Right, first off I didn't say anyone could be God/ess, and if you read my first post without jumping on the part you thought you could debate, you would have seen that I do not have an image only an abstract feeling when I feel presence.

I very carefully choose my words, I said God/ess is THE president of THE board, which would indicate the one I am speaking of, not any others. It's simple grammar really.

Characterization/Character development The method a writer uses to develop characters. There are four basic methods of revealing character: (a) through a character’s physical appearance; (b) through his/her own speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions; (c) through the speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions of other characters; and (d) through direct comments by the narrator about the character.

Comprehension strategies Cognitive skills used to derive meaning from text. See Prior knowledge/Schema, Visualizing, Questioning, Determining importance, Inferring, and Synthesizing

Hmmm, people choosing how they wish to write/communicate in a forum in a way that expresses their thoughts. A thread with rules for posting. Rules changing depending on ??????? the whim of one.

If you are speaking of me, the topic is "Can you describe God without sounding delusional" What it does not say is "Describe what God looks like" those are 2 different things. Which I addressed in my first post, the debate came when I was told that my opinion was wrong.

No, I was not addressing you, Lily. Pull back, detach, and read it again.

Count yourself blessed, you are with all of us.
The only one here claiming to be right is funches.
He makes his own rules, and when you call him out on it he will belittle you, like he did with every single one of us.
It's your decision now whether a debate is getting anywhere.

Sorry, I was in defense mode. **takes deep breath**

Oh he is one of those...the "I hate fundies, but I will act just like them." the "dogma is worthless, except if it is mine" guys...right gotcha...thanks

No problem.

You are welcome

and I was very carefully in choosing my words in order to lessen the chance of mis-understandings ...what happen is that you look pass the first two lines of the original post which clearly explain the point

that's probably the reasons why the bible is so mis-interpeted

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord . . . they are gone away backward" (Isa. 1:2-4).

And this was spoken of ancient Israel, a nation to which God had revealed himself by many evidences and miracles. How much less do other nations know about God--about who and what God is!

Nevertheless, other nations are human beings just like the nation Israel. It is important at the very outset of this chapter that you notice God calls these humans his own children. Many people say, "God just doesn't seem real to me." God is a great mystery to them. Their own human fathers don't seem like a mystery. They seem real.

Why Does God Seem Unreal?

God does reveal himself to us in the Bible, if we will just understand it, so that he will seem real to us.

Of the peoples of the Roman Empire, God inspired the apostle Paul to write:

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity [spiritual], has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made [physical]. So they are without excuse; for although they knew [about] God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools" (Rom. 1:18-22, Revised Standard Version).

The billions now living on earth not only are ignorant of the most important knowledge--who and what God is--they seem not to want to know! They are willingly in ignorance of this most important knowledge and relationship possible in human life!

Astonishing--but true!

And why have humans been willingly ignorant of man's most important relationship? One explanation, only, is possible! All nations have been deceived (Rev. 12:9). And the fact of this universal deception makes certain the fact of a super deceiver! More of this, later.

God UNREAL to the Ancients

The first created man Adam, taking to himself from the forbidden tree the knowledge of good and evil, was at the same time rejecting God as Creator. It is certain that God had revealed somewhat of himself, a certain knowledge to Adam.

Nevertheless Adam had cut himself off from God his Creator. Undoubtedly, some of the knowledge that God had imparted to Adam was successfully imparted from father to son for many generations. Jesus had called Abel, Adam's second son, "righteous Abel." He did the right thing in offering a lamb in sacrifice. Later, Enoch "walked with God." God spoke to Noah and gave him instructions for the building of the ark.

After the Flood certain historic accounts imply that Shem, one of Noah's three sons, had some knowledge of the true God. But undoubtedly, as generation succeeded generation of humanity, knowledge of God had become greatly distorted.

Nimrod, made a virtual god of himself. Through the succeeding generations and centuries knowledge of the true God faded almost completely. The ancient pagan nations made many different idols out of clay, wood, stone and other materials. Many examples of pagan idol gods have been dug up by archaeologists and may be seen in museums today. As the apostle Paul said, they worshipped the creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25).

Why Willingly Ignorant?

Already, in the quotation from the first chapter of Romans, I have given you a reason--they were willingly ignorant of the things of the true God. But WHY? Why willingly ignorant? In Romans 8:7 it is stated plainly that the natural mind of humans is hostile against God. This does not necessarily mean that all unconverted human minds are actively, intentionally, maliciously hostile. Most humans are passively hostile against God. They simply do not normally think about God. If God is mentioned they become embarrassed and often try to change the subject. They probably do not realize, in their own minds, that they have a hostile attitude toward God. Yet that is the very reason, psychologically, why they want to avoid the subject. In other words, the average person has an unrealized passive hostility against God. Without realizing it actively, they want God to "keep his nose out of their business"--except at a time when they are in deep trouble and they cry out for God's help.

Spiritual things--invisible things--are a mystery to them. They do not understand those things, real though they are, because they cannot see them. They remain a deep mystery so they deny their existence.

There was a cause for this willing ignorance. And the Bible clearly tells us that cause, which is dual: 1) what occurred prehistorically, and 2) what God himself instituted following the original sin of Adam. All this (to be explained in the next two chapters), and the cause of all the escalating evils of today's world, are clearly revealed by God Almighty in his Word the Holy Bible. This will be made plain as we progress.

But first, what does the Bible reveal about who and what is God? It is only in this inspired book that God reveals himself. But mankind in general has never believed God--that is, what God says! God spoke face to face, personally, to Adam and Eve, the first created humans. Then he allowed Satan to approach them. Satan got to Adam through his wife. Our original parents believed Satan when he said, "Ye shall not surely die," after God had said, "Thou shalt surely die" upon stealing the forbidden fruit.

When Jesus Christ spoke on earth 4,000 years later, only 120 people believed what he said (Acts 1:15), though he preached his message from God to multiple thousands.

No wonder, then, not one of these religions, sects and denominations, except the small and persecuted Church founded by Jesus Christ (a.d. 31), starting with that 120, believes God, which means these others do not believe what God says in his Word. God's Word plainly reveals who and what God is! But there is a reason for their ignorance. This will be made clear as we proceed.

Just who and what, then, is God? How does he reveal himself? Already I have quoted the apostle Paul saying to the Athenian intellectuals that God is the Creator, who designed, formed, shaped and created man.

The prophet Isaiah quotes God himself, saying: "'To whom will you compare me, then, and equal me?' asks the Majestic One. Lift high your eyes, look up; who made these stars? he who marshals them in order, summoning each one by name. For fear of him, so mighty and so strong, not one fails to appear."

Further, God himself says to the skeptics: "Now, the Eternal cries, bring your case forward, now, Jacob's King cries, state your proofs. Let us hear what happened in the past, that we may ponder it, or show me what is yet to be, that we may watch how it turns out; yes, let us hear what is coming, that we may be sure you are gods; come, do something or other that we may marvel at the sight!--why," taunts God to the doubter, "you are things of naught, you can do nothing at all!" (Isa. 41:21-24, Moffatt). These scriptures reveal God's power but not what God is, in a manner to make him real to the reader. Other scriptures must do that.


God in Prehistory

Now let's go back to the very beginning, in prehistory.

If you were asked where in the Bible to find the very earliest description of God in point of the time of his existence, you probably would say, "Why, in the very first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, of course.'' Right?

Wrong!

In time-order the earliest revelation of who and what God is is found in the New Testament: John 1:1.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4).

"The Word" in this passage is translated from the Greek logos, which means "spokesman," "word" or "revelatory thought." It is the name there used for an individual Personage. But who or what is this Logos? Notice the explanation in verse 14:

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

What Is God's Appearance?

Now more detail on who and what God is.

God is Spirit (John 4:24, Revised Standard Version). Why is God not real to so many people? Because God and the Word were composed of spirit, not matter, not flesh and blood, like humans. God is invisible to human eyes (Col. 1:15). He does not seem real. To seem real, the mind naturally wants to visualize a definite form and shape. But even though God is composed of spirit and not of visible matter, God nevertheless does have definite form and shape.

What is God's form and shape?

In Genesis 1:26, "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." We know the form and shape of man. That is the image, likeness, form and shape of God.

In various parts of the Bible, it is revealed that God has a face, eyes, a nose, mouth and ears. He has hair on his head. It is revealed God has arms and legs. And God has hands and fingers. No animal, fowl, bird, fish, insect or any other kind of life we know of has hands like human hands. Even if any other living being of which we know had a mind to think with, without hands and fingers he could not design and make things as a man does.

God has feet and toes and a body. God has a mind. Animals have brains, but no mind power like man's.

If you know what a man looks like, you know what is the form and shape of God, for he made man in his image, after his very likeness!

One of Jesus' disciples asked him what God the Father looks like. Jesus replied: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father . . ." (John 14:9). Jesus looked like the Father. Jesus was, actually, "God with us" (Matt. 1:23). Jesus was the begotten and born Son of God.

And what was Jesus' appearance? It was that of a human man, for he also was the Son of man. He looked so much like other Jewish men of his day that his enemies bribed Judas to point him out and identify who, in a crowd at night, was Jesus.

So now we know God has the same form and shape as a man. We also know he is composed of spirit, not of matter as is man. Spirit is invisible to human eyes, unless manifested by some special process.

And if so manifested we would see both God the Father and Christ now glorified in heaven with faces, though formed and shaped like human faces, as bright as the sun full strength! Their eyes flames of fire, feet like burnished brass and hair white as snow (Rev. 1:14-16).

God's Nature and Character

Most important of all however is what is God's nature--his character--like? One cannot know what God is unless he knows what his character is!

The character of both God the Father and Christ the Son is that of spiritual holiness, righteousness and absolute perfection.

That character might be summed up in the one word love, defined as an outflowing, loving concern. It is the way of giving, serving, helping, sharing, not the "get" way.

It is the way devoid of coveting, lust and greed, vanity and selfishness, competition, strife, violence and destruction, envy and jealousy, resentment and bitterness.

God's inherent nature is the way of peace, of justice, mercy, happiness and joy radiating outward toward those he has created!

The Word and God lived. What did they do? They created. How did they live--what was their "life-style"? They lived the way of their perfect character--the way of outflowing love. When Jesus was baptized, God the Father said, "You are my beloved Son." God loved the Word. And the Word loved God--obeyed him completely.

Two can't walk together except they be agreed. They were in total agreement and cooperation. Also two can't walk together in continuous peace except one be the head, or leader, in control. God was leader.

Their way of life produced perfect peace, cooperation, happiness, accomplishment. This way of life became a law. Law is a code of conduct, or relationship, between two or more. One might call the rules of a sports contest the "law" of the game. The presence of law requires a penalty for infraction. There can be no law without a penalty for its violation.

Holy Spirit Poured Out

The Holy Spirit came from heaven, audibly, sounding like a mighty wind, "and it [the Holy Spirit] filled all the house where they were sitting." Next, the Holy Spirit appeared--was visibly seen--manifested--"And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as a fire, and it [the Holy Spirit in the form of divided tongues] sat upon each of them" (Acts 2:2-3). In verse 18, Peter is quoting from the prophet Joel: "I will pour out . . . of my Spirit. . . ." The Holy Spirit, like water or a fluid, can be "poured out." Can you pour out a person from one into another--as from God into those assembled there? John 7:37-39: "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy [Spirit] was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)"

Again in Acts 10:45, ". . . on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy [Spirit]."

Summary

Finally, in briefest summary: God is a family composed at present of the two Persons of John 1:1-4, but with many thousands, already begotten by God's Spirit, in God's true Church, soon to be born into that divine family at Christ's return to earth. Jesus Christ, by his resurrection, was born a divine Son of God (Rom. 1:4)--the first so born into the God family (Rom. 8:29).

God is Creator of all that exists. Both God and the Word (who became Christ) have existed eternally and before all else. From them emanates the Spirit of God, by which God is omnipresent and omniscient. God the Father is the divine Father of the God family, into which truly converted Christians shall be born.

Although you say in the first paragraph that no one has ever SEEN god, you never ask for a physical description.

You say DESCRIBE god, maybe you should be more specific with what you are actually looking for.

And if you really didn't want the debate about my description of God/ess, you shouldn't have tried to debate me, as it would make the topic last longer. If you had ignored my post, this would have died a long time ago.

IMHO you just like to argue. As I saw when you tried to twist my words. I am an eloquent speaker, (not the best typer) I do not mince my words, I say what I mean and mean what I say. You should try it sometime, it's nice, you might like it.

here is the first lines of the posts that you may have glanced over

since noone has never made a claim of seeing God or meeting God that wasn't deem as being certifiable then isn't it logical that God is just a happenstance of fantasy or delusion, this fact can be further proved when a believer attempt to describe God

You assume that meeting God/ess would mean physically seeing them, I look outside the box, I have met many people online, I have never seen them. Does that make them figments of my imagination? Does it make me ddelusional? No it does not. It means that I have not physically seen them, I can tell you all about them, some I have known for years, I can tell you their likes, dislikes, their habits, but not what they physically look like.

geez "Invisible" all you do is float around ranting.....this is a debate ..people discuss points of views and opinions ..if you don't want to read another point of view then float your butt to church where everyone thinks alike

hey Lily...you mean tunnel vision mode don't you

because I question your point of view means I hate all fundies? ..no wonder holy wars get started

oh God, and give me a bucket ...feralcatlady has begun bible thumping with the "google cut and paste" ..

It's not that you ? it is the way you ?. With pompus arrogance, not true wonderment.