Are you created in God's image?

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
There are lots of gods.

well, that's also Biblical... the Bible also says there are many gods...

"For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many gods and many lords--"
I Corinthians 8:5

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I use the word God to communicate with you. In my religion I wouldn't use the word God. I would use the Mystic Law.

fair enough... but i won't tackle further though...

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Feel free to call it God, but don't pretend to understand it, because you don't, and nether do I.

understand completely? of course not, nor i pretend to be...

"And now, having known God -- and rather being known by God -- how turn ye again unto the weak and poor elements to which anew ye desire to be in servitude?"
Galatians 4:9

even Paul acknowledges the term "being known by God" is better than "having known God"... Christians (in the Bible) should be able to take a glimpse of knowing God by having fellowship with Jesus... and with that, having the mind of Christ:

"For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."
I Corinthians 2:16

yet again, i do not claim to understand God completely... no one does, and you are correct on that:

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah 55:8-9

Originally posted by dyajeep
well, that's also Biblical... the Bible also says there are many gods...

Originally posted by dyajeep
fair enough... but i won't tackle further though...

Originally posted by dyajeep
understand completely? of course not, nor i pretend to be...

Originally posted by dyajeep
yet again, i do not claim to understand God completely... no one does, and you are correct on that:

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Why not? Maybe you might learn something, oh wait! You already know everything about me.

well, i know how you would respond though... 😛

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Completely? An unknowable God is not able to be known, not even 1%.

i never said completely... i just agreed that God cannot be known/understood completely...

BUT, by having fellowship with Jesus, Christians (in the Bible) should be able to take a glimpse of knowing God, for at least 0.99% that is... and that's one of the reasons why Jesus was sent...

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Yes, the Christian religion has three of them, well four if you count Satan.

Satan is technically an angel. But to be fair it's pretty difficult to explain what the other gods are in Relationship with the The One True God of Christianity.

Originally posted by Bentley
Satan is technically an angel. But to be fair it's pretty difficult to explain what the other gods are in Relationship with the The One True God of Christianity.

Originally posted by Bentley
Satan is technically an angel. But to be fair it's pretty difficult to explain what the other gods are in Relationship with the The One True God of Christianity.

let me try, Bentley... 🙂

in the Bible/Christianity, there is a Supreme Being, and that is the Father... and He has a Son - who was sent to earth, manifested in the flesh and His name is Jesus Christ... then, there's the Holy Spirit/Ghost, a spirit who came from the Father...

the three is called the Godhead (not the trinity)... Their being or form (or state of being) are Gods... but They have hierarchy on greatness...

"Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,"
Philippians 2:6

here it says the Father and Son are equal in form - both are in the form of Gods...

on greatness, Jesus said:

"You heard me say to you, I go away, and I will come to you. If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I go to the Father; for the Father is greater than I."
John 14:28

"My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand."
John 10:29

the Father is greater than both the Son and Holy Spirit... which also destroys the trinitarian doctrine that all Three are equal... now, who's greater? the Son or Holy Spirit?

"Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him."
John 13:16

"But when the Counselor comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness to me;"
John 15:26

the "sender" is always greater than the "sendee", so if Jesus has the authority to send the Counselor (Holy Spirit), then He is greater than the Holy Spirit...

about satan, yes he was once an angel... but he was also dubbed as the self-proclaimed "god/prince of this world"...

Originally posted by dyajeep
the Father is greater than both the Son and Holy Spirit... which also destroys the trinitarian doctrine that all Three are equal

I meant to clarify the substance of the false gods or Pagan gods in christian theology, not discuss about the Trinity.

That second topic I wanted to avoid because we all know everything goes ape sh*t when things get trinitarian/not trinitarian mmm

Originally posted by Bentley
I meant to clarify the substance of the false gods or Pagan gods in christian theology, not discuss about the Trinity.

That second topic I wanted to avoid because we all know everything goes ape sh*t when things get trinitarian/not trinitarian mmm

sorry about that! 😛

as far as i know, in the Bible, both in Old Testament and New, false gods are depicted to be graven images:

"You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,"
Exodus 20:3-5

"Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and device of man."
Acts 17:29

spiritually, idolatry is also depicted like this:

"For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king."
I Samuel 15:23

"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."
Colossians 3:5

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
The father, the son (Jesus) and the holy spirit. That would make three. I only added Satan because of his popularity. Think about it, more people talk about Satan then the father, or the holy spirit.

Actually, that would make perfect sense, especially Biblically.

Originally posted by dyajeep

as far as i know, in the Bible, both in Old Testament and New, false gods are depicted to be graven images:

It's more than that, Dyajeep. Far more.

It might be worth pointing out that there is, in the Bible at least, a difference between God designated by a capital "G" and god designated by a lower case "g".

Satan is one of the latter.

Angel, demon, spirit, serpent, dragon, adversary, accuser, slanderer, liar, murderer, etc ... whatever he is, Satan is also a god.

Most people don't realize this, and would therefore never understand any passage like the following:

(2 Corinthians 4: 1-5)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2 but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%204&version=AKJV

Originally posted by bluewaterrider
It's more than that, Dyajeep. Far more.

agreed! 👆

Originally posted by bluewaterrider
It might be worth pointing out that there is, in the Bible at least, a difference between God designated by a capital "G" and god designated by a lower case "g".

you are correct... but not all "gods" in the Bible are false... some "gods" in the Bible pertain to children of God:

"I say, You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;"
Psalms 82:6

"Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods?
If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and scripture cannot be broken),"
John 10:34-35

Yes, you can find both kinds of references in the Bible, even the christian tradition is pretty wide about the existence of different gods.

Originally posted by Bentley
Yes, you can find both kinds of references in the Bible, even the christian tradition is pretty wide about the existence of different gods.

👆

FACT

Human beings 'are created in God's image' in the sense that human beings have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to other life-forms in the world just like God have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to all other beings in the Universe. This is my take on this matter.

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
Human beings 'are created in God's image' in the sense that human beings have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to other life-forms in the world just like God have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to all other beings in the Universe. This is my take on this matter.

The why are we so much like all other animals? If you look at our DNA, you will see that we are 98% the same as chimpanzees.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
The why are we so much like all other animals? If you look at our DNA, you will see that we are 98% the same as chimpanzees.

Similarity with chimpanzees is also superficial. Chimpanzees still live in the jungle and are unable to innovate like human beings.

We don't know whether we have more potential than all other animals, we know we are currently the most developped brain on this planet. Let's not blow it out of proportion.

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
How exactly are we "so much" like all other animals? Do you feel that humans and goats are very similar for example?

Similarity with chimpanzees is also superficial. Chimpanzees still live in the jungle and are unable to innovate like human beings.

I have a head, a body and four limbs. So does a goat. I have a brain, liver, heart, stomach, lungs and intestines. And so does a goat. I have eyes, hair and... you get the point.

And 98% similarities in DNA to chimpanzees is not superficial. That means humans and chimpanzees are only different superficially. At the most fundamental level we are the same.

The reason humans resemble an animal is because we are animals. Just because we have more intelligence then other animals is no reason to separate us from other animals. Evolution does not choose for intelligence. Evolution chooses survival.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
I have a head, a body and four limbs. So does a goat. I have a brain, liver, heart, stomach, lungs and intestines. And so does a goat. I have eyes, hair and... you get the point.

And 98% similarities in DNA to chimpanzees is not superficial. That means humans and chimpanzees are only different superficially. At the most fundamental level we are the same.

The reason humans resemble an animal is because we are animals. Just because we have more intelligence then other animals is no reason to separate us from other animals. Evolution does not choose for intelligence. Evolution chooses survival.

Human beings 'are created in God's image' in the sense that human beings have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to other life-forms in the world just like God have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to all other beings in the Universe. This is my take on this matter.

I don't get your counter-argument of similarities between humans and other animals. Of-course, humans are living beings like other animals and their would be biological similarities in this context.

Originally posted by S_W_LeGenD
You have not understood my point:

Human beings 'are created in God's image' in the sense that human beings have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to other life-forms in the world just like God have unparalleled cognitive and activity potential in comparison to all other beings in the Universe. [B]This is my take on this matter.

I don't get your counter-argument of similarities between humans and other animals. Of-course, humans are living beings like other animals and their would be biological similarities in this context. [/B]

So, are you telling me that you can only be human if you are intelligent?

Is a mentally handicapped individual not made in the image of god?

What about a person who is in a vegetative state?