What Do You Think God's Personality Is Like?

Great Debates
1

(Warning Sensitive subjects ahead)

How do you picture God? What do you believe His thoughts are toward you? What kind of personality does He have?

I want to point out an aspect of God you might not have thought of before, and then I would be interested to hear what others on this bboard feel about God, one way or the other.

The aspect of God I want to focus on is this …

God is the ultimate Father.

He is the perfect loving parent. He shows consistant love and acceptance to His children. He always disciplines His children in love, never in harshness. He rejoices when you succeed and he weeps with you when you come crashing down in failure. He laughs with you when you are happy, and He cries with you when you are confronted with tragedy.

Something I’ve noticed over the years is that most people’s image of God seems to be intertwined with their image of their earthly father. If the father was accepting, loving, firm, and kind - that’s how they see God. However, if the father was harsh, antagonistic, arrogant, and verbally abusive – that is how they see God. In the worst case, you have a father who sexually abused the person as a child and therefore they can’t see how they could ever fully trust God. This isn’t universal, but it is very common.

I’ve also seen people with horrendous backgrounds have their image of God restored. In one of the most extreme cases I’ve ever heard of, I met a woman in Texas in 1990 whose father got her to be a prostitute when she was young. And that’s the mild part of it. But I must say that when I met her, as she put it, God had healed her so totally of the wounds and scars that it was as if those things had never happened. She didn’t pretend they didn’t happen … she knew fully they had happened and God had healed her so much that she had a wonderful view of who God was. In fact, when I met her she was teaching about God’s love in seminars.

The point is this … I truly believe God can heal any wound, no matter how drastic and no matter how deep. He can heal your image of Him and cause you to see Him as He is … a Father who wants to love you forever. No matter how Godly your earthly father was, he was imperfect. Everything you wished your earthly father was, God is.

On top of that, God wants to adopt you into His family so you can experience His fatherly love, if you aren’t already His.

Now, having said that, what is your image of God? I’m not interested in what you think I think God is like. I’m not interested in “the right answer”. I’m curious what you actually think, as well as any response to the idea of God as the ultimate Father.

(NOTE: Obviously I mentioned very sensitive subjects just now. I hope everyone will be very gentle as people share their feelings).
P.S. If you want to read a full article called “The Father Heart of God”, please follow this link:

http://www.lastdaysministries.org/articles/fatherheart.html

2

If there is a single god, then I believe he is schizophrenic, and has no single personality.

Whatever he does has to be ratified by a committee of the leading Personality Board members.

3

I think he’d have to have one hell of a sense of humor.
That said, I think my view is somewhat like Friend’s, with a little added: that God is whatever you see him. I don’t believe that the God of Christians is any different fromt he God of Buddhists, or the God of Hindus, or what have you. It’s just different ways of seeing Him.

4

Aside from the inordinate fondness for beetles…

I assume we are speaking of the nature of god rather than the personality. A single personality is too limiting as everything springs from the mind of god (speaking of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim mythos), so s/he would would have to at least have potential for all personality traits. (Could explain Torquemada, St Francis and Jack Van Impe all ostensibly receiving instructions from the same deity).

As for the nature of god, I prefer the god-as-clockmaker. Wind it up, let it go and turn your attention to the next construct.

5

“God” is nothing more than another force. God is not a person and could not have a personality.

There was a force that began the universe, as we know it, and set the fourth dimention into motion. I don’t see how this force could have anykind of an opinion on anything. God is certainly not the moral authority on everything that christians make him/her/it out to be.

Our primative brains could never properly catagorize any godlike being into a set personality type anyway.

6

“God” is beyond anything imaginable.

7

lucie said:

No, I am asking about His personality. I agree that He has many facets to His personality, so I guess what I’m asking is pick the one or two aspects that stand out in your mind the most.

Interesting responses so far . . .

8

In that case, I would have to say indifference and aloofness. No “good parent” would permit their children to to treat others of their children in the appalling manner you see on the news every day. Those kids would be snatched up and given to the care of a more attentive, benevolent deity by the Cosmic Social Service.

CAn I be adopted out to, say, Dionysius?

9

Well, where I come from, parents who discipline their children through murder, torture, and genocide are a little frowned upon.

What’s wrong with a spanking?

10

Friend –

Have you seen Fight Club? There’s a scene where one of tha candidates says our fathers were our first idea of God – and I think that holds true until a person reaches a certain spiritual maturity.
Anyway, I presume of course you speak of the xtian God. But are you talking of the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit?
I would say the God the Father is pure Love. (Yes, I know we have an old book full of psuedo-histories that man wrote which has a more wrathful portrait of God – but let’s forget ancient myths for a sec, folks, OK?).
As for God the Son, he was a bit of a joker, and was occasionally tongue-in-cheek with what he said. You would have to have a very dull personality not to realize what a good and fun life Jesus lived until he was put to death. “Shall we rain fire down upon them?” Now that is funny. But he was troubled when he realized he’d die. He was strong against the tempations of the devil such that he was without sin (after his baptism, at least – that is a point of contention among believes but it is no big deal either way). And he had to have been saddened at those who did not recieve his teachings as thus were condemned to hell.
As for the Holy Spirit – it is also strong. And it will triumph eventually. But a simple word like personality does not describe it well.

later FoGgy!

11

Absent.

12

Eternal.

13

You mean he can get drunk and beat up on my mom and me better than my old dad?

But seriously, God is whoever we create him to be.

Why do people need a leader?

14

Imaginary. Or nonexistent. Whichever is less offensive.

15

Dangit, we need a “null” symbol here…

16

God is pissed that more people don’t take the time to notice beauty in everyday things.

Me? God thinks I’m damned funny.

Other than that, I don’t know.

17

Hamadryad said:

Well it’s good that somebody does!

< rimshot >

18

It is amusing, I must say! :smiley:

Oh, the hubris of beings who, unable to prove even their own existence, demand proof that God exists. They look for a null symbol or an inoffensive disregard to express what they cannot even define! Oh, it is wonderful!

Just as God’s unprovable nature is the clearest proof that we have free-will, God’s undefinable nature is the clearest proof that He has a great sense of humor! :wink:

God is so beautiful.

19

God is a cruel bastard with a warped sense of humor.
I wish I could be God, I’d do some major smiting.

20

The Christian God is described as infinite, omnipotent, omniscient.

Humans, OTOH, are finite.

No finite mind can comprehend the Infinite. Those who paint their own “all-powerful” god into little compartments are doing their god an injustice. Those who pretend to be able to assign a “personality” to an ineffable being are prideful, arrogant, and blasphemous.

An infinite being cannot be contained by humans’ tiny minds. Anyone who claims to be able to do so is in effect saying “I control God, I define Him, I compartmentalize Him.”

An infinite God, by definition, defies your little attempts to place him in human terms. Just be content, willya, and stop trying to cage your God.