Pauligirl wrote:cicerone imposter wrote:Based on the premise that each person makes their own god, I wonder how many gods there are - today? What subjective criteria differentiates one god from another?
Probably as many as there are people that believe in them. Some go for the hairy thunderer of the OT, others for the marshmellow of the NT.
The criteria that differentiates is in the personality of the believer. Kinda like beauty being in the eye of the beholder.
All just my humble opinion. :wink:
P
Hi Pauligirl,
With reference to the God of the Bible: the idea that men created God, or the idea of God is completely faulty.
The God of the Bible is described as One who presents Man with a standard of behavior to attain to that can never be met with any amount of human effort.
The Bible teaches that Man CANNOT save himself, no matter what he does. Man is simply incapable of meeting the standard that has been set for him. Not with the aid of a minister, not by superhuman effort. No way.
So who would create a God like that?
Not a priesthood, for it makes them irrelevant.
Not a religious person , for it puts all his effort on the same level as he who gives no effort.
Not an irreligious person, for it utterly condemns his lack of reverence for God.
Add to that the fact that the Bible is not one book, but many. Written over a span of hundreds of years, by dozens of penmen. Each gives the same description of sinful Man and his dilemma before a holy God, but in completely different styles, genres and under varying circumstances with unique perspectives.