The language we use when referring to God is symbolic. It gets at an idea, but because it is human language, our language, it cannot grasp the fullness of God beyond the idea. Feuerbach got at this a little bit, but went too far in my opinion. The humanness of our language and symbols does not mean, as Feuerbach says, that God is nothing but the idealistic idea of humanity, a notion created and developed over time (
though some would argue that). Likewise, it is difficult to move our understanding of God beyond our immediate systems and symbolism, because they are
deeply rooted in us. And they, like our language, are human creations and therefore cannot
fully grasp and contain the infinite, atemporal and immaterial. What this means is that any way I or we envision God is influenced, impacted and dependent on the language we use. Thus, our view of God is often going to be limited to the power and structures held in the symbolism of the words.
For instance the image to the right is from the Sistine Chapel's ceiling. It shows God creating the sun and moon, and evidently God is an old man, probably Italian, who sports a long beard and unkempt hair. God of course doesn't look like this, nor is God Italian. God is depicted as temporal and material, both of which God is, wholly, not. There's Jesus, then again Jesus is not all of God, but one of three. Further, God is a man and God isn't a man, nor a woman. God is God.
