my previous thread,about how God look alike,was about Gods creation.
Now the Concept God,who is God,what is God . who can judge him?
? Is God immanent? Or is He transcendent? Or is He both? How can God’s presence be felt?
? Did God create human beings in His image? What is meant by the image of God? Does God have an image or is it just in our imaginations?
? Does God sit on a throne above the heavens? Abu Dawud and Thirmidhi in Hadith No. 5480 Mishkat give physical details of the throne of Allah. According to them, Allah’s throne rests on the back of mountain goats that are standing in an ocean above the seventh heaven!
Creation of the Universe:
? How did God create the Universe? Did He get tired and need rest? The Bible states that after creating the Universe in six days, God rested on the seventh (GENESIS 2:2). Tafseer Ibn Katheer in interpreting Sura Fussilat says, in a story similar to the Biblical story of creation, that God created the earth on a Sunday and Monday and the stars, sun, moon and angels on Friday. One is left to wonder how the days of the week occurred before the creation of the planets and the stars?
? Is the Universe real or imaginary? According to Plato, the Universe is imaginary in that it exists only in the imagination. In Hinduism, the Universe is considered to be Brahma’s dream while he is asleep. Brahma is the Hindu God of creation—Hindus have different gods for different things, for example, the goddess of money is called Lakshmi.
? Is the Universe a shadow of God? This concept has led to a branch of Muslim mysticism called Wa‘hadt-ul-Shahood.
? Are God and the Universe one and the same? Is God matter and is matter God? Is God human? The concept of God and the Universe being the same is called Pantheism in western philosophy, Wa‘hadt-ul-Wajood in Sufism (Muslim mysticism), and Vedanta in Hindu Mysticism.
Relationship of Humans to God and the Universe:
? Can human beings comprehend God? Is the human mind even equipped to comprehend God? The Quran states that God cannot be comprehended (6:103) but Sufi mystics claim they can comprehend God. They claim they can even establish dialogue with God.
? Is there a purpose behind the creation of the Universe and the creation of human beings? How does God exercise control over His creation? How are human beings related to the Universe and to God?
The human mind, although limited in its potential, is nevertheless, curious about the unknown. It is no wonder, then, that many of the greatest minds in the fields of religion, classical literature, poetry, philosophy, mathematics, and modern science having been preoccupied with the above questions, have produced mountains of literature. However, without a proper concept of God, the human mind will not be able to understand the mystery of God’s true relationship with human beings.
Before we can understand God’s relationship to his creation, it is important to differentiate between the concept of God and our concept of God.
Idea of God
Anthropologists tell us that the idea of God first arose in the human mind when primitive humans felt threatened by the violent forces of nature. They say that an idea of God (or some higher power) has always existed and was often expressed through prayers and other rituals. A more formal expression of the idea of God occurs in religion. Congregational prayers performed weekly, daily, or, in some cases, multiple times a day, are all done for God. In addition, within religions, people tend to stay with the same concept of God bequeathed by their forebears; people are resistant to re-evaluation of inherited concepts of God. Further, a closer examination of the lives of people reveals that the God they pray to is very different than the God they believe rules their lives. Why is this so? This is because people hold a personal and subjective relationship with God.
Subjective Concept of God
Most of us think of God (or a higher authority) only in moments of crisis. When the misfortune ends, we tend to forget God (10:12, 16:53-54, 31:32, 39:8). This cycle continues until old age when, anticipating death, we turn to God for spiritual support.
However, such a concept is bound to create conflict among people having different concepts of God. A Christian’s concept of God as Father is different from a Muslim’s concept of God as Allah. George Bush’s concept of God when he claimed he was “…doing the Lord’s work” was quite different from Saddam Hussein’s concept of God, who also claimed war (jihad) in the way of Allah. Billy Graham’s night vigil in the White House before the Gulf war sought help from the Lord to keep the oil flow to America. The Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades are other examples of war that was waged in the name of God. Hitler’s concept of God was quite different than Churchill’s, both of whom also waged war in the name of God.
With so many different subjective concepts of God, it becomes impossible to achieve oneness of God. Oneness of God requires oneness in the concept of God. Otherwise, humanity will remain forever divided over God, and human conflicts and suffering will continue. Among Muslims, the prevalence of the subjective concept of God is best illustrated through the presentation of real life scenarios than through abstract concepts.
would like to see other peoples thoughts ,who can judge God?
Now the Concept God,who is God,what is God . who can judge him?
? Is God immanent? Or is He transcendent? Or is He both? How can God’s presence be felt?
? Did God create human beings in His image? What is meant by the image of God? Does God have an image or is it just in our imaginations?
? Does God sit on a throne above the heavens? Abu Dawud and Thirmidhi in Hadith No. 5480 Mishkat give physical details of the throne of Allah. According to them, Allah’s throne rests on the back of mountain goats that are standing in an ocean above the seventh heaven!
Creation of the Universe:
? How did God create the Universe? Did He get tired and need rest? The Bible states that after creating the Universe in six days, God rested on the seventh (GENESIS 2:2). Tafseer Ibn Katheer in interpreting Sura Fussilat says, in a story similar to the Biblical story of creation, that God created the earth on a Sunday and Monday and the stars, sun, moon and angels on Friday. One is left to wonder how the days of the week occurred before the creation of the planets and the stars?
? Is the Universe real or imaginary? According to Plato, the Universe is imaginary in that it exists only in the imagination. In Hinduism, the Universe is considered to be Brahma’s dream while he is asleep. Brahma is the Hindu God of creation—Hindus have different gods for different things, for example, the goddess of money is called Lakshmi.
? Is the Universe a shadow of God? This concept has led to a branch of Muslim mysticism called Wa‘hadt-ul-Shahood.
? Are God and the Universe one and the same? Is God matter and is matter God? Is God human? The concept of God and the Universe being the same is called Pantheism in western philosophy, Wa‘hadt-ul-Wajood in Sufism (Muslim mysticism), and Vedanta in Hindu Mysticism.
Relationship of Humans to God and the Universe:
? Can human beings comprehend God? Is the human mind even equipped to comprehend God? The Quran states that God cannot be comprehended (6:103) but Sufi mystics claim they can comprehend God. They claim they can even establish dialogue with God.
? Is there a purpose behind the creation of the Universe and the creation of human beings? How does God exercise control over His creation? How are human beings related to the Universe and to God?
The human mind, although limited in its potential, is nevertheless, curious about the unknown. It is no wonder, then, that many of the greatest minds in the fields of religion, classical literature, poetry, philosophy, mathematics, and modern science having been preoccupied with the above questions, have produced mountains of literature. However, without a proper concept of God, the human mind will not be able to understand the mystery of God’s true relationship with human beings.
Before we can understand God’s relationship to his creation, it is important to differentiate between the concept of God and our concept of God.
Idea of God
Anthropologists tell us that the idea of God first arose in the human mind when primitive humans felt threatened by the violent forces of nature. They say that an idea of God (or some higher power) has always existed and was often expressed through prayers and other rituals. A more formal expression of the idea of God occurs in religion. Congregational prayers performed weekly, daily, or, in some cases, multiple times a day, are all done for God. In addition, within religions, people tend to stay with the same concept of God bequeathed by their forebears; people are resistant to re-evaluation of inherited concepts of God. Further, a closer examination of the lives of people reveals that the God they pray to is very different than the God they believe rules their lives. Why is this so? This is because people hold a personal and subjective relationship with God.
Subjective Concept of God
Most of us think of God (or a higher authority) only in moments of crisis. When the misfortune ends, we tend to forget God (10:12, 16:53-54, 31:32, 39:8). This cycle continues until old age when, anticipating death, we turn to God for spiritual support.
However, such a concept is bound to create conflict among people having different concepts of God. A Christian’s concept of God as Father is different from a Muslim’s concept of God as Allah. George Bush’s concept of God when he claimed he was “…doing the Lord’s work” was quite different from Saddam Hussein’s concept of God, who also claimed war (jihad) in the way of Allah. Billy Graham’s night vigil in the White House before the Gulf war sought help from the Lord to keep the oil flow to America. The Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades are other examples of war that was waged in the name of God. Hitler’s concept of God was quite different than Churchill’s, both of whom also waged war in the name of God.
With so many different subjective concepts of God, it becomes impossible to achieve oneness of God. Oneness of God requires oneness in the concept of God. Otherwise, humanity will remain forever divided over God, and human conflicts and suffering will continue. Among Muslims, the prevalence of the subjective concept of God is best illustrated through the presentation of real life scenarios than through abstract concepts.
would like to see other peoples thoughts ,who can judge God?
