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| Detail of the Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo, Sistine Chapel (c. 1508-1512) |
How can a human being characterize God?
Michelangelo's paintings of a powerful old man with wavy grey hair and beard are one well-known attempt.
God is powerful. God is old. God is grey. God is surrounded by cherubs.
Some people view God as stern, cranky, impatient, petty, vindictive, vengeful, and other pejorative things.
Some view him as distant and disinterested.
Others view him as a hands-off onlooker of human destiny.
Still others view him as personal, patient, and present in human history.
But how does our text, Genesis, actually describe God?
Using the scenes and words of Genesis, develop a portrait of God's character that considers more than simply the surface level evidence. You don't have room to write a book here; you have only several paragraphs to flesh out a rounded description of this major character in our readings. If you focus on only a single characteristic, you will present us with a flat character. Flat characters are not worth our time and effort, beyond saying, "He or she is a flat character. The End."
God is anything but that.
On the other hand, you don't have space to flesh out God's character in all its fullness. Instead, focus your discussion on perhaps two or three characteristics of God, using textual evidence to bolster your discussion. Use simple parenthetical citations noting both chapter and verse, e.g. (45:9). Paint for us a portrait of God that goes beyond both Michelangelo's grey-haired old man and the various popular notions of God that are too often based on cultural imaginings rather than the written text.
Posts must be thoughtful, substantive, referenced, and articulate. Due: midnight 13 September.
God as an "Intentional, Committed Overseer": All throughout Genesis we have seen God take on the role and character of an Overseer. An overseer is someone who is distanced in someway, yet still is in charge of what is going on. We see it play out early on in the first couple chapters of Genesis in the creation story. In chapter one, he is creating things, and in chapter two he is forming them together. God begins to delegate his work to his people and guide them through. But lets look at this more closely
ReplyDeleteGod had every chance to create and form at the same time (basically we very easily could have Genesis 1 and 2 combined), but these two accounts from the first two chapters of the Bible must have significance and reason. I think one potential reason why there is creation and then formation is to show a difference between how God can have multiple roles within something. When he first creates, God is first displaying his full control over his creation. The story says that God would say "let there be ___" and immediately following that "there was ____". But chapter 1 simply accounts for the creation and not the formation from seven days of work. It is almost as if the writing is displaying a cliffhanger - "what will happen next?". If God were to just create and not form, what would change? Would the story be different? I think so, however, he continues on to form us through the dust in Genesis 2. I believe shows his creativity by creating first, then forming. Though creating and forming can seem like the same thing, God shows a deep level of his character that plays out throughout the rest of Genesis. When we say, "God formed them" it is a more personal word for explanation of creation. When we say "God created them," it almost feels as that is too broad, that it is only the beginning (no pun intended) of what he wants to do.
Ultimately, I think God shows that there are layers of roles within himself. And because Genesis says humans are created in the image of God, he also shows that there are layers of roles within us (as he begins to delegate his roles over to his people). We see this not only in creation but all throughout Genesis as God (who, remember, just created everything all by his own power and will) now gives his people responsibilities. Whether it is Adam naming the animals or taking care of the garden, or Noah whom he chooses to build an ark and save the animals and himself from extinction, or Abraham to be the one by which God will multiply his life; God has intentionally sought out his people. God now gives them tasks and jobs by which he will now oversee his will to be done. I believe his first way of showing this ability to delegate and oversee was in the way he created us. Just as he created and formed Adam and Eve, he too continues to pursue the characters of Genesis by forming them into the people he wants them to be over time. So though the formation was in Genesis 2, it continues on throughout the book of Genesis.
Throughout Genesis, many labels can be placed on God. Of all these characteristics, however, he is definitely not portrayed as a flat character; instead he is seen as complex and round. From the very first verse, we see that God is a go-getter; he's a God of action and a God of intervention. When God sees something that displeases or concerns him, he doesn't just sit back and watch. For example, God was saddened by the people of the earth, so instead and letting humanity play its course, he intervened and proclaimed he would wipe all of humanity off the earth (6:6-7). In chapter 11, God was concerned that people were going to have too much power, so he scattered mankind and confused their languages (11:6-8). When God saw that Leah was not loved, he made Rachel barren and gave Leah the ability to conceive (29:31). These instances, and many more throughout the book of Genesis, show that God didn’t create the earth and then sit back to watch what would happen. He regularly interceded and physically interacted with his creation.
ReplyDeleteGod can also be portrayed as rhetorical. In many of the stories we’ve read, God asks rhetorical questions, or questions he obviously already knows the answer to. After Cain kills Abel, God asks him, “Where is your brother?” (4:9). God knew Cain had killed him, and an answer was not needed, yet God asked anyway. This same concept also occurs in the Garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, God asked them where they were and if they had eaten the forbidden fruit (3:9,11). Why does God continually ask questions to which he already knows the answers? Maybe he seeks to test the honesty of people, or maybe he wants the people to think about their actions more carefully. Either way, we see that the God of the Bible is not stagnant. He is constantly interacting with the characters of Genesis.
I would consider God’s character in Genesis to be depicted as a developing creator. What I mean by that is that God assumes the role of someone who is continuing to grow along with his creation. Although the narrator describing God in Genesis makes him out to be impeccably knowledgeable, thoughtful, and fair, it is clear that he, too, carries imperfections of inconsistency which are seen through both the embodiment of his work and his influence on them. We can physically read his role shift and personality arc between not only the first two chapters, but in the entirety of Genesis. He begins as being a distanced authoritative figure, dictating what should go where, omniscient and transcendent. As discussed in class, in Gen 2, this position dramatically shifts into becoming much more involved and personalized with his creations, adding an aspect of intimacy into God’s role as a creator. From there, we are then able to track God’s presence as such from various characters’ actions and responses to each other and to him, since Genesis does not characterize God directly.
ReplyDeleteWhere the “developing” part of the title mentioned in the beginning comes in is through the inconsistencies he creates which give his character a desire for growth and redemption. To specify, the idea that everything God created is good and in his image, I find to be very paradoxical. For example, why would God destroy everything he created with a flood if he intended it to be perfect already? If everything he created was flawless, good, and in his own image, then that means death and sin are such as well. Why else would he allow the internal agency to do so? The fact that sin and death have the capacity to emerge in this divine creation insinuates that this is a reflection of God’s own character. Yet, he is able to recreate and mature his world and himself after, thus showing a sign of progression. He creates man and realizes, “it is not good for the man to be alone” (2:18). He severely punishes Cain only to develop sympathy and provide him a mark of protection. He condemns violence then later determines the reciprocal punishment for murder, “…from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being” (9:5).
Towards the end of Genesis he then begins to appear in dreams, introducing the point in his arc where he has mediated being ethereal while still being attached. This displays his inconsistent nature, but also crystallizes this idea of growth with him being told as this ever good, ever-evolving deity.
In my experience of the narratives taking place in the Bible, God is constantly being challenged in the sphere of belief of that time and place.
ReplyDeleteIn the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. (1:1) With this very act, he broke apart time and space to allow creation itself to exist. In doing so, he challenged the sphere that he was found in, essentially setting the bar at its highest possible level.
Another example of this could be the story of Noah and the flood, God allowed the people on earth to have free run of the place - I mean, who would create something so spectacular and beautiful -life itself- and then let it be squandered by its own accord. In much of the same way that a mom takes care of her child, God could have forced and prodded His creatures into being "good" like a mom makes her little one eat broccoli and peas because she knows it is healthy for them. God could have forced humanity into kindness and goodness, rather he let them go at their own behest. Again, the character of God is breaking expectations of the faithful readers thousands of years later.
Later on in the account of Jacob and Esau, God could have punished Jacob right from the start when he became sneaky and conniving to trick Esau into giving up his birthright and taking his blessing, (25: 33-34 and 27:28-40) but God allowed good to come from the evil in a foreshadowing of the narratives to come. From a father filled with deceit and trickery, God allowed his son to be born into the same family lineage, so obviously God had a greater good planned for it.
In all the accounts of God's person, it showed remarkable insight into the character that was being formed into the idea of who he was.
While God’s character is constantly being shown throughout the Bible, there are many examples throughout the book of Genesis alone. Some of the characteristics that are shown in Genesis include patience and a God who is hands on. I see him as both, as there are examples that support both characteristics. God shows patience in many different stories. In many instances, God allowed things to play out before he ever took action, if he took any at all. For example, in Genesis 27, Jacob tricked his father into giving him his blessing. God could have stepped in and punished Jacob for being so conniving and tricky, but he was patient. A last example, in Genesis 34, Dinah, the daughter of Jacob was raped. Two of her brothers then set off to the village of the man who raped her and killed every male there. God did not intervene and remained patient.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, you could claim that he has a stronger characteristic of being one who intervenes. In Genesis 6:5-7, God decided to take action and wipe out the human race (except for Noah’s family) because of the evil that lived in people. This was a big step of action. In Genesis 11:5-8, God intervened and made it so that the people building the tower of Babel could no longer do so. He directly stepped in and made sure the people could not become too powerful. As a last example, in Genesis 12:17, God inflicted diseases on Pharaoh for taking Abrams wife into his place. These examples all show how God was hands on and intervened when he saw necessary.
While patience/ sitting back and observing and taking action/ intervening are opposites, God shows examples of possessing both.
I think how we should portray god, maybe not so much as the way he looks, but in what he does. We have tons of examples of God is love, God is within everyone. So when I think of God I try not to think of a man with great flowing gray hair. Even though I am Catholic I do believe In the trinity is the father son and Holy Spirit, but I like to think of Jesus as Jesus the way as how he was physically depicted or how geographically people were depicted. Overall I like to think of Hod as feelings of love and the many teachings taught to us through the word.
ReplyDeleteKirk Barron
God is a concept. He is a being that does not exist within tangible, definable limitations. The way that God is introduced to us in Genesis tends to be in a comprehensible human form: he is portrayed as a man, someone who can walk and talk to characters such as Adam in the Garden (Genesis 2:15) or Abraham as lay dreaming (Genesis 22:1). It comes naturally that we might imagine a God who is classically archaic and grandfatherly. And while the character of God is difficult to conjure in the physical sense, he is equally difficult to conjure in terms of personality. The contemporary Christian ideology is that we have a loving, forgiving God. Yet that view is often contradicted within Genesis and throughout the old testament as our God is portrayed in a way that is sometimes imperfect. The Tower of Babel is an example of a time when God's intentions is called into question. Does he love us unconditionally? What are the limits of his power? What are we supposed to take away from these tales? Our omnipresent, omniscient deity does not establish his role clearly within the text of Genesis alone. However I would argue that we have enough information to assume that God is a benevolent, powerful creator, accurately seen as a father figure, who is troubled with his creation and continually working through the kinks.
ReplyDeleteOutside of what I have read from the bible, the Christian god is often described as all-knowing and a bit of a micromanager. I think that what we have read in Genesis so far has illustrated quite the opposite.
ReplyDeleteIn Genesis 2-3 we see god inserting a fatal flaw into his creation: freewill. As long as humans have freewill can we really ever have a god who micromanages our every move? It seems the more we read that we actually have a very laissez-faire god. The fact that so many characters in the Bible explicitly go against god's wishes is abundant proof that god isn't necessarily all-knowing or micromanaging. We see examples of people going against god's wishes when Abraham has a baby with Sarah's servant Hagar. They have a baby, and god changes his plan.
It's as though god originally has one plan but then when humans use their free will he has to adapt those plans for the new information. He seems very willing to do this for some people, and a little more unwilling to do this for others. Many of the examples that demonstrate god as laissez-faire could potentially be used as evidence that god isn't inherently omniscient, or all knowing.
For example, a perfect creation probably wouldn't have had the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, yet god's creation did. An omniscient god might have tried to stop the snake from speaking with eve or to stop eve from eating the fruit. I think the implied flawed nature of god brings him down to a level more relatable to average people.
Throughout Genesis, we learn more and more about God's character. In Genesis 1 he is depicted as an impersonal Creator. By the end of Genesis, however, we begin to see God as an all-powerful and independent, yet approachable, provider for his people.
ReplyDeleteThe God of Genesis is a God of many names, each name describing different facets of his character. From the foundation of God (Elohim) and LORD (YHWH), two such character/name developments are "Sovereign LORD" (15:2) and "God Almighty" or "El-Shaddai" (17:1). Both of these names portray God as having supreme power and authority over humans, and we see examples of these attributes in the text. We see God's power in Genesis 1 and 2 in the creation of the world. We see his authority when he banishes Adam and Eve from the garden in chapter 3, then again when he banishes Cain from the land in chapter 4. His power and authority are again on display when he destroys almost all of creation in chapter 7-8 with the flood, and when he disperses the people throughout the world in chapter 11.
Thus far, we have only looked at instances of God's power in judgment. Yet he frequently displays his control in provision for his people. He provides personally for many people throughout Genesis: basic clothing for Adam and Eve despite their disobedience (3:21), a ram to sacrifice for Abraham (22:8,13), offspring and possessions (33:5,11), success in hardship (39:23), and many more. Beyond this, God's sovereignty is displayed when he brings about good for many people despite man's evil actions. A prime example of this is the story of Joseph (45:5-8).
Despite the immense power and authority that is ascribed to God, he is also illustrated as an approachable and somewhat compliant deity. From creating man in his own image and walking in the garden with man, we see from the beginning that God intended for a two-way, interpersonal relationship between himself and mankind. This all-powerful God maintains his approachability throughout Genesis, especially with his chosen people. He listens and complies with Abraham's requests about Sodom and Gomorrah (18:23-32), and answers Abraham's prayer about Abimelech's people (20:17). He sees and hears Hagar (16:11-13), and listens to and answers prayers for family (24:14-18) (25:21).
This almighty and approachable God is only a hint at the complexity of the character development of God in Genesis. He is much more, yet we see time and again that he at least is a God who has power over nature and man, and desires relationship with his creation.
One way that a person could look at how God is described in Genesis is that of being predominately intellectual rather than physical. Indeed, it seems that readers are privier to God's internal thoughts than any clear physical characteristics. One instance in the text that supports this is when God considers telling Abraham about the destruction of Sodom (18:17). This is a thought process and decision that is eventually carried out but not by God but rather by what is referred to as angels. Thereby, circumventing the need for the narrator to describe God physically. Another, perhaps even more compelling, example, is when Jacob dreams of a stairway to heaven where God is at the top (28:12-14). Since this is a highly visual passage it seems unusual that God is not also described along with the staircase; rather, it becomes highly likely that the message he intends to give Jacob is more important for the reader than anything else. Both of these excerpts from the text, indicate that the reader should focus more on the influence of God on the world rather than what God might look like. Thus, establishing a type of form from which readers can formulate a picture of God.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to the notion of God from an intellectual perspective is the description of God valuing "doing what is right" throughout Genesis. When individuals in Genesis stray from what is deemed right there is often a consequence that is always connected in some way to God. A good example of this is with Judah and his sons, which eventually ends with him fathering Tamar's son instead (38:1-26). Here, it is shown that God will either intervene till the intended result is reached or allows individuals to take matters into their own hands without repercussion if the intended outcome is met. This also come into play within Joseph's storyline where it can be inferred that the events taking place make everything end up right (by God's intentions) in the end (45:1-11). Thus, it allows for these human characters to make mistakes and for God to remain passive for a time without creating too much disjointedness or contradiction of God as a character.
Therefore, these narrative choices within Genesis provide a launchpad for individuals to not only grasp the intent of the bible but also how that relates to how individuals can and in some cases, should perceive God. While it might initially seem that the narrator is limiting God in these respects, in fact, it allows for a wider reach by not alienating a reader by physical characteristics. Instead, one could even posit that it highlights the need for reader reflection even more.
It is so difficult to conjure up an image of God because there is nothing ever telling us exactly what he looks like but the text does occassionally give us clues and hints. For one in (1:27) it says that God created man in his own image and in (3:8) it says that they, Adam and Eve, heard the sound of LORD God walking in the garden. In my head when I read these two verses it paints God as looking just like a human. However, not just any human the fact that Adam and Eve can hear God walking makes me think he is big. I also think he is big because it says humans were made in his image and but it doesn't say that we look just alike. Therefore, there has to be some difference and in my head that difference is that God is much bigger than any human can be.
ReplyDeleteNext I see God as being very loud and outspoken. In (6:22) is says that Noah did all that God commanded of him and when I picture someone being commanded to do something it is done loudly. Also, it seems every time God speaks the words he uses are very powerful and strong vocabulary. For instance in (4:15) when God talks to everyone after he gives Cain his sentence he seems to roar, an exclamation point even being used. Using words like vengeance and sevenfold which when you read them they have a strong impact on how you interpret the situation.
So in conclusion after reading Genesis closely I notice that God is explained to us and speaks himself mostly during the first few chapters. Most of the times when God speaks later in Genesis he is depicted in some other way or form. For instance when God stops Abraham from sacrificing his son in (22:11-12) God comes in the form of an angel rather than himself. So I believe there is no real concrete form that God is but rather God is whatever he wishes to be.
Depending on where one reads in Genesis, or the rest of the Bible for that matter, God can be seen through many different perspectives. To some he may seem unfair, temperamental, orderly, or compassionate. The characteristics of God are many, but there are a couple in Genesis that I would like to highlight.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Genesis a common characteristic that lasts throughout the whole Bible is God’s ability to keep his word. In Genesis 2:16-17 God promises that if Adam or Eve eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they will surely die. We see his promise come true in the end of chapter 3. After the flood that wiped out almost all of humanity, God promises to never do that to the human race again (8:21). The rest of the Bible includes stories of nations being swallowed up, but God never breaks his promise of flooding the earth again. These examples show that when God says something, he means it and will not go back on his word. This reveals the power that he obtains as the main character in this book.
God not only can be seen as authoritative, but also compassionate. When God is disgusted at the people and decides to flood the earth, he has compassion on Noah who was one of the few who was diligently seeking him (5:8). He also shows his compassion when he orders Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. At first this seems like an absurd command but God is testing to see if Abraham will obey. God doesn’t make Abraham follow through with the sacrifice, by showing compassion and providing a ram to sacrifice instead (22:13).
The characteristics of God are countless and can vary depending on perspective. These are just a couple that I have observed in reading Genesis.
God is many things, his attributes are that of a girlfriend who likes or loves you so much that she cant stand to loose sight of you, but yet doesn't want to be controlling, but God in my realm of reasoning owns power to every thing crucible under the earth, in the earth, in the heavens and everything that there is to be, but he is a conflict of paradoxical interest, an omini-potent, in the very beginning of Gods creation of man in his own image, he wanted a companion so to say, but also at the turn of man into sin, he became a vengeful and vindictive God, but along the lines through the book of Genesis, God became a character that begins to enter into what I see as "contractual Agreement" with human, and this began with Abraham and Sarah.
ReplyDelete"if thou shall walk in line with me, I will grant thy generation....." this became a terminology of diplomacy between humans that he chose and he himself, and when reasoning with all of the events that occurred in the book of genesis, it seems to me that God is discovering himself.
A character that is torn between either using his absolute magnificent power to his will, or staying back and watching what is to become of Humans if he wasn't there, but only when events require his immediate attention, which I think is fascinating, he is either testing himself on how patient he can be with what humans are doing or he is proving his magnificence to humans.
The book of Genesis doesn't lay it all out, no set rules of what God wants, he takes when he feels an event is inappropriate i.e. God took the life of Er, because he was a bad man, but yet he also took the life of Onan who is the brother to Er, simply because he wouldn't provide the wife or widow of Er an heir as per the tradition of the land he( God) did not establish, a complicated intricate entity. God struggles within himself, to define who he is, what he wants, but he doesn't want to force Human, but wants humans to free willy, by their own accord follow him, but he also knows that Humans will mess, and then he punishes humans for breaking the contractual agreement or covenant agreement for example, God punished Moses because he got angry and smashed the slab on which the ten commandments was written on, upon getting down from the mountain,seeing the people worshiping a golden calf as their god. But was that really Moses fault for getting angry, but instead God picked Joshua to lead the Israelites to the promised land.
God is a funny character and a jealous husband of wife as you may wish to look at it, and he is trying to work his way into getting better with relationship with mankind.
I think from the book of Genesis and how the depict God, as a person who is able to shape and form the universe around us. I think of him as a distant creator, but when he has Adam and Eve he becomes a father figure for instance when he told them to not eat from the tree of knowledge I think that in that instance he came off to me as more of a parent who is looking out for the better insterest in people.
ReplyDeleteI think when God decided to flood the earth he was very punishing and wanted to let the people know that he is an almighty God and will punish people if need be. I think that another instance for why he is seen to me as an almighty and powerful god is when he destroys Sodom only because he seemed that there were not enough righteous people in the town and he decided to destroy the whole town.
Overall I think that God is depicted as a God that will punish people when need be, and I think that God is always in position of being the Father of our people and he was able to teach us through the flood and Sodom. I think that God is depicted in the best way possible in Genesis
All-Powerful yet Prideful
ReplyDeleteGod, characterized in the book of Genesis could garner many different labels. Through many different stories you see different characteristics revealed.
The power that God has is evident in many ways, weather you see it from his curses to Adam, Eve and the serpent. Or seeing it in destruction, maybe examples like the flood and Sodom and Gomorrah show God flexing his muscles. Where I saw this example specifically was in chapter 18, after God says that he will bless Abraham and Sarah with a son and they can’t believe it. He even says, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The word anything is why I added the all in front of powerful.
God has pride, evident in a lot of different examples. He is constantly reminding his people who they need to worship and how it should be done. As a man, pride is something that I struggle with, I mean it even says, in Genesis 1 that man was created in God’s image. So maybe that is where we get our pride from. However… Shoot, I’d be proud too if I created the Heavens and the Earth and told everything to be that could be.
God basically is a powerful being. He's the Creator--He created the Heavens and the Earth, as seen in Genesis 1:1. And although He's omnipotent, He's an omnipotent with very human qualities as seen in Genesis 2:1. He was exhausted after His creation, and so He rested on the 7th day. As stated prior, God is very powerful, a creator as well as a destroyer, as seen in the Noah story in Genesis chapter 6. He's heartbroken and regrets making humans, animals, any living thing that was corrupt with violence (another human quality), and destroys all living things within a massive flood that overtook the earth for nearly a whole year. God is many things, a powerful deity, but can also be seen with a human perspective, adopting human qualities such as regret, heartbreak, anger, et cetera. He's anything but flat, and because He's so many things, there isn't one definition of who He really is.
ReplyDeleteGod can be viewed from numerous perspectives; but I am only going to focus on a couple of them. Speaking to some of my friends who do not believe in God has really opened up my eyes on this subject. More specifically, one of my friends stated “Who is God to tell me what I can and cannot eat, or even what I can and cannot wear?” Reflecting on his statement, it made me realize that since he does not believe that God created this Earth and all of its contents, he has no reason to follow, what he perceives as, a made up figment floating around in the sky. However, talking to my friend who is Apostolic Christian gave me a completely different view, because she dresses according to the way the Bible says she should (long skirt, hair in bun, head covering, etc.), and believes that God is a forgiving and selfless creator. This proves that the lenses we use in our daily lives directly impacts not only our beliefs, but the way we judge things and formulate opinions as well.
ReplyDeleteTo challenge myself, I am going to be approaching this assignment with an atheistic point of view in order to better understand (and be prepared for questions by) my friends who are atheist. By reading the story of Joseph with this lens (Gen. 37-50) the main thoughts that go through my mind are:
-How could someone ever interpret dreams and claim to have factual reasoning behind them? That sounds phony and makes it seem like this God is just a made up character in one’s mind, and is only being used to try to justify one’s absurd actions (Gen. 40:8).
(Overall characteristic of God in this example: makes people try to justify delusional claims)
-In Genesis 45:9 KJV, Joseph says “God hath made me lord of all E’gypt,” but that is not logical at all. Why would one downplay their well-earned accomplishments and give a God the credit for it? This makes it sound like these people are brainwashed into believing that their accomplishments do not deserve praise, only God does.
(Overall characteristic of God in this example: plagiarist of other people’s accomplishments)
These are just two examples that I came up with from Genesis; however, there are many more that could be found by looking at the book through this lens (not to mention, even more through my personal lens). I can now see why some of my friends think that this “God stuff” just sounds like a feel-good fairy tale, and will use it to strengthen my faith and responses to their questions. Overall, God’s characteristics differ through the lens one is analyzing Him through, and these two examples are just a fraction of the examples one could use to prove their opinions on Him.
It’s funny sometimes the way that God is depicted in Genesis. Sometimes he seems so human like and then other times he seems like he is from another dimension. Which is funny because the majority of Genesis was written by Moses I believe. As far as the character of God and his appearance, it’s hard sometimes to draw those things from the text. Never once do we hear about god have a long white beard, or him shooting lightning from his fingers. However, throughout the text you start to form this idea that god is big. Like he is a 20-foot giant. But as far as the actual appearance of god, we don’t know much. As far as my opinion of God from Genesis, he does seem vindictive, but I think that it’s totally justified. So God decides to work his butt off for 7 days and create the universe. Not a bad week’s work. Then he literally gives Adam and Eve one rule, and they break it. He promises them eternity in paradise and they can’t even handle that. I would be so angry if I was god. This is like giving someone something for their birthday and once they get done opening it they look at you and say, “is that it”? So I think God is angry and rightfully so. God is powerful. In Genesis 7:24 it says that god “Blots out every living thing on the face of the earth”. Anyone who has the ability to flood the entire earth and kill everyone on it is obviously powerful and angry. In Genesis 6 through 9 god talks about destroying the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. So as you can see throughout Genesis, God destroying the earth and wiping out the population is a common thing. And I think he feels a constant need to try and purify and return his creation to what it once was.
ReplyDeleteWhen considering the character of God, several adjectives immediately jump to mind. God is patient, kind, loving, omnipotent, and omnipresent. There are endless descriptions of God, but these are some of the most important- in my mind at least. I have enjoyed going through Genesis, because this gave me an opportunity to view scripture with a new perspective. I tried very hard to put aside the fact that I grew up in the church and am a Christian. That being said, I have found that I have actually grown more in my personal walk with God.
ReplyDeleteI have discovered God's compassion in a new way. In chapter 18 verses 24-33, God discusses the possibility of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. He states that He will spare the righteous. He shows His love for each of His children by leading them from destruction into paradise. God also shows how much He craves our adoration. I have heard it said that for every promise, there is a premise.
In chapter 22 verses 16-17, this concept is demonstrated. God is testing Abraham. In verse 17, it says, "I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants..." (promise) In verse 16, it says, "Because you have obeyed me..." (premise) This shows that God will fulfill promises, but we have a responsibility too. God requires communion with us. He is faithful.
Carefully reading the book of Genesis has allowed me to paint a much clearer image of God’s character in my head than I’ve ever had before. First, I think the creation story shows God’s creative side (duh). But more than that, I think it shows how inventive and expressive He is. These are all character traits of God that show up again and again throughout the book of Genesis and throughout the Bible. When God created the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1, “the earth was without form and void,” and He, basically, although I’m sure it can and has been argued otherwise, had nothing to work with (1:2). This idea really fascinates me. Every man-made idea that has been thought-up and created throughout all of history was based on something else already in existence. Inventions were invented to solve problems or make life more convenient or more fun. And even then, our inventions had and still have bugs or errors that have to be worked out over time. But God started with nothing, and created EVERYTHING. He organized, He invented, He gave purpose, He thought of every. single. tiny. detail. And it was perfect.
ReplyDeleteThat is, until humanity screwed everything up. It’s a darn good thing God is so inventive.
Throughout the book of Genesis and the Old Testament and, arguably, the entire Bible, it seems that the same thing reoccurs in every story. We, as readers, come to expect it, and it goes like this: God has a great and perfect plan for everyone and everything, then humanity decides they have a better plan in mind, humanity terribly ruins God’s plan and the whole thing turns to chaos, and, finally, God finds a way to set everything back on course. Wouldn’t it be easier if humans just behaved themselves? But God lets us - humans - mess up all the time. And instead of sending down a lightning bolt to zap the mistake out of existence, He simply redirects the plan. Instead of eliminating Adam, Eve, Cain, Hagar, Ishmael, Rebekah, Jacob, his sons, Pharaoh, and all of mankind, for that matter, God allows the people to make mistakes. Sometimes I think He enjoys fixing and rearranging the billion-piece jigsaw puzzle that is the earth every day.
I think God’s inventiveness and His ability to constantly and continuously put things back in order in new and unexpected ways is one of His strongest (or most obvious) suits. And I would surely add ‘patient’ to the very long list of words to describe God.
The character of God is a topic that I am happy has come up in discussion because on a theological level, I can never decide upon a definite characteristic of God. Is he spiteful? Is he merciful? Does he have the same qualities as man that we often ascribe to him? A couple of things that I have picked up on can be read in different ways and because of my personal opinions and struggle, I’d like to keep an open mind and interpret them so as to ascribe a good and bad feature to God. I will be using the NLT to make my points. I will bold my characteristics as well for convenience.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that comes to mind is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed. God speaks to Abraham (18:23-33) after he asks if God will wipe out the wicked and the righteous alike. God responds—after much questioning from Abraham—that he will not wipe out the village for the sake of even 10 righteous people. Right after this is said, Sodom and Gomorrah is destroyed. This seemed very contradictory and deceitful. Why would God lie to Abraham and destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, even after he reassured him that he would spare it?
This insinuates that God did not find one good person, thus making it appropriate to destroy the places. Destroying people sounds murderous as it is, but here it is not without reason. Right before being destroyed, the men of the town came to Lot and the two male figures, asking Lot to bring them out for sex (19:4-9). This may have swayed God to think that there were no good people, but this also excludes women. There are many instances like this were women are disregarded, making me wonder if god, in today’s terms, would be an anti-feminist.
All of this has negative connotations, but what if in fact, God is just honest? God states that the towns will be spared for the sake of the righteous, and going along with the theory that the towns were so corrupt and chaotic that there was no righteous residing there, God just kept his promise.
Going along with the idea of promise, there is a repetitive theme with the blessing of children and countless descendants. (17:16) promises many descendants to Rachel and Abraham, a blessing that is also given to his son Isaac and Rebekah (25:23) when God tells her her two twins will become two nations. This is very generative and kind of the LORD to bless the people in this way. It is a common theme/reward, but made God’s followers content.
Another common theme that I see in Genesis is with the covenants made with God. God makes a covenant (9:11) with Noah that claims no flood will kill all living things again. One in particular shows God’s selective nature, but also his generosity. God makes a covenant with Abraham (17:18-21) saying that the covenant he intended was for Isaac, but also blesses Ishmael generously, even though the covenant is not with him.
God has many characteristics and I do not think that we can just say God is only good or bad. I personally think that God is good, but when bad things happen by God’s decision, I question if we can even ascribe these attributes of man to an omniscient and non-human God. Despite this, the text has given us many reasons to believe that God is both: honest/contradictory, Generative, Selective and intentional, but also generous. God is a character that is hard to imagine in the flesh having such characteristics; I don’t think we can do this because God’s motives are debatable, which allows many interpretations of God’s character. Will we ever have a finite answer?
Reading Genesis in isolation our first measure of God’s character seems to foreshadow something ominous. Genesis begins with a hasty tour of creation, while we can’t be sure what God was thinking before creation he makes it clear where he stands after. Light, Earth, vegetation, even animals pass the sniff test, however, we can’t say this much for humans. Humans are God’s last invention before his rest on the seventh day and up until that point we have been assured each of his inventions are good. This pattern is broken with the creation of man, and the strongest successive statement made is that the total sum of his creations can be described as ‘very good.’ From this we cannot conclude God views humanity as ‘good.’ In fact, the implication seems to be the opposite. To document this point, we recall (6:5) in which God admittedly laments the state of the world he contrived ultimately leading to (6:7) its total reset.
ReplyDeleteFor the latter majority of Genesis God’s character is revealed through his interactions with humanity, so it is important to keep the above observation in mind. God continues sending plagues and demolishing cities, which suggests the reset attempt was not a total success. But, we do see God making individual judgments of people as good or righteous (15:6). This may explain God’s tendency to come off as capricious. For example, we see God issue punishment (20:18) for a crime in one instance while not intervening at all in another. Or (18:15) where God again reacts more harshly to Sarah than Abraham for finding his claim laughable. It appears these moments are indicative of God’s diligent effort to discriminate the wicked from the good and mitigate the spread of the former as much as possible.
God is a fearful yet comforting character. He is fearful when human challenges His authority. And he is fearful because He's powerful. In Genesis 18:13-15, He is powerful to hear Sarah's silent laugh. When Sarah lied and tried to deny her disdain of God's power to provide, God revealed her heart relentlessly with four words, "No, you did laugh." This shows that He has no tolerant of lies and He values his authority highly. Although God has the power to put every single creature into fear and devastation, He is comforting and wants His people to live in peace. When he send the angles come to the earth, the first thing they say is alway "don't be afraid". This show that, God recognizes his fearfulness and how unnatural his appearance is to human, and he doesn't want his people to fear.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion God plays the role of a strict father of mankind. This description works in three ways.First off, he created man in his image (genesis 1+2) which makes him the father of man on a technical level.
ReplyDeleteSecond, it is clear that when he feels as though mankind has been misbehaving he doles out punishment such as the Noah's flood, or any other time he takes the life of man. But this isn't because he hates man, sometimes it feels more like he is just disappointed such as in genesis 6 when he "laments the state of mankind". Also, it feels more like a grounding as apposed to a death sentence because of the low stakes feeling of his descisions to take life. Lastly, it is clear that he loves his creations and tries to work with man. Such as when he makes covenants with those he chooses to lead and looks out for those who need his help.(Abraham and Joseph). He seems to be fair to anyone who is close to him which means that he can also be understanding.
In the beginning of Genesis when God is organizing the world and creating the rest of things in it, I think he's acts like a craftsman. They create things but also have to deal with sorting everything the tools in their shop. That is basically what he does in this first part. In the Noah story, he's like a parent who's upset with the children making havoc and wants to reward the one kid playing quietly. Granted the loud kids get a severe timeout (death), but God is a stern parent that sticks out with his punishment. Then when he makes his covenant with Abraham, I can see it like a courtroom scene where Abraham is on the witness stand and God is the one swearing him in. When Abraham agrees to the covenant, it's like he's agreeing to say nothing but the truth but in his case he's agreeing for him and his descendants to worship no one but this God and to follow his rules.
ReplyDeleteI think the first word that comes to mind when reading Genesis is that God is stern. When he says something he means it. It starts with Adam and Eve eating the fruit in the garden. Even though Eve was deceived she still picked from the tree, which was forbidden and God punishes her and women for the rest of time. (3:1-16) Then there is Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel and God punishes him by banishing him. (4:1-15) My last example of God's sternness is with the flood. He is in disbelief of the world and wipes the human race, except for Noah, his family, and a pair of each animal. Noah is chosen because he found favor in the Lord and was the only blameless man person living. (6:1-10) As you can see God is very vindictive in Genesis, but only because his people have done him wrong so many times.
ReplyDeleteGod is also very detail oriented. In chapter 1 and 2 where he is "creating" or "organizing" the world he is very careful and does it exactly right. In chapter 5 he talks about the descendants of Adam and it is very important that all of the years were included. Everyone has an age next to them, this is not an accident. In Gen 6:15-16 it says "Make a boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat- lower, middle, and upper. This is an extremely descriptive passage and shows God's attention to detail. Genesis and the rest of the bible is full of numbers, showing that those mattered to God.