives in a specific way that creates sustaining growth and keeps us and the earth around us healthy as we can be. I see God in the details, and tend to believe now that the things that happen to us aren't really affected by God's decisions, good or bad. I believe that God is there when we are suffering, to give us strength and to help us focus on ways to heal. Again, I believe this comes in many forms. For some, it comes from the comfort of a church family, or through prayer. For others, from simply being out in creation and soaking up the sun's warm rays. Everyone comes to things differently.

Understanding God is difficult at best. Its something I may never have a full grasp of, but I am trying to learn and seek out God as much as possible, which is all anyone can do. I don't think that's so much putting him in a box that makes him fit MY idea of what he SHOULD be... but rather, it helps me understand him/her in the context of my experience so that it is a personal relationship that rings true.

In a very rough way I can compare this to being friends with someone... we'll call her "Amy." When Amy and I hang out together we spend a lot of time knitting and laughing and talking about our kids. We both like coffee, watch American Idol, and love to cook. I read Amy's blog. Amy talks about all of this, plus her passion for a cancer charity, which may not be MY chosen charity, but shows me Amy's loving heart that exists outside of my personal experience with her. I have known Amy for 10 years and feel like I know her really well and have taken in every bit of information I know about Amy from what she's written, said, and done while around me.

Now... we have Bob. Bob is Amy's other friend. He's known Amy just as long as I have, has read her blog, and hangs out with her all the time, but has basically nothing else in common with me. Bob and Amy go to heavy metal concerts, work on cars together, talk about politics, and watch Jerry Springer. They are as close as Amy and I are, but their relationship is totally different.

In this case, "Amy" isn't a different person with either of us, but she shares different experiences with each of us. The way that I would describe Amy would be completely different from the way that Bob would describe Amy, even though she would be the same person true to the core with both of us.

Like Amy (and my very rough example), I believe that God meets us where we're at. Each of us have very different lives and experiences. We would all come to God from our own individual places. Each of us would have a unique relationship with God, and God could in theory be a different experience for each of us in that way. It doesn't make God any less the God of the Bible, for someone like me to see God in nature in more subtle ways. I agree that God *IS* - it is our experience and our path with him/her that varies.

Those are just my personal beliefs, and have nothing to do with whether anyone else is right or wrong... again I apologize if I offended anyone!

[genifer]

greenmamato2 I can totally jive with all of that. And I dont think there is much of what you said I could argue with. that was very beautifully put.

[merpk]

Originally Posted by benj

Bluegoat,
I am going to respectfully disagree. A concept of God is not a copout. Jews come from a long line of God wrestlers, we are more likely to ask about the existence of God and leave the question unanswered than to come to a concrete conclusion. Rav Kook, the first rabbi of (what was then) Palestine said that to look at the world's flaws and not have doubts in the existence of God is sinful because it shows a hardened and indifferent heart. Questioning God is not only acceptable, but the sign of a caring and empathetic soul. In other words, ambiguity, even in matters of faith, is okay. Jews have the whole idea of mitzvot---specific belief is unimportant because it is your actions that matter.

Nice post.






And umsami, you made plenty of sense.

[Ellien C]

Well, here's how I see it. There is this indescribable "force" in the universe. The source of all knowledge. This source is to some extent all of us people and living things but it is also outside of that. The purpose of life is to get close to that force. To feel connected with it ALL THE TIME. Our great spiritual leaders managed to do that - Jesus, Buddha, Moses, etc. They connected with that force all the time. I think the rest of us remain connected in some way shape or form all the time, but it might be just like a tiny thin fishing line that you can hardly feel. The point is to take that thin little stream and make it bigger and bigger. Let let that connection be in your life ALL THE TIME and to feel it all the time. Whatever way you can do this is a good way. Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed - they all connected with that force in different ways, according to their culture, time and place.