The question itself highlights one of the primary causes for confusion and contradiction when it comes to God: It assumes that the origin of all things can be reduced to something familiar—a figure, a personality, or a presence we can relate to. Thinking God is imaginable is bad enough, but the tendency to personify the creator makes matters worse.
Power implies the ability to flex, so this flawed perspective isn’t just about ego. It is difficult to envision authority without the ability to bestow or withhold blessings. That’s one reason human beings have an inherent need to personify. We can’t help ourselves. We assign faces to forces, emotions to nature, and motivations to the unknown.
This tendency is so engrained into our psyche’s that even those who reject the concept of God focus on the humanlike traits instead of the idea of creator of all. Believers and disbelievers alike imagine an invisible sky daddy that bestows heaven and hell on people after we die the same way Santa Claus gives gifts to kids for Christmas.
The problem is: when we inject our strengths and morals into our understanding of God, our flaws and limitations come along as well. In order to maintain a virtuous view of God, it is natural to invent an adversary that’s responsible for what we deem evil or bad. Such a limited mentality nerfs God in the minds of those who personify the creator.
God is not a being watching over us, micromanaging reality. God does not have a gender or reproduce. God is not defined by human emotions or desires. God is not limited by the scope of our understanding or imagination.
Remember, a creator must exist prior to and independent of whatever was created. God would not have any traits that apply to anything else we would know. In order to understand the creator, take away all creation. That would leave you with…
The answer is nothing, but words with multiple meanings cause confusion. That’s why I prefer math and numbers. Instead of saying God is nothing and redefining words, I say God is to reality what zero is to math and hope you understand basic algebra and analogies.
Zero as the reference point for the beginning of all measurement mirrors God as the uncaused origin of everything else. It’s role in defining the value of all numbers is just like God giving the universe all its attributes.
In reality, zero has a negative connotation because lacking something valuable equates to a deficiency. In math, everything depends on zero. The value of every number is derived in relation to it. All measurement begins with zero because there must have previously been none in order to have a first. Every equation must balance to zero because the equal sign itself imitates zero’s role as the bridge between opposite perspectives of the same reality.
Who is God? For too many, he is a fictional character for folks who value animation over accuracy, comfort over clarity, and imagination over understanding. To the intellectually honest, God is the absolute, infinite, and perfect origin of all.
To convey this concept in the most correct and complimentary way possible: God is to reality what zero is to math.
The question itself reveals one of the primary causes of confusion and contradiction when it comes to God: it assumes the origin of all things can be reduced to something familiar—a figure, a personality, or a presence we can relate to. The idea that God is imaginable is flawed enough, but our tendency to personify the creator compounds the problem.
Power implies the ability to act or enforce, so this flawed perspective isn’t just about ego. It’s difficult for us to envision authority without the ability to bestow or withhold blessings. This is why human beings have an inherent need to personify. We can’t help ourselves; we assign faces to forces, emotions to nature, and motivations to the unknown.
This tendency is so deeply ingrained in our psyches that even those who reject the concept of God focus on humanlike traits instead of the broader idea of the creator of all. Believers and disbelievers alike imagine an invisible “sky daddy” who rewards with heaven and punishes with hell, much like Santa Claus rewarding children with gifts at Christmas.
The problem is this: when we project our strengths and morals onto God, our flaws and limitations come along for the ride. To maintain a virtuous view of God, it becomes almost natural to invent an adversary to shoulder the blame for what we deem evil or bad. This limited mentality diminishes God in the minds of those who personify the creator.
God is not a being watching over us, micromanaging reality. God does not have a gender or reproduce. God is not defined by human emotions or desires. God is not limited by the scope of our understanding or imagination.
Remember, a creator must exist prior to and independent of whatever was created. God would not possess any traits that apply to anything else we know. To understand the creator, strip away all of creation. What remains?
The answer is nothing, but words with multiple meanings often cause confusion. That’s why I turn to math and numbers. Instead of saying “God is nothing” and redefining words, I say “God is to reality what zero is to math” and hope you understand basic algebra and analogies.
Zero, as the reference point for the beginning of all measurement, mirrors God as the uncaused origin of everything else. Its role in defining the value of all numbers parallels God giving the universe all its attributes.
In reality, zero often carries a negative connotation because lacking something valuable is seen as a deficiency. In math, however, everything depends on zero. The value of every number is derived in relation to it. All measurement begins with zero because there must have previously been none to have a first. Every equation must balance to zero because the equal sign itself imitates zero’s role as the bridge between opposite perspectives of the same reality.
Who is God? For too many, God is a fictional character for those who value animation over accuracy, comfort over clarity, and imagination over understanding. To the intellectually honest, God is the absolute, infinite, and perfect origin of all.
To express this concept in the most precise and complimentary way possible: God is to reality what zero is to math.
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