What does God look like?

Religions have shown God as an old man with a white beard. The scriptures say, “God made man in his image.” I often searched for anything on the image of God?
I started with the names he is known by. The Hebrew have several names for the one God.

YHWH,  Elohim, Jehovah.

Being lost as to where to start I focused on the meaning of the three names. The search did not lead me where I thought it would. I found myself looking into the face of a very different God.  Jesus said, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”  Was Jesus saying God looked like him? 
The four letters YHWH the Hebrews do not say fearing they would say it wrong.  They translate YHWH as Elohim. In the, Hebrew it is often recorded as Gods personal name.  The name means, “Male, and Female.”   
God created Adam in his (Gods) image. Has anybody ever asked, “Why did God take a rib of Adam to create Eve? Why did he not create her out of the dust as he did Adam?”
The name Elohim leaped out on my notes…MALE AND FEMALE. Created in the image of Elohim, Adam had to be both male and female. God did not create Eve a second time, she was already created as part of Adam. God separated the male and female parts from the one. The female we know as Eve, was equal to her other part, the male known as Adam.  The female has the egg, the male the seed. Both are needed to multiply. 
Jesus in known as, “The first born of all creation.” The God, Elohim was both, mother and father of all creation. God in the scriptures say’s, “In Heaven there is neither male or female.” Again, Elohim. 
God is both male and female. The human family was made in the image of God,  and the one Human Elohim he separated into two equal humans. 

Here is a truth: A word in the scriptures always means the same thing, it’s meaning does not change. Example, “Tree.” there are hundreds of trees in the scriptures. Trees are used in place of people…these are all symbolic trees. Why has religion broken this law, and made the two trees in the garden real trees? Jesus said he was the tree of life…a symbolic tree. The tree of the knowledge also had to also be a symbolic tree. Adam and the women had to eat from a symbolic tree.

It is my hope this simple thread answers some questions some may have about God, and why scriptures are written as they are.

It is rare to see a modern-day picture of God (the father), but we see many pictures of Jesus.  Strange how he is portrayed with light-brown hair appearing handsome in white-mans world.  Using the search engine to see what Jesus looked like shows a much different image of Jesus.  The artists rendition based on what a Middle Eastern Jew might have looked like would not appeal to modern-day whites.  I posted one of those photos on FB and was accused of blasphemy.  My response was to provide the Web-link that explained why the artist's rendition was the most likely portrait of Jesus.  That stopped further comments. 
I think that the image we have of Jesus or the father can be left to the imagination.  Male/female in one body might look more like Caitlyn Marie Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner.  I think it is natural that one wants have a mental image of anything they read about and writers do their best to give the reader an image that fits the story.

How depraved people see God. 
Depraved as used here is not to say these people do such things as, “Child sacrifice, sex slavery, vicious torture and execution methods,  as some in the past, but to show those who seek freedom from a living God re-create a God who has done terrible things such as killing babies in a world flood, allowing people to suffer, etc.”
These same depraved people never prove a reason why God has done these things? They do not believe in him, yet the mock and scoff him and those who believe in him…it is hard to understand why they hate something they do not believe is real?
They blame those who believe in a living God for wars and most other things that harm the human family. They do not explain why only non-believer are the people who start, kill and die in these wars, where as the believers refuse to take part in them. Are the depraved trying to make God look bad so they look innocent of their wrong doing? I find it strange the depraved support sex between those of the same sex, use of drugs, and reject those who try to follow the ten commandments that make for a better world. The rejection of a living God is also a rejection of his laws and replacing his laws with same-sex marriage to support the life styles of the depraved…as of today it is against man;s laws to talk about God in schools yet the depraved have made it possible for same-sex marriage to be introduced in schools to young children to brain washed them into believing same-sex marriage is normal and good. In other words, the depraved are making a world were their bad actions are good, and good actions are bad. Did I miss something? What used to be good is now depraved, and what was depraved is now good? Well, I suggest everybody get a bag of popcorn, a soft drink, sit  back and watch the show…the ending will surprise you.

By Mike Fillon (abridged)

Jan 23, 2015
...In North America he is most often depicted as being taller than his disciples, lean, with long, flowing, light brown hair, fair skin and light-colored eyes. ... A person with these features and physical bearing would have looked very different from everyone else in the region where Jesus lived and ministered. Surely the authors of the Bible would have mentioned so stark a contrast. 
On the contrary, according to the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane before the Crucifixion, Judas Iscariot had to indicate to the soldiers whom Jesus was because they could not tell him apart from his disciples. Further clouding the question of what Jesus looked like is the simple fact that nowhere in the New Testament is Jesus described, nor have any drawings of him ever been uncovered. 
There is the additional problem of having neither a skeleton nor other bodily remains to probe for DNA. In the absence of evidence, our images of Jesus have been left to the imagination of artists. The influences of the artists' cultures and traditions can be profound, observes Carlos F. Cardoza-Orlandi, associate professor of world Christianity at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta. "While Western imagery is dominant, in other parts of the world he is often shown as black, Arab or Hispanic." And so the fundamental question remains: What did Jesus look like?
An answer has emerged from an exciting new field of science: forensic anthropology. Using methods similar to those police have developed to solve crimes, British scientists, assisted by Israeli archeologists, have re-created what they believe is the most accurate image of the most famous face in human history.

• [url=http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/forensics/1282186&media=http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/15/51/640x837/gallery-1450102902-screen-shot-2015-12-14-at-91810-am.png&description=The Real Face Of Jesus - PopularMechanics.com] [/url]
  
  

The Body As Evidence

An outgrowth of physical anthropology, forensic anthropology uses cultural and archeological data as well as the physical and biological sciences to study different groups of people, explains A. Midori Albert, a professor who teaches forensic anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Experts in this highly specialized field require a working knowledge of genetics, and human growth and development. In their research they also draw from the fields of primatology, paleoanthropology (the study of primate and human evolution) and human osteology (the study of the skeleton). Even seemingly distant fields like nutrition, dentistry and climate adaptation play a role in this type of investigation.
While forensic anthropology is usually used to solve crimes, Richard Neave, a medical artist retired from The University of Manchester in England, realized it also could shed light on the appearance of Jesus. The co-author of Making Faces: Using Forensic And Archaeological Evidence, Neave had ventured in controversial areas before. Over the past two decades, he had reconstructed dozens of famous faces, including Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, and King Midas of Phrygia. If anyone could create an accurate portrait of Jesus, it would be Neave.

Reconstructing Jesus

Matthew's description of the events in Gethsemane offers an obvious clue to the face of Jesus. It is clear that his features were typical of Galilean Semites of his era. And so the first step for Neave and his research team was to acquire skulls from near Jerusalem, the region where Jesus lived and preached. Semite skulls of this type had previously been found by Israeli archeology experts, who shared them with Neave.
With three well-preserved specimens from the time of Jesus in hand, Neave used computerized tomography to create X-ray "slices" of the skulls, thus revealing minute details about each one's structure. Special computer programs then evaluated reams of information about known measurements of the thickness of soft tissue at key areas on human faces. This made it possible to re-create the muscles and skin overlying a representative Semite skull.
The entire process was accomplished using software that verified the results with anthropological data. From this data, the researchers built a digital 3D reconstruction of the face. Next, they created a cast of the skull. Layers of clay matching the thickness of facial tissues specified by the computer program were then applied, along with simulated skin. The nose, lips and eyelids were then modeled to follow the shape determined by the underlying muscles.

A Matter Of Style

Two key factors could not be determined from the skull—Jesus's hair and coloration. To fill in these parts of the picture, Neave's team turned to drawings found at various archeological sites, dated to the first century. Drawn before the Bible was compiled, they held crucial clues that enabled the researchers to determine that Jesus had dark rather than light-colored eyes. They also pointed out that in keeping with Jewish tradition, he was bearded as well.
It was the Bible, however, that resolved the question of the length of Jesus's hair. While most religious artists have put long hair on Christ, most biblical scholars believe that it was probably short with tight curls. This assumption, however, contradicted what many believe to be the most authentic depiction: the face seen in the image on the famous—some say infamous—Shroud of Turin. The shroud is believed by many to be the cloth in which Jesus's body was wrapped after his death. Although there is a difference of opinion as to whether the shroud is genuine, it clearly depicts a figure with long hair. Those who criticize the shroud's legitimacy point to 1 Corinthians, one of the many New Testament books the apostle Paul is credited with writing. In one chapter he mentions having seen Jesus—then later describes long hair on a man as disgraceful. Would Paul have written "If a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him" if Jesus Christ had had long hair? For Neave and his team this settled the issue. Jesus, as drawings from the first century depict, would have had short hair, appropriate to men of the time.
The historic record also resolved the issue of Jesus's height. From an analysis of skeletal remains, archeologists had firmly established that the average build of a Semite male at the time of Jesus was 5 ft. 1 in., with an average weight of about 110 pounds. Since Jesus worked outdoors as a carpenter until he was about 30 years old, it is reasonable to assume he was more muscular and physically fit than westernized portraits suggest. His face was probably weather-beaten, which would have made him appear older, as well.

• [url=http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/forensics/1282186&media=http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/cm/15/05/640x490/54c80aa8387d3_-_face-of-jesus-03-0312-de.jpg&description=The Real Face Of Jesus - PopularMechanics.com] [/url]
  
  

Keith Kasnot/National Geographic Image
Computer models (left) and modeling clay enable Neave (right) to create a forensically acceptable facial reconstruction. (Photographs by Keith Kasnot/National Geographic Image Collection [left] and The Unit of Art in Medicine/The University of Manchester, UK [right])

An Accurate Portrait

For those accustomed to traditional Sunday school portraits of Jesus, the sculpture of the dark and swarthy Middle Eastern man that emerges from Neave's laboratory is a reminder of the roots of their faith. "The fact that he probably looked a great deal more like a darker-skinned Semite than westerners are used to seeing him pictured is a reminder of his universality," says Charles D. Hackett, director of Episcopal studies at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. "And [it is] a reminder of our tendency to sinfully appropriate him in the service of our cultural values."
Neave emphasizes that his re-creation is simply that of an adult man who lived in the same place and at the same time as Jesus. As might well be expected, not everyone agrees.
Forensic depictions are not an exact science, cautions Alison Galloway, professor of anthropology at the University of California in Santa Cruz. The details in a face follow the soft tissue above the muscle, and it is here where forensic artists differ widely in technique. Galloway points out that some artists pay more attention to the subtle differences in such details as the distance between the bottom of the nose and the mouth. And the most recognizable features of the face—the folds of the eyes, structure of the nose and shape of the mouth—are left to the artist. "In some cases the resemblance between the reconstruction and the actual individual can be uncanny," says Galloway. "But in others there may be more resemblance with the other work of the same artist." Despite this reservation, she reaches one conclusion that is inescapable to almost everyone who has ever seen Neave's Jesus. "This is probably a lot closer to the truth than the work of many great masters."

After Jesus rose from the dead, he was not recognized because he did not look like the man who had died. Neither form was his true form. Before the flood, twenty angels came to earth and took on the forms of men…they had great power and beauty…but these were not their true forms. Often angels appeared to men, none of these had wings like artist had painted them, some were even in the human form of female.
We will not know what Jesus looks like until he returns, then all will see and know it is him. He will be the one with the big sword. I have seen the picture you posted dk.
There is another one, the robe they claim is from Jesus grave. 
I personally don’t follow stuff like that. I have more need of what he said than some artist who claims this is what he looked like, or he walked here etc.

The title of the thread is "What does God look like?"  And my post was in support of your comments and the additional information provided by Abe.  I am much more interested in the words of the enlightened than their appearance.  However, like seeing a movie and then reading a novel, culture has given us a mind set,

dkchristi wrote:

The title of the thread is "What does God look like?"  And my post was in support of your comments and the additional information provided by Abe.  I am much more interested in the words of the enlightened than their appearance.  However, like seeing a movie and then reading a novel, culture has given us a mind set,

I understand what you were saying. Jesus is the son of God, he is not God...true he is a God. He was not saying the two physical appearances he showed as a human is what God looks like. What they were seeing of him is what God is like. He also told his apostils they would also be like him, and the father. Most of the world who believe in God, (Christians) believe Jesus is God. There are many scriptures that prove he is Gods son…not God the father. 
But I thank you for posting that.
As to what race Jesus looks like...God only made one race...the human race. Be they light skin or dark.

DK, the picture I posted on FB is the one you show here.  Having read the description and the details of the work involved to come up with the Artist's rendition, I thought it was a more likely portrayal.  Today's pictures of Jesus are drawn for appeal.  Dominic's remarks are also of significance.  Discussing the unknown is what a good mystery is about.  Keeping on subject is always a problem.  "What does God look like?" was the title to the thread and DK's post was thread-on. 
Personally, I never had an image of God (the father), but I did have an image of Jesus influenced by the pictures offered for sale.  After doing research, the image I acquired was much different and resembled Bin Laden.  Bin Laden was a handsome man. I don't know if Jesus was handsome, but I can't imagine him to be ugly.  I'm guessing that his followers were attracted not only by the words of Jesus, but also by the character of the man that most likely would include his appearance.
Whereas Jesus was a man that walked on earth and can be described with manly features, the same cannot be said of God, the father.  I visualize a Spirit rather than a physical person.  It works for me.

Abe F. March wrote:

DK, the picture I posted on FB is the one you show here.  Having read the description and the details of the work involved to come up with the Artist's rendition, I thought it was a more likely portrayal.  Today's pictures of Jesus are drawn for appeal.  Dominic's remarks are also of significance.  Discussing the unknown is what a good mystery is about.  Keeping on subject is always a problem.  "What does God look like?" was the title to the thread and DK's post was thread-on. 
Personally, I never had an image of God (the father), but I did have an image of Jesus influenced by the pictures offered for sale.  After doing research, the image I acquired was much different and resembled Bin Laden.  Bin Laden was a handsome man. I don't know if Jesus was handsome, but I can't imagine him to be ugly.  I'm guessing that his followers were attracted not only by the words of Jesus, but also by the character of the man that most likely would include his appearance.
Whereas Jesus was a man that walked on earth and can be described with manly features, the same cannot be said of God, the father.  I visualize a Spirit rather than a physical person.  It works for me.

Moses wanted to see God, but God told him if he did he would die, so God let Moses see where he had passed, and that turned Moses hair white. The scriptures say that at the end of Jesus 1,000 year rule, Gods heavenly city will come down to earth, and God will reside with man.  Jesus said we (humans) would see the universe by light, and know everything. I have no idea what that means. Somehow I have a feeling we will change. Jesus said we would be Elohim…(male and female.) I wish I was smarter so I could figure things out. When Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." I don't think he was saying God had a human body. He did refer to God several times as mother and father.

God is good very good.
He has been very near to me.