Doesn't matter who or what god. The favorite trick for theists is to say its all the same god. The gods are the same, only the religions are different.
Why Would God be Asking Questions?
- Thread starter PsychoticEpisode
- Start date
davewhite04
Valued Senior Member
It does matter which god.
Personally I think there are many gods, and two in particular were in the garden of eden.
Personally I think there are many gods, and two in particular were in the garden of eden.
Gods were created in the image of man.
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God and the Mirror
There are certain things that are, in fact, impossible for an omniscient deity.
For instance, when God asks Adam and Eve why they hid ... it doesn't seem so unreasonable—especially compared to the notion of an omniscient, activist deity—that while God might have created humans, he cannot understand them. After all, no matter how much we might sympathize with another, or believe we know our friends, we aren't them. In this context, Christianity would lose its punch if we took a more reasonable approach to the notion of why God descended into the flesh only to be nailed to a cross. God cannot redeem humanity—cannot cure the sickness, so to speak—if He does not know what it feels like to be human. In this sense, the fictional Last Temptation of Christ would, if true, offer a more substantial insight into human nature than any number of the days spent in the desert with the Devil.
Perhaps even more threatening to those who feel the need to revel in the supposed glory and perfection of God is the idea that God, being in some manner constrained to Itself, cannot see itself in a purely objective sense. Philosophically and mythically, I regard the Universe this way:
(And for the record, I'm not the only one in the world who sees this possibility.)
However, replace the word "universe" with "God", and the possibility reveals itself. Understanding humanity is a vital component to God's understanding of Itself.
God can never wholly remove Itself from Itself, else It would lose track of Its way back to Itself. Thus, in asking certain questions, God isn't looking for a literal answer. By observing the answer and its implications, God learns a little bit more about how human beings see the world around them, and how they look at God.
Imagine for a moment that it's all true. One possibility that is overlooked by faith is that Jesus didn't know. Hence temptation, frustration, suffering, and above all fear:
At the end, He was afraid. At the end, he didn't know. God doesn't know Itself, and in reclaiming the Son into Itself, brings home the knowledge of mortal fear, temptation, and finite perspective.
Of course they were going to eat the fucking apple. They're humans. And before God can fix the sin, It must understand it. And whether it is for redemption or self-realization, there are plenty of reasons for God to ask questions of people.
The Sufis call it "polishing the mirror", and believe a certain feat is accomplished when one looks into the mirror of the soul and sees God looking back. Many, then, might conclude that the assertion pertains to this attainment, that in the accomplishment we become as much like God as our mortal vessels might. But it is also in the act itself, in the polishing of the mirror, that we imitate God.
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Notes:
Bible: Revised Standard Version. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/
PsychoticEpisode said:
There are certain things that are, in fact, impossible for an omniscient deity.
For instance, when God asks Adam and Eve why they hid ... it doesn't seem so unreasonable—especially compared to the notion of an omniscient, activist deity—that while God might have created humans, he cannot understand them. After all, no matter how much we might sympathize with another, or believe we know our friends, we aren't them. In this context, Christianity would lose its punch if we took a more reasonable approach to the notion of why God descended into the flesh only to be nailed to a cross. God cannot redeem humanity—cannot cure the sickness, so to speak—if He does not know what it feels like to be human. In this sense, the fictional Last Temptation of Christ would, if true, offer a more substantial insight into human nature than any number of the days spent in the desert with the Devil.
Perhaps even more threatening to those who feel the need to revel in the supposed glory and perfection of God is the idea that God, being in some manner constrained to Itself, cannot see itself in a purely objective sense. Philosophically and mythically, I regard the Universe this way:
We are products of the universe. We exist and behave according to the laws of the universe and the laws of nature as we have learned them. We are the eyes, ears, voice, and memory of the universe. What we touch, it also touches. What we experience, it also knows. There is nothing more important to the universal whole than to understand its meaning. All sentient life must therefore strive toward this goal.
(And for the record, I'm not the only one in the world who sees this possibility.)
However, replace the word "universe" with "God", and the possibility reveals itself. Understanding humanity is a vital component to God's understanding of Itself.
God can never wholly remove Itself from Itself, else It would lose track of Its way back to Itself. Thus, in asking certain questions, God isn't looking for a literal answer. By observing the answer and its implications, God learns a little bit more about how human beings see the world around them, and how they look at God.
Imagine for a moment that it's all true. One possibility that is overlooked by faith is that Jesus didn't know. Hence temptation, frustration, suffering, and above all fear:
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "E'lo-i, E'lo-i, la'ma sabach-tha'ni?" which means, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
(Mark 15.34, RSV)
(Mark 15.34, RSV)
At the end, He was afraid. At the end, he didn't know. God doesn't know Itself, and in reclaiming the Son into Itself, brings home the knowledge of mortal fear, temptation, and finite perspective.
Of course they were going to eat the fucking apple. They're humans. And before God can fix the sin, It must understand it. And whether it is for redemption or self-realization, there are plenty of reasons for God to ask questions of people.
The Sufis call it "polishing the mirror", and believe a certain feat is accomplished when one looks into the mirror of the soul and sees God looking back. Many, then, might conclude that the assertion pertains to this attainment, that in the accomplishment we become as much like God as our mortal vessels might. But it is also in the act itself, in the polishing of the mirror, that we imitate God.
____________________
Notes:
Bible: Revised Standard Version. http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/
Adam's lie ...?
Depends on how you regard Adam's lie. I admit, of the potential liars at Eden, Adam comes in down the list somewhere by my reading.
I'm of the opinion that God lied.
And there is a "Bible paraphrase", which books I disdain, called The Clear Word in which the author, Dr. Jack Blanco, rewrites the third chapter of Genesis so that instead of God fretting about what would happen if Adam and Eve eat of the Tree of Life, He instead explains to the Son that everything is going according to plan.
Which is strange, since I always found the idea that Original Sin and was part of the plan an argument against the benevolence of God.
However, it could be worked into the notion of God attempting to know Himself.
Draqon said:
Depends on how you regard Adam's lie. I admit, of the potential liars at Eden, Adam comes in down the list somewhere by my reading.
I'm of the opinion that God lied.
And there is a "Bible paraphrase", which books I disdain, called The Clear Word in which the author, Dr. Jack Blanco, rewrites the third chapter of Genesis so that instead of God fretting about what would happen if Adam and Eve eat of the Tree of Life, He instead explains to the Son that everything is going according to plan.
Which is strange, since I always found the idea that Original Sin and was part of the plan an argument against the benevolence of God.
However, it could be worked into the notion of God attempting to know Himself.
Enmos
Valued Senior Member
I was under the impression that God was testing Cain.
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M*W: The Serpent and who?
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M*W: If god is all-knowing of our every thought and deed, why is there a need for him to test us? Makes no sense to me.
Right on M*W!!! Along the same vein, is it too far a stretch to wonder why God tells us what to do? If He didn't say boo to us would humanity have even made it this far? I mean, its not like we're listening anyway, according to the sin trackers.
because our thoughts and deeds can change
commonly its called "learning"
it is quite important when a person enters into a state of "forgetfulness"
god got lost in what exactly?