Is your God the same as mine?

[Steven Wood]

Yes I am Christian and try to be a respectful one. But I do have doubts. And whilst I accept that God made me and all human beings, I think we all create our own concept of God. As the old question goes, "did God create us or did we create God?"
I mean we all have variable notions of God:
fearful
vengeful
kind
loving
compassionate
sacrificial
just
knowing
mighty
powerful
unconditionally loving

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental. I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

There are a lot of conceptions of God's nature and who he is, none more in so called Christianity. If a person takes a true look at it though all of the denominations have the same thing in common, they are in the traditions of men. I go back to what Jesus said when he describes God the father. If you have truly seen Jesus then you have seen the father. Take a true look at how Jesus lived, how he acted, what he said. He didn't just love everyone and heal. He put people in their place, taught wisdom, and rebuked. Every aspect of God's nature can be summed up in 1 word.. JUST. The way I like to look at it is this. Jesus didn't call God "the father" just because he created everything. Every good father(like a Ward Cleaver type) got a blueprint of fatherhood from God. He loves, protects, teaches his children. Patient to see his kids through all their mistakes trying to teach them the right path but when they do something wrong a good dad will correct them and sometimes punish them But the punishment ends it does not last forever. Most of all a father will let his kids make their own decisions when they are old enough and even though he sees them doing wrong and wants them to change and he still loves and gives advice he let's them go their own way. Other than prayer the only thing I can say about truly knowing God is to go back into the old testament and read the commands that God gave his children, make a deeper study of pre deluvian man, learn more than just what Jesus said but realize that he was living all the old testament commands of God, and compare all of that to what man teaches about God, man's traditions and customs. Not only will you get a deeper understanding of God, you'll see that many are worshipping an all together different God than they think they are.

 

[com7fy8]

I mean we all have variable notions of God:
fearful
vengeful
kind
loving
compassionate
sacrificial
just
knowing
mighty
powerful
unconditionally loving

personally sharing with His children

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental.

God wants all to be saved. But He does evaluate what is good and what is Satanic and anti-love. And there is the flaming sewer which burns with fire and brimstone, so He has a place to put what is anti-love.

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32)

I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

God does evaluate. He senses if we are of His love or not >

"rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4)

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Why are you on a christian forum?

How dare you!

 

[fide]

Yes I am Christian and try to be a respectful one. But I do have doubts. And whilst I accept that God made me and all human beings, I think we all create our own concept of God. As the old question goes, "did God create us or did we create God?"
..............

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental. I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

A disciple is a learner - and a disciple of Jesus Christ is on a life-long journey of learning, of coming to know Him, and in Him the Father, and in the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit. If we remain in Him, and in His Word, we will learn the Truth - and the Truth will make us free.

To remain in His Word is a joy,and is also a cross - it is living water, and also a purging fire. In Him we find Life, and also death to this world and to our "life" in this world. In Him we come to know not merely "about Him in Truth" - but we come to know Him.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

Just because your views or beliefs of the attributes differ does not make Him different

Of course. God remains a constant in all this. Unchanging.
But if I were to visit a fundamentalist Christian Church for instance, I would get one version of God with the preacher "assuring me " he is close to God and knows exactly what He means in the Bible. Then if I were to visit say visit a liberal Anglican service I would get a completely different version.
So I get all these perspectives on who God is and what He really means for us. In a word, confusion. No wonder some Christians get confused. But this is when those dogmatic types really dig in. They will say "my version of God is the real God because it says right there in the Bible". Interpretations are used and abused to suit the particular preacher and their style. As a catholic, I can understand why Sola Scriptura is a problem. Not that Catholicism is squeaky clean either though (for different reasons)

 

[Aryeh]

If I introduced myself to someone and told him that I'm married and like to play chess, and he immediately turned and said that he liked to think of me as single and a fan of backgammon, would he be accurately representing me? Could one even say he knew me?

I think the fact that despite us "knowing" God's attributes, we still have to reconcile who He is shows plenty.

It could mean we have a false image of Him. It could mean we don't know Him, or even that we know a bit about Him, but not the complexity of His "personality."

I won't day we all worship the same god, but I will say a lot of us really don't know the god we think we serve.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

but I will say a lot of us really don't know the god we think we serve.

Exactly. A lot of us are deluded into thinking we "know" who God is.

 

[Leah Beth]

Yes I am Christian and try to be a respectful one. But I do have doubts. And whilst I accept that God made me and all human beings, I think we all create our own concept of God. As the old question goes, "did God create us or did we create God?"
I mean we all have variable notions of God:
fearful
vengeful
kind
loving
compassionate
sacrificial
just
knowing
mighty
powerful
unconditionally loving

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental. I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

My position is the same as yours and I wonder how people gain enlightenment through other religions or spiritual systems such as yoga or native American spirituality for example.

 

[John 1720]

I think it is somewhat true that many have created a god in their own image. Belief in God has to be more than calling Him by the Name by which a religion gives Him. Remember Jesus said,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:21-23​

So there will be many who believe they are Christian and even doing God's work that are neither His nor really doing His work. Of course prophesying, and casting out demons would be God's work for a kingdom cannot be divided. There are real demons that Christ and Christ's disciples have cast out for sure. But the demonization identification above and the pretext of their belief of ridding all those so called "demons" was and is not God's work. The context is they were not real demons because they were not doing God's will of Kingdom work but the ungodly work of man in order to serve their own purposes. The Salem witch trials might be one such instance of men patting themselves on the back for being godly when they clearly were in error. History, even so called "Christian history" is full of these casting out and destroying of satanic works, which certainly were not the Lord's will. (I'll talk more about the true will of the Lord in a minute) Neither has there been any shortage of "false" prophets and "false" prophecies. If we look at Jesus' indictment of these people, that He really never knew, all them thought they were doing the will of God but obviously were not. In fact He said they were lawless, inferring they were operating contrary to His will. These same then shall have their reward in eternal darkness when Christ reveals all truth to the shame of many. What is God's will? Well certainly His will is that we reach all tribes, tongues and nations with the good news that has the power to transform all men. The Great Commission even identifies the heart of God. He sent His Son to die in our place and desires that all men would come to repentance. He will not even end His age of mercy sith His second coming until the entire great commission is completed. (Mt 24:4)
The Church still has work to do to reach all 'ethne'! Surely Jesus warned us about the tares and wheat. The enemy has sown his seed among His harvest field but now is not the time to rip out the crop as many have thought themselves righteous enough to extract the tares from the wheat well before the gathering as Jesus' taught. And while many have fought the good fight and stayed true to Christ's teachings many others have said false things about God that dishonors His Great Name.

Paul told us to test ourselves whether we are in the faith. Does what we believe match Jesus' words or the apostolic teachings? Our imagery of Him must be defined by His Holy Word, which He has given us through the Law and Prophets, as well as His disciples. This is made clear in Jesus' prayer to the Father in John 17:20 for He said:

"I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word"​

If we truly are the ones He prayed for the night before He was crucified then we must believe in Him through the words of His disciples. And where do we find those but in the New Testament, which fulfilled the older promises given (i.e. the Law and the Prophets that all pointed to Christ)

So, I believe it all must start with the word of God, which points to the Word of God - Christ Jesus. But many will say His word can be misinterpreted. That is true for even the devil quoted Scripture to Jesus in trying to tempt Him. But in that same battle Jesus took the devil's pretext away by going to the context and heart of the Scriptures. We must then look at Scripture in the light of all its interwined context and with the spiritual understanding that God is good, just, merciful, and all of the other attributes you name about Him. Are we truly in the Spirit in our faith, hope and love and does the fruit of the Spirit show forth in our actions? If we are walking as Christ compassionately walked and connecting with the Bible contextually then I think we pass the test. I know for me that is the regulating force in my life - a contant feedback loop.
May the Lord Bless, Pat

 

[jimmyjimmy]

God is love. He is also a consuming fire. Those two things are only reconciled at the cross.

 

[Neogaia777]

Yes I am Christian and try to be a respectful one. But I do have doubts. And whilst I accept that God made me and all human beings, I think we all create our own concept of God. As the old question goes, "did God create us or did we create God?"
I mean we all have variable notions of God:
fearful
vengeful
kind
loving
compassionate
sacrificial
just
knowing
mighty
powerful
unconditionally loving

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental. I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

I believe most Christians are serving something/someone holy, it is my belief that we have many holy angelic gaurdians each having a particular position according to an, or some aspects of God. And they are temporary most often as our own concepts and ideas about God grow and change and mature and develop, we get handed over and exchanged and up the chain (of command) till we get to the true God... They are all parts of his holy body, the holy ones, and so, are him also, for they do nothing outside of his will, for these are obedient angels, not disobedient ones, so they are "God" to, just not in and of themselves, alone... We invisibly go through mentors and fathers till we reach the top, if and when we ever do...

Hell only makes sense to me if their is some sort of re-incarnation of some kind, until we reach the level of becoming incarnate, or immortal like God and holy angels are...

I'm still working on that one?

God Bless!

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I believe most Christians are serving something/someone holy, it is my belief that we have many holy angelic gaurdians each having a particular position according to an, or some aspects of God. And they are temporary most often as our own concepts and ideas about God grow and change and mature and develop, we get handed over and exchanged and up the chain (of command) till we get to the true God... They are all parts of his holy body, the holy ones, and so, are him also, for they do nothing outside of his will, for these are obedient angels, not disobedient ones, so they are "God" to, just not in and of themselves, alone... We invisibly go through mentors and fathers till we reach the top, if and when we ever do...

Hell only makes sense to me if their is some sort of re-incarnation of some kind, until we reach the level of becoming incarnate, or immortal like God and holy angels are...

I'm still working on that one?

God Bless!

Ohhhhh K.

 

[Deadworm]

A man was considering relocation to a new town. He asked a local there, "What are the people like here?" The stranger replied, "What are they like where you come from?" The visitor replied, "Oh, their self-centered, gossipy, and unhelpful. That's why I'm looking to move." The stranger replied, "You might want to reconsider. I think you'll find our people to be just like your town." A year later, the same local was stopped on the street by another visitor, who asked, "What are the people like in this town?" The local replied, "Well, what are they like where you come from?" The visitor replied, 'O just wonderful! Our town is so friendly, considerate, and helpful. But I have to relocate here because of a job transfer." The local replied, "I think you'll find our people just as friendly, considerate, and helpful."

Similarly, our own character, perception, and way of being determines how we experience God.

Psalm 18:25-26 (NRSV): "To the loyal You show yourself loyal; to the blameless You show yourself blameless;
to the pure You show yourself pure;
but to the crooked You show yourself perverse."

The NIV translates this last line: "but to the devious you show yourself shrewd."

 

[Received]

Just because your views or beliefs of the attributes differ does not make Him different. Humans are fallible and imperfect and our experiences cause us to see everything differently.
Many people find broccoli bitter, many do not. Many like it, many do not. If you had each person describe how it tastes you are likely to get many different and often countering opinions and flavors. Does that mean that the broccoli you bought at the same store I bought mine at is not broccoli, or mine is a faux broccoli? No, it means that we are imperfect humans who perceive the world differently, register tastes in a different way, sound and hear different as well. I believe this is what He did that made us unique and different, yet we all have a mind granted to us that allows us to realize this and to give us free will. It is this free will and choice that allows you to believe that we created our own God and also allows me to not agree with you.

That's why I've always liked C.S. Lewis' metaphor of different conceptions of God -- for him even different religious conceptions rather than denominational within Christianity -- as being lenses of varying dirtiness. If you clean the lens you'll end up at the truest conception (which arguably nobody has reached), and we all have degrees of dirtiness that prevent us from seeing fully who God is.

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

If you clean the lens you'll end up at the truest conception

Catholicism

 

[Unit 11]

Yes I am Christian and try to be a respectful one. But I do have doubts. And whilst I accept that God made me and all human beings, I think we all create our own concept of God. As the old question goes, "did God create us or did we create God?"
I mean we all have variable notions of God:
fearful
vengeful
kind
loving
compassionate
sacrificial
just
knowing
mighty
powerful
unconditionally loving

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental. I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

I would always go to God's book, reading all through it for the "big picture." I know what you mean: He's portrayed as kind & loving, and judgmental of sin. (I'm reminded of Thomas Jefferson, who went so far as to cut the judgmental parts out of his Bible.)

While I'm not a Bible expert, the idea I get is that He loves us, but cannot coexist with such corrupt creatures as we have become. He'll always deal with sin thoroughly at some point. But, knowing we're hard-wired that way and can't change it, he sent Christ and put him through the sacrifice. So we have a choice.

 

[Winken]

I believe Jesus "is the way the truth and the Life".
All I'm questioning is our concept/image of God/Jesus.
And our concept of God is going to affect how we evangelise. Whether people are going to be drawn to Him or not.

How about Creator?

 

[Godlovesmetwo]

I come across judgemental Christians often. It makes me wonder whether their conception of God has anything to do with it.

 

[Winken]

Just because your views or beliefs of the attributes differ does not make Him different. Humans are fallible and imperfect and our experiences cause us to see everything differently.
Many people find broccoli bitter, many do not. Many like it, many do not. If you had each person describe how it tastes you are likely to get many different and often countering opinions and flavors. Does that mean that the broccoli you bought at the same store I bought mine at is not broccoli, or mine is a faux broccoli? No, it means that we are imperfect humans who perceive the world differently, register tastes in a different way, sound and hear different as well. I believe this is what He did that made us unique and different, yet we all have a mind granted to us that allows us to realize this and to give us free will. It is this free will and choice that allows you to believe that we created our own God and also allows me to not agree with you.

There is only one Holy Spirit who dwells within each of us, providing crystal-clear perfect interpretation and application of God's Word. To expound otherwise exposes the truth that it is a mind-mental exposition, not Spiritual.

 

[Soyeong]

Yes I am Christian and try to be a respectful one. But I do have doubts. And whilst I accept that God made me and all human beings, I think we all create our own concept of God. As the old question goes, "did God create us or did we create God?"
I mean we all have variable notions of God:
fearful
vengeful
kind
loving
compassionate
sacrificial
just
knowing
mighty
powerful
unconditionally loving

My notion of God is more compassionate than judgemental. I know some of you who quote scripture see God as strong, powerful and not afraid to send us to eternal damnation. So your God is not the same as mine.

When God judges against someone, He judges in favor of someone else. Could your God really be compassionate if He were to let justice slide? Would your God be compassionate if He were to force people to spend eternity with Him who didn't want to?