Rude Boy's Question: Does God have a Penis?

[MineralMan]

It's a popular question from rude boys, who discover that Man is made in God's Image in Sunday School. It's also a bit of a shocking question, which is why only rude boys ask it.

But, how rude is the question, really? If you put "god" in lower case, it turns out that there are several deities with that singularly male member. Here are a few:

Min - An early Egyptian god of fertility and that sort of thing. Always depicted with a penis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Min_(god)

Priapus - A minor sort of Greek deity, but a randy one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priapus

Shiva - Quite an important Hindu deity, often depicted with an exposed lingam. In statuary, that lingam is often polished over time by countless hands stroking it as an object of worship.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva

There could be others, but it's clear that the question isn't so rude, or so simply answered.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. If man was made in God's image

I guess we have to assume God has a penis (assuming God is male, which I don't). We also can assume he farts, belches, scratches his nuts, blows his nose and engages in other such bodily activities.

[MineralMan]

2. And then, perhaps the words got turned around somewhere, and

what the original said was, God was created in man's image. That makes more sense, I'd think, really.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. I think that's what happened.

The Judeo-Christian god is the creation of a very old patriarchal society. "God" is actually Yahweh, the particular god of the Israelites - other nations and cultures had other gods. The first commandment of the famous Ten says "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." This doesn't mean there weren't any other gods; only that you (the Israelites) must not worship foreign gods over Yahweh. The concept of this god as having physical being in the nature of a human probably came from the notion that "he" was a "father," in keeping with the patriarchical nature of that society. And, if God is your father you would hope he looks like you, sort of, and doesn't have six arms like Shiva or an elephant head like Ganesh.

[AgingAmerican]

3. The ancient Greeks joked that...

...thunder was from the gods passing gas.

[tularetom]

4. God wouldn't do any of that stuff so stop saying that!

[sanatanadharma]

16. Or maybe, if man was made in God's image...

...we people need to understand the image to be the satchitanata, the limitless-existent-sentience.

Striped of our labels and habits, emptied of temporal identities, we are that self-same-sentience.

[Mnemosyne]

6. Priapus has a quite impressive, ah, sword. And I completely agree, MM, man created god in his image

that's why he was such a insecure mean bastard in the Old Testament.

[MineralMan]

8. A veritable porn star of a Greek god, it seems.

[Mnemosyne]

11. Seriously,

[beyurslf]

7. Well, he knocked Mary up with something. I assume it was a penis.

[left on green only]

9. So I was eating at the Y the other night.....

.....and it occurred to me to wonder, do you suppose that dog had a tongue? Just say'in. Maybe Leda was into more than just long necks.

[MineralMan]

10. That's sort of drifting off into another direction.

[rug]

12. I love sixth grade theology.

[2ndAmForComputers]

15. Well, then, enlighten us with your college-level theology.

[rug]

18. Why, don't you prefer discussing the genitalia of the gods?

In seventh grade we discussed what happened to the foreskin of Jesus and what it would be worth as a relic. Then we tried to steal beer. Those were the days.

[MineralMan]

19. There are several relics claiming to be Jesus' foreskin.

Last edited Wed Oct 31, 2012, 11:01 AM - Edit history (1)

It's not just 7th graders who have discussed that. I would assume that some of those relics would fetch a high price on the relic market. Such a first class ex corpore relic would be in very high demand, despite the church's prohibition on selling relics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Prepuce

[rug]

20. I'm sure it is a matter of grave theological import.

[MineralMan]

21. Not to me, it's not, since I'm an atheist.

I just thought it was interesting that some religions are concerned with the genitalia of deities, including Christianity, apparently.

In fact, the first instance of a relic supposedly of the foreskin of Jesus is dated to the time of Charlemagne in the year 800, when he is supposed to have presented it to Pope Leo III on Christmas day. I'd think that would have been an interesting conversation to overhear, don't you? It seems that the interest is long-standing and of interest to even the Pope. I find that fascinating.

This is the Religion Group, rug, and all topics regarding religion are within the group's SOP. Since at least four religions make some reference to the genitalia of their deities, it is a common enough topic among religions to warrant some discussion, don't you think?

[rug]

22. No, your interest runs more to contemplating what deities have a penis.

As I said, I have found little interest in these curio sideshoes since grammar school. I can supply you more odd questions on request. However, I find the questions of ex nihilo omnia, being and nothingness, and purpose versus purposeless, to be far more interesting and far less inane.

[MineralMan]

23. I can see no reason why you shouldn't open a discussion

about the things you find interesting. If my threads don't interest you, for whatever reason, there's no compulsion to participate in them. I'd give ex nihilo omnia a slightly different translation, though. It's what I think of when I think of the Big Bang theory.

Who knows? If you start a thread on that, I might participate. But posting about philosophical issues might cut into your postings of articles about atheism from obscure sources.

[rug]

24. Then you shouldn't be concerned that I find yours inane.

[MineralMan]

25. And I'm not concerned at all.

Surely you've noticed that nothing bothers me very much. I post what I please and let others do the same. If I have comments, I make them. That's how discussions work. It would be boring if everyone agreed.

[Laochtine]

13. did Yahwey

ask permission? pretty sketchy

[Iggo]

14. Biggest one evah1

sha-BOING!

[XemaSab]

17. The bible says that God the father has a strong right arm

Since God has a body and we are told that God is male, then it stands to reason that God has a penis.

Since Jesus had a body and was male, He had a penis too.

/fundie logic