Let me start off this blog with a meat and potatoes kind of question like: Who is God? With such a loaded question I might be overstepping some boundaries by assuming some things, but I hope you understand the necessity. Maybe down the line we will be able to dialogue a bit on secondary aspects of this post.
The first thing I should probably state is that the God whom I wish to define is the God found in the Bible. He is sometimes also referred to as the God of Abraham. He is NOT Allah, He is NOT Buddha, and He is NOT Krishna, nor is He any other god of the pagans. The true God I wish to define is found in the Bible.
That being said, let me use the Bible to describe just "Who God is." I realize I am assuming the Bible to be God's inerrant and inspired word, but like I said earlier, we can hash out these details in another post. My intention here is to merely state who and what the Bible says God is, since it is the only reliable source we have of telling us who God is.
First of all, there is only ONE God:
1. "Here, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." - Deuteronomy 6:4 *a*
2. "So that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other." -Isaiah 45:6.
3. "There is one body and one Spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all through all and in all." -Ephesians 4:4-6
*a* Jesus reiterates this is Mark 12:29
So we have one God and this God is also the Creator of everything we know and see. Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." In 25 Basic Bible Studies, Francis Schaeffer states that the word "created" used here means to create out of nothing. God did not just shape matter that was already existent. He brought everything into being. Nothing God created is an extension of Himself - it is all independent and has an objective existence. We also know that before God created, He dwelt alone. "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." - Colossians 1:17.
God doesn't just create everything we know and just "skip town." God is personal. He cares about what happens to His creation, because He loves His creation. "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31.
I will stop here for now and continue on with more about "Who is God?" in another post. I will also continue with how God is personal. Hopefully this gets us started, and I look forward to any comments.
Blessings,
Joe
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2 comments:
Well I'd have to say that your post is very well thought out. Once I find the time to properly think things out I'll post what/who God is from my personal agnostic POV. In your post you wrote, "He is NOT Allah, He is NOT Buddha, and He is NOT Krishna, nor is He any other god of the pagans." What exactly do you mean by "pagans"? One definition I found on Wikipedia describes Pagan as, "One who follows a religion other than Christianity, Islam or Judaism or who does not worship the God of Abraham. Such usage, while traditional in the above three religions, may be considered derogatory." So did you use Pagan as a derogatory term or were you simply describing those Gods as not your own? Well I hope to see a response soon and I'll work on my first post. -Zach
Thanks for the comment, Z. I'd like to point out that what I've posted is a Christian perspective on who God is. It's not my own. If I do have a point of view as my own, I certainly will notate that out in my response. But to answer your question of what exactly I mean by pagans, I simply mean in terms of polytheism, or the belief in many gods. Examples of this belief are like the Egyptian gods, or Aztec gods, or of the Greek mythology. The point I wished to make was that the God of Abraham is distinct from other religions. I do not wish to pretend the God of Abraham is a "form" of supreme being. Take for instance Oprah Winfrey's New Age comments on God: "I believe in a FORCE - I call it God."
Furthermore, at no point did I mean the term "derogatorily." At one time I realize it was used as a jab at a person who was considered too unsophisticate to believe in Christianity, but I believe I've elaborated more on what I meant earlier in this post. Never would I consider someone who doesn't hold the same belief as myself as inferior.
Finally, you, or Wikipedia is right in saying the God I am defining is the God of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. All three are considered "Abrahamic Religions," meaning they all trace their roots back to Abraham, whom God promised all the people of the earth would be blessed through (Genesis 12:3). The difference between Judaism and Islam is in the bloodline each follow. If you are interested in reading, check out Genesis chapters 15, 16, 17, and 21. That's kind of a "summary" of the History of Abraham's bloodline. In short, Jews follow the lineage of Isaac, while Muslims follow the lineage of Ishmael. There are of course, other major differences in the beliefs of both, but I believe (without further research) that is the underlying difference. Christianity, of course, follows the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Blessings,
Joe
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