Can You Know God?

[Dragonfly]

Can you “know” god? Or know what god thinks and wants?

Can reading and studying one book, written/edited by fallible men thousands of years ago, mostly unknown fallible men, help you to actually “know“ god?

If a Muslim says yes then is the Koran the book to read?

Simply because you “read and study” a book (written by anonymous, regular, fallible humans), what makes you think you can “know” a supernatural entity and it’s thoughts/desires?

An analogy to ponder:
You can read about how to fly a plane.
Spend decades reading and studying about how to fly airplanes.
Does simply reading about it make you a pilot?

 

[Daisy]

Yes...by taking in knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible...

"This means everlasting life,+ their coming to know you, the only true God,+ and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ." John 17:3

 

[Mr Person]

Humans are mortal, God is all-all-all (not that it exists). So no.

They can certainly fool themselves into thinking they do, or if they want to dictate someone's life to them simply claim so.

 

[Argent]

Imo, those who believe do the best they can to understand and follow the tenets of their religions based on the relevant holy text. Their knowledge of their god is dependent on the text and whatever interpretations are made. Thus, they are able to know their god in a limited way. To wholly know and understand a divine entity would be, imo, out of the realm of possibility for mere mortals.

 

[Gordy327]

Can you “know” god? Or know what god thinks and wants?

Can reading and studying one book, written/edited by fallible men thousands of years ago, mostly unknown fallible men, help you to actually “know“ god?

If a Muslim says yes then is the Koran the book to read?

Simply because you “read and study” a book (written by anonymous, regular, fallible humans), what makes you think you can “know” a supernatural entity and it’s thoughts/desires?

An analogy to ponder:
You can read about how to fly a plane.
Spend decades reading and studying about how to fly airplanes.
Does simply reading about it make you a pilot?

How can one actually know the grandest possible entity? Those who claim they do or feel they can speak for or on behalf of god are little more than charlatans. Or just being arrogant.

 

[HIP56948]

If there were proof that we Humans were actually special and not evolved from other beings, I might think about a greater-than-I entity and living forever, etc.
As it is, I don't buy the program. We're way too flawed to be from some powerful all-knowing thing.
To me, we're just as likely to be a computer simulation. We certainly wouldn't know it if we were.

 

[Gordy327]

If there were proof that we Humans were actually special and not evolved from other beings, I might think about a greater-than-I entity and living forever, etc.
As it is, I don't buy the program. We're way too flawed to be from some powerful all-knowing thing.

It's odd how a supposedly "perfect" being can create imperfect things.

To me, we're just as likely to be a computer simulation. We certainly wouldn't know it if we were.

The Matrix anyone?

 

[Gordy327]

Yes...by taking in knowledge of God through His Word, the Bible...

"This means everlasting life,+ their coming to know you, the only true God,+ and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ." John 17:3

“Organized religion is a sham and a crutch for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers. It tells people to go out and stick their noses in other people's business. I live by the golden rule: Treat others as you'd want them to treat you. The religious right wants to tell people how to live.” ---Jesse Ventura​

 

[Logician Man]

If there were proof that we Humans were actually special and not evolved from other beings, I might think about a greater-than-I entity and living forever, etc.
As it is, I don't buy the program. We're way too flawed to be from some powerful all-knowing thing.
To me, we're just as likely to be a computer simulation. We certainly wouldn't know it if we were.

For me 'personally', it's this simple. After reading/studying biblical scripture, I asked myself the following question: "Is it more likely an unproven deity created everything as we know/observe it, or is it more likely mere mortals concocted a 'God Concept' to explain the unknown?" Critical and logical thinking led me to the conclusion it is the latter of the two.

 

[HIP56948]

It's odd how a supposedly "perfect" being can create imperfect things.

The Matrix anyone?

I think there are 2 things in life that would startle the hell out of me...To hear somebody walk up behind me (out in the prairie or whatever)
and say Mis-terrr Andersson. That or knowing any second, somewhere a Mom would say: "Turn your Solar-System-Game off and come eat your vegetables!

 

[Dragonfly]

Yes...by taking in knowledge of God through His Word,

Says the Muslim, Mormon, Hindu, Buddhist, Catholic, Amish, Sikh ….

And they all swear there’s is “the truth”.

 

[pinqy]

Can you “know” god? Or know what god thinks and wants?

No. Regardless of the definitions of what a god is, it is understood that a god would of a different nature than humans, and would have a perspective of the universe profoundly different than ours.

Without any base of reference or context it would be impossible to understand anything about a god.

 

[Gordy327]

I think there are 2 things in life that would startle the hell out of me...To hear somebody walk up behind me (out in the prairie or whatever)
and say Mis-terrr Andersson.

Yeah, that would be creepy.

That or knowing any second, somewhere a Mom would say: "Turn your Solar-System-Game off and come eat your vegetables!

"But mom, I just started a war on the 3rd planet." Lol

 

[KevinKohler]

No, because that would invalidate faith. Christianity is all about faith, and knowing is not believing.

 

[Daisy]

it is understood that a god would of a different nature than humans

No, it's not...man is made in God's image...we have God's Word as base/reference so it is possible to come to know Him...

 

[Daisy]

No, because that would invalidate faith. Christianity is all about faith, and knowing is not believing.

You cannot love or put faith in someone you don't know...

 

[KevinKohler]

You cannot love or put faith in someone you don't know...

Yes you can. You never knew your great great great great grandfather, but you certainly believe he existed, yes?

Christianity is about beliefe, about the fervent passion behind believing in something that defies conventional wisdom and belief. If you KNEW, as a matter of fact, that it was real, it would no longer be an act of faith, but simply of self preservation.

Not knowing is the very essence of christianity.

 

[Daisy]

You never knew your great great great great grandfather, but you certainly believe he existed, yes?

Believing someone exists/existed is not loving them or putting faith in them...case in point...Satan and his demons believe..."the demons believe and shudder" James 2:19

 

[Logician Man]

Can we "know God"?. NOPE. Not until/unless a God, or Gods, have been proven to exist, which clearly isn't the case. What we can know is "God concepts", which are concocted by mere mortals with very vivid, and differing imaginations and some, with very misguided, self-serving agendas.

 

[Gordy327]

No, because that would invalidate faith. Christianity is all about faith, and knowing is not believing.

Believing is not knowing either. And yet, how often do some theists proclaim "knowing" something in regards to God? Personally, I prefer to have knowledge over belief.

 

[Gordy327]

You cannot love or put faith in someone you don't know...

No. I need to develop some emotional attachment and level of trust first.

 

[pinqy]

No, it's not...man is made in God's image...we have God's Word as base/reference so it is possible to come to know Him...

Made in His image does not mean of the same nature. What is it like to be a god? How do thought processes for a non-material being work? What experiences has God had that are not recorded in any Holy book?

Even assuming every word in the Bible is completely true, we still only have the human perspective from over two thousand years ago. Zero baseline for what a god is (origin, composition, relationship to space-time and the universe in general, etc, etc, etc. And I don’t recall any part of the Bible that claims it is possible to fully understand God.

 

[Daisy]

Made in His image does not mean of the same nature. What is it like to be a god?

God is a spirit...we are flesh and blood so logic tells us we are not made in God's image in a physical way, so it must be something else...God loves, God hates, God gets angry, God gets hurt...so do we...we are made in God's image in the fact that we can experience the same attributes as He does...

 

[Gordy327]

God is a spirit...we are flesh and blood so logic tells us we are not made in God's image in a physical way, so it must be something else...God loves, God hates, God gets angry, God gets hurt...so do we...we are made in God's image in the fact that we can experience the same attributes as He does...

Odds how an omnipotent, omniscient deity that is supposedly "perfect" has all the same petty emotions as us mere mortals? It's as if God has all the attributes of the mortals who imagined him?

 

[Logician Man]

@Elora doesn't believe God is 'Omniscient.' Go to the 'Omniscient' thread in this sub-forum, look at the OP question, and her response to that OP question in 'her' post# 2 in that thread.