What would a deity look like?

[Justme]

Just supposing some sort of deity did exist, what it would look like? It is not likely to have a human form.

For as long as I can remember I had this memory of what must have been a dream. I was up in heaven with the deity and angels. I was informed by the deity it was my 'angelic' duty do my bit on earth. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect, but ended up here anyway! The deity portrayed in my dream looked something like this. In spite of my dream I am an agnostic!

 

[GeorgiaXplant]

What are you saying, Justme? The Deity doesn't look like the Head of Christ by Warner Sallman? Dang. Who knew?

 

[Warrigal]

The Jewish bible teaches that god is spirit. In my mind the nearest thing to the concept of spirit is energy. What does energy look like? The answer is that energy is not visible at all except in it's effect on matter. This is what I used to teach about energy in science lessons. We are aware of different manifestations of that which we call energy in different ways. Through our senses and by constructing meters designed to respond to some physical change caused by a particular energy form - think potentiometers for electrical energy.

When we want to draw energy we have to resort to well understood conventions - motion is shown using lines streaming behind the moving object, radiant energy with an aura etc. So it is with representations of divinity. Artists have developed popular conventions but all are just human constructs, including derisory ones like spaghetti monsters.

When we do become aware of the divine in our lives we are usually at a loss to describe the experience to others because the reality is very personal and popular conventions tend to fall away because they are totally inadequate. One thing seems to be constant. Something changes, and the change is permanent.

 

[chic]

The Jewish bible teaches that god is spirit. In my mind the nearest thing to the concept of spirit is energy. What does energy look like? The answer is that energy is not visible at all except in it's effect on matter. This is what I used to teach about energy in science lessons. We are aware of different manifestations of that which we call energy in different ways. Through our senses and by constructing meters designed to respond to some physical change caused by a particular energy form - think potentiometers for electrical energy.

When we want to draw energy we have to resort to well understood conventions - motion is shown using lines streaming behind the moving object, radiant energy with an aura etc. So it is with representations of divinity. Artists have developed popular conventions but all are just human constructs, including derisory ones like spaghetti monsters.

When we do become aware of the divine in our lives we are usually at a loss to describe the experience to others because the reality is very personal and popular conventions tend to fall away because they are totally inadequate. One thing seems to be constant. Something changes, and the change is permanent.

Would a diety be energy or thought? Is thought energy? I perceive dieties to be thought, but thoughts that can propel action. Does this make sense to anyone?

 

[Warrigal]

Everyone imagines the deity differently. It is a cultural bias.

At times it has suited me to imagine Jesus as an ever present companion in my life, like someone with me on a hike camp in the wilderness. I never see the face, just the strong, brown forearm that I can rely on to help me over the rough patches. Someone who shares my campfire and food. A dependable friend.

Do I really believe that Jesus is divine? Sometimes no and other times yes. Like Schrodinger's cat, he can be both simultaneously. Perhaps we all are.

The divine can be experienced as an energy. I have felt that force. Not all the time but it has been something that gives strength, comfort and resilience when needed.

It can also be a thought. I've occasionally experienced thoughts that have popped into my head that seem to have both an internal and an external origin. They are very unsettling but never disturbing. They bring timely guidance. Again, they have Schrodinger's cat qualities. I could explain them using psychology or I could interpret them as the deity reaching down (for want of a better word). They could be either or both.

PS I'm not crazy, in case you are wondering. I'm by nature very sceptical about metaphysics, yet I cannot ignore the possibility of a field that permeates the material universe that is not measurable and which is independent of time and space. See, now I've compared the divine to energy again, but not any energy that is known to science.