How do you define God?

[Scribe D'Nucov]

I was recently asked this question on another forum, where Atheists and skeptics abound:
How do you define God? The intent of the person seemed to be that there is no God, chiefly because there is not an available definition.

Now, understand, the folks on that forum are mostly intent on proving that Christians believe a myth. So, I'm wondering: how do you all define God here at AAG.net?

Perhaps, more to the point, how would you answer that question, if a non-believer asked you?

How do you define God?

[Theresa]

God is omnipotent (all powerful) . God is omniscient (all knowing). God is omnipresent (present everywhere).
God is a spirit, eternal and ever living. He has no beginning or end. God is love, He is the essence of love, He is also righteous judge, totally fair in all He does.
God is our Father, our creator, the one who causes everything to be, who made the sun and the moon, everything in heaven and everything on earth were created by Him. For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have an everlasting life.

[Scribe D'Nucov]

When I was a child, I was very compelled by the awesome power of creation. Time and tides, and everything related, has always fascinated me. I guess that is one of the key factors that God used to bring me to Christ.

Then, when I got older and began to understand the mechanics of the universe, the laws of motion and such seemed to give a simple explanation for the rising of sun and moon, the elements of creation. After that, it all seemed like an elaborate "toy" and I became like Thomas Jefferson - a deist. I was convinced that if there was a God, he wound up the universe like a clock and walked away.

As time went on, and I began to realize that there is a deep volume of laws that govern the few laws we understand, I began to re-acquaint myself with the majesty of creation. For, behind the laws of motion and gravity are an incredible volume of other laws and forces that sustain those. And suddenly I was aware that God was so incredibly in love with his creation to a degree I never realized before. Now, when I am observing creation, I am like a child again - staggered in awe of the majestic phenomenon of it all.

[Gayla]

A definition is a formal passage describing the meaning of a word or phrase. This is Wikis meaning of the termiology of the word define.

The meaning of God...then is :

That of an all powerful, all knowing, all loving enity...... that we have not seen, yet, we can see the evidence of him all around us, and within us. The bible says that we are fearfully....and wonderfully made....and if we ever doubt it... all we need to do is study the anatamy of the human body.... and of course the mind....it is the greatest computer ever created....and is the basis for the modern technology that is all around us.

It does not take a rocket scientist to look around and realize that everything within our gaze...did not just happen. Anyone with any mind at all, knows that there must be some form of intelligence behind what we see, including ourselves.

The thought that we came from slime...is more than ludicrous.

I think a three year old, could figure out that the magnificance that is our world....did not just happen.

A super power of great magnitude had to have been behind the origin of the species.

He has given us his word....to define him... the Atheists....just do not want to bow the knee......

[Scribe D'Nucov]

It's always good to get some 3rd party corroboration to our thoughts when dealing with such a big topic. However, I am much more interested in your own personal thoughts on defining God.

Who is God to you? Who do you understand God to be? What do you think God says about himself, objectively, but also from your understanding?

I think you are very well on your way with the comment: "He has given us his word....to define him..." I would like to explore that concept in more detail.

[LT]

Hey Scribe,

My opinion is that all attempts to define God are inferior for we are trying to define our infinite God with finite minds. Scripture tells us the following: "Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, `What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.' " God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, `The LORD, the God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob--has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation." Exodus 3:13-15 NIV

The best we can do is attempt to describe God through our understanding of His nature and character. A great place to start is His known attributes.

Lord Bless,
LT

[Scribe D'Nucov]

LT, you are right on track with your comment "all attempts to define God are inferior for we are trying to define our infinite God with finite minds..."

I do have some thoughts on the topic, and I hope others will join this discussion. Once we have had a good review, I'll share what I wrote and hopefully get some feedback from everyone about what I said.

When I was a new Christian, I was always confounded by the Lord's comment to Moses "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.'..."! It made me wonder: why would God be so obtuse and aloof? Why did God answer Moses with such ambiguity?? Yet it is in this sacred name "I AM who I AM" which in the Hebrew is pronounced "Yahweh", or "Jehovah" is an infinite distance from all of the supposed gods and lords, idols and isms, sages and prophets of this world.

God alone is able to say "I AM" and not have a "because" statement following. For you or I, we must say "I am ____ because _____ ". I am LT, because my Dad was LT Senior. Or, I am a Scribe, because my mom gave me a typewriter for my 12th birthday.

God says "I am" for no other reason than that "I am". There is no "because". So, this tells me that God is the truly unique character in the entire universe. Yahweh God is unlike anything or anyone else we could ever know. This one statement; this one claim must press us forward. It demands that we investigate and discover who this one truly unique character is that can say, without qualification "I AM".

Thanks LT, you are on target and we are starting to get somewhere with this topic.

[LT]

Scribe,

Based upon the group you are targeting for the response to this question, are we able to use or not use Scriputre in attempting to further define/describe God?

Lord Bless,
LT

[Scribe D'Nucov]

It's entirely up to you. I'm not trying to set an agenda, but to have a discussion. Ultimately, I don't see how we can define God apart from Scripture. The attempts we make to define him would have to be guided by that, in the least - or we would be making a "god in our own image", right?

At the same time, just creating a listing of verses isn't necessarily going to guide our understanding, by itself. We have to ingest those verses and develop understanding - find the meaning. What does "I AM who I AM" mean, after all? There is a phenomenal depth of meaning in that statement. I believe that God desires that we should dig deeply to understand him. Not to limit God by containing Him with our understanding, but to develop our grasp of who God is and to expand our understanding through our entire lifetime.

[Thomas M Wagner]

Atheists have a hard time proving there is no God. So many things are unexplained beyond humane understanding. Without reading the other comments I'll try and offer my answer. Are we the only form of intelligence in existence? How far does the universe stretch beyond the Milky Way? Really..how far does the universe as we humans understand it go? Can atheists explain that? If so I would love to hear it..

[Scribe D'Nucov]

Well, Thomas, I agree with you 100%. However, Atheists try to tie you up in semantical arguments based on hundreds of assumptions built upon other assumptions. For me I look at it this way: considering the distance and time span involved, i think it is entirely possible to say that the universe, as it has been observed through telescopes, does not actually exist - it is an image of something that existed before - or perhaps will exist in the future. It is, I believe, a projection of God's infinite creativity. And if it is a projection, then it is projected by something, because of something.

When we are dealing with the vastness of the universe as we have observed it, it would be impossible to think in terms of unified absolutes, when we know that one of the assumed absolutes - the speed of light - has already been proven to have altered over the course of creation history (would say "over time" but that would actually be redundant). How great of a degree it has altered is open to speculation, but the fact that it has altered is almost universally accepted now. So, if the speed of light has altered, that changes everything, according to Relativity.

In fact, if we take Einsteins theory of relativity and if we take his other theories, such as space being infinitely curved and time itself being relative (to the nature of energy, light, mass and gravity) - we could say that Hubble has taken pictures of us in a distant past, or even potentially in a distant future - across the time/space continuum curve. The universe may not be "infinite" in distance of time as a linear graph, but rather actually very finite across a space/time curve that is observed through the lenses of these telescopes.

But, that is an entirely different matter (of creation theory), and is not actually what I was shooting for in this question. My goal is to open the doors wide to how we, as believers, define God. And, how that differs from the worldly definition of God.

[Thomas M Wagner]

Scribe, as you say it is impossible to think of unified absolutes in dealing with the vastness of the universe. Precisely my point. I define God as the ultimate creator of all that is known and unknown. Faith is a huge step atheists simply cannot take.

[Scribe D'Nucov]

Very true, when it comes to seeking God. However, the Atheists apply great faith to the idea of things evolving without God. So, in that way, Atheists exercise more faith than the most devout Christians.