Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site pucc-h
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxl!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!CS-Mordred!Pucc-H:aeq
From: aeq@pucc-h (Jeff Sargent)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: Re: Gender of God -- More or less than a person?
Message-ID: <974@pucc-h>
Date: Thu, 23-Aug-84 19:22:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: pucc-h.974
Posted: Thu Aug 23 19:22:54 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 25-Aug-84 06:18:53 EDT
References: <499@bunker.UUCP>, <996@pyuxn.UUCP>
Organization: Tucumcari Divinity School
Lines: 44

From Rich Rosen:

>> Rich Rosen remarks:
>> 	I thought god was "depersonalized".
>> 
>> AHA!  If I thought that, I wouldn't be interested in God, either.
>> The term "depersonalized" suggests something less than a person.
>> Perhaps a better term would be "superpersonalized." [GARY SAMUELSON]

> Or "non-personalized".  But whether or not you'd be interested in a deity
> doesn't change what its actual character is, does it?  

You do not know God.  Why do you think you have a better idea of His actual
character than those of us who have met Him?

> Our being imperfect doesn't imply that there *is* something more perfect.
> That's nothing (nothing) but wishful thinking.

Then where did we get the idea of "perfect"?  If imperfection was all that
existed, how could we possibly form any concept of perfection?  I think the
wishful thinking is on your side; you don't want there to be a God, since He
would change your life in ways you might not want.  Sometimes I feel the same
way about Him, even now.  But what else is there?  Jesus once looked over a
dispersing crowd and said to His disciples, "Will you also go away?"  Peter
replied, "Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life."

>> God has feelings, too.

> Isn't that just as anthropocentric as given god (virtual) genitals?
> (... and a beard)

God wants us to know Him as best we can, so He manifests Himself in ways that
we can understand, culminating in becoming a man Himself, complete with real
genitals and beard.  His appearance in visions with beard (e.g. Daniel 7) was
just to render Himself comprehensible to His audience.  Finally, we are made
in His image; as it were, we are statues of Him.  Thus our characteristics
(except sinfulness) are a dim indication of His, not to mention the fact that
He Himself is represented numerous times in the Bible as having emotions; so,
to the best of our understanding of Him, God does have feelings.

-- 
-- Jeff Sargent
{decvax|harpo|ihnp4|inuxc|seismo|ucbvax}!pur-ee!pucc-h:aeq
[the man with the cornrowed chest hair :-)]