Hey everyone! Got a fun (and maybe kind of weird) question for you today :
When you hear the word “god”, what is the first thing (image, phrase, thought, feeling – feel free to describe anything) that comes in mind?
If possible, elaborate also on why do you think this is your response to the question. Do you think there is a specific reason/set of reasons for you to have the reaction you did?
I am actually thinking of a man with long white hair and a white beard for starters. You know, this classic figure that wears a halo, sits up in the cloud and looks/polices at the world. Quite cliche, but that image is implanted in my brain when I hear this word.
I think it is probably classical paintings and culture in general – like movies, etc – that make this image exist in my head so vividly. I never remember believing in god, yet somehow I still get this image as the first thing that comes in mind. Probably also the depiction of god as a man and all the school propaganda that depicts god as a “HIM” and as “being the wisest” and “making man in his image” helps a lot build that. So, it’s always the cliche image of a white, bearded man somehow. It’s interesting.
The first association I get is “an idea” or perhaps “a hypothesis”. I guess this association comes up because I for most of my adult life I’ve had a more specific image of god, related to the capital G version, made flesh and concrete in the Christ-figure, and this no longer makes sense to me. Whereas the rather deistic version or a sort of ground of being or the primary mover is still a very interesting idea to me now, while all these specific versions like Zevs, Jesus, Vishnu, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, etc, are so clearly construed in man’s image, made to relate to us. And to say something about the feeling I associate the idea of god with, that would be something like a sense of awe and mystery, I guess.
Conditioning has me imagining “God” as a male, see-through, giant I suppose. Although the older I get, the more see-through and ethereally unreal “He” seems to become. I was raised in a Catholic environment, or at least in one that pretended to be as much, so “God”used to be a tangible concept and a present entity whenever discussed. Only after I started contemplating the very idea of a deity as it is described in every religious context, it became clear that it’s too human to be realistic for my taste. So only after the active decision to be critical about God & religion, the image slowly started to fade. Although I doubt that I had a very clear picture of God as a child to begin with. Emotionally speaking, when I hear the word “god” come up, I suppose I feel somewhat alerted and instantly get a desire to discuss the concept. I don’t like religion nor the idea of “God”, but I love the philosophical challenge that either represents. Which is probably why I reacted to this question.
Just an edit: The desire to discuss the concept does not compel me to actually do it. I don’t go around starting religious debates with everyone. The cencept just entertains me.
Probably the image of Mary holding baby Christ, because as a child and a teenager I had to sleep with an image of them facing my bed.
Other than that, your question made me reflect about the word “Christ”. Even though I’m not religious I use “Christ!” almost everyday. It’s probably a “cultural” thing, I usually use it to give either emphasis, or show exasperation. In my hometown people tend to call the patron’s saint name quite often and I guess it comes from there. I had to replace it with “Christ” I guess, because where I live now I get weird looks when telling “Oh come on now Saint Spyridon”
If someone mentions God, I sometimes feel annoyance. In America, there is a specific brand of angry, white evangelicalism that sets me off. These people are usually far more hateful than the people they despise. Religion is everywhere here. People put signs in their yards and on their cars. It is exhausting.
Thinking about God also makes me uncomfortable sometimes. I don’t recall ever being religious despite going to church sporadically growing up. The only time I can ever remember praying was when my mom was in the hospital dying of a sudden health issue. She entered the hospital Friday night and died in the last minutes of Sunday. I wanted to be religious afterward but I could not force myself. I couldn’t believe like would be necessary to find comfort in ideas like heaven or paradise. I felt somewhat scared and empty when I realized I couldn’t picture anything “after” death and that my relationship with mom was over forever.