Amanda Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I was watching a documentary on Joseph Campbell the other day. He spoke of attending a seminar where the speaker often spoke of "God". Joseph Campbell asked the speaker what interpretation he gave the word "God" as he was using it. The speaker gave Joseph Campbell a confused look, and then answered him with the traditional concept. Joseph Campbell seems to have been highly disappointed with the response, being quite different than his own. It seems very interesting how differently people define "God", and then if they reject or embrace their understanding of it. As I watched the documentary, it was a very thought provoking question for myself. I'm very curious as to what your interpretation of "God" may be, and if you accept it or reject it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_1012 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I believe God is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I believe that God is a Jewish economist with a game-show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I believe God is good. That's not really a definition of "God" daniel. I mean, if someone asked me to define hot dogs and I say "I believe hot dogs are good" that really gives the person no clue as to what I mean by "hot dogs", does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_1012 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I believe God is good. That's not really a definition of "God" daniel. I mean, if someone asked me to define hot dogs and I say "I believe hot dogs are good" that really gives the person no clue as to what I mean by "hot dogs", does it? 106206[/snapback] To a child, hot dogs are good, makes perfect sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 To a child, hot dogs are good, makes perfect sense. daniel, "Good" is NOT a definition of anything. It is a description. Sex is good. Is god sex? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy-tiger Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 To a child, hot dogs are good, makes perfect sense. daniel, "Good" is NOT a definition of anything. It is a description. Sex is good. Is god sex? 106211[/snapback] To some people, anal sex is good... I guess God is also anal sex. Oh, I know... to some people, having a shit is good... That means God is shit. *disclaimer* I don't really thing God is anal sex... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_1012 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Wendytwitch.gif WendyDoh.gif daniel, "Good" is NOT a definition of anything. It is a description. Sex is good. Is god sex? Yes, if it is God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 daniel, "Good" is NOT a definition of anything. It is a description. Sex is good. Is god sex? Yes, if it is God. So, God is sex IF sex is God? Thanks for clearing that up daniel. I'm sure none of us had ever considered the a=b if a=b equation before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I believe God is good. That's not really a definition of "God" daniel. I mean, if someone asked me to define hot dogs and I say "I believe hot dogs are good" that really gives the person no clue as to what I mean by "hot dogs", does it? 106206[/snapback] To a child, hot dogs are good, makes perfect sense. 106208[/snapback] So basically, if I think hot dogs are good, then hot dogs are God? (Since God is good) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy-tiger Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Daniel... have you ever wondered about getting some help for your idiocy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy-tiger Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Wendytwitch.gif WendyDoh.gif daniel, "Good" is NOT a definition of anything. It is a description. Sex is good. Is god sex? Yes, if it is God. 106225[/snapback] Allah is good, therefore Allah is God... Oh... a better one. DANIEL is good, therefore DANIEL is God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Allah is good, therefore Allah is God... Oh... a better one. DANIEL is good, therefore DANIEL is God. 106236[/snapback] And I'm good sometimes, so I'm God too now and then... -edit- Poor Amanda, she's seeing her topic going of on a sidetrack from the first responses... No one can stay on track here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy-tiger Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I'm almost always good, so I'm almost always God... so there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy-tiger Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Poor Amanda, she's seeing her topic going of on a sidetrack from the first responses... No one can stay on track here! 106239[/snapback] It's the Lion's Den... what do you expect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Poor Amanda, she's seeing her topic going of on a sidetrack from the first responses... No one can stay on track here! 106239[/snapback] It's the Lion's Den... what do you expect? 106242[/snapback] I expected exactly what is happening! No complaints here. What is my personal definition of God, my complete list: 1. ... 2. ... and last but not least 3. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_1012 Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I agree... it is getting, well... tracked away from where Amanda probably wanted to see it go... but with it, I will post this short story I wrote. ---- After a long pastor’s conference, the day was finally coming to an end. That day’s topic was, “What is God?” After two separate three-hour sessions, preceding and following lunch, we had heard everything from righteousness and glory, to mercy and forgiveness. We heard angry, holy, loving, powerful, considerate, father, friend, peace, truth, and safety. We heard scripture quoted from Genesis, and Exodus, Timothy and Jude. We heard verses out of Revelations and Ecclesiastes, Jeremiah and Micah, John and Mathew, Judges and both Chronicles, and many other books that I’m sure if you can name them, they were quoted. Finally though, as the day drew to an end… the speaker of honor, a man in the ministry for 60 years was to speak. As his name was called forth go give his message, everyone picked up their pen and paper to prepare for notes—even those who had put them down form the overwhelming fullness they had experienced thus far. This man had done it all… he had been close to death in the middle of nowhere, evangelizing across the globe. He had setup missionary camps, Bible schools, and churches and countries we had never heard of. He had memorized even, by heart, the entire King James Version of the New Testament and most of the Old. If anyone in our modern time was an example of men to follow, this man was it. With pencil and paper ready for him, he looked over the audience of pastors from left to right… and he began to speak. “God is good.” He then turned from the podium, slowly walked to his seat cane in hand, hunched over with and battered by old age, and sat down. After a few moments of silence after him taking a seat, the entire audience stood in adoration and clapping, congratulating his message. After the time was over, I approached the preacher and I asked, “Why was it… so short. There are many things you could have said, like these other men here, but you didn’t. Why is that?” The preacher answered, “Well… after hearing everything that was said, and it was all good, I guess I didn’t feel like there was much to say. Luckily I had brought my thesaurus with me to do research. “Thesaurus,” I asked. “Yes,” he said, “I found the word that showed up most of the time when looking up words like “righteousness” and “honor,” more than any other, was the word good. The word good came up more than anything else. I had actually prepared something much longer, and more unabridged, but so many men had already covered what I was about to say in so many words… I decided to do the same. I could visibly see that men were tired from seeking the Lord all weekend and all day… I thought it would also be good, to give them rest.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 If God is good, then God is not BibleGod. For that God is about as far from good as you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted November 13, 2005 Author Share Posted November 13, 2005 Actually it was very entertaining to see it get off topic like that! I can just see that on a skit on SNL or something. As I was watching the Joseph Campbell documentary, the speaker he was referring was saying God was the only true God of the traditional/fundamentalist concept... which this response seems to have disappointed Joseph Campbell. Joseph Campbell, a scholar in the origin and evolution of worldwide mythology, said something like he would of rather heard that God is the majesty they saw in mother earth giving the grain, the source of food and benefits from the animals, the communion/connection with nature, the selfless love between a parent and child, etc, etc, etc. It was like Campbell could see something sacred in all things, and saw all things as being parts/expressions of the one world/universe. I think that could be the base of defining a major part of God. In a way, it is like Daniel said... God is good, although I'd like to be more specific and say God has a tendency towards cultivating what is to be sacred. AND if one defined God as just good... then how could throwing people into eternally tormenting fire be good? So, I guess there is still conflicting ideas of what is good/sacred? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted November 13, 2005 Author Share Posted November 13, 2005 I have no definition because if there is a god, I don't believe that it/they have given anyone a definition. But I sure as heck hope the that worlds religions are wrong in their definitions, that an evil god(s) is responsible for creating this world, would be enough to give me nightmares. 106252[/snapback] Hi Serenity Now. It does seem like everyone has their own definition. Even those that don't believe in God... this assumes there is some concept they don't believe. As far as the traditional popular concept of the Bible God, I can identify with what you are saying! I'm with you. I think we can rest assured, that one does not exist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerise Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Perhaps the only real definition of "God" would be "that which is undefinable". I've heard many talk about the mystery of Christ and the ineffable. Not many people live like god is a mystery, even though they say it, but that's the closest thing to a definition I can see. Just "good" doesn't really help, because then you must define what you mean by "good". Like looking up God in the dictionary and seeing see God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Gods Fail Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 To me, god is a one-size-fits-all answer that ancient people made up to explain why the plants grow, where the world came from, and what happens to you after you die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 I go with Cerise here. God is whatever we can't explain. The thing/object/entity/being beyond our scope of understanding and reach, that supposedly explain the things we yet don't understand. In essence God is a moving target. The definition will change with the tide, and when culture, science and knowledge expands, so will our idea of God move further away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted November 13, 2005 Author Share Posted November 13, 2005 Perhaps the only real definition of "God" would be "that which is undefinable". I've heard many talk about the mystery of Christ and the ineffable. Not many people live like god is a mystery, even though they say it, but that's the closest thing to a definition I can see. Just "good" doesn't really help, because then you must define what you mean by "good". Like looking up God in the dictionary and seeing see God. 106266[/snapback] Hi Cerise! It does seem God is undefineable, at least a definition that is accepted by all people! I looked it up in the dictionary... thanks for the idea. I should of thought of that! It is basically very vague also, found here: http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/God And I agree quite a bit with All Gods Fail, that our ideas about God are evolving, and as a topic or subject presented awhile back, are we coming to more closely define God, or are we creating God? I remember a similar attitude toward the subject of 'reality', here. It just seems to me that we all talk about accepting God, rejecting God, and we don't really have a clear understanding of what God is! We're passionate about it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hero of Hyrule Posted November 13, 2005 Share Posted November 13, 2005 Hi Amanda! I disagree that God is what we can't explain. The concept of God started there, but even though some Christians know pretty well how weather works, they still say that God sends Hurricans and tornadoes. Also, there's a lot we can't explain and those things don't need any God. And there were a lot of 'creation worshippers' who thought thing equal to God being ducks. I think this is probably one of the hardest question I've ever been asked. I personally always shift the idea of God to whatever God is according to the other person, or topic. I've nothing with Islam or Christianity but when talking to a muslim it's nonsense refuting Jesus. There's of course the stereotype Omnipotent bearded man, but that's about as realistic as Satan with a pitchfork. Personally, I don't know 'God'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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