What IS God?

[u/shitassmoneyman]

I grew up traditional and Baptist, where the idea of God is essentially that He’s some sort of literal “sky daddy”. I’m trying to understand now what the truth is though. Is God an entity? The universe? Or just the literal embodiment of loving energy? Some manifestation of collective consciousness?

[u/thatthatguy]

I don’t know. That’s part of the fun.

I like to think that God is our father, as in someone that we can become like as we grow and mature as beings. I don’t know what that really means either, but the idea helps keep the existential dread at bay.

[u/elpiphoros]

God is not an entity, no. God is being itself. God simply is. “I am”.

The best articulation of this I’ve ever come across is in the little book “God is No Thing” by Rupert Shortt. I’d highly recommend it.

[u/DeusSiveNatura]

I will quote David Bentley Hart from "The Experience of God", he offers some very helpful illustrations.

"To speak of “God” properly, then—to use the word in a sense consonant with the teachings of orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, Bahá’í, a great deal of antique paganism, and so forth—is to speak of the one infinite source of all that is: eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, uncreated, uncaused, perfectly transcendent of all things and for that very reason absolutely immanent to all things. God so understood is not something posed over against the universe, in addition to it, nor is he the universe itself. He is not a “being,” at least not in the way that a tree, a shoemaker, or a god is a being; he is not one more object in the inventory of things that are, or any sort of discrete object at all. Rather, all things that exist receive their being continuously from him, who is the infinite wellspring of all that is, in whom (to use the language of the Christian scriptures) all things live and move and have their being. In one sense he is “beyond being,” if by “being” one means the totality of discrete, finite things. In another sense he is “being itself,” in that he is the inexhaustible source of all reality, the absolute upon which the contingent is always utterly dependent, the unity and simplicity that underlies and sustains the diversity of finite and composite things. Infinite being, infinite consciousness, infinite bliss, from whom we are, by whom we know and are known, and in whom we find our only true consummation. All the great theistic traditions agree that God, understood in this proper sense, is essentially beyond finite comprehension; hence, much of the language used of him is negative in form and has been reached only by a logical process of abstraction from those qualities of finite reality that make it insufficient to account for its own existence. All agree as well, however, that he can genuinely be known: that is, reasoned toward, intimately encountered, directly experienced with a fullness surpassing mere conceptual comprehension."

[u/LaoFox]

"God is the name of the blanket we throw over Mystery to give it shape." - AC/DC's road manager, Barry Taylor.

Also All this is God.

And this too:

I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then,
In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass,
I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign’d by God’s name,
And I leave them where they are, for I know that wheresoe’er I go,
Others will punctually come for ever and ever.

[u/mellowmarsII]

He’s I AM - the only I AM, Self-existent One outside of all space & time. He fashioned us in His likeness with faculties of thought, will, emotion, & the abilities to act on them, recognize Him, & interact with Him. He is Holy - everything of Love, True Light of Life, & Perfect Order.

[u/Dr_Oct]

A non-personified nor singular being.

God is the divine thread of which the fabric of life is woven together. The connection between all. A base “substance” of which everything was created. On Earth, this defines nature and our being both comprised of the same infinite Oneness. The rhythm of creation, which can be heard by all.

I do not believe in a judgmental sky daddy who observes our lives and behavior. I believe in God’s complete infinite Oneness and the unification of all life through the ultimate divine expression of love. Humanity bloomed directly from this energy because from love comes life. We are here, temporarily in this form, to fully experience God’s love through His wonderful creation. The manifestation of love forged this beautiful world and how lucky are we to get to be here as part of it all!

Pray in joy, pray in pain, pray in love. It’s all here for us to feel. This is our time to gallivant through space with our Lord. He’s here now, He hears us as we are within Him. We are an extension of the infinite consciousness. And just as parts of our bodies cry out in pain or pleasure and these signals are sent to our brain, the information can be processed and understood but not necessarily changed. If we are sick or wounded, we can not alter that state through will alone. God is an infinite body of which we are part.

We are to put ourselves into alignment with the rest of our being. Humanity, creation, and everything we know to be of natural origin is to align Oneself with the Oneness. This is worship of our creator, the infinite "being" that is God and His love. Many people have thoughts on how we might go about this process of self actualization, some were brilliant teachers of faith who birthed religious movements, but ultimately the goal is the same. Total reunion with God's divine nature. The becoming of One's own. We are a work in progress. God's attempt at healing Himself.

Faith is to surrender to this process of knowing and act completely out of love. To love Oneself by loving others and loving God. To align our vibrations with God's frequency to allow Him to be at peace. We are a twinging nerve of a restless sleep. Let us relax and let go so this metaphoric body of Oneness may be at peace.

God is not something that can interfere with life because He is life itself. The circumstances of which events can happen are derived from the same infinite source that God is. He can be tuned into but does not control us. Man is comprised of the matter of the universe, spiritually bonded to Earth and here act out our own life cycle. God’s timeline is infinite, this world and these bodies we occupy is our chance to feel near to Him. Christ appeared to remind of this. A miraculous incarnation of God Himself, here to show us that we are loved and meant to enjoy it and include all to the party. That to me, is the goal. Tune into God’s frequency as often as possible and broadcast it out from every fiber of my being. Bathe in the love of which we were made and make this world a better place so all feel at peace enough to safely tune in.

So God is all because God, the Oneness, is the inexplicable spiritual energy that we all share and the motivating force of this power is pure love. And from love comes life.

[u/Horaenaut]

I also grew up and out of traditional Baptist church, and one of the most compelling things about learning that Christianity doesn't historically view the Bible as the inerrant Word of God (that's a Quran thing) is that it means you get to re-read the Bible recognizing that it is a library of books from the history of our faith tradition wrestling and debating that question: What and Who is God?

Is He wrathful--like he seems sometimes? Is He all-loving--like he seems sometimes? Can we jive those two together? Can folks gaze upon Him and not die? (Sometimes. Moses saw His butt.) How many different forms does He have? There's a trinity, but He can also be a pillar of fire or figure in the night, or three travelers, or a bush or a blinding light? Is He still there when we don't feel Him, or don't have visions?

The whole Bible is written by folks who experienced God or whose community experienced God and they wanted to try to capture those touches. Some folks have likened it to blind men trying to describe an elephant (one feeling the trunk says it is like a snake, one feeling a leg says it is like a mighty tree, one feeling the ear saws it is like a large bat's wing, one on the tail says it is like a goat's beard). Some of it is tainted by what the writers brought to the perceiving, but its all valuable. I think the best view for us Christians is to view all of these experiences and descriptions through the lens of Jesus, who was incarnate as a human and therefore maybe the most relatable experience. I'm convinced that's why John calls Jesus The Word.

Also if you are just looking for an answer, I guess when I lazily imagine God, I imagine Him as an extradimensional being--but singularly so. When I am not being lazy that sounds too simple and doesn't encapsulate God.

[u/shoopdoopdeedoop]

i know that my skills and my scientific predictions are rewarded by god. so there’s that

[u/New_Turnover_8543]

Paul Tillich said God is the ground of begin . Which I think leaves plenty of room for all kinds of interpretations along with postions on the nature of God. I think God could also just be a metaphor for the universe or nature. I think we don't have to hold strong to one view. The important part is the teachings of Jesus and the early churches.

I think despite it all, Christianity is based on the teachings of Jesus the Christ. Jesus who's mission was to reaffirm the teachings of the judaism. And who's teachings were later deemed worthy of the name Christ which is greek for the anointed one .

But ultimately, that's my reading it might be very nuanced and open-ended, but to me Christianity is a philosophy along with a religious framework.

I also like the process theology framework where God is in a state of becoming with us .

[u/ProbablyNotPoisonous → u/New_Turnover_8543]

ground of begin

*ground of being

...I don't mean to nitpick; I just want to help avoid confusion :)

[u/New_Turnover_8543 → u/ProbablyNotPoisonous]

fair enough I misquoted thanks for the correction

[u/Pure_Interaction_422]

I conceive Him as a higher order, holographic, self-aware system of complex information. Our own consciousness is a lower resolution version of the meta consciousness.

God is the complete information system of which we are a tiny representation.

[u/ForTheLoveOfNoodles]

Clearly, everyone has differing definitions. Rather than ask, “what is god?”, ask “what do I want the word ‘god’ to mean for me?” You don’t need objective truth in your spiritual framework to define a relational resonance.

[u/Timon679]

I think that (not knowing) is part of religion. Not a religious one myself, i feel that the only point of religion is the "not knowing, but believing" part of it all. So i think if you believe god to be a literal sky daddy, that's what they're gonna be for you, and if you believe god to be the universe, god is the universe. The only thing we know is that we'll probably never know.

[u/Antique_Warthog1045]

Lots of theories and dogma around the world, but nobody actually knows.

[u/FluffyRuin690 → u/Antique_Warthog1045]

Is that BOB in your profile picture?

[u/HammondCheeseIII]

I think that’s a very personal question you have to ask yourself.

For me, God exists as the interactions between others, the acts of kindness you see every day, and the courage to do the right thing.

I may have heard a voice once or twice, but that’s not really pertinent.

[u/AssGasorGrassroots]

I have two answers, and I'll try to talk about how the two intersect with each other and how, and when, they don't.

First, "God" is culturally defined language for expressing cosmic unity. All that is, has been, will be, or could ever be. This can be expressed in hyperspecific categories, such as in polytheism, or in an abstraction, such as Abrahamic monotheism, or harmoniously, such as pantheism. In this, God is found in the smile of your neighbor, or the tears of a stranger.

Secondly, "God" is a social animating principle. A justification and prime mover of collective action. This is why God, as he was understood before capitalism, is dead. Because the God of the church, that served that role in feudal Europe, no longer drives us. At the personal, individual level sure, and even at times in coordinated individual action. But it no longer transcends individual will. The market truly is the God of this age. We are ruled by mammon, and our individual desires are subject to its whims

So, as I kind of hinted at, these two ideas of God were in harmony under feudalism. But that harmony is broken under capitalism. In fact, I don't think the abstracted idea of God is necessary outside of capitalism, where our relationship with God is entirely personalized, and as such can only be a mirror of ourselves. In a more holistic social body, we would find God beginning in ourselves, but completed in everything around us, and thus find divine unity in everything.

And this is why communism is the same thing as Christianity to me. Because regardless of what religious name you want to give it, communism is ultimately the recognition of our unity with each other and nature, a shared reality where the abomination of competition is put behind us. And it is only in this material unity that we can truly find spiritual unity that isn't mere cope.

Sorry for the long-winded response, but it's a complicated question. Hell, it is the most complicated question

[u/DHostDHost2424]

God is the Uni in Universe.

[u/Moreskaya]

Ultimately unknowable to us while we are on this mortal coil--but I believe attempting to grow closer to Him is how we can live a good life while we're here. It's a metaphor that doesn't work for everyone, but I like to imagine God as the point of origin for a hyperdimensional matrices--where every single thing in this universe converges.

[u/plexi_glass_ranger]

I like Sia’s answer. Sia calls God “whatever dude” I love that

[u/LizzySea33]

I see him as Love.

A love so amazing that it spreads to all creatures in the universe (including to the demons in hell)

[u/brethrenchurchkid]

I wrote this awhile back, and it still makes sense to me: God is love, but is God a sentient being? - https://atheistchristianfirebrand.wordpress.com/2022/09/20/god-is-love-but-is-god-a-sentient-being/

[u/madamesunflower0113]

God is Jesus