3 Images of God

8/4/2019 3 Images of God

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Prepared by:Richard G. Pazcoguin

"God created man in his image, andman, being a gentleman, returned thecompliment."

Mark Twain


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1 JOHN 4:12 says:No one has ever seen God

God is a Spirit. God is a Mystery.A spirit cannot be perceived by thesenses. A mystery transcends allhuman experience.

OUR HUMAN LIMITATION:St. Thomas Aquinas said: Thereis nothing is the mind that is notfirst in the senses.


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Language is a product of humanexperience. For us humans to beable to speak of God, we have tospeak of Him in terms of whatour senses can perceive.

Hence, when we speak of God, weonly do soANALOGOUSLY. Withanalogies, we associate God withimages that are within our human

experience. For this reason, wecome up with IMAGES OF GOD

For example, when we sayGod is a Shepherd, whatwe actually mean isGod islike a Shepherd.


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Our IMAGES OF GOD are products ofANTHROPOMORPHISM.(anthroposman; morphe- form)

Anthropomorphism is the attribution ofhuman qualities to God.

We portray God as having a humanbody or having human emotions etc.


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Images of God are spontaneous,unreflected attitudes that influence ourresponses to God.Images of God are not the same as ideasabout God. Ideas may be abstract. Animage is concrete. It is a combination of

thoughts and feelings.Our Images of God may not be the sameas our doctrinal affirmation about God.One may profess that God is good, but inhis mind may actually think of God as a

cruel manipulator.


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Images are signs. They point towards a greater reality.

They are models of the reality. They are not the reality itself. Images have both strengths and limitations. While they canconvey truths, they can also deceive.

Forming an imaginative picture of God can be misleading.An image may be manipulated and distorted.

We are constantly tempted to make God into our ownimage, to divinize our narrowness and self-importance andthen call it the will of God.

Gerard Hughes

Nonetheless, we cannot do away with images. Theyre all weve got.


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IMAGE OF GOD STRENGTH WEAKNESS

God is a Mother Makes God moreapproachable

Presents God as acaring and loving person

Weakens Gods imageprimarily due to thenegative attributes of thefeminine caused by thecultural conditioning ofpatriarchal societies

God is a Friend Highlights Godsimmanence

Presents God as aperson actively involvedin the daily lifeexperiences of man

May cause over-familiarity with Godwhich may lead to lack ofreverence


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Our images of God have a powerfulimpact on our attitudes and behaviorseven without our consciousawareness.

Our images of God profoundly impactour spiritual well-being. A distortedimage of God results in a distortedrelationship with Him.

Our images of God are closely related

to our images of ourselves.


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The following slides contain some of thecommon IMAGES OF GOD. Some of these mayeven be your own. Reflect on each image and

try to point out the strengths and weaknessesof each in terms of their capacity to convey asound perception of GOD.


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For the Lord is your security,he will keep your foot frombeing caught in a trap.

Proverbs 3:26

GOD IS AN ARTIST

GOD IS A BODYGUARD

GOD IS A BROTHER

The splendor I bestowed on youperfected your beauty

Ezekiel 16:14

Anyone who does the will of my Father inheaven is my brother Matthew 12:50


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GOD IS A CLOWN

GOD IS IN THE CLOUDS

GOD IS A CONDUCTOR

Cheer up Zion, dont be afraid, for the Lordhas come to live among you

Zephaniah 3:16

I am going to come to you in athick cloud Exodus 19:9

The Lord himself will guide you.Micah 2:13


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GOD IS A COUNSELOR

GOD IS A DESIGNER

God has made everythingbeautiful for its own time.Ecclesiastes 1:11

GOD IS A DOCTOR

So will it be when the Lordbegins to heal his people andcure the wounds he gave them

Isaiah 30:26

These will be his royal titles:Wonderful Counselor Isaiah 9:6


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GOD IS A FATHER

GOD IS A FRIEND

GOD IS LIKE THE WIND

how much more will your Heavenly Fathergive good gifts to those who ask him.

Matthew 7:11

Now you are my friendssince I have told youeverything the Father hastold me John 15:15

Gods ways are hard to discern like thepathways of the wind. Ecclesiastes 11:5


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The Lord looks downfrom heaven upon thehuman race

Psalm 14:2

GOD IS THETRANSCENDENT ONE

GOD IS A GHOST

For God is a SpiritJohn4:24

GOD IS A JUDGE

God is a judge who is perfectly fair; he isangry with the wicked every day.

Psalm 7:11


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GOD IS A KING

The Lord is King forever and everPsalm 10:16

GOD IS A KNOW-ALL

The Lord knows peoples thoughts,that they are all worthless

Psalm 94:11

GOD IS A MACHO MAN

Use your strong right arm to save us, and rescueyour beloved people. Psalm 60:5


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GOD IS A MOTHER

Can a mother forget her infant, be withouttenderness for the child she bore in her womb?Even should she forget, I will never forget you.Isaiah 49:15

GOD IS ON A MOUNTAIN

I cried out to the Lord , andhe answered me from hisholy mountain Psalm 3:4

GOD IS A POLICEMAN

We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, onlyrescue us today from our enemies.

Judges 10:15


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GOD IS A SHEPHERD

The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothingI shall want. Ps 23:1

GOD IS A PREACHER

GOD IS A SPY

Pay attention to him andobey all his instructions.Exodus 23:21

There is a God whoknows all your deeds.

1 Samuel2:3


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GOD IS A TEACHER

GOD IS A WIZARD

GOD IS ONE OF US

Teach me how to live, o Lord..Psalm 27:11

His great works are toomarvelous to understand; heperforms miracles withoutnumber.

Job 9:10

He will be called Emmanuel (whichmeans God is with us)

Isaiah 7:14


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The Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing I shallwant, there is nothing I shall want.

The Lord is my shepherdIn verdant pastures, he gives me repose

Beside restful waters he leads meHe refreshes my soul.

Even though I walk in the valley of darknessI fear no evil, youre at my sideWith your rod and your staff

That give me courage.

Only goodness and kindness follow meAll the days of my life, all my daysAnd I shall dwell in the house of the LordFor the years to come.
http://d/The%20Lord%20is%20my%20Shepherd.rmj


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For we know only in part, and weprophecy only in part; but when thecomplete comes, the partial will cometo an end. When I was a child, I

spoke like a child, I thought like achild, I reasoned like a child; when Ibecame an adult, I put an end to mychildish ways. For now, we see in a

mirror, dimly, but then we will seeface to face. Now I know only in part;then I will know fully, even as I havebeen fully known.

1 Corinthians 13:9-12


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THEOLOGY FOR TEACHERSFr. Ian Knox

SEEING GOD IN NEW WAYS:RECOVERY FROM DISTORTED IMAGES OF GOD

By: Juanita R. Ryanhttp://www.nacronline.com/dox/library/images.shtml

OUR IMAGES OF GODAn article in STEPS Magazine

http://www.sentex.net
http://www.nacronline.com/dox/library/images.shtmlhttp://www.sentex.net/http://www.sentex.net/http://www.nacronline.com/dox/library/images.shtml

3 Images of God

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