Understanding the Nature of the Creator – Can God "Become" Something?
Question 1: Can God "Become" Anything He Wishes?
Statement: "The name of God, JHWH, means 'I AM,' or 'I Will Become Whatever I Wish to Become' in order to fulfill my purpose. God can become anything He wants to accomplish His will, even an image."
Response:
There is an important distinction between saying "I AM" and "I Will Become." If the Creator must "become" something, that implies a change, which contradicts the idea of an eternal, unchanging God. How can the limitless and all-encompassing God "become" something, as if He were not already complete?
We exist, move, and have our being through His existence (Acts 17:28). The divine image is reflected in His messengers, His creation, and in all that manifests His will. However, a literal image or physical form contradicts the fundamental statements in both the Tanakh and the Qur'an:
Deuteronomy 4:15-16 – "Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, lest you act corruptly and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure."
Exodus 33:20 – "No one can see Me and live."
John 1:18 – "No one has ever seen God."
If no one has seen God, then when texts describe visions of Elohim, they must refer to His representatives rather than the Creator Himself. This distinction prevents contradictions.
Question 2: Does God Have Emotions Like Humans?
Statement: "Your descriptions of God as distant, incomprehensible, and unknowable are unclear to me. God has the right to be angry, jealous, or to regret. This only means that He has feelings. What kind of God has no emotions? Wouldn't that make Him merciless and indifferent?"
Response:
The Creator is beyond human attributes. The Qur'an explicitly states:
Qur'an 42:11 – "There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing."
Maimonides (Rambam) explains that when the Bible attributes emotions like anger or regret to God, these descriptions are meant to prompt human understanding and moral action:
"For He is above all defect! Since God is perfect, He does not have human emotions. According to Rambam, God does not become angry. When the Bible says that God becomes angry, it is meant to encourage people to act properly. The Torah speaks in human language so that people can understand." (Guide for the Perplexed, 1:26)
If we say that God regrets something, that would mean He made a mistake or lacked foresight, which contradicts His omniscience. Compare:
Genesis 6:6 – "The Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart."
Numbers 23:19 – "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent."
If one verse says God "regretted" and another says He never regrets, we must understand that "regret" in the first verse is a human way of expressing divine displeasure.
Distinguishing Between the Creator and His Representatives
There are passages where Elohim is described in ways that seem contradictory to the nature of the Creator. For example:
Exodus 24:10-11 – "And they saw the God of Israel... and they ate and drank."
Leviticus 1:9 – "The aroma of the burnt offering is pleasing to the Lord."
However, other passages clarify:
Psalm 50:12-13 – "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is Mine and all its fullness. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?"
This indicates that sacrifices were not for God’s benefit but a symbolic act for humans. If one verse says that God "enjoys the smell of offerings," while another says that He has no need for them, then we must conclude that Elohim in some passages refers to divine representatives rather than the Supreme Creator Himself.
Conclusion: The Unchanging and Incomprehensible Creator
The Creator is beyond all limitations, including time, space, and human emotions. Descriptions of God "becoming" something, "feeling" regret, or "seeing" in a human way are metaphorical. They are meant to help people relate to divine actions, but they do not define God’s true essence.
Instead of attributing change or emotions to the Divine, we recognize that He is the Source of all things, beyond comprehension, and above all human attributes. His presence is known through His messengers, His laws, and the order of the universe.
This understanding preserves the oneness and transcendence of the Creator while allowing us to appreciate the wisdom of the scriptures.
