Veratatis Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Hello everyone, I'm new here. I became born again at 16, struggled with several crises of faith for a couple of years, and was introduced to liberal theology roughly a year ago while taking a class on Jewish history and the history of the OT. My definition of God probably differs from most here, so I'll try to explain it. I don't believe that God is love, I believe that love is a sufficient word. To me, God is the sum total of all laws which bind this universe together. The same God which Einstein believed in. In a sense, I'm a pantheist. I take great value from Jesus' life, I'm convinced he wasn't God, and I'm unsure regarding the resurrection. I think the Bible is a collection of stories and history blended together by ancient Jewish and early Christian communities, and is not divinely inspired. I'm a musician and I'm fascinated with the prospect of space travel. So... Hi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyb Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Hi Veratatis, welcome, your thoughts sound similar to mine Jonny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulS Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Welcome Veratatis, I think you'll find a very diverse range of views here concerning God - in fact many people's view of God differs amongst others here! I hope you enjoy I here and nook forward to your participation and readin your views further. Cheers Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Welcome, Your definition , i believe fits in real well here. Love, as defined by the majority of people i have met, indeed doesn't click as God for me either. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veratatis Posted July 13, 2013 Author Share Posted July 13, 2013 Thanks for all the welcomes, everyone. My main problem with the definition of God as love is that it's manmade. And as Spong once said, "I think religion is manmade, but I don't think God is." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted July 13, 2013 Share Posted July 13, 2013 Welcome, Veratatis. You and I share a somewhat similar background and maybe some similar views. I think you're correct that all of our definitions of God and God-talk is manmade, but what else can we do? Some might say that because we do not and cannot know, we should remain silent. For me, I just think we should be aware of the tendency and then be humble about our claims. As a deist, I would agree with Spong that God is not manmade. But I'm not convinced that Spong thinks of God as a being or entity. I tend to relate to God as a "Thou" external from myself but nonetheless present with us. But that is me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veratatis Posted July 14, 2013 Author Share Posted July 14, 2013 Good point. I'd agree that Spong is a bit ambiguous concerning his definition of God. I define God as "that which orders the universe". The universe is ordered, so God is the sum of what causes the universe to be so. I don't know if this is a consciousness or if God has will, but it is there. And clearly, the laws of the universe pre-date man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soma Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Veratatis I think we all agree we can't explain God with words, but it is fun talking about what is beyond the mind. Sometimes it points and pushes us into the unknown. It is nice to take a mental vacation every once and awhile. i believe God's first language is silence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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