"'Did God have a mother?'" Children, when told that God made the heavens and the earth, innocently ask whether God had a mother. This deceptively simple question has stumped the elders of the church and embarrassed the finest theologians, precipitating some of the thorniest theological debates over the centuries. All the great religions have elaborate mythologies surrounding the divine act of Creation, but none of them adequately confronts the logical paradoxes inherent in the question that even children ask."

I wonder why the author of the quote put God having a mother in the past participle.

I think that the answer to this question is simple, I find it interesting to read that church fathers and theologians would be stumped by it, if that is true. Why would God have anything, as he (using language that we mere humans can make sense of here - calling God a "he" as though he were a person) has been self-sufficient from the beginning. This is the greatness of God, and why followers of the Abrahamic God strive to obtain the Holy Spirit - so that we may too might become immortal in our self-sustainability.

"I wonder why the author of the quote put God having a mother in the past participle."

My guess: because the author has the children posing the question in past tense.

The author is using a rhetorical technique and not presenting a reasonable argument, though he may disagree.

Probably we should avoid too much discussion of religion except insofar as it directly pertains to words and language.

If adults cannot rationally discuss religion, then it truly is the end of the world! Just joking. I do not believe in the rapture.

Not to mention that it relates directly to today's (9/11) word.a.day, as it is the thought of the day. So I'm putting it out there to think about.

Pantheist: God [b]is[/b] a mother

I think you meant that a mother is God, and I also think that it is safe to say that the author was speaking of Abraham's God, ergo, pantheism is nothing short of blasphemy.

religion is something we choose not to discuss on this board, regardless of how much Latin is thrown in.

Yes, please, no religion.

imagine

..all the pepoool

Sparkle you might find this site interesting

http://www.freeratio.org/index.php

...an since some of our participants decry religious colloquy I'd be happy to discuss pantheism or anything else at dalehileman@me.com