What is god?

[Charles_Darwin]

What is God? A great question, but obviously not easy to answer. Here is **my view **of what God is.

I don’t see that God is separate from anything. For example, if you create something out of various materials, like a table for example, the table is not part of you. You have not created it out of yourself. You are not part of the table, nor is the table a part of you. The universe that God created, however, which includes us, is not separate from him, but rather a part of him (FYI, I use “him” as a pronoun for God, but could just as easily call God “her” or “it”). God is truly infinite, so that everything that exists is contained within God. We are like a skin cell on the “body” of God (if God had a body).

God is not in any place, since if he is infinite he is everywhere. We can not really “go” to God, nor does he need to come to us, since he is right here. He is in us, and we are in him.

So, one way to answer the question is to say that God is comprised of us, of all the matter of the universe, and more. If you have followed the sciences for the past 100 or so years, you can see that we keep discovering more minute particles, more and more layers within the atom. How far does it go?

We are also discovering more and more kinds of “matter” (and anti-matter) within the universe, either through observation or by means of explaining what we observe happening in the universe. Space isn’t quite as empty as we once thought. Could matter be infinitely tiny as the universe (or universes) could be infinitely large?

The problem we have is we tend to think of God anthropomorphically, as having human characteristics or attributes. We picture him as a human like figure. That is partly due to our point of view; we do the same thing with animals with plants, and even non-living things. The other reason, I think, is due to the statement in Genesis that God created man in his own image. We think physical image, rather than spiritual. The part of us that knows (or at least believes) that we have this connection with God is unique to the world (can’t speak to the entire universe). We are the only life form that is “aware” of God. That is the gift he gave us, but it is a spiritual gift, not a physical one.

In physics, we read about the “big bang” and that the universe may have started from a “singularity”. Could that singularity have been God?

Here’s the thing though, if you are saying that god is the singularity then i believe in god, for i believe there was a singularity. If you are saying god is the cosmos then i believe in god, for i believe there is a cosmos. But if that is all god is then god is completely natural, and not a “god” as we know the word. It is in fact just just another name for a singularity, or matter.

However once you start believing the bible god becomes much more than that, yet not one person can seem to tell me what it is? How can people believe in something when they don’t even know what it is they are supposed to believe in?

 

[Charles_Darwin]

why must you “know” to believe something. If that is the case, then you should never be satisfied with the majority of things in the universe, as our “knowledge” of things changes all the time. You might as well just throw all of science and philosophy out the window, as there are very few things in those subjects that we can say 100% are absolutely exactly true.

I am not taking about absolute truth, it is a redundant term.

What i mean is if i asked you if you believed in something at the bottom of my garden, you would ask what is the thing? If i said a pond, then showed you it you would say sure i believe you. However if i said well i don’t know what the thing is, then how could you decide if you believe me or not?

 

[tobinatorstark]

If i was to ask you what is a car, a human, a god? What would you reply?

Would you say that a car is fast, good looking, a polluter?

Would you say that a human is caring, evil, pretty, strong?

Well if you did you would not have told me a single thing about what these things actually are.

If i asked you, what is Albert Einstein? Would you say he discovered relativity? Is that what he is? NO. Hes a human. So what is a human, what is a car?

Well a car is a wheeled mechanical device designed to transport people.They normally carry between 2-8 people. They have there own internal combustion engines, and wheels blah blah blah.

A human is a member of a species of bipedal primates in the family Hominidae.

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorrhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Genus: Homo

They are carbon based life forms which DNA contains the genetic instructions blah blah blah.

Now even before we had such detailed explanations of what a human is we still knew what a human was. We just did not know the intricate details.

Ok now onto the biggy…

What is god?
**
I don’t want a list of attributes like “god is love”. As that is not an answer. I do not want he is the creater of the universe, for that is NOT what IT is.**

Now tell me this… How can i believe or disbelieving in something, what i don’t even know what that thing I’m supposed to be believing in is?

Well I am sorry that you are denying God’s characteristics and truth. Catholic believe that God is a pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. CCC 370 regarding Man and Female He created them. I for one believe he is the creator. Yes there are some mysteries when it comes to God. I regard Charles Darwin as false prophet and liar. I reject evolution with my whole heart and accept God as an infinite supernatural being. God is pure spirit and continues to reveal himself in only a way God can do. As Catholics we believe that God created all good and Adam and Eve are our first parents.

 

[Charles_Darwin]

From the CCC article 36 : God is: “…the first principle and last end of all things…”

Does not tell me anything. If i asked you what is Albert Einstein, would you answer, they first cause behind general relativity? Of course not for that does not tell me what he is, it tells me what he did.

I would like to know what god IS???

 

[Charles_Darwin]

Well I am sorry that you are denying God’s characteristics and truth. Catholic believe that God is a pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. CCC 370 regarding Man and Female He created them. I for one believe he is the creator. Yes there are some mysteries when it comes to God. I regard Charles Darwin as false prophet and liar. I reject evolution with my whole heart and accept God as an infinite supernatural being. God is pure spirit and continues to reveal himself in only a way God can do. As Catholics we believe that God created all good and Adam and Eve are our first parents.

I don’t deny anything, and you have not told me one thing about what the entity is? Also what on earth does Darwin or evolution have to do with any of this? Stay on topic please .

 

[Alindawyl]

Well i was not specifically meaning you, i just meant any general. How can one be expected to believe in something without actually know what it is they are supposed to believe in?

The words “leap of faith” come to mind

I believe because of faith. I don’t KNOW details about God like how he thinks, what his essence is, how he interacts with the cosmos, or anything along those lines. Those are analytical questions best suited to a scientific laboratory rather than a person. God’s not an object to be analyzed. He’s a friend.

If you are truly seeking to know God, contact a local RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program in your diocese to get information from people better able than me at providing explanations. Pray for faith. Ask God to reveal himself to you. And don’t give up if it takes time. If you really want to know about him, he won’t leave you in the dark.

 

[davidv]

Does not tell me anything. If i asked you what is Albert Einstein, would you answer, they first cause behind general relativity? Of course not for that does not tell me what he is, it tells me what he did.

I would like to know what god IS???

How does it not tell you anything?

Why don’t you like this answer?

 

[chaunceygardner]

Here’s the thing though, if you are saying that god is the singularity then i believe in god, for i believe there was a singularity. If you are saying god is the cosmos then i believe in god, for i believe there is a cosmos. But if that is all god is then god is completely natural, and not a “god” as we know the word. It is in fact just just another name for a singularity, or matter.

No, not completely natural, but beyond natural, containing ALL that is natural, what we know and what we have yet to discover. In other words, Super-natural. I did not say that God is the cosmos, or is the singularity, but that those things are CONTAINED within God. You make a common mistake of thinking that the universe is just what we can observe, or what we know it to be at this point of our knowledge. Man’s idea of what the universe is and what it contains has increased geometrically over the centuries, and we have not yet reached the limits. The same thing with the universe of atomic particles. We still don’t understand the full extent of what NATURAL is. But we still accept that it is there.

In the same way, we cannot explain, define or limit God to what is physically or even theoretically possible. The essence of God is beyond anything that we can measure. Our ability to understand this is like a drop of water in the ocean. Perhaps our own universe is like a drop of water in the ocean that we call God.

However once you start believing the bible god becomes much more than that, yet not one person can seem to tell me what it is? How can people believe in something when they don’t even know what it is they are supposed to believe in?

One who believes in something or someone can do so without any physical or material reason. “I believe in…” “I have faith in…” “I trust in…” There is a spiritual/emotional aspect to our existence that is beyond our ability to physically measure.

I read a book a book about a year ago, a very good one on evolution, where the author was supposed to explain how “emotions” and certain “feelings” that are intutitively opposed to an individual’s survival, like altruism, could have developed through evolution. He failed. He cited many experiments and studies that backed up evolutionary devlopment in other behavioral areas, but when it came to backing up the premise of his book, his evidence was amazingly weak. I was disappointed.

For some things that people believe in, such as God, there will likely be no way we can ever objectively determine WHAT God is, much less IF he is. That must be left to the realm of faith

 

[tobinatorstark]

I don’t deny anything, and you have not told me one thing about what the entity is? Also what on earth does Darwin or evolution have to do with any of this? Stay on topic please .

There is no need to be so rude. You have denied what I have told you what Catholics believe. You say it isn’t it. I frankly don’t understand what you are looking for if you are willing to deny the truth and everything what Catholic or Christian gives you. It is also rude to refer to God as “god”. We Christians do take offense to that sort of stuff and behavior.

 

[Cbailey2]

There is no need to be so rude. You have denied what I have told you what Catholics believe. You say it isn’t it. I frankly don’t understand what you are looking for if you are willing to deny the truth and everything what Catholic or Christian gives you. It is also rude to refer to God as “god”. We Christians do take offense to that sort of stuff and behavior.

It is a poor scientist indeed who asks a question and then limits the parameters of what answers he will accept as valid. Asking a question like “who is the smartest man?” and then adding that answers must include “Einstein” speaks more of closed mind then of actual intellectual curiosity.

Besides, the question is hopelessly framed. If God created all that is, all that we see and don’t see, then how can a finite, small human mind fully define Him? That’s like asking someone to count to infinity or explain the entire cosmos. I guarantee none of us have the brain cells to do that and we haven’t built a computer yet that can come close.

And yes, Mr. Darwin is rude: he believes himself to be intellectually superior to all believers, due to the fact that he was raised to be a “free-thinker.” The irony is that he hasn’t thought past the materialist dogmas he swallowed up, hook, line, and sinker.

 

[JulieAA]

Does not tell me anything. If i asked you what is Albert Einstein, would you answer, they first cause behind general relativity? Of course not for that does not tell me what he is, it tells me what he did.

I would like to know what god IS???

Have you ever attempted to ask God Himself?..Charles, you can go into your own private room in your home/apt…get on your knees and ask, but do it with an open heart…no, you most likely will not get a sudden "puff of smoke or an earthquake or hear heavenly angels singing, but somewhere, sometime or through someone you may come to learn what you are searching for…if truly you are searching for Him. God wants you to seek him as a child would, not as someone who professes to have the knowledge of the world at his hands. That is nonsense to God. You are simply asking people their interpretations of who God is…and you will get a multitude of different answers as we are all unique and special children in His eyes. Try putting down all of the books you have at your disposal and simply get on your knees. May you find the peace your are looking to find. God bless!

 

[fhansen]

If i was to ask you what is a car, a human, a god? What would you reply?

Would you say that a car is fast, good looking, a polluter?

Would you say that a human is caring, evil, pretty, strong?

Well if you did you would not have told me a single thing about what these things actually are.

If i asked you, what is Albert Einstein? Would you say he discovered relativity? Is that what he is? NO. Hes a human. So what is a human, what is a car?

Well a car is a wheeled mechanical device designed to transport people.They normally carry between 2-8 people. They have there own internal combustion engines, and wheels blah blah blah.

A human is a member of a species of bipedal primates in the family Hominidae.

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorrhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Parvorder: Catarrhini
Superfamily: Hominoidea
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Homininae
Tribe: Hominini
Genus: Homo

They are carbon based life forms which DNA contains the genetic instructions blah blah blah.

Now even before we had such detailed explanations of what a human is we still knew what a human was. We just did not know the intricate details.

Ok now onto the biggy…

What is god?
**
I don’t want a list of attributes like “god is love”. As that is not an answer. I do not want he is the creater of the universe, for that is NOT what IT is.**

Now tell me this… How can i believe or disbelieving in something, what i don’t even know what that thing I’m supposed to be believing in is?

First of all God is existence itself-all that *is *originates from Him-except for Himself. So a question to be answered is, what is existence? We all know what it means to be and we don’t know what it means to not be and yet at one point, as far as we know, we did not exist. Something did. The quality we know as existence-or to be-is an aspect of Gods nature. God is.

Secondly, it’s not correct to say that the term “love” cannot be a part of somethings’ essence since to be in Gods presence is to be in the midst of-to be overpowered by-love; to know it on a personal level.

 

[tonyrey]

Your question seems to imply that:

1. God is a particular thing.
2. God exists in the same way as everything else.
3. God is definable.

Not one of these assumptions is true because God is unique, not subject to human categories and incomprehensible.
How do we know this?
Because the Ultimate Reality must be unlike anything in our experience.
Then why do we believe in God?
Because love is the greatest reality we know. So the closest approximation to a description of God is: Love (capitalised to indicate uniqueness and perfection).

The only alternative is to believe love is an illusion and life is loveless…

 

[Charles_Darwin]

And yes, Mr. Darwin is rude: he believes himself to be intellectually superior to all believers, due to the fact that he was raised to be a “free-thinker.” The irony is that he hasn’t thought past the materialist dogmas he swallowed up, hook, line, and sinker.

You what?

 

[Charles_Darwin]

So basically nobody knows? Can people not just say that?

 

[Charles_Darwin]

Have you ever attempted to ask God Himself?..Charles, you can go into your own private room in your home/apt…get on your knees and ask, but do it with an open heart

I have no idea what that means? There is only one way to example claims, critically.

 

[Prodigal_Son]

There is only one way to example claims, critically.

I would carefully examine the truth of that dogmatic statement, if I were you.

 

[Charles_Darwin]

I would carefully examine the truth of that dogmatic statement, if I were you.

If something is true it need not fear critical analysis.

 

[tonyrey]

So basically nobody knows? Can people not just say that?

You can say that basically nobody knows anything. People can just say that. But how do they know that nobody knows anything? And if it’s the only thing they know where does their knowledge come from?

 

[Alindawyl]

So basically nobody knows? Can people not just say that?

Saying we don’t know would be a lie. There are things about God which he has revealed to us, and we’ve told you some of them. What you are demanding is a definition based on things which he has not revealed to us. That’s rather illogical.