Does God have a personality?

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The teaching of the church is that there are three persons in one God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are separate because they have person-hood, yet are of the same substance, which is God.

Does God the father have a certain personality? Are the personalities different between the Father, Son and Spirit? Is it as simple as saying Gods personality is love?
 
Considering that Jesus didn’t act like a robot while on Earth, I’d say yes.
 
What do you mean by personality? If you mean, characteristics particular to a specific person, then it would seem to me that every person has a personality by definition – including the Persons of the Trinity.
 
Joe_5859 said:
What do you mean by personality? If you mean, characteristics particular to a specific person, then it would seem to me that every person has a personality by definition – including the Persons of the Trinity.
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Not the first definition; the state or quality of being a person .That I covered in my opening question.

Yes the second definition: characteristics unique to a person, a particular disposition.
 
Human beings are limited, imperfect, and weak. They differ from each other. These differences are manifested as personality.

We can’t say God is limited, imperfect or weak.
He’s not going to differ from a being who is infinitely perfect, infinitely knowing, infinitely good etc etc etc.

Since this differs from all other beings you could say he has a personality.
 
johnnyjones said:
Yes the second definition: characteristics unique to a person, a particular disposition.
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Would ‘characteristics’ imply things that could be perceived through our senses? If so, then ‘no’ – God isn’t a physical body, so God has no sense-perceivable characteristics.

Would ‘disposition’ imply a mood or temperament? If so, then it would seem that the answer is ‘no’ – God doesn’t have emotions; and ‘temperament’ seems to imply ‘change’, and God is immutable.

Also, ‘personality’ would seem to speak to a way to distinguish between persons with the same essence but different existence. However, God’s essence is his existence, so it doesn’t seem relevant to talk about ‘personality’ in the context of God (even if there are three persons of the Trinity)…
 
Well my encounters with Him have shown that He has an awesome, funny sense of humor and I praise Him that He knows how to capture my attention and my heart - sometimes thru humor, sometimes thru an illness, surgery, and sometimes in the silence of my heart.

Heavenly Father, I am so grateful that You have never given up on me, are constantly transforming me and that You thought I was worth dying a brutal death for.
 
*G-d transcends all definitions, including the definition, “existence”
–Maimonides *
 
I would argue that yes, God has a personality. I mean, we are talking about the same God who created the Blue Footed Booby after all! 😃
 
Gorgias said:
Would ‘characteristics’ imply things that could be perceived through our senses? If so, then ‘no’ – God isn’t a physical body, so God has no sense-perceivable characteristics.

Would ‘disposition’ imply a mood or temperament? If so, then it would seem that the answer is ‘no’ – God doesn’t have emotions; and ‘temperament’ seems to imply ‘change’, and God is immutable.

Also, ‘personality’ would seem to speak to a way to distinguish between persons with the same essence but different existence. However, God’s essence is his existence, so it doesn’t seem relevant to talk about ‘personality’ in the context of God (even if there are three persons of the Trinity)…
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The problem with that is theology has chosen to use the the word “person” as to separate from say what the JWs would call an active force. If you have person-hood, why not have personality? Unless what is being said is that using “person” (that naturally has personality) only applies to humans. If this is the case, then the word is not consistent with it’s typical meaning.
 
johnnyjones said:
The teaching of the church is that there are three persons in one God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are separate because they have person-hood, yet are of the same substance, which is God.

Does God the father have a certain personality? Are the personalities different between the Father, Son and Spirit? Is it as simple as saying Gods personality is love?
Click to expand...
When Jesus humorously calls James and John the “sons of thunder” for wanting to burn down a Samartan village that wanted them to go around…I think that shows a unique personality. When the Father sheilds Moses with His Hand to let him see the afterglow of His glory…that shows the same loving kindness. But both actions show patience and love.
 
Pugsly said:
When Jesus humorously calls James and John the “sons of thunder” for wanting to burn down a Samartan village that wanted them to go around…I think that shows a unique personality. When the Father sheilds Moses with His Hand to let him see the afterglow of His glory…that shows the same loving kindness. But both actions show patience and love.
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I like this, very true.
 
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