How does Christianity portray god?

Answer 1

God is portrayed usually as either a voice, bright light, or even a burning bush or giant hand. All in all, God does not appear as an actual person, nor necessarily have a gender. However, it is most commonly believed that God is a male, dressed in white robes and dons a white beard - for whatever reason.

Answer 2

The Christian "God" is an omnipotent (all powerful) all omniscient (all knowing) and omnibenevolent (all loving) trinity of "the father the son and the holy spirit". While the trinity is not objectively identified one can read the trinity into The Bible as implied. Jesus in this trinity is the son. Yahweh the God of Israel (and part of the trinity) is the creator of all things, and responsible for many ancient events in Christian/Jewish/Islamic teachings. while that idea is taught among many churches of christendom it was never taught by Jesus or any of the Apostles and the word is not even in the Bible and according to various religious encyclopedias namely the new Catholic Encyclopedia states "among the Apostolic Fathers there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective" 1967 Vol XIV p299 Encyclopedia Britannica Vol X p 126 the Encyclopedia 1956 Vol XXVIII p 294L as well as vast numbers of Scriptures that do not support that foreign concept such as Matt 26:39 and John 8:17,18 Col 1:15,16 Rev 1:1 Mark 13:32 Matt :20-23 John 14:28 1st Cor 11:3 1st Cor 15:27,28 1st Cor :8:5,6 1st Pet 1:3 John 20:17 John 17: 1-3 there are so many more that I could write for years but to answer the main question see Ps 83:18 KJV

Answer 3

Genesis chapters 1 (strictly speaking verses 1:1-2:4a) and 2 (2:4b-25) tell two different creation stories that come from two different sources and portray God very differently in each case. Starting with the second chapter, as this is arguably more primitive than the first:

The second creation story is much older in Judaism, being attributed to the 'J Source' (Yahwist), writing around the ninth century BCE. In this story, there are limits to God's power. There is no suggestion he created the sun and stars, and the plants were already there but God had not caused it to rain and there was no one to till the ground (2:5). God could not make Adam out of nothing, but needed dirt of the ground to create his form and then breathe life into his nostrils (2:7). Similarly, God created every other living thing out of dirt (2:19). Eve is made out of the rib, or side, of Adam (2:21). So in this story, God forms things, rather than really creating them. We begin to see God as human-like, speaking to Adam, and in chapter 3, we find him walking in the garden in the cool of the day (3:8).

The first creation story is attributed to the 'P Source' (Priestly Source) who wrote during the Babylonian Exile. The P Source used the names for God that his predecessors had also used, but showed a strong preference for the name El Shaddai ('God Almighty'). In the first chapter of Genesis, he really did portray God as almighty. He simply spoke things into existence. By creating the sun, moon and stars, he not only proved his powers over the universe, he proved that the sun god and moon god of ancient times were nothing at all. There is no suggestion here or anywhere else in the Priestly writings that God could ever be found walking on earth.

For more information, please visit: http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

Answer 4

God is the omnipotent Creator, who created the universe out of nothing (Exodus 20:11, Isaiah 40:28; Maimonides' "Guide," 2:30; Nachmanides on Gen. 1:1). This is one of the meanings of Genesis 1:1 (Targum, Gen.1:1; and Rashi commentary, Gen.1:14), though the verse has further meaning as well (Rashi, Gen.1:1).Note:

According to tradition, there is only one Genesis creation-narrative, with ch.2 serving as an expansion of the brevity of ch.1, not a separate set of events (Rashi commentary, Gen.2:8).The same literary devices which the Torah employs to enrich its text, have been used by Bible-critics in an attempt to reassign its authorship.

The Jewish sages, based on ancient tradition, identified many of these devices, which include:

recapping earlier brief passages to elucidate,

employing different names of God to signify His various attributes,

using apparent changes or redundancies to allude to additional unstated details,

speaking in the vernacular that was current during each era,

and many more. While Judaism has always seen the Torah as an intricate tapestry that nonetheless had one Divine source, some modern authors such as Wellhausen (the father of modern Biblical-criticism, 1844-1918) have suggested artificially chopping up the narrative and attributing it to various authors, despite the Torah's explicit statement as to its provenance (Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 31:24). This need not concern believers, since his claims have been debunked one by one, as Archaeology and other disciplines have demonstrated the integrity of the Torah. No fragments have ever been found that would support his Documentary Hypothesis, which remains nothing more than an arbitrary claim:

http://www.apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=6&article=1131(a Christian author)

http://www.whoreallywrotethebible.com/excerpts/chapter4-1.php

http://www.pearlmancta.com/BiblicalcriticswrongRShlomoCohen.htm

And see also the wider picture:

http://judaism.answers.com/hebrew/does-archaeology-support-the-hebrew-bible

Answer 5

God is One. The concept of a dualism (as in Zoroastrianism), an independent Satan, multiple gods (polytheism; paganism) or a trinity of three in one, are all foreign to Genesis. Also, any belief that an intermediary between humanity and God should be used, whether as necessary or even optional, is considered heretical.
God created the universe and all existence, including time and space.
He is non-physical, indivisible and incomparable. Jewish tradition teaches that God is beyond human comprehension; and that it is only God's revealed deeds, as He interacts with mankind and the world, that we can begin to grasp.
The God of Israel is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the guide of history, who delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
God is the source of morality and law, who gave the Torah to the Israelites at Mount Sinai.
God is immanent and personal, meaning that he relates to humanity and hears our prayers. This is the basis of the Psalms and our siddur (prayerbook).

Answer 6

God is portrayed in the bible as a spirit.

Answer 7

the Bible portrays God as the all powerful, loving, merciful, kind, gracious, strong, all knowing, and did I say loving father that He is. If you are curious for more, read Genesis.