For anyone who believes in God...

...not just Christians.

Have you ever thought of God as a father figure? As your Father figure? Why or why not?

 

I've said on here before that I wasn't sure whether there's a person-type God, but that I believed in something. I have spent most of my life believing in God, no matter what religious group I was a part of at the time. And more recently, I've become more sure of there being a God who is not just a power or energy, but also a person. I still think there's a possibility that I'm wrong--but I really don't think I am.

I've also , for most of my life, thought of God as a father figure. I now believe that whoever God is, that being encompasses all of the characteristics of both genders. Therefore I now think of God as both a father figure and a mother figure.

Many pagans are polytheistic. I believe any divisions into 2 or more Gods & Goddesses are products of our own human limitation in trying to comprehend the infinite. People simply think of & appeal to the aspect of God that most fits with their needs at that time.

I do that myself to some extent. I am quite convinced of the validity of my theory; but I also find it useful to use archetypal symbolism to guide & focus my thoughts at times.

Sometimes I need a father figure more; sometimes I need the mother figure more. I think they're both there

 

I tend to go father figure. But in reality, I know God is neither male nor female, and God is male and female.

BTW, al little off the subject, Has anyone read The Shack? It touches a bit on that. I don't think I've ever had a book move me emotionally and spiritually as that book has.

 

It's interesting that you put it that way. I usually make a point of stressing that I definitely don't think of God as genderless at all; but rather totally encompassing both.

The book sounds intriguing--I'll look it up. Thanks for mentioning that.

 

I think it is impossible to grow up seeing all the images of God and not think of him that way. Currently though I don't even picture God in human images any more.

 

No. Never. Because I couldn't imagine God as a human form.

 

I am in the one god that encompasses everything, male, female, and then some, camp. However, I don't really view god as human either. That would be really limiting.

 

That's really fascinating to me, Holly. Was there ever a time in your life when you did relate God to some sort of human form, metaphorically or otherwise?

Most people have difficulty conceiving of God in any other way--not because of any limitation on God, but because our minds are so limited. People tend to compare pretty much everything to themselves, & assign values accordingly Including other people.

I agree that envisioning God strictly in a form that is similar to us IS very limiting. For some, that may be as far as they can imagine--just a sort of bigger better version of a human being.

I find it useful--even necessary--to envision God as similar to myself to some extent, but not to allow myself to "box him in," if that makes any sense. I suppose it's possible that God has a physical but immortal form, but I seriously doubt it. My concept is of a being of pure mind--including energy, creativity, intellect, & emotion. While not limited to a body, I imagine God could assume a physical form at will. For myself, I do sometimes find it emotionally useful to envision God in some physical form--but I realize that's a false limitation, & I'm doing it to satisfy an emotional need of my own. I think it's very hard for most people to feel a personal connection to a being they can't envision in some sort of human terms.

It's very important to me to consider God in part as a sort of parental figure. I feel a need to be nurtured spiritually, & nurturing automatically relates to parenting in my mind. I look to God for the same sorts of things we generally look to parents for--to be taught, nurtured, led, protected, healed, comforted, & so on.

If we were created, it seems natural to relate to our creator as a type of parent, even if the logistics aren't exactly the same as human reproduction.

If my focus at a particular time is on understanding something, it helps me to envision myself encompassed in a light flowing into me, & relate that light to an all-knowing God. That's a limited physical metaphor for the actual process; but it does facilitate the learning process for me. If I am in emotional pain, I invariably conceive of God as a mother or father figure in a physical form--perhaps both--& feel myself embraced in a very similar manner to being held in the arms of another person. At no time do I think God is actually in that form; but that idea in my mind allows me to feel comforted to a degree that is just not possible for me without that imagery.

 

ya see, there once was this cat named Jesus, right.... and the thing is, he kinda WAS God in human form... and when I say "kinda was" I really mean "was" was. It was crazy.

I think there's a book written about him somewhere.

 

With Jesus I can think/imagine in human form. There's no mental image or anything I know of that I can use to describe God. With God its more like a nothingness but a good nothingness out of which came everything