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God (noun) Old English from Proto-Germanic
guthan, from root gheu(e) - "to call, invoke."
1):the unchangeably perfect being that is the first and final cause of the universe 2):the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being. 3) a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity. _____________________________________ Before the beginning there was only one consciousness, that of The Eternal One whose nature cannot be expressed in words. It was The One Sole Spirit, The Self Generator which cannot diminish. The Unknown, Unknowable One brooding solitary in profound pregnant silence. The name which is uttered cannot be that of this Great Being who, remaining nameless, is the beginning and the end, beyond time, beyond the reach of mortals, and we in our simplicity call it God . - The Kolbrin Bible The Existence of God From ancient times, mankind has accepted the idea that there was some sort of supreme creator that produced the world in which they lived. Possibly the only argument against the existence of God, is the weak Atheist argument, "If there is a God, where did he come from?" This is a specious argument which can be used against the existence of any prime cause, i.e. "If there was a big bang, what caused it?" "If the universe has always existed, where did it come from?" etc. And, of course, none of these arguments disprove the existence of God The French philosopher, Rene Descartes, gave us the phrase: Cogito, ergo sumI think, therefore I am to prove that an indivdual exists. We might expand the phrase to: Cogito, ergo existit Dei - I think, therefore God exists. In other words, I exist, therefore I must have a cause, i.e. God. One of the problems many have with the idea of a God, is the assumption that God must be that fairy-tale being we were taught about in Sunday School. While children can easily accept the story, adults cannot. This leads many to reject the entire idea of God. It seem in their efforts to make God understandable to the masses, they have messed it all up. The various religions have called God Spirit, Consciousness, Prime Cause, the First and the Last, All and Everything, the Almighty, the Creator, Absolute Being, Universal Cause. Whatever title you may use, God surely exists.
To begin with we only give names to things when we have more than one. We only give something a name when we want to distinguish it from a similar item. Since there is only one God, there is no point in giving him a name. God seems to be sufficient. No one is going to be confused or think you are referring to an angel or a cloud or something. The Islamic insistence on using the name Allah is without merit. Even the Moslems know that Allah is not a name, but simply a word that means God. The Jehovah witness's are best known for claiming that God has a name and that that name is Jehovah. This is an error based on a misunderstanding of Exodus 3:14. . Moses asks God to tell him what he should be known as. God answers with the Hebrew phrase אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה which is written with the four Hebrew letters Yod he vau he “I am who am”, "I am who I am" "I will be what I will be" or even "I create what(ever) I create". The most meaningful English translation is: "I am what I am." One could also translate it: "I am (all) that is. The Witnesses, and others, have made the mistake of reading the four letters as a name rather than a phrase. Some take the third word in the first verse of Genesis, elohim, as being the name of God. But it, too, is only a description. Elohim is simply the Hebrew word for god or lord.God has no name and does not need one. Whatever you may call him, he knows who you mean.
The Gender of God This cannot be a question unless you believe that God has sexual organs. Then we would have to ask the questions: "What is the purpose of God's sexual organs?" "Does God have sex?" "Did he use those organs to have sex with Mary to produce Jesus?" If you choose to believe these things, then you have an anthropomorphic god. A verse in Genesis suggests that God may possess both genders: "So God created man in his own image. In his own image did God created him. male and female created he them." Genesis 1:27 New King James Version According to art scholar Leo Steinberg, until about the middle of the thirteenth century artists avoided portraying Jesus’ penis. But from then on, up until the sixteenth century, emphasis was placed on the portrayal of that part of Christ’s body that made him most mortal, and which proved his union with humankind. But until that time the genitals of Christ were essentially taboo. The importance of Jesus' genitals is that Christian theology states that Jesus was built in the "express image of his father". Therefore, if Jesus had a penis, so did God! In fact, the creators of the Shroud of Turin (c. 1000 AD) ignored the traditional placement of the arms of a corpse (crossing one's breast or at one's sides) in order to place Jesus hands over his genitals, concealing them. In fact, the shoulders would have had to have been dislocated in order to place them in this position.. The only reference in the Bible to his circumcision (only necessary if one has a penis) is in the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke which says: "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb." In a discussion between those believe in the traditional male God, those who worship the Goddess and those who acknowledge God as a spirit/consciousness, it was decided that one may use the masculine, feminine or neutral pronouns in referring to God and be perfectly correct.
The Nature of God Though the vast majority of humanity embrace the idea of a god or creator, they are not in agreement as to the nature of that god. Differing religions, today and down through the ages, have put forth varying concepts and names for that one true eternal God. Individuals and nations have actually fought to the death over the differences that exist between these varying concepts.
The best-known gods of Egypt are Isis, Osiris and Horus, (a Trinity of sorts) who most likely were historical characters who had become deified as their stories were told and retold through the ages.The gods of other cultures, such as the Greeks and Romans, developed in much the same way. Hindu religions have placed more emphasis on the historical nature of their gods and goddesses . Differing religions, today and down through the ages, have put forth varying concepts and names for that one true eternal God. Individuals and nations have actually fought to the death over the differences that exist between these varying concepts.
In the original Hebrew
scriptures, there were no vowels, only the equivalent of consonants.
For a
thousand years
the
word YHVH was never spoken out loud for fear of
taking
God’s name in vain.
To
avoid
repeating YHVH (Yahweh,
the
name of God, it was their custom to recite
instead
the word
“adonai”
(Hebrew for
lord or master).
In most English versions of
the Bible, the letters
YHVH are
rendered
LORD. When
it came time to add vowel sounds to
the Hebrew scriptures,
YHVH had been unspoken for so many years that no one had
any
idea what
it
should
sound
like.
So they took the vowels from the word
adonai and
placed them between the letters
YHVH. (The first A is soft as in "fall".
The second A is hard, as in "fast").
Thus we get
Jehovah.
The reality of God
Let us here deal with the claims of the
atheists and others who always scornfully enquire, “If there is a
God, where did he come from?”
This is a question which
may have remained
without answer until
Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225–1274) who enhanced an argument of Aristotle
and formed the most influential, (and simplest) answer to the
cosmological argument. He stated that everything that exists has a
cause. Ultimately when we travel back, from effect to cause, from one
cause to another, we come to the ultimate cause of the Universe, the
first cause, the uncaused. And that prime cause we can describe as
God.
Whether you claim allegiance to the Big
Bang of science or to the Elohim of Genesis, you are forced to
accept a cause which does not have a beginning. Any other path is an
endless and senseless journey. (see
Ockham’s
Razor, A Course in Logic for Seminary Students.)
The common image
of God is that of an
elderly, bearded man, dressed in white robes, sitting on a throne,
running the universe,
much as an ancient monarch would rule his kingdom.
This belief - that God is a great king ruling
the universe in the image of medieval man -
is an incorrect, simplistic idea that a reasoning individual should
reject. How do we gain an accurate idea of God? Perhaps we should do
as the Bible suggests: use reason.
Come now, and
let us reason together, saith the Lord
(Isaiah 1:18)
Having
been moved by logic to agree on the existence of God, we must now
address the nature of God. Can we agree that
God is
not
some anthropoid
king
ruling
the universe around him?
Perhaps it was this view that St. Paul
condemned when he said:
They exchanged the truth of
God for a lie, and worshippedand served a creation rather than the
creator.
-
Romans 1:25
Thus:
if God is the prime CAUSE, he must have existed
before the first EFFECT– before
everything.
To
many New Agers, God is not a creation, an EFFECT, but God is the
creator, the CAUSE which produced all else. Everything including
Matter . . . . and Space.
God
existed before space and matter Therefore, God does not occupy space
and is non-corporeal, a spirit. New Agers choose to accept those Biblical verses in which God is described as a spirit, the force behind everything in the universe. Spirit is pure consciousness without body or parts. Spirit is awareness. This is something we can comprehend only abstract
Unity Church
co-founder Charles Fillmore wrote I often tell my students, God is your highest self. A still, small voice that guides you correctly, if you listen. . Let us here deal with the claims of the atheists, and others, who always scornfully enquire, “If there is a God, where did he come from?"
We
cannot comprehend, cannot understand, that which is not material nor temperal. We
cannot comprehend God. Accept this, and move on.
We are told that “in the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.”
Many
of us picture God reaching out and, puff, there is a planet, puff,
there is a star, etc.
“Aha,” says the smarty, “he created
space first.”
But where did he put this space?
Huh!??
God
didn’t put anything anywhere.
Everything is in the mind/consciousness of God.
God is
the active force behind all
things, all of reality.
"I’m God!” proclaimed Shirley MacLaine in the 1987 TV series based on her book, Out on a Limb. “We are not mere animal creatures. We are a vital part of God.” And so say tens of thousands of other New Agers. Despite all descriptions (complex or mysterious) or whatever name (Jehovah, Elohim, Buddha, Krishna or Allah) that may be given . . .`there is but one God.
The
human mind cannot comprehend, cannot understand, spirit, that which is not material nor temperal. Thus we cannot comprehend God. Accept this, and move
on.
'Those who worship other
gods, worship me, though they realize it not.
If they be full of love and faith, I accept it as intended
for me
. . .
All such offerings I accept." - Bhagavad Gita
9:20,26 God exists outside, external to, all time and space. time, and sees the past, present, and future as one whole creation. God is eternal consciousness. What more can be said. The writers of the Old Testament perceived God as a great lord or king. as in Lord of Lords, King of Kings. and thus they attributed to him the same motivations and passions as their kings possesed. However, therer are several places in the Old Testament in which the true nature of God is revealed. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, Saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55:8-9 Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me and live. - Exodus 33:20 No man hath seen God at any time - John 1:18 Not that any man hath see the Father. - John 6:46 King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to who be honour and power everlasting. Amen - I Timothy 6:16 Finally St John comes along to wrapit all up with his spiritual viewpoint.. God is Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. - John 4:24 Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. (herein the word love is the Greek agape, which means unconditional love) - 1 John 4:8
CONCLUSION: God is from the beginning, the creator of all that is. He is infinite and unknowable and he loves us, unconditionally. He dos not require worship of us, he does not judge us, he does not condemn us.
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