When I say "God," do you picture a man or a woman or something else?

[smaje1]

I totally picture God as depicted on "The Simpsons." But as I no longer believe in a Christian God, I feel like I should train myself to picture some nebulous, asexual being-thingy.

What image comes to mind when you hear the word "God"?

[Thudlow Boink]

If you just mention God, I don't really have a mental picture, and I know full well that God doesn't really "look like" anything. But if a picture of God has to spring to mind, it'll probably be God as he appeared in The Far Side.

[Kozmik]

Originally Posted by smaje1

I totally picture God as depicted on "The Simpsons."?

With five fingers?

[Illuminatiprimus]

I don't picture a person at all - if you were to talk about God I just imagine a sort of nebulous sphere of energy, but not a literal one, rather the sort of philosopher's prime mover and the universe emanating from it. There's a limit to what the human mind can do when thinking about concepts like God because we can't relate to a lot of the characteristics it's supposed to have.

I'm also willing to go out on a limb and say it's difficult to imagine things that don't exist, but that's not attempting to be snarky so much as stating the obvious (even if you have faith that God does exist you still won't have encountered it or had any proof of it, so you have nothing to base your image on).

[Dangerosa]

There really isn't an image. It like "what image springs to mind when you say "freedom" or "peace." There isn't an image related to abstract concepts in my mind.

If you ask me to think of an image to represent freedom or peace or God, I can.

[guizot]

Originally Posted by smaje1

What image comes to mind when you hear the word "God"?

How could God be humanoid, of any kind of animal, for that matter? That would contradict the fundamental concept.

[Apollyon]

Originally Posted by guizot

How could God be humanoid, of any kind of animal, for that matter? That would contradict the fundamental concept.

Going by the bible at least wouldn't the whole "made in his image" thing strongly suggest in favour of humanoid?

But to the OP anyway, if you were to say "god" -- with no other qualifiers -- and with me knowing this board to be heavily US-centric (though I don't know if you're from the US) -- then I'd be picturing the chap on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

[Rigamarole]

I picture a giant penis.

[not what you'd expect]

I was raised to picture the old fella with the long gray beard. Since I know longer believe in the Christian God, when I consider the possibility that there might be something rather than nothing, it's sort of a mist or a light fog type thing.

[ataraxy22]

I imagine a backwards dog.

[Loach]

The image I get in my mind is the Sistine Chapel God. No, I don't believe he exists but that's the image I get.

[Beware of Doug]

Just last night, I shit you not, I had a dream where God was a bounding box. Just a big shimmering dotted line rectangle drug around the entirety of reality.

[Der Trihs]

Originally Posted by Thudlow Boink

If you just mention God, I don't really have a mental picture, and I know full well that God doesn't really "look like" anything. But if a picture of God has to spring to mind, it'll probably be God as he appeared in The Far Side.

That's pretty much how I see it.

[Rachellelogram]

I picture George Bluth, Sr dressed as God for the living painting in Arrested Development.

[elfkin477]

Old guy, white beard, stern expression, really big, kind of see-through.

[Shodan]

Sort of like the sun at noonday.

Sort of.

Regards,
Shodan

[DigitalC]

Giant cartoon foot.

[The Man With The Golden Gun]

The faceless God featured at the end of most Jack Chick tracts.

Why, I really don't know. I'm an atheist, but that's just the first idea that comes to mind.

[SciFiSam]

Morgan Freeman or Dumbledore.

[Docta G]

I picture humanity crowded around the cosmic campfire, scared shitless and just as clueless.

[PandaBear77]

I've always pictured a guy with brown hair, wearing a lab coat.

[TreacherousCretin]

Originally Posted by smaje1

What image comes to mind when you hear the word "God"?

The printed word "God"

[Rhiannon8404]

I don't usually picture anything, but when I do it's this God.

[qubed]

I definitely picture a Simpsons god too. Though more in a pasty white skin color than yellow.

[LegsAkimbo]

Originally Posted by elfkin477

Old guy, white beard, stern expression, really big, kind of see-through.

Well, this, although I wonder if that isn't Santa Claus instead. I get them confused. Well, except I don't see a stern expression. And maybe slightly chubbier cheeks.

[Daylate]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

Straight out of Wikipedia so it's gotta be right!

[gracer]

When you made me picture him (normally I see nothing at all) I pictured Oz from Buffy the Vampire Slayer going to a Halloween party. He had a sticker on the inside of his jacket saying "GOD". He was holding the jacket with sticker turned out & smiling with his mouth closed.

If you made me picture "god" in some other specific situation the picture would be different. Like if you said "God, an Irishman and a sheep walked in to a bar" I picture the Sistine Chapel guy, an Irishman wearing green & a cartoon sheep.

ETA I must've remembered it wrong.

[Nava]

For some reason, the first image I got was the Sagrada Familia.

Next followed a collage of images, ranging from Romanic Pantocrators to cartoon versions (specifically, one that's got what would be called a beer belly on a mortal, wears a robe that looks suspiciously like a nightshirt and sneakers with the back stepped on and has some serious generational issues with his kid).

[AClockworkMelon]

The image of an old man comes to mind.

[salinqmind]

I'm resistant to picturing God because the old guy with a beard in a white robe comes up. I can't cozy up to Our Father, because I don't like the idea of an old guy with a beard telling me to jump this way or else. (and I didn't have a nice father anyway, that might have something to do with it). I do pray now and then. When I pray Hail Mary, I think of the deep blue sky, that image comes to mind. When I pray Our Father I try to picture a beautiful natural landscape, with a path or trail. The awesomeness of God can come through in this image. But the sadistic ass sitting on a cloud pointing fingers? No.

[Dung Beetle]

The Great and Terrible God.

[Blaster Master]

My image of God is very much not an image at all. For the most part, I perceive God largely from a conceptual perspective. It's difficult to explain, but it's essentially just thoughts, but they're not images or words though, as I experience it, I sometimes will have responses to that concept that result in imagery, but usually words or emotions. In fact, it's very much like feeling an emotion and trying to explain what that looks like. You may imagine happiness and have certain images associated with it, but it doesn't actually look like anything itself.

When I do have images associated with God, it's usually in the context of that specific thought and its almost never in any sort of humanoid form. It would tend to be a much more nebulous, energy or light.

[tdn]

Originally Posted by Shodan

Sort of like the sun at noonday.

Sort of.

I picture a deep golden color in the darkness. Not too dissimilar to yours I think. It's a brightness and warmth.

[Drunky Smurf]

I picture the founder of my religion. The Dude.

http://dudeism.com/

[Czarcasm]

Based on what I've read about him in the Bible, I imagine him looking something like this.

[Corcaigh]

I don't picture anything, my mind just goes completely blank

[Cornelius Tuggerson]

I picture a strange combination of a person and a crocodile and an octopus. After that I go completely insane and am taken away.

[cochrane]

I picture the image of God as depicted in South Park.

[sandra_nz]

Monty Python's Holy Grail god in the clouds for me.

[Jasper Kent]

First thing I picture is the classic old guy with long white beard on a throne. But I haven't believed in a god like that in at least 45 years. Weird, huh?

[Arnold Winkelried]

Catholic influence, and from remembering the Gustave Doré-illustrated Bible for Kids books from my childhood, he would look like this:
Jesus and the Woman Taken in Adultery, Gustave Doré
Bearded younger man, long hair, robes

[LouisB]

I don't picture anything but I automatically add the words "damn republicans."

[Chefguy]

George Burns.

[Musicat]

Fire and brimstone being hurled. But He loves you.

[Der Trihs]

Originally Posted by Czarcasm

Based on what I've read about him in the Bible, I imagine him looking something like this.

Eh, that's rather unfair to Q. He's more like the Greek gods; arrogant, treats mortals like toys. He doesn't have the sheer relentless nastiness that the God of the Bible does, nor does he demand worship or condemn people to eternal torment.

[MostlyClueless]

I picture a non-gender-specific asshole.

[GuanoLad]

Like this.

[madmonk28]

I literally picture the God in the Simpsons, right down to the fact that you only see the lower quarter of his face. I'm an atheist though, so I don't spend a lot of time thinking about God.

[olpeculiar]

As an atheist, I always picture Rebecca from "D" tower in Heathman Hall, in my junior year at URI. Even with her slightly lazy eye, she remains to this day the most perfect being I have ever witnessed.

Oh, Rebecca, where art thou?

And what the hell was your last name???!!! Google doesn't work without last names, damn it!!!

[ralph124c]

I like the God featured in the Far Side "God At His Computer"-it shows a white bearded guy watching some schlub walking under a (falling) piano. God id pressing the key marked "smite".