What is GOD?
By curious888
@curious888 (1212)
Malaysia
June 30, 2008 8:36am CST
"The philosopher Michel Henry defines God in a phenomenological point of view. He says: "God is Life, he is the essence of Life, or, if we prefer, the essence of Life is God. Saying this we already know what is God the father they almighty, creater of heaven and earth, we know it not by the effect of a learning or of some knowledge, we don’t know it by the thought, on the background of the truth of the world; we know it and we can know it only in and by the Life itself. We can know it only in God." (I Am the Truth. Toward a Philosophy of Christianity).
This Life is not biological life defined by objective and exterior properties, nor an abstract and empty philosophical concept, but the absolute phenomenological life, a radically immanent life that possesses in it the power of showing itself in itself without distance, a life that reveals permanently itself."
Do you agree with this definition of GOD?
Please share your views.
2 people like this
11 responses
@dfollin (25347)
• United States
1 Jul 08
God is our creator,father and leader.He not only created the world,but everything in it.God is everything.
@bhavanavarma (19)
• India
1 Jul 08
The almighty.
he is the one who shows the path for every living being..
@alamzaib (1287)
• Pakistan
1 Jul 08
our question while it could be very loaded is very poignant if tackled in the right light.
What is God? Is in my opinion the only way to place this question in the right frame because if you constrain yourself to the concept of God as a sentient entity you are almost exclusively made to prove one of the Abrahamic views of God which can be hard to do if you take that as a starting point.
Here are a few things that God can be...stop when you disagree and that's what God is to you...if there is a point where everyone can agree...thats what God is.
God is the creation point meaning that he is both the place and time where the universe started... If you agree then we move on to...
God set forth the Laws of Physics that the universe obeys
God put life in the correct and most viable places in the universe (this statement is phrased as such because I have no proof/disproof of aliens)
...If you want to go further please IM me on Yahoo at nomorethanghostly
@Bshivakumarchary (122)
• India
1 Jul 08
God is not someone who lives in the sky and always there with the people who believe in god, but god is someonewho is present internally in everyone and he is always there with you in the form of soul and guiding you in the times of difficulty.God is not in the form of relegion but he is common for every and given different names y different locality of the poeple .
@pearlsychiu (91)
• Philippines
1 Jul 08
Hello curious888! This is my opinion as a Christian and it's okay if you don't share my views. Your question What is God? is pretty okay. but more aptly it would be Who is God? You can find the definition of God in the dictionary, any dictionary for that matter. But the Bible will tell you who God is. Basically, God is Life, and the essence of Life is God is correct. To sum it up, God placed us in this world for us to know that He is the One who placed us here. I read this quote from a Bible-related site and it's nice. It says God gives us blessings so that we may give glory to Him. Ciao...
@Kofficup (150)
• Philippines
1 Jul 08
The Bible tells about God. He is the fountain of everything, He loves, He cares, He provides and He punishes,too. But has he chosen those he think He must punish and let them perish in this world. If He created the Universe then why must our humanity have questions about faith? A lot of discussions about religion and beliefs that created the thin red line of faction between races. I have disbeliefs in God. Christians are taught through the Bible as the complicating reference of faith. The Bible discusses from Creation to Punishment.
But if God knows with whom He will prioritize in his KiLL List why did he include the children if in the Bible it says that he loves innocent little children? Why doesn't God promptly punish or kill the lawless in the economy that let other innocent humanity suffer on their political maneuvering?
I don't think God still exists in this changing world. I have a lot of disappointments about being brought up Christian. Is God Love? Is He our Life? I could say that God have become the best livelihood media of all the Christian fanaticists. I would have built a church for communion and earn money, less evil, less offending because I would just beg for mercy, less hassle because I have no time card to praise him. Unlike being as ordinary person as I am, I have to do all my efforts to earn money. God have become the modest way to earn money. The pastors and clergies are supported by the funds coming from the poor. Do you think wealthy people still pray??? No way...waste of time to pray to God that they haven't ever seen eye to eye. So, who really is God?
@craftcatcher (3699)
• United States
30 Jun 08
I am a Pantheist so to answer your question, no I don't agree with Mr. Henry. I do not believe in a creator "God" who is seperate from us and the natural laws of Universe. In my view The Universe and everything in it (including us) is "God" though I hesitate to use the term God at all. I also do not see the Universe in terms of He or She so using the term "God the Father" is a non sequitur.
My favorite quote from a fellow Pantheist would be:
"A religion old or new, that stresses the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge."
~ Carl Sagan
@curious888 (1212)
• Malaysia
30 Jun 08
Thanks for sharing.
God is the ocean of Love and we are drops of it.
@positiveminded1977 (7072)
• India
30 Jun 08
I don't know what is God. So, I can't tell you. I guess God is something too deep to trap in the confines of a definition.
Honestly, that definition you posting flew around my head and flapped around my ears. In simple, straight English, I did not understand a word of it. Maybe I am too dumb to understand God?
Cheers and happy mylotting
@DaddyOfTheRose (2934)
• United States
30 Jun 08
Not everyone is corrupt. That's the first step, I think. In order to look at things in a positive manner, you have to see the good. If you say, "everybody's corrupt" then you are taking negativity and giving it gospel truth status.
Some people see small corruptions in people and say, 'everyone is corrupt.' Well, for one, I do believe there are non corrupt people out there. However, I also do not think it's fair to call a person corrupt for some small infraction or imperfection. In their own way, from time to time, I believe most people demonstrate empathy, compassion and tolerance. I do not think a moment of empathy makes one a saint any more than I believe some selfishness makes one 'corrupt.'