This page is basically a summary of Jack Miles book "God, a biography." The theory is God learns and develops, increasing with wisdom as he interacts with his reflective "image," man. Can God ever change his decisions? God's love never changes. Based on this, his decisions do.

"For I am the LORD, I change not." (Malachi 3:6)

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever." (Hebrews 13:8)

Can God learn from his reflective "image," man? Regardless of the above two scriptures, the possibility exists. His "ways are higher than us," and it is only He who truly knows the answer to this. It appears He has made decisions using different judgment calls from earlier to later times and/or the writer has interjected human intervention. The many bizarre stores of ruthless murderous accounts on both God's part and His people convey the fact that either His decisions have changed over time or man has elaborated, added or slanted accounts. Acknowledging the Bible to be both the word of man and the Word of God brings us to use God's Holy Spirit with discernment and honesty determining religious organizational influence, traditional interpretations and divine inspired words.

God's love never changes. It is always consistently the same, yesterday, today and forever, yet due to God's unchangeable love, God changes his ways. He has done this on many occasions such as pronouncing judgment on Nineveh, only to change his ways with their repentance. Not regarding this account as false prophecy, God does not do what he promised. Other accounts seen where humility and repentance of others have caused God to change his ways enforce this personality characteristic of God. His love never changes, adjusting and changing his decisions with 180 degree turns..

Without stating the Bible to be unreliable, the fact of the matter remains, fallible men wrote the book and fallible men read and interpret the book. While God's Spirit, directing these men to write Gods very word, the fact of human interjection, cultural influences, human memory limitations and personality flavors reside heavily in many of the accounts, bearing definite slants in their directions is evident throughout the scriptures. Holy Spirit and discernment are required to see beyond and between this to enter the mystery of knowledge and truth, apart from fundamentalism.

	This Theory Suggests One of The Following Two Things:
1.	...God originally lacked a degree of perfection and needed to develop.
2.	...God's perfection is relative and needed fine tuning adjustments, still within the range of ...perfection.
	This Pulitzer prize winning book and theory approaches the bible as a literary work and not necessarily as a book of divine origin with a Spiritual power, yet this theory like many others, is one of deep thought and interest and Jack Miles book is well worth the reading. This page is more an overview with some additional thoughts added.

In addition to this theory, there is also the possibility that many of the Hebrew scriptures, such as those claimed to be written by Moses, were really written in later time periods by the Jews, perhaps while in exile in Babylon. For instance there is a mention of God's temple even before King David and Solomon's time. This can certainly be the reason for the seemingly lack of development in God's personality.

To many, God is, and always was, perfect. But what is perfection? No flaws of any kind? Incapable of mistakes? Unable and incapable to learn further information? Can a perfect God still learn? Can he continue to grow as a person and refine his understandings and insight? Or has he reached a state of stagnation, not needing to grow, learn, move and progress forward? If so, then why create other beings? True it could have been out of love and sharing this love with others, but could it not be also to grow, progress and learn more about himself as he observes his very "image"? (Deu 32:5)

Mankind was created in "God's image."

Mankind was created in "God's image." Why did God need an image? An image is a reflection, and man, as God's image, would reflect God and his personality. In this respect, God could now see himself in different ways and learn more about himself as he interacts with his "image", man. When we look into a mirror or watch a recording or video of ourselves, do we not learn more about ourselves as we observe our actions, listen to ourselves and watch our dealings with others? Certainly, as we see our image or reflection, we learn more about ourselves and our personalities. But it goes much further then simply a mirror or recording, for we must have others to interact with. It is this interaction with others that reflects our personalities, wisdom, insight, mercy and love and in the case of humans, our mistakes. (Gen 2:7)

As we watch ourselves, our "image", reflecting our actions, we can see our good decisions, as well as our bad ones or decisions that we need to adjust. These decisions can be adjusted as we learn, observing our "image" and listening to others who also reflect us. We can adjust our personality and our dealings with others, making the necessary changes, thus gaining more knowledge and insight. Could not God have performed the same function in creating mankind in his "image?" If this is the case, then God's personality and dealings with man, would certainly change over time, refining and progressing forward to a more advanced and absolute perfect personality.

If this is the case, then in the beginning, God's personality would contain areas in need of growth and in dealings with "image", man there would be need for improvement. His actions, in various instances, would contain lack of insight, but over time this would become refined and progress as God moves forward in his dealings with his "image", man. God begins as the creator, becomes a destroyer, a lawgiver, a judge, and later changes to a mysterious God of prophesy. He then acquires a more passionate, merciful disposition as a father and wife to his chosen people, Israel, and finally, at the end of his journey, he becomes the "Ancient of Days", having more wisdom and insight then he did at the beginning, when he first dealt with his "image", man. (Daniel 7:13)

Foresight or Unanticipated Actions ?

God first became a creator. He created spirits, earth and man. Here he would learn what it is like to create and witness his "image" as he observes and interacts with his creatures. As he would deal with his creations, he would learn, grow, and progress forward with insight and wisdom. When God placed the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, he placed two trees with them having special restrictions. One of them was the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" and the other was the "tree of life." The restriction to not eat from the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" was not obeyed, resulting in Adam and Eve's privilege revoked from eating from the "tree of life." The affect was, Adam and Eve were removed from the garden of Eden and they and their offspring could no longer obtain everlasting life and were cursed by God. Why was Satan able to thwart God's power? Were his actions unexpected? Were the actions of Adam and Eve anticipated by God? If not, how would he correct the situation?

As if God was unsure of what would be the best thing to do in this case, he cursed Satan, Adam, Eve and their offspring, increasing Eve's labor pains. But then as a touch of mercy came over him, he gave them animal skins for clothes to have warmth and protection. It is also at this time, that God utters a prophetic riddle in Genesis 3:15 to eventually restore the damage that Satan, Adam and Eve had done.

After Adam and Eve's son Cain, kills his brother Abel, God is now forced to take on a new role by providing a commandment not to kill and then condemn Cain for his actions.

Years later, Jehovah Finds a righteous man named Abraham and takes on the role of a

God Became A Friend

friend. He then blesses Abraham and promises that his heir or offspring would multiply and become a blessed nation by God. He later blesses him with this child, Isaac, when Abraham was almost 100 years old. Abraham's first reaction to this promise of having a child so late in life, was to laugh at this as his wife Sarah later did, for God made this promise many times over the years, without any result, making the promise seem even more unbelievable. When Sarah had laughed at this promise, God appeared surprised and insulted and asked "Why did Sarah laugh?." Again God did not seem pleased at that same type of reaction of Abraham. Did this reaction surpass him? Perhaps he was unaware of his seemingly slow promise appearing to be empty, after being so detained, to Abraham and his wife Sarah, two persons almost 100 years old? This was the first mention in the bible of God becoming a friend of any man. Was this his first experience of friendship with his "image", man? Did God have to learn what it really is to be a friend, along with the rewards, rejections and disappointments? (Gen 22:15-18; 18:13; 17:17)

With the rebellion of angels and man, violence spread throughout the earth, forcing

The Destroyer

"Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made." Genesis 7:4

God to perform a new role, the role of a destroyer. Here God would hopefully learn the empathy of what it is like to be destroyed, by watching and interacting with those who are. God now commissioned a man named Noah to build an ark, while giving advance notice of his coming destruction. With the exception of Noah and seven other family members, and a small amount of animals, the entire population of life was destroyed on earth. Did God plan in advance this role of destruction? Did he anticipate having to perform these actions? Or was it a simply a matter of cause and affect? It appears that he did not anticipate it saying "And Jehovah felt regrets that he had made men in the earth, and he felt hut at his heart." Could it be that God, did not plan for these actions, but as he made decisions, interacting with his "image", man, the result was he was forced to assume this new role? If this was the case, could it be that God was learning more insight and wisdom about himself, through his interactions with his reflection of his "image", man? Could it also be that God was learning more about his mistakes and lack of insight, enabling him to make the necessary corrections? (Gen 6-1-8)

God's role as an intolerant destroyer was to be repeated many times over, in his destruction of the cities Sodom and Gomorrah, the destruction of Korah and his supporters with their rebellion against Moses, and in punishing the Israelites, using other nations as his instruments to do so. His punishments and curses in Deuteronomy chapter 28 appear to be those of a God with a intolerant personality, lacking real mercy, empathy and understanding. For the Israelites who were to disobey, were to receive such punishments as the women "eating their own afterbirth in secrecy", while men would "eat their own sons."

The Savior

(Gen 19:1-29)

God's people, the Hebrews, were eventually to fall into a situation of slavery and hardship, under the nation of Egypt, bringing much pain and suffering to them. Now God, while destroying the Egyptians, was to assume a new role, the role of a savior and liberator. Here God would learn the rewards and fruitage of what it is like to liberate and save people, along with their both positive and negative reactions and interactions with him, through Moses and observations. (Exodus chapters 7-12)

After God's saving his people, the Israelites, the affect then put himself in

The Lawgiver

a position of

The Judge

responsibility of these people. In order to preserve these people, out in the desert, he now became a lawgiver. God would now learn what it is like to make laws for the people, enforce laws and witness the reactions of both obedience and disobedience of the people. Here the Israelites were being led by God and his mediator, Moses. God now had to make laws for them, keeping law and order, including the providing of food, Manna. Did God plan on having this responsibility? Was this anticipated, or was it part of a domino affect, after saving his people from the enslavement of Egypt, forcing God to assume this new role? (Leviticus)

After journeying in the desert and leaving the comforts of Egypt, this led to complaints and disapproval of the unappreciative Hebrews, so God was now to become a disciplinarian. The discipline became so intense that God was now to perform a previous role, the role of a destroyer and law enforcer. After worshipping a golden calf, God told Moses to kill all those who took part, resulting in over 3000 deaths. After Korah, Dathan, Abiram and others rebelled against Moses, God again became a destroyer, putting them to

The Warrior

death. (Exodus 32:27, 35; Numbers 28:25-35)

When the time approached for the Hebrews to finally possess the land of Canaan, God would now fight warfare for them, making him a conqueror and warrior. This would continue as the Hebrews would be attacked by surrounding peoples, for Jehovah would fight for them. Did God anticipate becoming a warrior and fighter? Did he foresee that he would have this role? Or was this the result of the progression of actions? Again, God would continue learning and growing and adjusting his personality, as he fights and protects his people against their enemies. (Exodus 14:14, 25; Deu 1:30; 3:22; Joshua 10:14)

As the Israelites were influenced by their surrounding nations, they asked God if he

The King

could appoint them a king. Here God would now appoint the man, Saul, as the nation of Israel's first human king, while God himself subsequently would take on this role for himself and later appoint this son, the Christ into this role.

It is in Psalms, Proverbs and Ecclesiastics, that God takes on the roles of a counselor, and guarantor along with the wise riddles or puzzles of King Solomon. Here God gives wise counsel to follow. Could his years of dealing with his "image" man, have now given him more insight and wisdom to now become a counselor? It is also evident that God is now a less blunt outspoken God, but rather a more wise and patient God.

Yet in the books of Ruth and Esther, God remains mysteriously absent. In Ruth he is more of a bystander, whereas in Esther he is so absent that not even the tetragramaten, his name Jehovah or Yahweh, is even mentioned. The Hebrews are called Jews and it appears that it is solely on their own merits, without God's help, that they manage to escape complete genocide.

It is only until the book of Isaiah (in the order of the Jewish cannon) that God starts to

A Father

show more compassion and mercy then ever before. He now takes on the role as a father and wife of his people. God has seen much suffering and has witnessed and interacted with man for some time now. Although God is the Almighty and creator of all, their is no evidence of him ever performing the role of a parent, having children to care for, worry about and have that feminine maternal instinct that no other can have except that of a parent, especially a female. Not that God is male or female, but now he would experience other qualities of human personalities and emotions. Here God would obtain a role of tender mercy and compassion that he has never experienced before, one of nursing and nurturing others. Did God foresee this role of being a father and wife to mankind in advance? Or was it the affect of the chain of events of his dealings with his "image", mankind that he acquired this intimacy? (Isaiah 62:4-5; 63:16; 64:8; Psalms 27:10; 68:5; 103:13)

God also takes on the role of a more mysterious wise God, giving prophesies and riddles that cannot be answered easily or until a future time or with much meditation. He seems to have changed from a much more intolerant, merciless, blunt and direct spoken God, to a God with words and actions that are not so direct, but more considerate, understanding, patient and kind, needing more time to meditate on. (Isaiah 43:8-9; 44:6-8)

With all of his dealings with his people, the nation of Israel, God now uses other nations, who are not his people, as a weapon of punishment against Israel for their sins and wrongful course of actions. It is here that God becomes a diplomat and arbitrator between

The Diplomat and Arbitrator

the nations, having his prophet Elisha anoint a king of another nation as well as using different nations, such as Babylon, Assyria and Persia, to do his work, whether it be actions of peace or actions of war. Did God intend from the beginning to become this diplomat or intermediary between different nations? Did he foresee his use of pagan persons and nations, such as Cyrus of Persia, to free his people? Or were these actions of his, the results of dealing with his "image", man, and learning more about mankind and himself? Was this evidence of God's wisdom and insight growing, changing his personality as he progresses forward fulfilling many new roles and new dealings with man? (1 Kings 22:16-23; Isaiah 44:28; 45:1; Hab 1:6; Jer 25:15, 27)

Afterwards, with the rebuilding of Israel, God appears to be less involved and more silent, being in the background. The rebuilding work of the temple and the warding off and defending all of the opposes appear to be the work of the people and not God. The instructions to "put away all of their foreign wives" again appear to be the instructions of Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi, but not directly God. God here seems to be a much different God then the God of the Israelites out in the wilderness, with Moses leading them. He is much less vocal, less involved and more tolerant. The curses of Deuteronomy chapter 28 appear to come from a much more intolerant and uncompassionate God, having a different personality. Did God grow, mature and gain more insight?

In the book of Job, God allows a rebellious angel, Satan, to destroy Job's, livelihood,

The Enemy

children, material possessions and inflict a painful skin disease upon him. This is in order to prove to Satan, that the man Job is a righteous man and will never blame or curse God for the bad and serve God out of love, not out of greed. But to allow this innocent man to suffer so intensely, along with his innocent children to suffer and die, questions either God's justice or God's power. In this case, God becomes Job's fiend or enemy. True, God later blessed Job and gave him more then he had before his suffering, but this does not take away the previous suffering that Job had to endure at God's expense, or wager with the Devil. Did Job's final blessing at the end of his hardship truly compensate for the death of his innocent children and the emotional and physical pain and suffering he endured? In the past God had gave laws that enforced a wrong doer to pay back double, or more, then the wrong they did to compensate for their actions. Could God be doing the same in Job's case? (Job chapters 1-2)

God's answer to Job's questioning of his justice, was either one one of proving his superior strength and intelligence or one of showing his greater strength and power, yet still limited. His answer did not rectify or justify his actions, the "perfect justice", that Job's three companions spoke of, unless it was God's power that was limited. On the other hand if it was God's lack of justice, perhaps he still needed to progress, learn and move forward, to truly exercise true justice and empathy? Did his personality still need to grow and gain more insight and wisdom?

When following the bible in the order of the Jewish cannon instead of the Christian cannon or arrangement of books, it appears to show that Job silences God, with his questioning God's justice. God's answer to Job does not answer Job's question of God's justice but rather evades the question with a substitute answer of his strength and might, as though "might makes right." It appears from this, that Job has truly silenced God and from this point on, God remains silent and mostly in the background, through out the rest of the Hebrew scriptures. (Job chapters 38-42)

The last mention of God, in the book of Daniel, describes him as the "ancient of days",

The Wise King, ancient of days.

now having more wisdom and insight then ever before. Perhaps after dealing with his "image", man, after many years and many trials, along with many less than perfect decisions, God has now become "full of wisdom" and can now be called "the ancient of days." All of his actions, dealings, decisions, punishments, rewards and errors could all bring God to now have a truly perfect understanding and realization of both his "image", man, and that of himself. (Daniel 7:13)

With the gift of Jesus Christ and the teachings and actions of love, mercy, compassion as well as discipline and counsel of Jesus himself, God appears to be a much more wiser and loving God. Jesus Christ, "the reflection and exact representation" of his father, certainly reflected a God with a totally different personality then the God of the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures. The ultimate teachings, actions and example of God's personality can be seen in Jesus Christ. For the first time in centuries, God appears to be somewhat active in human affairs, regarding Jesus Christ and subsequently, the Christian congregation, granting them various "gifts." However, the stress is now put on a spiritual Israel nation, made up of Christ's followers and no longer a physical nation of Israel.

With the death of Christ and the end of the first century, the Christian congregation regresses back from Christ's true teachings of love and mercy to neighbor back to technical rules, regulations and interpretations, resulting in false teachings and no love of neighbor. God again appears to be in the background, not involved in human affairs, completely silent as warfare, violence, disease and natural disasters continue to plaque mankind as they had always done in the past. For as Christ said, these things "must occur" as they had always done, not being part of a sign of Christ's coming or God's actions. Perhaps it could be a part of Satan's actions from his ousting out of heaven in Revelation chapter 12, but if this is the case, then this war in heaven occurred long before Christ, not in some modern time era. Why has God become silent for all these years? Since God has gained the insight and wisdom through observing and interacting with his "image", man, could God have now lost interest in man? Could he be involved with other things? Or is it all a matter of waiting for his "appointed time" to again be involved in human affairs?

Polytheism or Monotheism ?

Some scholars, differ from the above thoughts as stated, but instead believe that the God of the Hebrews, in the bible, originally started as polytheism, but developed into monotheism. This would explain the multiple personalities of God, his changing of the way he dealt with his "image" man. Rather then being a God who progressed in wisdom in dealing with his "image", man, he would instead be a blend of multiple personalities and characteristics of the many gods of the nations who surrounded the Hebrews and had dealings with them. The Jews, in later years, would then write the "shema" in Deuteronomy chapters 6 and 11, "Here oh Israel, the Lord is one, the Lord is one God", transforming God into monotheism.

Here, the blending of personalities and characteristics of the gods such as, Baal, Ashtoreth and Molech, were merged into one God, Jehovah or Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews. For instance, when Jehovah would become an invincible warrior, he was taking on the personality of Baal, when putting restrictions on the sexual activity of man, including the ownership of their futility, by demanding circumcision, the foreskins of their penises, and God's seemingly obsession with rules, regulations and restrictions on man's sexuality, it is possible that God could be the taking on the personality of the futility goddess Ashtoreth. The various animal sacrifices as well as the demonstration of Abraham attempting to sacrifice his son, which foreshadowed the Christ, could possibly be God taking on of the personality of the god Molech. (Leviticus 18)

Also, to some, the two separate accounts of creation appear to suggest the blending of polytheism into monotheism. For one account is of (elohim) God and the other account of the Lord (Jehovah) God. In the first account (elohim) God appears to be much more powerful and so generous that their is no question of obedience. While in the second account of creation (Jehovah) God appears to be less powerful, less generous and far more vindictive. Everything hangs on obedience.

After the actions of Adam and Eve, the (elohim) God account then makes Seth, not Cain, the first child, while the (Jehovah) God account makes Cain the first child along with other variations. The (elohim) God account of the flood says two of every kind were to be taken on the ark, while the (Jehovah) God version of the flood account says "seven pairs of the clean, one pair of the unclean." (Gen 6:19; 7:2)

Questionable Accounts of God's Developing Personality

References: God, a biography - by Jack Miles

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