Should Our Idea Of God Evolve?

[Skydancing]

It seems strange to me that God should be a stuck in a centuries old time warp instead of evolving and keeping pace with modern thinking. The ancients wrote about God from their perspective which was pre-science and technology. Surely our idea of God should evolve too?

 

[matthewgoh]

Yes, God lives in our hearts now, interferes, loves, reacts in every actions we do. The God in old testament is "different" from the God after Christ. This is my view, and my understanding of him.

 

[FreezBee]

It seems strange to me that God should be a stuck in a centuries old time warp instead of evolving and keeping pace with modern thinking. The ancients wrote about God from their perspective which was pre-science and technology. Surely our idea of God should evolve too?

Yes, God lives in our hearts now, interferes, loves, reacts in every actions we do. The God in old testament is "different" from the God after Christ. This is my view, and my understanding of him.

Ooh, isn't God supposed to be eternal and never-changing? But of course, our concept of God is temporal and ever-changing, so how would we know the difference anyway?

Well, if our concept that changed nearly 2,000 years ago, we might well be on for a refill, so like what should our idea of God be?


- FreezBee

 

[Wickwoman]

It seems strange to me that God should be a stuck in a centuries old time warp instead of evolving and keeping pace with modern thinking. The ancients wrote about God from their perspective which was pre-science and technology. Surely our idea of God should evolve too?

Hi Skydancing. I think our ideas of God surely do evolve. We cannot stop it from happening. Since we cannot see or talk to God in the flesh, he is a figment of our imagination. Not that I believe he/she does not exist. But what we know of God is all imagined. Some of it may be accurate. Other ideas are surely inaccurate. So as we as people and as a species evolve to a higher and higher consciousness, God also evolves.

This can be seen in the many new "revelations" of God that have been popping up in fundamentalist and other non-universalist religions. Certain members of congregations, pastors and other lay people have been receiving what they believe is direct revelation from God that he/she will save all mankind. This is quite a step in the right direction in my opinion. And I belive it is a product of the evolution of man away from separation and hatred and towards unity and love. Carlton Pearson is an excellent example of this. He was pastor of a 5,000 member fundamentalist congregation. His story is phenomenal and if you are not familiar with him you should look him up. I heard an interview with him on NPR's This American Life last Sunday.

Good thread BTW!

 

[PureX]

I agree with wickwoman. "God" is an idea, and ideas can and often do evolve. And as our idea of God evolves, so does our "experience" of God (if we believe that God exists) because the way we perceive ourselves to experience God is based on our pre-conceived idea of God.

For example, if I pre-conceive God to be controlling and manipulating me through the circumstances of my life, then I will experience many of the events of my life as evidence of God's manipulation, and will respond to them, accordingly. If I don't believe that God manipulates circumstances, however, then I will not perceive the events of my life to be experiences of divine manipulation, and I will respond to them differently than if I had.

Our pre-conceptions define our experiences for us. We understand what happens to us through our pre-conceived ideas of what we already believe is real and true. So not only can our pre-conceived ideas of God change over time, and according to our will, but these changes will in turn alter the way we perceive the world around us.

This is why the idea of God that we hold is very important. And this is why understanding that we control the idea of God that we choose to hold in our minds is also very important. Both have a direct effect on how we understand and experience the world we're living in.

 

[CaDan]

As some posters here have already pointed out, it's not even a "should" question. Our conception of God/the Divine/the Numinous has and does evolve and change.

 

[elman]

It seems strange to me that God should be a stuck in a centuries old time warp instead of evolving and keeping pace with modern thinking. The ancients wrote about God from their perspective which was pre-science and technology. Surely our idea of God should evolve too?

We should as we seek to understand God mature, thus our individual idea of God should be changing to some extent, but modern thinking is no different from anceient thinking in many ways. We have the same issues of being unloving and harmful to others that men had thousands of years ago and the same questions of purpose and destiny which we cannot completely understand now and they could not understand in their time.

 

[trase]

Ooh, isn't God supposed to be eternal and never-changing? But of course, our concept of God is temporal and ever-changing, so how would we know the difference anyway?

Well, if our concept that changed nearly 2,000 years ago, we might well be on for a refill, so like what should our idea of God be?


- FreezBee

Read The Urantia Book, the "Fifth epochal revelation of truth" !! You will never again believe that "talking snakes" actually existed !!!!!!

 

[Martinez]

He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

 

[Abbadon]

He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I tend to agree. I think that how we think God did/does/will do things can and will change, and that's OK, since we're human, and probably didn't/don't have it right concerning some of the things He's done.

 

[ebia]

He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Perhaps. But we are not, so our concept of him must and will change or it will no longer accurately reflect him.

 

[matthewgoh]

He is the same. But his works change in time and needs. He acts differently before Christ, and after Christ. In this century alone, the world population increases from 1 billion to 6 billions. He is actively working to save more souls. So, he is continually working, which leads us to perceive that he changes.

 

[Skydancing]

Many Christians don't want to look at the idea of God in a modern way, they prefer to be stuck with the God of the Bible.

 

[Im_A]

a finite being's understanding of an infinite being will always evolve while the infinite being remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

 

[Skydancing]

We don't know anything about God so we don't know if he evolves or stays the same.

 

[Im_A]

We don't know anything about God so we don't know if he evolves or stays the same.

one of my friends, during a Bible study i went to said something that i really liked.

God is like a diamond, with many, many parts, and we get to see all the little parts of God.

the idea of God being an absolute/infinite being, i guess that leads me to believe that there's no reason for God to change/evolve.

just my $.02, mixed with a friend of mine's $.02 so is it ok to give my $.04 cents?

 

[Skydancing]

People use the Bible on which to base their idea of God, but the Bible is only a collection of the ideas of God formed centuries ago.

 

[azzy]

It seems strange to me that God should be a stuck in a centuries old time warp instead of evolving and keeping pace with modern thinking. The ancients wrote about God from their perspective which was pre-science and technology. Surely our idea of God should evolve too?

God is so great,he can evolve into nothing greater.

We do as time goes on,learn more,and we as humans,are always changing like the weather and the seasons,but God never changes.We do all the time.

 

[azzy]

Hi Skydancing. I think our ideas of God surely do evolve. We cannot stop it from happening. Since we cannot see or talk to God in the flesh, he is a figment of our imagination. Not that I believe he/she does not exist. But what we know of God is all imagined. Some of it may be accurate. Other ideas are surely inaccurate. So as we as people and as a species evolve to a higher and higher consciousness, God also evolves.

This can be seen in the many new "revelations" of God that have been popping up in fundamentalist and other non-universalist religions. Certain members of congregations, pastors and other lay people have been receiving what they believe is direct revelation from God that he/she will save all mankind. This is quite a step in the right direction in my opinion. And I belive it is a product of the evolution of man away from separation and hatred and towards unity and love. Carlton Pearson is an excellent example of this. He was pastor of a 5,000 member fundamentalist congregation. His story is phenomenal and if you are not familiar with him you should look him up. I heard an interview with him on NPR's This American Life last Sunday.

Good thread BTW!

God is not a figment of my imagination,you can only speak for yourself,not others.God is my friend.

To you he may be,but to me he isnt.He is personal and my friend ,like love ,that cannot be seen,yet is powerfull and real.

 

[Wickwoman]

God is not a figment of my imagination,you can only speak for yourself,not others.God is my friend.

To you he may be,but to me he isnt.He is personal and my friend ,like love ,that cannot be seen,yet is powerfull and real.

I'm glad that you believe God is your friend. You're right, the God you've known has not appeared to me. That is why I say he/she is part of each of our imaginations. We each have our opinions on what he/she is. If we had all seen him in the flesh then there would be no need for discussion boards such as this one.

Love is a concept. And a good comparison to God. Because it means something different to each of us. And each of us have experienced love in different ways, just as each of us has experienced God in different ways. God is a concept as well. Because there is no physical being that can be delivered as proof of your opinions of him/her. That is why he is part of your imagination only, for now. Later, perhaps we will all be able to know him/her in a different and more personal way. But for now our imaginings are all we have.