# Are you sure you know who God is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 13, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422 "2013-07-13T20:24:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/21 "2013-07-14T01:59:13Z")
> [@Okieshowedem](#): > > Are you sure you know who God is? [Yep!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irePwTsqdRI) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/22 "2013-07-14T02:18:54Z")
Serious Christian answer: no. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/23 "2013-07-14T02:28:33Z")
> [@Okieshowedem](#): > > **Are you sure you know who God is?** He’s _nobody;_ [NASA killed him](http://www.theonion.com/articles/nasa-completes-52year-mission-to-find-kill-god,19263/) back in 2011. ---
**Author:** ![Billy-o](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Billy-o](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billy-o)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/24 "2013-07-14T03:29:18Z")
God? He’s just this guy, you know? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/25 "2013-07-14T04:00:58Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The OP joined up in 2007 (!) Hence the mod note instead of just moving the thread. Although this is only his fourth post in six years. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/26 "2013-07-14T05:49:54Z")
> [@Billy-o](#): > > God? He’s just this guy, you know? Here’s a thought: What if God was one of us? Just a stranger on a bus. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/27 "2013-07-14T06:27:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > God tells us not to sin. Alright. :rolleyes: > [@Chefguy](#): > > Satan punishes sinners. 😕 Why the fuck would he do that? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/28 "2013-07-14T07:05:31Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Alright. :rolleyes: > > 😕 > > Why the fuck would he do that? I don’t know, because he gets bored, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/29 "2013-07-14T09:53:30Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’d say “if” is the fundamental question. Do you know that ‘if’ is the middle word in life? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/30 "2013-07-14T10:02:19Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:25, topic:663422”] Hence the mod note instead of just moving the thread. Although this is only his fourth post in six years. [/QUOTE] And all of them drive-bys with a smelly witnessing tinge. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/31 "2013-07-14T10:50:31Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > God would have better grammar. It’s “Whom”, not “Who”. Then I saw The Whom in 1976. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/32 "2013-07-14T11:08:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > God tells us not to sin. Satan punishes sinners. Sounds to me like they’re batting for the same team. If God knows all things even before they happened, he must have known that Satan would rebel, and the Humans would disobey. And why God would feel the need to impress Satan as he did with Job, makes no sense. And why God would pick out an adulterer and Murderer to Be king od his people, and have him for the ancestor of his son is a thing to ponder! If heaven is a place of true happiness why would Satan and other angels rebel? ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/33 "2013-07-14T11:17:00Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > If heaven is a place of true happiness why would Satan and other angels rebel? Meh, I’ve met people like that. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/34 "2013-07-14T13:35:35Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Then I saw The Whom in 1976. Did they play their big hit: _Whom are You?_ ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/35 "2013-07-14T14:58:49Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Did they play their big hit: _Whom are You?_ The big hit was _Who are You_. It was a rewrite of their earlier lesser work _You are Whom?_ Roger Daltry felt it would flow better when they removed the line “Pardon me, sir, but you are whom?” and replaced it with “Who the fuck are you?” It did affect the airplay, though. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/36 "2013-07-14T16:52:41Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Yes, I am. [Ivanova is God.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xO9Vr_nBE8) Well, she was just kidding & meant no offense by that, but she is sure God sent her! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/37 "2013-07-14T18:29:53Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > If God knows all things even before they happened, he must have known that Satan would rebel, and the Humans would disobey. The one that gets me is that when God was casting Adam and Eve out of Eden and placing the burden of original sin upon them, he must have known that he would later decide to forgive humanity and remove that burden. So why go through with it in the first place? And if God is unchanging, how was he mad at one point but forgiving at another? Shouldn’t he either be always mad or always forgiving? How can a being who is always the same change his mind? ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/38 "2013-07-14T19:31:47Z")
If it’s that imaginary SOB from the Bible and Koran, then I’m glad I don’t know it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/39 "2013-07-14T22:11:33Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > . . . If heaven is a place of true happiness why would Satan and other angels rebel? Harp music. Nothing but harp music. Unending harp music. And how many people do you know who can actually play the harp? Let alone play it well. Just…play it at all! Billions of amateurs, whacking away at harps, with no skill, no timing, no melody, no harmony, no rhythm… Wouldn’t you rebel? > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The one that gets me is that when God was casting Adam and Eve out of Eden and placing the burden of original sin upon them, he must have known that he would later decide to forgive humanity and remove that burden. So why go through with it in the first place? . . . This, more seriously, is a big theological choking point for me. God is all-powerful. So, instead of a big messy crucifixion, killing himself to appease himself… Why not just declare an edict? Issue a declaration? The Tablets of the Law sufficed for Moses. Why didn’t Jesus just deliver a new set of Tablets to the Temple at Jerusalem. Maybe toss in a small miracle or two, to convince the Priests. (One hopes that ten plagues would not be needed…) Why all this hokey false drama? Makes God look like drama queen. All-Powerful means not having to put on a big song-and-dance. Just say what you want…and It Is So! ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2013, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422/40 "2013-07-15T11:00:51Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Harp music. Nothing but harp music. Unending harp music. And how many people do you know who can actually play the harp? Let alone play it well. Just…play it at all! Billions of amateurs, whacking away at harps, with no skill, no timing, no melody, no harmony, no rhythm… Wouldn’t you rebel? > > This, more seriously, is a big theological choking point for me. God is all-powerful. So, instead of a big messy crucifixion, killing himself to appease himself… Why not just declare an edict? Issue a declaration? The Tablets of the Law sufficed for Moses. Why didn’t Jesus just deliver a new set of Tablets to the Temple at Jerusalem. Maybe toss in a small miracle or two, to convince the Priests. (One hopes that ten plagues would not be needed…) > > Why all this hokey false drama? Makes God look like drama queen. All-Powerful means not having to put on a big song-and-dance. Just say what you want…and It Is So! There are so many things written by humans describing God , on one hand they say he knows all things, is all powerful, and loving, then on the other hand, they speak or write of him as though he is a sadist. If some of the things written about God were true He would be non of what is written about him and if a human father acted that way he would be put in Jail! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-you-sure-you-know-who-god-is/663422.md?page=3)