The bearded wrathful unknown being (hell, atheist, Muslims, quote)

[Vic235]

If religious people believe humans are incapable of fully understanding their "unknown being", then how did they choose what is known versus what is unknown?

For examples, how did they choose "with beard" over "with mustache" ?

I suppose "must believe, or go to hell" is known.

[Thomas R.]

Judaism was traditionally aniconic so it didn't have depictions of God and I think generally still does not.

There's also some thinking that God as in God the Father should really not be depicted in Christianity either. Many of our depictions (when we do them) may therefore descend from Greek, Roman, and Norse images of their high God. Those groups tended to have bearded high Gods.

Anyway few or no Christians, Jews, or Muslims really believe or teach "God is a bearded man in the sky." This is more atheistic caricature of what people believe. Granted some atheists will cling to this caricature with almost religious fervor, but it has little or no real relationship to the genuine teaching of any denomination.

When I took religious instruction as a kid God was depicted as all kinds of things. The light that breaks in between clouds, a shepherd, a circle, etc. Even a pretzel or a clover could be seen as symbolic of the Trinity. In Christian iconography a shield was sometimes used as well. Even in the days of the Sistine Chapel I think God as an old bearded man, as is depicted by Michaelangelo, was likely considered more his artistic interpretation than a literal representation.

The part about the bear is just a comical confusion of a hymn concerning "The Cross I'd bear (not meaning the word for ursines) for Jesus." Like the joke about God being named "Art" or "Harold" based on mishearing the "Our Father."

[dobeable]

Krishna never looks a day over 25,however some of His other expansions do

heres a pic' of His universal form-a form that holds everything in existence plus all His expansions


http://krishnastore.com/images/TA-057_600.jpg (broken link)

[JerZ]

Originally Posted by OhioanKid

I think he meant "with beard" and just made a typo, people.

Oh, bwah ha ha! I was thinking something along the lines of a Jean Auel novel. Okay, since it's actually between a beard and a mustache...I don't believe that distinction was typically made in art, OP. So, NOBODY decided between a mustache and a beard.

I haven't seen very many God depictions...Okay, I haven't seen *any* God depictions of Him having just a beard. You mean like an Amish person?

But as far as why people would picture God with a beard, at least, I think great reasons have been given. Really it makes a lot of sense to picture one's God at least metaphorically looking like a person. Even in cultures which have had "animal"-like gods, those gods have generally had some human characteristics.

But I doubt very many people picture God literally as the Michelangelo version.