What Is God?

he-man · May 27, 2013

Ran77 said:
And just in case anyone decides to throw in the "the serpent said it so its a lie" argument, here is what God later had to say. 22 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

To us there is one God ...
There is a difference in Christianity and false religions. "The Christian is not a syncretist, who attempts to harmonize the teachings of all religions."

Job 15:8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?
Job 11:7 Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
Job 27:8 For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?
11 I will teach you by the hand of God: that which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.
Nu 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Job 12:10 In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
16 With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
Job 35:14 Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judgment is before him; therefore trust thou in him.
Jer 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Job 30:23 For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house appointed for all living.
Ps 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Ps 102:26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
Mt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Imagican · May 27, 2013

God is Spirit. God is LOVE. God is Creator.

Ran77. You are something else. You ask a question, KNOWING that the answer you are looking for DOES NOT EXIST. Then try and tell everyone that attempts to answer that they are not following the OP.

What kind of deceptive, inane topic that one could START, knowing that there is NO ANSWER that will suffice?

Other than what has basically ALREADY been offered, (and He man DID attempt to answer as WELL as anyone CAN answer), the TRUTH is, in our present state, it is most likely that we CANNOT completely comprehend God.

But when Moses asked God WHO He was, His answer was "I Am that I Am".

So that leaves us with THIS: God IS what God IS. And that is GOD.

Blessings,

MEC

Soulgazer · May 27, 2013

Ran77 said:
What is God?

What makes God - God?

Is it only a title? Or is being God something more?

I will answer this with a passage from the "Sophia of Christ":

The Savior said: "He Who Is is ineffable. No principle knew him, no authority, no subjection, nor any creature from the foundation of the world until now, except he alone, and anyone to whom he wants to make revelation through him who is from First Light. From now on, I am the Great Savior. For he is immortal and eternal. Now he is eternal, having no birth; for everyone who has birth will perish. He is unbegotten, having no beginning; for everyone who has a beginning has an end. Since no one rules over him, he has no name; for whoever has a name is the creation of another."
(BG 84, 13-17 adds: He is unnameable. He has no human form; for whoever has human form is the creation of another).
"And he has a semblance of his own - not like what you have seen and received, but a strange semblance that surpasses all things and is better than the universe. It looks to every side and sees itself from itself. Since it is infinite, he is ever incomprehensible. He is imperishable and has no likeness (to anything). He is unchanging good. He is faultless. He is eternal. He is blessed. While he is not known, he ever knows himself. He is immeasurable. He is untraceable. He is perfect, having no defect. He is imperishability blessed. He is called 'Father of the Universe'".

Christianity is an extremely synchratic religion, encompassing Jewish, Egyption, Babylonian, Nordic, Roman and Greek ideas and philosophies. This book is a rewrite of an earlier writing, "Eugnostos the Blessed", and shows that the question of who or what God is, has been thought about for centuries. Another ancient text that addressed this question, was "Secret John";

And I asked to know it, and he said to me, "The Monad is a monarchy with nothing above it. It is he who exists as God and Father of everything, the invisible One who is above everything, who exists as incorruption, which is in the pure light into which no eye can look.
"He is the invisible Spirit, of whom it is not right to think of him as a god, or something similar. For he is more than a god, since there is nothing above him, for no one lords it over him. For he does not exist in something inferior to him, since everything exists in him. "

As to what is a "god", lower case, that is entirely subjective. As the old chestnut goes, "as one goldfish said to the other, there must be a God, somebody changes the water".

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

Soulgazer said:
I will answer this with a passage from the "Sophia of Christ":

Christianity is an extremely synchratic religion, encompassing Jewish, Egyption, Babylonian, Nordic, Roman and Greek ideas and philosophies. This book is a rewrite of an earlier writing, "Eugnostos the Blessed", and shows that the question of who or what God is, has been thought about for centuries. Another ancient text that addressed this question, was "Secret John";
As to what is a "god", lower case, that is entirely subjective. As the old chestnut goes, "as one goldfish said to the other, there must be a God, somebody changes the water".

Interesting response. Even though most of it makes sense to me, I would prefer to stick to the Bible for this thread. The goldfish and the changing the water seems as if it would fit under the category of 7) God is an advanced being. Meaning He is more advanced than we are.

Thank you for your comments.

joneysd · May 27, 2013

Ran77 said:
Interesting response. Even though most of it makes sense to me, I would prefer to stick to the Bible for this thread. The goldfish and the changing the water seems as if it would fit under the category of 7) God is an advanced being. Meaning He is more advanced than we are.

Thank you for your comments.

If God is more advanced than us how do you become gods.

yogosans14 · May 27, 2013

He is the great I AM, the first and the last.

He is our creator, savior, and he is 3 persons that make up one God.

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

joneysd said:
If God is more advanced than us how do you become gods.

That is not the topic of this thread. Feel free to find one that deals with that topic or start your own.

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

yogosans14 said:
He is the great I AM, the first and the last.

He is our creator, savior, and he is 3 persons that make up one God.

Can you distill that down to a single definition?

Then I will plug it in to the verses we've covered so far.

joneysd · May 27, 2013

god is a man who through good behaviour and following mormon scripture became god

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

joneysd said:
god is a man who through good behaviour and following mormon scripture became god

I'm pretty sure that is not your view. Offer your view or move on.

Raimi Stranger · May 27, 2013

Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Isaiah 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

Time then is the essence of the illusion of consciousness , of 'life' that cannot be endless being...

indeed all CAN know God by Love, but so very few do because men are fooled into thinking sin is any good even for two lives before they even know the one true God is known by Love alone, no other way... but in the meantime there is religion to sell men lies and keep the consciousness going a while or two... just two ages, two earths, creating two universes is as nothing to God compared to endlessness of being... yet men take their emty false selves so seriously as they lie even to themselves instead of Loving and being happy in life knowing God is so much more...

he-man · May 27, 2013

joneysd said:
If God is more advanced than us how do you become gods.

God is not a being, being is an attribute, God is Spirit; Yahweh; means I am, I exist, which would imply boundless without end.

ancientsoul · May 27, 2013

Ran77 said:
What is God?

What makes God - God?

Is it only a title? Or is being God something more?

re: what makes God ...

Exodus 3:14,15 ... And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. And God sais morever unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this si my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

no it is not just a title ... it is His being ... His soul ... His Spirit ... just as you ahve one ... how would one say 'who is Ran77 ... much must be considered ... this is where it starts ... He is who He is ... take it or leave it ... free will ... oh, yes, being God is something more ... it's creating this big wonderful world where all things work in harmony and offer it along with His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ ... and then watching His very heart ripped out and shredded as souls from here and back deny Him, reject Him, scoff Him, and just plain blaspheme and spiritually behead Him in any way man can devise ... anything but acknowledge Him and the man in the mirror ... He offers us Hosea 6:6 ... the very essence of who He is ... For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice,: and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. ... He doesn't want a bunch of fluff ... He wants us to know Him ... and to love Him enough to love each other ... it's not that complicated ...

He has a name ...

His name is Jah ... all others ... i.e. Creator, Provider, Protector, etc. are titles ... His name is Jah ... Psalm 68:4 ... Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by His name Jah, and rejoice before him.

Ran77 said:
Here is the next installment of this thread:

Genesis 3: 5

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Now the thing is with this verse is that if offers an explanation of what is meant, in this instance, of what is God: to know good and evil.

However, I still want to compare it to the definitions that were previously given.

1. God is the essence of spirit - which is endless.

disagree to a degree ... God is the Divine soul ... who has a Spirit ... the Divine Holy Spirit ... not only endless ... but before and beyond endless ... the Alpha and the Omega ... everything inside the box ... everything outside the box ... no beginning ... no ending ... always and ever for all eternity frontwards and backwards ... it is not impossible to, in mans limited understanding, fully encompass Him ... as nothing is impossible with Him ... but it isn't something that can be done in a loose and frayed description ... He is the God of the past, the present and the future ... Revelation 1:8 I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

2. God is beyond (or outside) time-space.

God includes our time-space ... but is not limited to it ...

3. God is the creator.

yes ... Ec 12:1; Isaiah 43:14; Romans 1:25; 1 Peter 4:19; Isaiah 40:28 ... Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

4. God is unchanging.

yes ...

5. Look to Christ to understand what is God.

certainly we see God in Christ ... but all things happen through Christ at God's will ... i say we must know God to understand Jesus ... it's one thing to say God gave His only begotten Son ... it's another to understand what that would do to God's heart ...

6. God is not nothing.

correct ... He is everything ...

7. God is an advanced being.

we are made in their image ... He is all knowing ... seeing what we can't, etc. i believe advanced is incorrect and inadequate ... He is Superior ...

By eating of the forbidden fruit . . .

1. Did man become an endless spirit?

no ... there is always forgiveness ... and the door to Salvation is always open ... ity is we who reject ... not Him ...

however, if the soul has eternal life through Jesus Christ... and actually, he would be a soul with a spirit who lives for eternally ... if the soul has not Salvation, well, that's God's call ... perhaps cease to exist ... obliterated ... all memory and trace erased as if never existed ... there are scriptures that indicATE THAT ... BUT NOT THE TIME ...

2. Did man become a being outside time and space?

only in Christ ...

3. Did man become a creator? (Possibly.)

no

4. Did man become unchanging.

no ... and praise the Lord ... we can be rejuvinated, regenerated, re-evaluated, re-equipped, re-dedicated, reborn, so many things ... but staionary should not be one of them ...

5. Did man become Christ-like?

it would seem our difference in view is your 'man' and mine ... i think (correct me if i'm wrong) you mean man in general and i mean each man ... because man is definitely jusdged as a whole, or as a nation, or whatever, but mainly as an individual on each indivdual's merit? God does not see things like man ... He jusdges on the heart's intent ... not on what was determined in someone elses' case ...

6. Did man become not nothing?

absolutely not ... God has a purpose for every man ...

7. Did man become an advanced being? (Possibly.)

not trying to be sarcastic ... but not that i can see ... or find reference to ...

Any thoughts on this verse about God?

thoughts Genesis 3:5 ... when the Lord talks about being gods i believe this is what He means ... in the day you choose to disobey Him ... then you reject Him as your God... and become your own god ... i don't think it's as good a thing as some would like it to be ... just my opinion ...

may that He bless on your Way ...

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

ancientsoul said:
thoughts Genesis 3:5 ... when the Lord talks about being gods i believe this is what He means ... in the day you choose to disobey Him ... then you reject Him as your God... and become your own god ... i don't think it's as good a thing as some would like it to be ... just my opinion ...

may that He bless on your Way ...

Interesting view. Thank you for sharing it.

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

Raimi Stranger said:
Psalms 82:6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?

Isaiah 41:23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

Time then is the essence of the illusion of consciousness , of 'life' that cannot be endless being...

indeed all CAN know God by Love, but so very few do because men are fooled into thinking sin is any good even for two lives before they even know the one true God is known by Love alone, no other way... but in the meantime there is religion to sell men lies and keep the consciousness going a while or two... just two ages, two earths, creating two universes is as nothing to God compared to endlessness of being... yet men take their emty false selves so seriously as they lie even to themselves instead of Loving and being happy in life knowing God is so much more...

I plan to get to those verses eventually. For now, I'd like to stick to one batch of verses at a time. Thanks.

Ran77 · May 27, 2013

joneysd said:
god is a man who through good behaviour and following mormon scripture became god

It occured to me that the only other person who responded in this way was pebble. In fact, the general tone of his posts and your posts are strikingly similar. And I find it odd that you arrived just as he disappeared.

Hmmmm . . .

:idea:

RevelationTestament · May 28, 2013

Maybe Peebly had a sex-change operation so he could post as female and fool us all!!

joneysd · May 28, 2013

Ran77 said:
It occured to me that the only other person who responded in this way was pebble. In fact, the general tone of his posts and your posts are strikingly similar. And I find it odd that you arrived just as he disappeared.

Hmmmm . . .

I find it very hard to believe you have not had anyone else quote your official line back at you, especially when you consider it is such an unusual stance.

Ran77 · Jun 1, 2013

Ran77 said:
Here is the next installment of this thread:

Genesis 3: 5

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Now the thing is with this verse is that if offers an explanation of what is meant, in this instance, of what is God: to know good and evil.

However, I still want to compare it to the definitions that were previously given.

1. God is the essence of spirit - which is endless.

2. God is beyond (or outside) time-space.

3. God is the creator.

4. God is unchanging.

5. Look to Christ to understand what is God.

6. God is not nothing.

7. God is an advanced being.

By eating of the forbidden fruit . . .

1. Did man become an endless spirit?

2. Did man become a being outside time and space?

3. Did man become a creator? (Possibly.)

4. Did man become unchanging.

5. Did man become Christ-like?

6. Did man become not nothing?

7. Did man become an advanced being? (Possibly.)

I was thinking about this during Church last week and felt it might be worth to run with it for a while. I am going to add a new defnition to the list. God is the authority on what is right and what is wrong. That we look to God to define our set of appropriate behaviors. Which is not to say that God is not many other things: immortal, more advanced than we are, our creator. It only means that perhaps the definitive meaning of God is tied to Him as our moral authority or - The Law Giver.

Obviously, the meaning fits into the above verses because that is what generated my thoughts on the matter. "ye shall be as the gods, knowing good and evil."

Dictionary.com has the following definition of God:

1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.

Supreme Being fits in with our current #7 definition of an advanced being.

Creator fits in with our current #3 definition of creator.

Ruler fits in with the definition I just added of Law Giver.

Let's compare that to the first set of verses I posted:

Genesis 5: 1-3

1. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

A) Is man a Law Giver (entity capable of setting moral standards)?

I think this is debatable. Obviously, before eating of the Tree of Knowledge Adam and Eve were not capable of this. But then from an LDS position I believe it could be argued that God intended man to become capable of setting moral standars - a Law Giver. That indeed Heavenly Father's very purpose in creating us was so that we could grow ever stronger in morality, learing to make better and better decisions about right and wrong.

Any thoughts?

joneysd · Jun 1, 2013

Ran77 said:
I was thinking about this during Church last week and felt it might be worth to run with it for a while. I am going to add a new defnition to the list. God is the authority on what is right and what is wrong. That we look to God to define our set of appropriate behaviors. Which is not to say that God is not many other things: immortal, more advanced than we are, our creator. It only means that perhaps the definitive meaning of God is tied to Him as our moral authority or - The Law Giver.

Obviously, the meaning fits into the above verses because that is what generated my thoughts on the matter. "ye shall be as the gods, knowing good and evil."

Dictionary.com has the following definition of God:

1. the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe.

Supreme Being fits in with our current #7 definition of an advanced being.

Creator fits in with our current #3 definition of creator.

Ruler fits in with the definition I just added of Law Giver.

Let's compare that to the first set of verses I posted:

Genesis 5: 1-3

1. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;

2. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

3. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:

A) Is man a Law Giver (entity capable of setting moral standards)?

I think this is debatable. Obviously, before eating of the Tree of Knowledge Adam and Eve were not capable of this. But then from an LDS position I believe it could be argued that God intended man to become capable of setting moral standars - a Law Giver. That indeed Heavenly Father's very purpose in creating us was so that we could grow ever stronger in morality, learing to make better and better decisions about right and wrong.

Any thoughts?

man must be be able to give laws, if it's true he was a man before he became God.

What Is God?

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