Do you have a question about God? [Archive]

TruthaboutGod

04-04-2009, 05:45 AM

What is God? What is God's Plan? Why does God allow "bad things" to happen? How does God know your every word and thought? God's True Commandment. God's Greatest Gift to mankind.

taken from the barnes and noble synopsis of your book, assuming you are theodore yocum.

Since you asked questions about chapter titles, I will just copy and paste the answers, saves time :)

1. God is at the top of the chain of Life and thus:

God = (M * I) +S This may also be written as:
God = (M∞ * I∞) +S (Although they both have the same result.)

Notice there is no mention of atoms here, as atoms are God’s Building Blocks and NOT what God is made of. (The Energy that God consists of is a Pure form that is unknown to Humans.)
M∞ = an infinite(without restriction) ability to manipulate energy.(Atomic or otherwise)
I∞ = an infinite(without restriction) Intelligence or an unlimited capacity of intelligence. (It is obvious that since God created Existence, God has full knowledge of everything in that Existence)
S = Soul

2. What is God’s Plan? This question has been asked for ages, and yet mankind feels that it is a mystery. Many people feel that “God works in mysterious ways”, this is really untrue. At all times God knows exactly what He is doing and always follows His Plan. As God created mankind as a companion to God, God’s Plan is to: “peacefully continue the existence of mankind”. As we are God’s Children, He wants us to go forth and multiply in a productive manner. Is this not what you want for your children? Do you not want to see your children grow up and become a productive member of mankind? This is exactly what God wants for His children.(Mankind)

3. I cannot copy and paste here, as it is too long. God does not stop "bad things" from happening as this would violate our Freedom.(See God's Greatest Gift.)

4. But HOW does God do this? We all know that there are billions of nerves in the human body that use electricity to communicate with the brain. Every time you think, and every thought you have, creates an electrical impulse. God does not “read” your mind, you “tell” God what you are thinking by the creation of these impulses, and God simply listens. This is the exact same way your brain "listens", or receives the signal. Again there is no magic, it is all simple science.

5. Thou Shall Love.

6. Freedom.

TruthaboutGod

04-04-2009, 05:50 AM

If God is so great, how big is his

Left foot.

Seriously, these topics get sillier every day. You profess to know the "Truth" about god, and are answering questions. Where did you stumble upon this enlightenment which has been eluding society for as long as there has been history?

1. I did not stumble upon enlightment. God had contacted me.

2. God has communicated with many people, and many people have comminicated with God for as long as there as been history. Quite a bit of this information is found in God's Words: "The Old Testament, The New Testament, and the Qur'an".

JBI

04-04-2009, 10:24 AM

That's funny. He contacted me too, and said not to believe you, since you would lead me off of the path of God. He said that you were, like many others, nothing but a falsifier, a heretic besmearing God's noble honor. He then said, that anyone with any sense would not believe some random dude on the internet had spoken with God. Seriously, these forums are for discussing Religious texts, not for "false" prophets. All this, God showed me.

Also, when I was in Patmos, an even grander vision before me appeared. It came on clouds, this vision of mine, and told me to rise up and to the 7 churches, which are in Asia to report.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: Go unto the Internet, and slay the false prophet for heresy, and so, by virtue, I listened, and I felt disenchanted, as the belly of the whale swallowed me, and I descended into darkness.

Let's be honest, you won't find many recruits on these boards And quite frankly, you don't even have a basic understanding of rudimentary physics. Throwing out some equations to sound smart is ridiculous. Good luck on your book, perhaps you'll be the next Shavtai HaTsvi, though, I don't think the Global Financial Crisis is potent enough to really get people to buy into it.

Logos

04-04-2009, 10:52 AM

.... Seriously, these forums are for discussing Religious texts.... The Religious Texts forum is not only for discussion of texts but --> Any other general topic threads posted relating to religion or spirituality.... (http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15410)

--

JBI

04-04-2009, 10:57 AM

Logos

04-04-2009, 11:00 AM

Please don't derail this thread anymore; if you don't like it, move on.

BienvenuJDC

04-05-2009, 03:13 AM

Is there more than one god? Which god are you referring to?

TruthaboutGod

04-05-2009, 05:54 AM

Yes Logos, but "B: These forums are not here for preaching, or attempts to convert, nor promote other religiously affiliated websites."

I think posing as a prophet with divine revelation, and answering questions about the "Truth" of God falls into that category, at least somewhat. Does this not sound like some nut standing on a street corner preaching the end of the world to you?

1. I am not preaching, I am answering your questions.
2. I am not trying to convert you, as I am not religious. How can I convert you to a religion, if I am a member of none?
3. What website am I promoting?
4. I am not a prophet as I have provided you with no prophecy. I have no ability to forsee the future.
5. I am not on a street corner.
6. I do not feel the end of the world is near, however I am not certain, as only God knows this date.

Did you have a question about God?

TruthaboutGod

04-05-2009, 05:56 AM

Is there more than one god? Which god are you referring to?

1. No
2. The God that is the Creator of the known and unknown existence of mankind.

dafydd manton

04-05-2009, 02:14 PM

Could you tell me God's name? if he has one, what does it mean?

BienvenuJDC

04-05-2009, 03:18 PM

Is there more than one god? Which god are you referring to?

I had a question...

JBI

04-05-2009, 03:46 PM

I had a question...

as did I, though, I made the mistake of forgetting the question mark. As such,

If God is so great, how big is his

Left foot?

We are told God created us in his image, and we are told he was walking in the Garden in Genesis. Therefore, the question is valid. How big is his, well, you know, left foot?

NikolaiI

04-05-2009, 04:16 PM

I can absolutely agree with you that God wishes for peace for all humanity. I look forward to your further posts.

dafydd manton

04-05-2009, 05:18 PM

A couple of questions for you. Firstly, does God have a name, and if so, what is it? Thanks

JBI

04-05-2009, 05:28 PM

A couple of questions for you. Firstly, does God have a name, and if so, what is it? Thanks

According to tradition - that is, the Jewish tradition - he has a name, which is formed from 72 different names, known as the Shemhamphorasch (wikipedia transliteration. Of course, good luck pronouncing it if you have it - people, even if they had it written would only be able to guess at the pronunciation, as the true pronunciation has been lost, as has, according to legend, the name itself.

Either way, God, according to the scriptures mentioned, only speaks in Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic so there isn't an accurate translation of his name anyway.

Judas130

04-05-2009, 06:32 PM

Micah 3:9 [NIV] Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right;
Micah 3:10 [NIV] who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.
Micah 3:11 [NIV] Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us."
Micah 3:12 [NIV] Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

Good luck with your book, if God has at all spoken to you, may it bring you comfort that it was in pursuit of money.

Anyways, its nice to hear the ideas and conceptions of another mind...but I won't take your ideas for gold on the basis that God has spoken with you...the idea isn't a favourable one...Maybe if the thread was 'let me discuss God with you' instead of a 'listen to what I have to say, ask me, for I know all'. it may offend some. I like your nerves idea a lot, but again...its a theory, no fact.

weltanschauung

04-05-2009, 07:00 PM

i have an actual question. when jhwh god is making stuff up on genesis, he's talking all the time. then finally he "says":

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth

so tell me, who is goth, i mean, god talking to? and who is "us"? and why is there an "us" there if god was alone in the universe creating stuff and planting trees?
another question: if, according to god's own words, because he said it (and god said "let us blah blah bblah") anyways, according to god's own words we were made in his image, and after his own likeness, he said it, why are evil, again? i probably missed that part in which he, god, explains it.

thanks.

TruthaboutGod

04-06-2009, 01:49 AM

Could you tell me God's name? if he has one, what does it mean?

1. Is it O.K. to assume that you are asking How God refers to Himself? I assume this becase man refers to God as "God".

Exodus 3:14 (New King James Version)
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

2. It means "HE IS" God.

as did I, though, I made the mistake of forgetting the question mark. As such,

If God is so great, how big is his

Left foot?

We are told God created us in his image, and we are told he was walking in the Garden in Genesis. Therefore, the question is valid. How big is his, well, you know, left foot?

1. God is a Soul and does not have "feet", nor does He has a penis or a vagina, all of these things are Human components. Here is some scripture to help explain:

John 4:24 (Jesus speaking)
"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
*God is (a) Spirit.*

Genesis 1:2
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Judges 10:16
So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord. And His Soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

A couple of questions for you. Firstly, does God have a name, and if so, what is it? Thanks

1. This is answered in post number "25".

Micah 3:9 [NIV] Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right;
Micah 3:10 [NIV] who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.
Micah 3:11 [NIV] Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us."
Micah 3:12 [NIV] Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

Good luck with your book, if God has at all spoken to you, may it bring you comfort that it was in pursuit of money.

Anyways, its nice to hear the ideas and conceptions of another mind...but I won't take your ideas for gold on the basis that God has spoken with you...the idea isn't a favourable one...Maybe if the thread was 'let me discuss God with you' instead of a 'listen to what I have to say, ask me, for I know all'. it may offend some. I like your nerves idea a lot, but again...its a theory, no fact.

1. I do not "know all", there are a few questions that I cannot answer.

i have an actual question. when jhwh god is making stuff up on genesis, he's talking all the time. then finally he "says":

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth

so tell me, who is goth, i mean, god talking to? and who is "us"? and why is there an "us" there if god was alone in the universe creating stuff and planting trees?
another question: if, according to god's own words, because he said it (and god said "let us blah blah bblah") anyways, according to god's own words we were made in his image, and after his own likeness, he said it, why are evil, again? i probably missed that part in which he, god, explains it.

thanks.

1. God is speaking to the Angels. God and the Angels are in Spirit Form, when man was first made he was in Spirit form.(Before their transgression in the Garden of Eden.)

2. I greatly apologize, but I cannot understand the second question, are you asking: "If God created us, why are some of us evil?"

planet earth

04-06-2009, 07:41 AM

Simply very simply

God is Truth.

dafydd manton

04-06-2009, 07:43 AM

1. Is it O.K. to assume that you are asking How God refers to Himself? I assume this becase man refers to God as "God".

Exodus 3:14 (New King James Version)
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

2. It means "HE IS" God.Thank you. There are 6973 references to his name in the Hebrew scriptures alone, and the reference in the New KJV is less than acurate. I think you have adequately established your credentials.

JBI

04-06-2009, 09:03 AM

Genesis Chapter 3:

8: And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

From the King James Version, emphasis mine.

Does he walk on spirit feet then? On Paws? Webbed feet?

Either way, you are misinterpreting many passages because of your reliance on translation.

ויאמר אלהים אל־משה אהיה אשר אהיה ויאמר כה תאמר לבני ישראל אהיה שלחני אליכם׃

This does not exactly translate to

14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

I don't have the exact words, because they are impossible to really convey into English, but the verb אהיה has a different meaning than I AM. You should, if you mean to quote God, at least quote him in the original. Notice the word Ani (sorry, I don't have a Hebrew keyboard) is missing, making the pronoun subject pronoun I somewhat more of a convenience than an accurate representation.

Scheherazade

04-06-2009, 10:43 AM

F i n a l W a r n i n g

Further posts containing personal/off-topic comments will lead to thread closure.

If you do not like the content or find it impossible to refrain from making inflammatory comments, please feel free to ignore the thread.

TruthaboutGod

04-07-2009, 01:26 AM

grotto

04-07-2009, 08:07 AM

Is God a separate entity, form or entity from the rest of us? Do we all share the same essence?

Mathor

04-07-2009, 10:13 AM

all i know is you say you have no religion yet I'm hearing lots of references to Christianity. :idea:

jakobmuller

04-07-2009, 05:37 PM

all i know is you say you have no religion yet I'm hearing lots of references to Christianity. :idea:

It doesn't take "belief" to be educated or at least hold up an end of a debate.

kevinthediltz

04-07-2009, 05:43 PM

It doesn't take "belief" to be educated or at least hold up an end of a debate.

But it sure does help when one is claiming to have every answer involving god.
Whoever "thetruthaboutgod" is, they are most obviously christian or some sect of that. One god, all knowing, all powerful...
And they certainly are avoiding all the hard questions by requesting no questions on religion, only on god.

jakobmuller

04-07-2009, 06:18 PM

Whoever "thetruthaboutgod" is, they are most obviously christian or some sect of that. One god, all knowing, all powerful...
And they certainly are avoiding all the hard questions by requesting no questions on religion, only on god.

I heard that.... lol
Didn''t they say they weren't religious though?

kevinthediltz

04-07-2009, 06:25 PM

They said that, but it is more than obvious. One cannot claim to not belong to a religion when they speak of only one god and frequently reference the bible without a single reference to any other religious text. Just referencing to only one god disregaurds many many religions. He/she may not belong to any single religion, but does however obviously believe in one general religion much more than any other. And by only refering this one religion, he/she is in a way, discrediting every other religion.

NikolaiI

04-07-2009, 06:34 PM

But it sure does help when one is claiming to have every answer involving god.
Whoever "thetruthaboutgod" is, they are most obviously christian or some sect of that. One god, all knowing, all powerful...
And they certainly are avoiding all the hard questions by requesting no questions on religion, only on god.

This quote is from the second page,

1. I do not "know all", there are a few questions that I cannot answer.

Specifically, he said he does not know all, does not have every answer.

Yes, I noticed also that TruthaboutGod quotes from the Bible exclusively. You have a good point about that. Yet One God, all knowing, all powerful, is also the position of Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.

Planet Earth, bless him, said on this thread, God is Truth. This is also what Hinduism says. There is similiarity here, and not discord.

kevinthediltz

04-07-2009, 06:41 PM

I am going to refrain from posting on this thread, I dont like discussions about god or religion. It just seemed odd referencing the bible frequently. I respect everyones opinion and im not gonna let those differnent opinions from mine get me all fired up.
Correct me if I am wrong but I thought hinduism had three gods...

F i n a l W a r n i n g

Further posts containing personal/off-topic comments will lead to thread closure.

If you do not like the content or find it impossible to refrain from making inflammatory comments, please feel free to ignore the thread.

And I just read this, and do not wish to contribute to getting a thread closed.
So, I formally apologize for above comments.

NikolaiI

04-07-2009, 06:54 PM

kevinthediltz

04-07-2009, 08:29 PM

Hinduism can't be reduced to a sentence or a couple of words, but what Planet Earth said, "God is Truth" is also the understanding of Hinduism.

Well then thank you. I did not know that.

TruthaboutGod

04-08-2009, 12:22 AM

Is God a separate entity, form or entity from the rest of us? Do we all share the same essence?

1. It was also explained to me that the Soul that a child receives is “of God” and the body is “of the mother and father”. I was a little confused at this point over whether or not any “imprint” of the Soul of the biological father and/or mother was transferred to the child. I had thought that since your Soul is an infinite energy source, no part would be “subtracted” from the Soul of the mother and father. The reply was that since the Soul is "of God", there is no part that is subtracted from the physical mother or father.

You can kind of look at it this way: Think of your child’s Soul much like how DNA is passed on to your children, you do not lose any of your own DNA, and you would not “lose” any part of your Soul. However these were my ideas ONLY, the message that God wanted me to convey here is that: “The Soul is of God, and the body is of the mother and father.”

2. Your Soul is seperate from your neighbor's Soul, yet it is of the same energy. You can see many lightning bolts in the sky, they are of the same energy, yet they do not share this energy.

all i know is you say you have no religion yet I'm hearing lots of references to Christianity. :idea:

1. The Book has many quotes from the Old Testament, The New Testament, and the Qur'an. These are the Three Books that God had me read. Christians show me more hate then atheists do :)

But it sure does help when one is claiming to have every answer involving god.
Whoever "thetruthaboutgod" is, they are most obviously christian or some sect of that. One god, all knowing, all powerful...
And they certainly are avoiding all the hard questions by requesting no questions on religion, only on god.

1. There are a few questions I cannot answer. However I can asure you that I am not a Jew, Christian, Muslim, or whatever other "tags" mankind has given each other. God did not create religion, mankind did. I am interested in learning about God from God, not learning about God from man.

2. You may ask any quesiton you wish, however I am to convey the Truth about God, as such my knowledge of religions is not that great.

I heard that.... lol
Didn''t they say they weren't religious though?

1. sects are also an abomination: (C&P from book)

Be very aware of “new” religions or “sects”, there is no need for these, everything you need to know about God can be learned as a Jew, Christian, or Muslim. All of these new religions, break offs of the three mentioned True Religions, and all sects are an abomination and a horrid transgression against God. Basically what you are saying when you join one of these is that God did not provide you with enough information to make your choice between righteousness and sin, and you feel that a “man” that “created” a religion did a better job then God.
Surah 6:159
As for those who divide their religion and break up into sects, you have no part in them in the least: their affair is with Allah: He will in the end tell them the truth of all that they did.
*There is one God, yet there is more then one religion. Why do you wish to further divide man away from God, by the creation of more religions?*

P.S. I hope that no one will twist that, I stated that you can learn everything you need to know as a Jew, Christian, or Muslim. This is not trashing other religions, as I know nothing about them, so I do not comment on them. Of the other religons in the world, you may or may not learn anything about God from them. God has explained to me that all religions have a spark of God, it is just through the perversions of man that the spark never becomes more then just a spark.

They said that, but it is more than obvious. One cannot claim to not belong to a religion when they speak of only one god and frequently reference the bible without a single reference to any other religious text. Just referencing to only one god disregaurds many many religions. He/she may not belong to any single religion, but does however obviously believe in one general religion much more than any other. And by only refering this one religion, he/she is in a way, discrediting every other religion.

1. Actually I feel the world would be a much better place with no religion at all. God told no one in any of His Words to "join a religion". Why must our neighbor brand us like a cattle with a tag or mark, can we not just worship God in peace?

kevinthediltz

04-08-2009, 12:45 AM

Ok question. Does god want us all to worship him, according to how we feel neccicary, alone, away from any religion or specific way?

JBI

04-08-2009, 01:03 AM

How about this, what purpose does God have in sharing his revelation with you, and having you answer our questions, when, as you said, he is everything, in which case he is what you say, and not what you say, as he is beyond language, and therefore you are incapable of conveying his true essence within human constructions of language, and therefore are confusing and perhaps offering obstruction?

Also, is God female or male, and if he is both, why is he referred to with male vocabulary in the Hebrew testament.

Also, why do people suffer, and why are children made to die? What is God's purpose in doing so?

and, to repeat my question from the first page, how big is God's

left foot.

Riesa

04-08-2009, 01:40 AM

We are told God created us in his image, and we are told he was walking in the Garden in Genesis. Therefore, the question is valid. How big is his, well, you know, left foot?

I'd like to know how big his ... well, you know... is, if he's god and he has created man in his image, which man exactly is it that is his reflection? Does god look more like Woody Allen, or more like Colin Firth? and if he looks like Colin Firth, ain't he being just a little bit unfair to the Woodys? slackin' a bit there, god.

grotto

04-08-2009, 07:47 AM

So why did God not have your read any Hindu or Buddhist literature? It seems they encompass quite a few adherents? As many as Jews and Muslims any ways. Why were these traditions omitted from the list?

If we are all of the same essence as God, who started the idea that we should separate ourselves from God and then worship him? Isn’t this kind of like praying to my mouth to allow me to eat?

planet earth

04-08-2009, 04:59 PM

I find this thread very very fruitful. I can see the common grounds of us all arousing if labels, are not mentioned. This means to myself that the previous knowledge about a label, may form the opinion regarding its carrier, but when the label, as much as its importance, is not mentioned we all get to know that there is a common ground. Upon this common ground, and knowlege, then I assume, we should all unite or hope so at least.

Planet Earth, bless him, said on this thread, God is Truth. This is also what Hinduism says. There is similiarity here, and not discord.

Nikolai, for example quoted me, (but I am a her) in a very simple sentence. And now we know there are common grounds between Islam and Hinduism

Truth about God for example, asks why don't we all live in peace, and that is exactly what it's all about.

I can't prevent myself from expressing my admiration from the replies he offered. I liked most that God did not prevent evil, for our freedom's sake. In Islam, the religion I know, this could be applied as well, mankind chose choice or to carry responsibility, after the sky and Mountains refused to.

I also like the way JBI argues, he is a great reader, he understanding to the texts and seeking for precision is high, though I do disagree with him many of times.

In conclusion, a thread like this brought us closer. I think Christians think Truth About God is Christian, Atheists think he is atheist, Muslims think he is a muslim, I don't know if Jews think he is a Jew, which all reflect common grounds.

I don't have alot to add here, but Nikolai, God is the synonynm to not only truth, but also Beauty, Justice, eternity and so on.

Finally, I want to assert that everyone has the right to believe in whichever he or she pleases. I was only placing a plain point of view.

Mathor

04-08-2009, 05:30 PM

It doesn't take "belief" to be educated or at least hold up an end of a debate.

no. But the thread was introduced asking responders not to speak about particular religions and only talk about God but not religion itself. And the same person who said that is referencing the bible in order to make his points and therefore is not following his own rules of the "debate"

TruthaboutGod

04-09-2009, 03:42 AM

Ok question. Does god want us all to worship him, according to how we feel neccicary, alone, away from any religion or specific way?

1. God wants you to follow His Plan. God also wants you to "know Him". As far as "worship" goes, I would need you definition of worship.

How about this, what purpose does God have in sharing his revelation with you, and having you answer our questions, when, as you said, he is everything, in which case he is what you say, and not what you say, as he is beyond language, and therefore you are incapable of conveying his true essence within human constructions of language, and therefore are confusing and perhaps offering obstruction?

Also, is God female or male, and if he is both, why is he referred to with male vocabulary in the Hebrew testament.

Also, why do people suffer, and why are children made to die? What is God's purpose in doing so?

and, to repeat my question from the first page, how big is God's

left foot.

1. The purpose is to spread the Truth.

2. No.

3. Will copy and paste from the book here:

I wanted to know how He could expect mankind to believe in a God that provided so little information and allowed us to live in a present day life, which was simply becoming more horrid with each passing year. (I refer to God as a “He”, so as not to refer to God as an “it”, as this would be unacceptable. God is sexless and is not a male or female.)

4. We all must taste death, or would you want us to spend eternity on earth?(I will pass on that.)

5. God's purpose is so we may be Judged and go to Heaven,(With God) or Hell.(Without God)

6. I explained to you that God does not have feet, and if He desired to have feet and Created them, I would not know the size until they were Created.(If He told me what size they were.)

I'd like to know how big his ... well, you know... is, if he's god and he has created man in his image, which man exactly is it that is his reflection? Does god look more like Woody Allen, or more like Colin Firth? and if he looks like Colin Firth, ain't he being just a little bit unfair to the Woodys? slackin' a bit there, god.

1. "In God's Image" is a reference to your Soul. Your Soul is the very Essence of God.

So why did God not have your read any Hindu or Buddhist literature? It seems they encompass quite a few adherents? As many as Jews and Muslims any ways. Why were these traditions omitted from the list?

If we are all of the same essence as God, who started the idea that we should separate ourselves from God and then worship him? Isn’t this kind of like praying to my mouth to allow me to eat?

1. This is a question about me... The answer is: "It is not part of the message that he wanted me to convey". I am actually surprised at the answer, as I thought it may have been something negative about that literature, however it was not!

2. Are you asking why did God create religions that seperated us? God did not create religion, mankind did.

I find this thread very very fruitful. I can see the common grounds of us all arousing if labels, are not mentioned. This means to myself that the previous knowledge about a label, may form the opinion regarding its carrier, but when the label, as much as its importance, is not mentioned we all get to know that there is a common ground. Upon this common ground, and knowlege, then I assume, we should all unite or hope so at least.

Nikolai, for example quoted me, (but I am a her) in a very simple sentence. And now we know there are common grounds between Islam and Hinduism

Truth about God for example, asks why don't we all live in peace, and that is exactly what it's all about.

I can't prevent myself from expressing my admiration from the replies he offered. I liked most that God did not prevent evil, for our freedom's sake. In Islam, the religion I know, this could be applied as well, mankind chose choice or to carry responsibility, after the sky and Mountains refused to.

I also like the way JBI argues, he is a great reader, he understanding to the texts and seeking for precision is high, though I do disagree with him many of times.

In conclusion, a thread like this brought us closer. I think Christians think Truth About God is Christian, Atheists think he is atheist, Muslims think he is a muslim, I don't know if Jews think he is a Jew, which all reflect common grounds.

I don't have alot to add here, but Nikolai, God is the synonynm to not only truth, but also Beauty, Justice, eternity and so on.

Finally, I want to assert that everyone has the right to believe in whichever he or she pleases. I was only placing a plain point of view.

1. It is all about Freedom from oppression. I see that you understand this, can you help me out with the billions of others? :)

2. Christians hate me, and atheists make death threats, I am used to it. I can show you some links to a couple religious boards that you will not believe they are even Christian. Do not think that because one calls himslef a jew, Christian, or Muslim, that they actually are.

3. I have never had a comment from someone stating that they are a Jew, because religions are meaningless, I do not ask people which "tag" they have. Muslims tend to like me for the most part. One Muslim that did read the book, tried for days to convince me that I am a Muslim, however he did not like my statement of what God "cannot" do.

no. But the thread was introduced asking responders not to speak about particular religions and only talk about God but not religion itself. And the same person who said that is referencing the bible in order to make his points and therefore is not following his own rules of the "debate"

1. The Bible is not religious, it is a word of God, as is the Qur'an. I can say that The Old testament does not belong to the Jews, the New Testament does not belong to the Christians, and the Qur'an does not belong to the Muslims. In fact it would be rather "against God" for any religion to claim a Word of God as "theirs".

Rorshach69

04-09-2009, 08:41 AM

Hello all :)

I am the author of the book: "Understanding the Truth about God". If you have any questions about God, please feel free to ask and I will provide you with the Truth. The only thing that I ask is that the question should be in reference to God and not in reference to a religious topic. I am not religious,(Religious being defined as a: "member of a religion") although I do accept the reality of God.

Who is that?

JBI

04-09-2009, 09:44 AM

Well, you certainly don't preach Judaism, or have any real understanding of it whatsoever, judging from your posts. I am yet to see you quote the Koran, so, conclusively, one must just say you're a Bible preacher who breaks with organized religion, an Emersonian creation without the grass-roots feel. You don't know the difference between the Word of God, and the interpretation of the word of God, or yet realize neither Jesus nor Yahweh in Biblical text ever uttered a word of English (and, I doubt Allah recited to Muhammad in English either).

I have shown you where in scripture God has feet, and did walk, at least once (though I think he does so more than once, I just can't remember).

In other words, your religious, and theological sensibilities are shaped by new-wave post-Emersonian spiritualism, and your interpretation of Judaism is both pitiful and insulting. You know nothing about it, nor do you understand how the text works, or its history.

Try reading or speaking to Jews, then you may understand that the religion and the text mean completely different things. Christianity is built on belief in a deity, and baptism. To be Jewish, you essentially need to be born to a Jewish mother. That's one difference, the discrepancy between a notion of belief, and a notion of heritage, which completely transforms the way texts are looked at.

In truth, your God seems a watered down variant of RamBam's (Maimonedes), which in itself was a mongaloid between Muslim thought, and Rabbinic Scholarship, which by the way at this point was still in an oral-style stage.

I'm done with this post, and I hope others will follow me and let the thread die. If there are no more questions, then there is no more need of answers.

Who is that?

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?id=22182

a Print on Demand-published work which, being print on demand, is only read by those who know of the books existence, which, if one may suppose a person wants to reveal truth, can be achieved by spreading the word, by, being this an electronic age of media, no better medium than the internet, particularly where people go to discuss books, and others come to discuss and preach religion. In truth, the reference to the text in the first post seems to allude to this vein of interpretation of the truth about God.

PoeticPassions

04-09-2009, 10:01 AM

I'm done with this post, and I hope others will follow me and let the thread die. If there are no more questions, then there is no more need of answers.

agreed, let it die. Though since I am posting this, I am really doing the opposite. In any case, I hope people can see through this fake and ridiculous "truth" one person is trying to infiltrate our minds with. Everyone seems to be greedy for power... and this isn't the first, only, or last time someone will use "God" to try and manipulate the masses or spread some kind of ideology or idea...

what a bunch of silliness.

planet earth

04-09-2009, 03:30 PM

Hello everyone

Before the thread dies may I make a remark?

I just wanted to comment about God Created man on His image. I am sorry I will have to refer to the Quran, because as JBI said, I have no English text to refer to. So I will have to.

(Howa allathi sawarakom) this means he imaged us, designed us. In other words, It is we are styled upon the image He has chosen, not in his likeness.

However, Allah stated He has a face and that those who approaches him walking he approaches Him running. so actually, for us this implies He has a foot, leg. But, it is clear from the Quran, the Arabic text I know, that Nothing compares to Him. So we cannot even imagine how He who is similar to nothing, can look like.

Regarding size, all what I can say that it is stated clearly that his throne, encompasses the heavens, earth and what is in between. So the size is out of our boundaries.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity :)

NikolaiI

04-09-2009, 06:18 PM

Scheherazade

04-09-2009, 06:25 PM

F i n a l W a r n i n g

Please refrain from posting in this thread if you do not consider its topic or the contributors worthy of your attention.

Further posts containing inflammatory comments or ad hominem attacks will be deleted and/or lead to thread closure.

TruthaboutGod

04-09-2009, 11:24 PM

Well, you certainly don't preach Judaism, or have any real understanding of it whatsoever, judging from your posts. I am yet to see you quote the Koran, so, conclusively, one must just say you're a Bible preacher who breaks with organized religion, an Emersonian creation without the grass-roots feel. You don't know the difference between the Word of God, and the interpretation of the word of God, or yet realize neither Jesus nor Yahweh in Biblical text ever uttered a word of English (and, I doubt Allah recited to Muhammad in English either).

I have shown you where in scripture God has feet, and did walk, at least once (though I think he does so more than once, I just can't remember).

In other words, your religious, and theological sensibilities are shaped by new-wave post-Emersonian spiritualism, and your interpretation of Judaism is both pitiful and insulting. You know nothing about it, nor do you understand how the text works, or its history.

Try reading or speaking to Jews, then you may understand that the religion and the text mean completely different things. Christianity is built on belief in a deity, and baptism. To be Jewish, you essentially need to be born to a Jewish mother. That's one difference, the discrepancy between a notion of belief, and a notion of heritage, which completely transforms the way texts are looked at.

In truth, your God seems a watered down variant of RamBam's (Maimonedes), which in itself was a mongaloid between Muslim thought, and Rabbinic Scholarship, which by the way at this point was still in an oral-style stage.

I'm done with this post, and I hope others will follow me and let the thread die. If there are no more questions, then there is no more need of answers.

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?id=22182

a Print on Demand-published work which, being print on demand, is only read by those who know of the books existence, which, if one may suppose a person wants to reveal truth, can be achieved by spreading the word, by, being this an electronic age of media, no better medium than the internet, particularly where people go to discuss books, and others come to discuss and preach religion. In truth, the reference to the text in the first post seems to allude to this vein of interpretation of the truth about God.

1. Regardless of which text or scripture you study or want to quote, religion is still man-made. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were not religious at all, they simply followed God. I see no directive whatsoever in any text that I must join a religion to accept the reality of God. Man says to join a religion.

NikolaiI

04-09-2009, 11:48 PM

1. Regardless of which text or scripture you study or want to quote, religion is still man-made. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad were not religious at all, they simply followed God. I see no directive whatsoever in any text that I must join a religion to accept the reality of God. Man says to join a religion.

People call Hinduism a religion, but actually there is only Vedic religion. In the Vedas, there is no reference anywhere to the word, "Hindu." Still this is not really a quibbling point. However, in the Vedas, religion means, "the path of the soul." Vedic religion is sanatana-dharma, or "the path of the soul." The eternal nature of the living entity is service. No matter what we are doing, we are doing service toward one or some.

In the material world, we are generally doing service to one of the three modes of material nature - passion, goodness, and ignorance. This affects us and gives us karma, and we enjoy or suffer in accordance with our deeds. What is done in the mode of passion feels good at first, and is bad for us later. What is done in the mode of goodness feels bitter at first, but later gives us much energy and reward. What is done in the mode of ignorance is unpleasant at the beginning and at the end.

So we are always doing service of some kind. However, the natural position of the living entity is service toward God, by which one becomes liberated. Our natural position is an eternal part and parcel of God. God is within every living being, and every living being is within God.

yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny
ātmany evānupaśyati
sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaḿ
tato na vijugupsate

He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.

Sri Isopanisad 1.6
http://vedabase.net/iso/

TruthaboutGod

04-09-2009, 11:49 PM

My question for the creator of this thread is as follows: you have said that God wishes for humanity to be in peace. Is this the most important? You say that the Soul is the same essence as God. This is also what Hinduism teaches. That each of us are truly the Atman, the same in quality as God.

For instance, we can see that nothing in the universe dies. A photon of light is eternal. It is not always a photon, but it does translate into other forms of energy, and it transforms yet does not cease to exist. So we are of the same nature as the photon, eternal.

Again as I said, in Hinduism it's understood that the soul (Atman) of the jivas (living entities) is the same in quality to the soul of God (Paramesvara). It seems to me the difference between theists and atheists is that atheists think that humans are the highest order of the universe, while theists believe that we are within a construct created by the Upper Force, or the Divine.

Anyhow, I am just asking to the creator of this thread, what is the most important thing does he believe. For if he is saying that God wishes for humanity to have peace, then by his words he is not asking for power for himself, but asking for peace. Am I incorrect?

I might also ask to TruthaboutGod; well, I apologize these questions are not listed by numbers as that is the way you answer them; anyway, what is consciousness, what is God-consciousness? What is spiritual consciousness, compared with material consciousness?

One spiritual master taught that there are different types of consciousness such as the gross consciousness, subtle consciousness, mental consciousness, and spiritual consciousness. What is your opinion of consciousness - in particular, divine consciousness?

1. God's Plan was revealed to man in His very first Words to man. (Copy and paste from the book)

What is God’s Plan? This question has been asked for ages, and yet mankind feels that it is a mystery. Many people feel that “God works in mysterious ways”, this is really untrue. At all times God knows exactly what He is doing and always follows His Plan. As God created mankind as a companion to God, God’s Plan is to: “peacefully continue the existence of mankind”. As we are God’s Children, He wants us to go forth and multiply in a productive manner. Is this not what you want for your children? Do you not want to see your children grow up and become a productive member of mankind? This is exactly what God wants for His children.(Mankind)

* I would state that His Plan is the "most important".

2. It is true that matter cannot be destroyed, yet in can be converted.

3. If atheists truly feel this way,(That humans are the highest order) this is truly ignorant. If an asteroid came and wiped out all of human life they would then have to believe that an asteroid is a higher order? I have my own "opinion" about atheists which I will present if you desire.

4. Man has no ability to give God more power, or take any power away from God. It also seems that God "demands" His Plan be followed, as mankind has been "corrected" when it had rebelled against His Plan too much.(Sodom and Gomorrah, the Great Flood etc...)

5. To answer your question, I would say that God does not "ask" for peace, He "demands" it, or mankind is "corrected".

6. Consciousness can be a tricky topic. You ask me my opinion of "it". Can you be more specific?

NikolaiI

04-09-2009, 11:52 PM

Will reply again in a few minutes, as it seemed you posted just after me.

TruthaboutGod

04-09-2009, 11:59 PM

People call Hinduism a religion, but actually there is only Vedic religion. In the Vedas, there is no reference anywhere to the word, "Hindu." Still this is not really a quibbling point. However, in the Vedas, religion means, "the path of the soul." Vedic religion is sanatana-dharma, or "the path of the soul." The eternal nature of the living entity is service. No matter what we are doing, we are doing service toward one or some.

In the material world, we are generally doing service to one of the three modes of material nature - passion, goodness, and ignorance. This affects us and gives us karma, and we enjoy or suffer in accordance with our deeds. What is done in the mode of passion feels good at first, and is bad for us later. What is done in the mode of goodness feels bitter at first, but later gives us much energy and reward. What is done in the mode of ignorance is unpleasant at the beginning and at the end.

So we are always doing service of some kind. However, the natural position of the living entity is service toward God, by which one becomes liberated. Our natural position is an eternal part and parcel of God. God is within every living being, and every living being is within God.

yas tu sarvāṇi bhūtāny
ātmany evānupaśyati
sarva-bhūteṣu cātmānaḿ
tato na vijugupsate

He who sees everything in relation to the Supreme Lord, who sees all living entities as His parts and parcels, and who sees the Supreme Lord within everything never hates anything or any being.

Sri Isopanisad 1.6
http://vedabase.net/iso/

1. If you believe this, would you agree with me that the vast majority of man serves ignorance?(This has been my experience anyway.) Mankind excells at death, destruction, and violence,(Which is against God's Plan) and seems to retard life, construction, and peace.(Which go with God's Plan.)

2. I am sometimes bewildered by the hate that I receive on forums.(I post on many boards, atheist, Christian, religious etc...) I do not try to change people from their religion, I am rather "anti-religious". I would rather have them live within God's Plan and not be religious at all. I am treated more harshly on Christian boards then I am on atheist boards! I have always understood Jesus to be a Professor of Peace and Love, yet it seems that has been forgotten.

Will reply again in a few minutes, as it seemed you posted just after me.

1. Actually I will be back but it will be tommorow :( I do look forward to reading your posts though :)

Riesa

04-10-2009, 12:03 AM

"In God's Image" is a reference to your Soul. Your Soul is the very Essence of God.

says you.

and my friend, the existence of soul without god is irrelevant. you are just pushing Skittles into the ground, hoping they will make a Skittle tree.

NikolaiI

04-10-2009, 12:26 AM

1. If you believe this, would you agree with me that the vast majority of man serves ignorance?(This has been my experience anyway.) Mankind excells at death, destruction, and violence,(Which is against God's Plan) and seems to retard life, construction, and peace.(Which go with God's Plan.)

2. I am sometimes bewildered by the hate that I receive on forums.(I post on many boards, atheist, Christian, religious etc...) I do not try to change people from their religion, I am rather "anti-religious". I would rather have them live within God's Plan and not be religious at all. I am treated more harshly on Christian boards then I am on atheist boards! I have always understood Jesus to be a Professor of Peace and Love, yet it seems that has been forgotten.

One of my favourite stories is "The Dream of a Ridiculus Man," by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I'd love to know what you think of it. I am reminded of it because, at the risk of spoiling it; the main character at the end, after a dream which is a revelation of Truth, makes a commitment to dedicate all his life to this, to spreading this truth. The truth is essentially, that we can live in peace in bliss, for he had a dream of an earth-planet where there is no vice, jealousy, desire, but pure love between everyone. And what he is saying is simply that this is attainable, that it the truth he is dedicated to share. And yet, people make fun of him.

I am also not religious, or to be more honest, I am fairly religious, except I practice most religions. I love to worship with all kinds of people! Jews, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists; I have yet to much worship with Muslims but I will in the future. I cannot even say I am closest to any one of these religions. They all work for peace and love.

I would not say that the majority of humanity is serving ignorance. I am within a limited sphere. As you said the Essence of the Soul of the individual human is no different from the Essence of God, I believe this is true also. Sure it is an ideal, but I still work toward it.

Since you have said two important things, firstly that God wishes for humanity to be in peace, and secondly that the essence of being of each individual is the divine soul, I have gone far enough to form a loose opinion that you do not have the motive of power for yourself, but rather for the balance of humanity.

The moderators have given a final warning about this thread, which means it may be closed soon. I hope those who do not like it do not take that as a challenge.

I am not Christian or anything either, but I also take some things from Christianity and the Bible. For instance the verse "Be still, and know that I am God." To me this could be meditated upon for years! From it I get a couple of things.

1: be still. Search for the stillness within. In my experience, my deepest essence is the divine soul, which is a)bliss, existence, truth, but it is also b)complete stillness.
2: have faith. God's character can be revealed through revelation, and through association with saintly persons. Revelation does not occur unless one is already a spiritual person. Not in my experience. If it does it is false, because one's life is false to their true self and to God. God is saying, "Be still, and know that I am God." (have faith) The first part of the injunction is absolutely essential in coming to be aware of the presence of God, and to know, or love God.

So both of these are necessary. Stillness and faith are very powerful weapons. Didn't nearly cover all my thoughts, but I guess I wrote enough. Will post more tomorrow, if those who wish this thread to be closed have graciously restrained themselves.

Riesa

04-10-2009, 01:01 AM

The truth is essentially, that we can live in peace in bliss, for he had a dream of an earth-planet where there is no vice, jealousy, desire, but pure love between everyone.

that is it, so simply. that's why these threads make me crazy, they seem to be all about making one think, or agree with the ideas of the OP. :thumbs_up

I get sarcastic, it's easy to do, but I would be happier if we all thought like that.

2. Christians hate me, and atheists make death threats, I am used to it.

:lol:I seriously have a hard time believing anything you say after this. :lol:

NikolaiI

04-10-2009, 02:23 AM

:lol:I seriously have a hard time believing anything you say after this. :lol:

I understand why you and others react to the poster of this thread.
For me there is no reason to have any anxiety about the poster of this thread. Even if someone gave me anxiety, even if someone posted something I disagreed with, I wouldn't respond in a negative way - not, as far as it goes, directed toward a person. It is not that I would agree with everything they say. But okay, let me please, rational people, state my position. I do not feel anxiety about the poster of this thread being here, discussing the things he is discussiong, but the moment it makes any single person anxious or upset, then at that point I become slightly upset; because to me it is an absolute nothing, a mere curiosity, I do not even fear to engage in discussion with this person you others have reacted negatively towards. I hope every person here will be okay, after they leave here; do no bad, treat others well, be successful and later find peace. I hope they are not too upset if someone says that they also hope they find God.

Riesa

04-10-2009, 02:27 AM

I understand why you and others react to the poster of this thread.
For me there is no reason to have any anxiety about the poster of this thread. Even if someone gave me anxiety, even if someone posted something I disagreed with, I wouldn't respond in a negative way - not, as far as it goes, directed toward a person. It is not that I would agree with everything they say. But okay, let me please, rational people, state my position. I do not feel anxiety about the poster of this thread being here, discussing the things he is discussiong, but the moment it makes any single person anxious or upset, then at that point I become slightly upset; because to me it is an absolute nothing, a mere curiosity, I do not even fear to engage in discussion with this person you others have reacted negatively towards. I hope every person here will be okay, after they leave here; do no bad, treat others well, be successful and later find peace. I hope they are not too upset if someone says that they also hope they find God.

I have no anxiety about the poster of this thread. quite the contrary, I'm amused.

NikolaiI

04-10-2009, 03:04 AM

I have no anxiety about the poster of this thread. quite the contrary, I'm amused.

Okay but even if no one ever threatened his life, or if they did, either way he feels that they have. That they hate him. As any human being would take this world, I would wish them to feel the love of God, since I do believe in God. I wouldn't wish anyone who thought anyone hated them experience anything except the love of God.

Riesa

04-10-2009, 03:15 AM

Okay but even if no one ever threatened his life, or if they did, either way he feels that they have. That they hate him. As any human being would take this world, I would wish them to feel the love of God, since I do believe in God. I wouldn't wish anyone who thought anyone hated them experience anything except the love of God.

hate. I would agree that no one should experience hate, or imagine themselves hated. We agree on many things, Nik. I just don't see atheists making death threats over disagreements with the more religious minded folks of the world.

jon1jt

04-10-2009, 03:58 AM

Okay but even if no one ever threatened his life, or if they did, either way he feels that they have. That they hate him. As any human being would take this world, I would wish them to feel the love of God, since I do believe in God. I wouldn't wish anyone who thought anyone hated them experience anything except the love of God.

Nik I thought you were an Eastern mystic like me. The love of god? I'm starting to have a belly ache. Did you have a conversion I missed? Sigh. All I'm saying is that if you're Christian you can't also into Eastern mysticism. Doesn't work that way, you know that.

NikolaiI

04-10-2009, 05:18 AM

NikolaiI

04-10-2009, 05:35 AM

Nik I thought you were an Eastern mystic like me. The love of god? I'm starting to have a belly ache. Did you have a conversion I missed? Sigh. All I'm saying is that if you're Christian you can't also into Eastern mysticism. Doesn't work that way, you know that.

LOL Sorry, I wrote a whole long post and it got deleted.

Basically, I am Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Islamic. I don't identify with any of these religions more than any other, but I associate with and worship with devotees in all of them. I know perhaps most about Buddhism and Hinduism, I also have a great fondness for Daoism. Love of God comes not chiefly, for me, from Christianity, but rather from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who distributed love of God freely with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and initiated congregational dancing and singing. I have studied Hindu scriptures, though as very little as I have done, significantly more than I know about the Bible, which is just about "slightly above average for the average American."

I believe in God as a Supreme Person, who has different manifestations. One of those is Maya, which is the illusory, material energy of God, which makes us think we are material entities in a material universe. Actually we are in a material universe, but it is completely Maya. There is no Satan in the Universe. Though there are demons and Hells, they are simply illusions. It is certainly a tragedy whenever anybody dies, or suffers, but it is wrong to say they die. They will continue on and inevitably, inevitably - even if they do not improve in their life for the next one, or a hundred after that. Eventually they will experience goodness, and from there they will experience self and God-realization.

That is just the nature of the universe. Not in Atrophy. Not in despair. But in a gradual, residual restoration of Complete Order, Harmony, Perfectness. The gradual slope is directed towards nothing other than the Source of Reality. Creation appeared, and at first it was simply rocks. And then, it became metal. After that came the first life. At some point there were tiny organisms, bacteria. At none of this point had there ever been any suffering. After bacteria came plants, and insects and animals. This happened very recently. Animals have the ability to experience suffering, consciousness, contentment, a wide, very wide variety of emotions. Then the human being, who is able to have self-control, mental discipline, physical discipline, lasting happiness, reason, humour, joy, art, morals, spiriutality, an incredibly vast range of activities. Still, the human being searches. What is it searching for, after food, social interaction, and knowledge? What is it searching for after love? It is searching for spiritual truth.

Like just like a previous change in evolution, there is a possible increase in our abilities, on an evolutionary scale. If you look at at it objectively, there is. To an ape, if you could speak to it, it would be complete incomprehensible if you told it that there would one day be an animal on the earth which could learn to make tools, become the master of his environment, create a moral code and a civilization, and so on. In the same way, there is an evolutionary stage beyond us. And there is no reason it should not be understood accurately from this stage, simply by looking behind us and seeing the pattern, and using that exact match of reason and intuition like we human beings are so uniquely capable of, and understand by that combination, what is the future step beyond us.

grotto

04-10-2009, 08:18 AM

1. If you believe this, would you agree with me that the vast majority of man serves ignorance?

Well, this I agree with! He said “the vast majority of man” not humanity. But then again, no divine intervention is needed to realize this.

I also find this thread humorous, but after having so many of my posts deleted, I gave up.

So with that, my final question in this thread is; If God has come to you, why? Why have you been chosen to tell us? A serious question here. Why you and what is Gods purpose in choosing you to answer these questions? Wouldn’t there be more appropriate people and better ways for God to contact the masses of ignorance? Why does God choose this medium given how miserably it has failed through out history?

Judas130

04-10-2009, 08:52 AM

I am treated more harshly on Christian boards then I am on atheist boards! I have always understood Jesus to be a Professor of Peace and Love, yet it seems that has been forgotten.

*sigh*
this is mankind for you i guess. Its alright for us, signing up here and feeding wood to the fire of discussion, and im certain it wasn't your intention to offend anyone. People have been offended, or choose to personally ridicule, somewhat on the basis of who you claim to be, and It's ridiculous how personal the thread is getting in terms of discarding all that you say on the premise that you have a higher knowledge - and this should be looked past somewhat.
Why can't the ideas of TAB be listened to, as we listen to Blaze or Nik, or even Atheist? One does not simply have to be wearing robes to preach what he/she believes - mankind treats fellow man this way time immemorial: the prophets, Jesus. I understand that TAB wishes to answer questions about God, but why not let him? At the end of the day, we are kindred spirits in our searching and our journey, and we all have minds capable of great discussion, let us not debase ourselves here for our conservative notions.

I hope this post isn't deleted, it is simply a plea for some liberal discussion in terms of this thread. :)

peace.

jon1jt

04-11-2009, 01:17 AM

LOL Sorry, I wrote a whole long post and it got deleted.

Happens to me all the time. The computer gods need to come up with a recovery option when that happens.

Basically, I am Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Islamic. I don't identify with any of these religions more than any other, but I associate with and worship with devotees in all of them. I know perhaps most about Buddhism and Hinduism, I also have a great fondness for Daoism. Love of God comes not chiefly, for me, from Christianity, but rather from Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who distributed love of God freely with the Hare Krishna maha-mantra, and initiated congregational dancing and singing. I have studied Hindu scriptures, though as very little as I have done, significantly more than I know about the Bible, which is just about "slightly above average for the average American."

Nik, excellent post. It's very interesting to hear you appealing to all these religions, which makes me wonder: Have you looked at Unitarian Universalism?

Welcome to Unitarian Universalism!
Unitarian Universalism is a caring, open-minded religion that encourages you to seek your own spiritual path. Our Faith draws on many religious traditions, welcoming people with different beliefs. We are united by shared values, not by creed or dogma. Our congregations are places where people gather to nurture their spirits and put their faith into action by helping to make our communities—and the world—a better place.

There are seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote:

The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
Unitarian Universalism (UU) draws from many sources:

Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit.
Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
These principles and sources of faith are the backbone of our religious community.

http://www.uua.org/visitors/index.shtml

NikolaiI

04-11-2009, 01:58 AM

Happens to me all the time. The computer gods need to come up with a recovery option when that happens.

Nik, excellent post. It's very interesting to hear you appealing to all these religions, which makes me wonder: Have you looked at Unitarian Universalism?

I have heard of Unitarianism, I don't know if it's the same thing. One of my ancestors is Joseph Priestley, who helped found Unitarianism. I don't know that much about though.

TruthaboutGod

04-11-2009, 04:41 AM

hate. I would agree that no one should experience hate, or imagine themselves hated. We agree on many things, Nik. I just don't see atheists making death threats over disagreements with the more religious minded folks of the world.

1. You would believe that religious extremists will commit mass murder and suicide, yet you will not believe that those extremists against religion will not even threaten life?

TruthaboutGod

04-11-2009, 04:54 AM

One of my favourite stories is "The Dream of a Ridiculus Man," by Fyodor Dostoevsky. I'd love to know what you think of it. I am reminded of it because, at the risk of spoiling it; the main character at the end, after a dream which is a revelation of Truth, makes a commitment to dedicate all his life to this, to spreading this truth. The truth is essentially, that we can live in peace in bliss, for he had a dream of an earth-planet where there is no vice, jealousy, desire, but pure love between everyone. And what he is saying is simply that this is attainable, that it the truth he is dedicated to share. And yet, people make fun of him.

I am also not religious, or to be more honest, I am fairly religious, except I practice most religions. I love to worship with all kinds of people! Jews, Hindus, Christians, Buddhists; I have yet to much worship with Muslims but I will in the future. I cannot even say I am closest to any one of these religions. They all work for peace and love.

I would not say that the majority of humanity is serving ignorance. I am within a limited sphere. As you said the Essence of the Soul of the individual human is no different from the Essence of God, I believe this is true also. Sure it is an ideal, but I still work toward it.

Since you have said two important things, firstly that God wishes for humanity to be in peace, and secondly that the essence of being of each individual is the divine soul, I have gone far enough to form a loose opinion that you do not have the motive of power for yourself, but rather for the balance of humanity.

The moderators have given a final warning about this thread, which means it may be closed soon. I hope those who do not like it do not take that as a challenge.

I am not Christian or anything either, but I also take some things from Christianity and the Bible. For instance the verse "Be still, and know that I am God." To me this could be meditated upon for years! From it I get a couple of things.

1: be still. Search for the stillness within. In my experience, my deepest essence is the divine soul, which is a)bliss, existence, truth, but it is also b)complete stillness.
2: have faith. God's character can be revealed through revelation, and through association with saintly persons. Revelation does not occur unless one is already a spiritual person. Not in my experience. If it does it is false, because one's life is false to their true self and to God. God is saying, "Be still, and know that I am God." (have faith) The first part of the injunction is absolutely essential in coming to be aware of the presence of God, and to know, or love God.

So both of these are necessary. Stillness and faith are very powerful weapons. Didn't nearly cover all my thoughts, but I guess I wrote enough. Will post more tomorrow, if those who wish this thread to be closed have graciously restrained themselves.

1. If I showed you something better then faith, would you be interested?

I understand why you and others react to the poster of this thread.
For me there is no reason to have any anxiety about the poster of this thread. Even if someone gave me anxiety, even if someone posted something I disagreed with, I wouldn't respond in a negative way - not, as far as it goes, directed toward a person. It is not that I would agree with everything they say. But okay, let me please, rational people, state my position. I do not feel anxiety about the poster of this thread being here, discussing the things he is discussiong, but the moment it makes any single person anxious or upset, then at that point I become slightly upset; because to me it is an absolute nothing, a mere curiosity, I do not even fear to engage in discussion with this person you others have reacted negatively towards. I hope every person here will be okay, after they leave here; do no bad, treat others well, be successful and later find peace. I hope they are not too upset if someone says that they also hope they find God.

1. "also hope they find God". Remember it is not God that is lost, it is only mankind.(Well some of them anyway.)

Okay but even if no one ever threatened his life, or if they did, either way he feels that they have. That they hate him. As any human being would take this world, I would wish them to feel the love of God, since I do believe in God. I wouldn't wish anyone who thought anyone hated them experience anything except the love of God.

1. God has displayed hate. Jesus had also stated to hate. I will copy and paste some examples from the book:

Here is the other example in
Amos 5:21-22
I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies.
Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will I regard your fattened peace offerings.
*The presentation of piety is futile for the wicked.*

What does God ask of you?
Zechariah 8:16-17
“These are the things you shall do: speak each man the truth to his neighbor; give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; and do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate, says the Lord.”
*God hates the creation of lies and the doing of evil.*

Is this Jesus teaching us to hate? Indeed it is,
Luke 14:26 (Jesus speaking)
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."
*Many will try and convince you that this passage has some other kind of meaning, however if the Truth be told, it does NOT. Your "religious" leader will say this or that in reference to this scripture, these words of Jesus Himself, and your leader will speak in error as even they do not understand. If you love the Spirit then what value can flesh hold? How can you Love flesh if you Love the Soul?*

It is important for us to understand hate, as mankind fears what it does not understand. And to fear hate would be an error, as sometimes man bows to what he fears. You cannot Truly comprehend Love, until you know of hate. When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they had God's Love, yet they knew not of hate, and transgressed due to their lack of knowledge. The key to mastering Love is to know when and what to hate.

Well, this I agree with! He said “the vast majority of man” not humanity. But then again, no divine intervention is needed to realize this.

I also find this thread humorous, but after having so many of my posts deleted, I gave up.

So with that, my final question in this thread is; If God has come to you, why? Why have you been chosen to tell us? A serious question here. Why you and what is Gods purpose in choosing you to answer these questions? Wouldn’t there be more appropriate people and better ways for God to contact the masses of ignorance? Why does God choose this medium given how miserably it has failed through out history?

1. I greatly dislike this question.(It is asked quite a bit.) Copy and paste from the book:

I guess I am kind of "lucky", I mean you do realize that there are people out there today that are living the life that I have lived. I wonder if they will answer the door at all, or simply keep ignoring it until the day they die. Some will even read this book and yet still continue to play the part of a fool. I guess you are lucky as well since God has provided this book to you, in one way or another. YOU have had your warning. I do not feel “special” that God has chosen me to scribe the knowledge and wisdom that is contained in this book, as none of this knowledge or wisdom is mine.

Well… I guess I am done, as God has just explained to me that the only reason I was chosen to scribe this book is because that was the only way I would read it. Yes I am laughing...

At the time, this was at the very end of the book, I was extremely happy to be done, as it took a very long time. So I laughed... It was not until later that I realized that I was chosen due to my own ignorance and rebellion against God. For the first 38 years of my life I claimed to be an agnostic. Hopefully now you understand that I have always rebelled against religion, and God. Therefore the only way I would come to know God, is if He contacted me Himself. There are many that are better blessed then I, as they did not need special attention to accept the reality of Him. So to answer your question: "Because of my ignorance". Sometimes the Truth hurts, yet I cannot change the Truth.

blazeofglory

04-11-2009, 05:08 AM

Everyone has questions, and questions about God are really moving. Of course we have a thousand and one questions.

At times to arrive at answers we need to questions and through questions we are likely to find answers. J. K. Krishnamurti had this methods, and he kept on asking questions, motleys of questions, and he thus could give different explanations with regard to God, creation, truth, salvation and the like.

Through conventional ways we never can arrive at truth, and Krishnamurti suggested we take a new course, untrodden path.

He said most of are violent and our course is a violent one, and indeed we cannot salvage ourselves and therefore we need to be out of the fetters of religions, creeds and the like.

grotto

04-11-2009, 07:43 AM

TruthaboutGod

04-12-2009, 02:48 AM

That I can buy Truthabout god. I feel that is the best response so far, humility is a thing to be individually experienced. Attraction over promotion will find more genuine interest over the standard “I have the answers” any day.

Best of luck to you and your book, maybe if I come across it someday, maybe I will leaf through it. Forgive my skepticism, but I imagine you understand where it comes from. The world, especially the internet, is full of false and wannabee prophets.

HA! Do not think that I am not human, I felt the "power trip" of being a person that speaks with God, however this only lasted for a very short time. God explained to me MANY times that I am no one special, He had stated I could write the book or someone else could, it was of no concern. I also understand that since this knowledge is not from me, how can I glory over the book? This "reality check" hit me rather hard one day when my wife had finished reading it, she had stated that I did not write it.(That really hurt.)

I also understand that some of man will feel happy when he has power over his neighbor. Sometimes it is because of money, sometimes it is because of knowledge, yet it is evil. I am completely apathetic to people, Christians really find this "distasteful". When I explain that I do not care what religion they are, and I do not care if they go to Heaven or Hell, nor do I care if they accept God or deny Him. When I state this they say that I do not "Love", therefore I cannot know the Truth about God. Yet it is because that I respect their Freedom,(God's Greatest Gift to mankind.) that I am impartial. God had given you Freedom, then who am I as a man to voice concern over what you do with it? If you violate man's laws you will be judged by man, if you violate God's Laws, you will be Judged by God, honestly what does this have to do with me?(Unless I am a member of the jury.)

I know I am nothing more then a man, I cannot "save" you,(You can only save yourself.) if you cut me I will bleed, if I lay my hands upon you, you should probably feel offended.(LOL)

Being a skeptic is a whole lot better then the opposite, it is only a shame when one stops searching for the Truth, before they find it. Stay away from religion, what can man possibly teach you about God, that God will not teach you Himself in a much better manner? :)

P.S. I tell people not to worry about the book, wait until it is in a local library and read it for free. I did register it with the Library of Congress, however they are REALLY slow. Also remember I do not have "all" the answers, and there are topics that I will not discuss :)

laidbackperson

04-12-2009, 05:55 AM

NikolaiI

04-13-2009, 12:15 AM

1. God has displayed hate. Jesus had also stated to hate. I will copy and paste some examples from the book:

I disagree with you 100%. God is infinite intelligence and love. I am sorry but I will not read your book. I would encourage you to keep up your search, but look into Eastern religion, and try to keep an open mind. :thumbs_up I don't mean to be condescending or rude to quit our conversation, I do apologize for this. But I am not interested in convincing you very much, but all I can say is that I think you have got it wrong.

TruthaboutGod

04-13-2009, 01:00 AM

Hi, TruthaboutGod

I have few questions, hope you will be able to throw some light:

1. How has Universe come into existence and life evolved in earth? As per Big bang, Darwin and science or as per Bible.
2. What happens when we die? Do we reincarnate again as humans or this is the only life we get?
3. Why women have to undergo intesne labour pain while giving birth to a child, whereas man don't undergo such pain? What was in God's mind here?

1. The Big Bang. This is also explained in the Qur'an. Will copy and paste twice here, once for the Big Bang and once showing evolution in the Qur'an.

Creation

Many people are misinformed when it comes to creation. The “Big Bang Theory” is how existence, as we know it, was actually formed. There was and still is an existence or plane outside of our “atomic structure”. (We normally refer to this as Heaven.) However for us as humans our current surroundings were created out of a “Big Bang” of atomic mass. While many scientists accept this as truth, the question is: “What caused the Bang”?

Newton’s first and third law will help me here explain how the “Bang” happened. An object at rest tends to stay at rest, and an object in motion tends to stay in motion. Since God created the mass of atoms, that mass, even though it is technically in motion as atoms are always moving, was "at rest". If God took no action then that mass would sit there for eternity. For every action there is an equal and opposing reaction, this for the purpose of this book, we will assume as truth.(There are actions without opposing reactions, however that force exists for God’s use and is not important to mankind at this time, nor is it relevant here, it was just mentioned to show that there is still plenty of knowledge for mankind to obtain.) An action was placed upon the mass of atoms to cause it’s massive expansion, that “action” was God’s will. “So be it”, and it was expanded.

That mass continually expanded and still expands today. After an amount of time God created life out of atoms.(Life as in your body, or as in physical life, not the Soul.) Think of an atom as a grain of sand. You can go to the beach and get wet sand and create an image of anything you desire. An atom is God’s “grain of sand” in which He uses to create, in our existence, what He desires. When Adam was first created, he was made up of atoms, and was given a Soul by God. Adam existed in the Garden of Eden, which did exist before in an atomic form. However Eden was removed from atomic form, after Adam and Eve transgressed.

********************

Some scientists and other people feel that mankind had evolved from water.(From the source of a single celled entity that split and evolved over time.) This IS true of early existence, and includes early man in the “animal”(Before acquiring a soul) form.(Genesis 1:20 is before the Creation of Adam.)
Genesis 1:20
Then God said “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the firmament of the heavens”.
*God created physical life from water.*

The Qur’an states this a few times,
Surah 21:30
Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one unit of creation, before We clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?
*God created physical life from water.*

Surah 24:45
And Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills; for verily Allah has power over all things.
*God created physical life from water.*

Surah 25:54
It is He Who created man from water: then He has established relationships of lineage and marriage: for your Lord has power over all things.
*God created the physical body of man from water.*

2. What man created,(the body) is returned to man, what God Created,(the Soul) is returned to God. As far as living again such as reincarnation, this was never discussed, nor is there anything in any of His Words about this.

3. Copy and paste from the book:

A short time later we can see in Genesis that God decides to make Adam a companion,
Genesis 2:18
And the Lord God said “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper companion comparable to him”.
*God created woman as a companion to man.*

Notice it does not say a “submissive” or a helper companion that is “beneath” him. I am not trying to cause conflict here, it is important that men understand that women are companions, not servants. Men should not put women above them or beneath them, as they are still Daughters of God, have a Soul, and will be Judged on Judgment day.

In Genesis it does state:
Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you."
*While it does show a submissive behavior here, remember God's One True Commandment, and the golden rule. Love thy God, Love thy neighbor, Love thyself. A wife is a "neighbor".*

It is obvious that God is punishing Eve for her sin of disobeying God, it just seems that mankind may have taken this a “little too far” in past history. Man today sins just as much as a woman sins.

The Qur’an then shows us the “fall” of Adam and Eve in
Surah 7:24-25
Allah said: “Get you down, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood, - for a time.”
He said: “Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die; but from it you shall be taken out at last.
*You will live on earth for a time.*

I disagree with you 100%. God is infinite intelligence and love. I am sorry but I will not read your book. I would encourage you to keep up your search, but look into Eastern religion, and try to keep an open mind. :thumbs_up I don't mean to be condescending or rude to quit our conversation, I do apologize for this. But I am not interested in convincing you very much, but all I can say is that I think you have got it wrong.

1. You have seen the examples of God displaying hate, and you have also seen Jesus teaching to hate. These are not my words, I encourage you to look up the scripture yourself, if you feel that I have changed anything.

2. God is infinite in Knowledge and Wisdom.

3. I can only search for something that I do not have. As I am not religious, I feel that reading about a religion would not benefit me in any way.

4. No problem, I accept your disagreement.

JBI

04-13-2009, 02:14 AM

I disagree with you 100%. God is infinite intelligence and love. I am sorry but I will not read your book. I would encourage you to keep up your search, but look into Eastern religion, and try to keep an open mind. :thumbs_up I don't mean to be condescending or rude to quit our conversation, I do apologize for this. But I am not interested in convincing you very much, but all I can say is that I think you have got it wrong.

Tell me though, if god is everything, isn't the search for God simply the search for knowledge, or perhaps wisdom. In that sense, no matter which road we go, as long as we try to stay open minded, we would be pushing towards an understand of God, even if we are an atheist. Then, if I understand you correctly, God just serves as a term used to represent the whole - that which is and is not, that which is everything and nothing, that which is time and outside of time, and in a sense, the morality bit, or the "religious" bit seems insignificant in the grand scheme, as does Christianity in a sense, as it is merely limiting the perspective one has on something far beyond that.

In that sense, I would call such a doctrine more toward an humanism than a form of religion. God merely just acts as a substitute phrase, one which really means very little, as it is undefinable. To know God, would be to know yourself, from what I understand, and to know that which is around you. If God is all that, then really God is just a synecdoche for everything.

Am I understanding you correctly?

NikolaiI

04-13-2009, 02:50 AM

Tell me though, if god is everything, isn't the search for God simply the search for knowledge, or perhaps wisdom. In that sense, no matter which road we go, as long as we try to stay open minded, we would be pushing towards an understand of God, even if we are an atheist. Then, if I understand you correctly, God just serves as a term used to represent the whole - that which is and is not, that which is everything and nothing, that which is time and outside of time, and in a sense, the morality bit, or the "religious" bit seems insignificant in the grand scheme, as does Christianity in a sense, as it is merely limiting the perspective one has on something far beyond that.

In that sense, I would call such a doctrine more toward an humanism than a form of religion. God merely just acts as a substitute phrase, one which really means very little, as it is undefinable. To know God, would be to know yourself, from what I understand, and to know that which is around you. If God is all that, then really God is just a synecdoche for everything.

Am I understanding you correctly?

Yes, you are understanding me more correctly. Yet you state that since the term is so vague, it becomes meaningless. But this is a tricky thing yourself to say. Because you just said, "the everything is the nothing," and then you also said, "the everything and the nothing? that is nothing."

I do understand the relevance of the objection that it might be impossible to learn anything about the infinite, if we so define as infinite, because such a phrase as "definite infinite" is absurd. But I never tried to get around this issue, of defining the infinite. I realize it is a bit of a paradox, yet it doesn't really keep me from being attracted toward that infinite. Nor do I think that it can't be learned about, because even in discussing these terms, which mean one thing for you and one absolutely different thing for me, while we are assuming and hoping something of essence or value is communicated; during this we are thinking and shifting our perceptions and ideas. So maybe the infinite is forever away from us, but it is not, exactly, because we are discussing it, and so that means it's connected to us in some way. I have taken the stance; "The infinite, so I cannot define it, I still feel exists and is true. Though it may seem as a light not encompassed, such a fire as would have created a peaceful universe, unable to be viewed by me just as a creature of karma would be unable to reveal the infinite light shining out of the source of all reality; in the form of the infinite truth, the first statement of existence. I cannot view the source of all Spirit because I am a seeming mud-babe constructed of skin and bones, actually containing within me the same seed of that original Source, Creator, or Constructor.

So, "God," as you will call Him, or It, may be a Him, or an It, or whatever, and it doesn't change our role. God is not just "the everything," God is the Designer of the everything. God is not of the same nature as that within the creation. God is not conditioned by illusion. But everything in the creation is conditioned by illusion, the illusion of darkness, or ignorance, of God. God is the source of both material and spiritual worlds - material worlds, those which we inhabit, and spiritual worlds, those worlds contained in the spiritual sky beyond this material universe.

But it was absurd to hear someone say that God experienced hate. God is the Divine, if such a One exists, and if not, then God is the non-dualistic source of reality; which may appear to be Infinite Light, or Spirit. It appears as any of these and is all. In each religion, it is the underlying principle, Dao, God, it is the original source of all which exists. It is Dao, it is God, in Buddhism it is the never-attained ultimate truth. Hinduism perhaps sees God as more truly than any other religion. For Hinduism God is exactly this, the Source, but is also known as the Self, the Lord, Consciousness-Force, Truth-Consciousness, Brahman, Paramatma, the Supersoul, and Isvara, the Supreme Lord. But any one of this is also the rest of them.

Tell me though, if god is everything, isn't the search for God simply the search for knowledge, or perhaps wisdom. In that sense, no matter which road we go, as long as we try to stay open minded, we would be pushing towards an understand of God, even if we are an atheist.

Yes, I agree with this. I hope I didn't respond in too many words. God is not simply wisdom for me, but I don't think necessarily that I will attain God any more likely than an atheist will, unless I happen to. I have already experienced more in my life than I deserve, and if some or any of that was taken away, I wouldn't mourn because I am at peace, no matter whether I live or die or anything else. I believe in God but that is a personal matter. I don't judge anyone for their belief or unbelief, I am on these threads because I'm not afraid of communicating and I wish for all to be comfortable or feel okay doing so.

TruthaboutGod

04-13-2009, 03:28 AM

Tell me though, if god is everything, isn't the search for God simply the search for knowledge, or perhaps wisdom. In that sense, no matter which road we go, as long as we try to stay open minded, we would be pushing towards an understand of God, even if we are an atheist. Then, if I understand you correctly, God just serves as a term used to represent the whole - that which is and is not, that which is everything and nothing, that which is time and outside of time, and in a sense, the morality bit, or the "religious" bit seems insignificant in the grand scheme, as does Christianity in a sense, as it is merely limiting the perspective one has on something far beyond that.

In that sense, I would call such a doctrine more toward an humanism than a form of religion. God merely just acts as a substitute phrase, one which really means very little, as it is undefinable. To know God, would be to know yourself, from what I understand, and to know that which is around you. If God is all that, then really God is just a synecdoche for everything.

Am I understanding you correctly?

1. I am surprised that you posted this. As you did not ask what God's Plan is, I had assumed you already knew it. (C&P)

What is God’s Plan? This question has been asked for ages, and yet mankind feels that it is a mystery. Many people feel that “God works in mysterious ways”, this is really untrue. At all times God knows exactly what He is doing and always follows His Plan. As God created mankind as a companion to God, God’s Plan is to: “peacefully continue the existence of mankind”. As we are God’s Children, He wants us to go forth and multiply in a productive manner. Is this not what you want for your children? Do you not want to see your children grow up and become a productive member of mankind? This is exactly what God wants for His children.(Mankind)

As you can see to rebel against God's Plan is to rebel against man. I am actually surprised by how many religious people do not know God's Plan.(I am not calling you religious, I am just stating that as a fact.) God's Plan was actually the very FIRST Words that He spoke to man: (C&P)

God did tell mankind His exact Plan in His very first words to mankind!
Genesis 1:28
Then God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
* "Be fruitful and multiply is the same as "peacefully continuing the existence of mankind", it is simply a difference of words, however it has the same meaning. That question of God's Plan, which mankind feels was never answered, was answered in the very first words to mankind! The Truth is here, if it is the Truth that you seek.*

Most religions accept the Ten Commandments, yet let us see that they simply promote God's Plan: (C&P)

There is a primary way to decide if an act is sinful or righteous: as any act that is carried out according to God’s Plan is righteous, and any act that opposes God’s Plan is sinful. Go back and read over the Ten Commandments again, you will find that, without exception, every commandment is written to further the existence of mankind peacefully. If you break one of these Commandments you will see that you attempt to retard or oppose God’s Plan. In order to be unabridged and for the sake of this not being misinterpreted or misunderstood, I will go over the Ten Commandments again and explain the relationship to God’s Plan:
Thou shall have no other Gods before me. If mankind believes in more then one God, this causes friction between peoples and is usually an excuse to start conflict. This is extremely obvious in today’s world.

Thou shall not make unto me any graven image. If you create an image that you feel represents God, and your neighbor creates an image of God that is different in appearance, this again would cause a conflict between you and your neighbor.

Thou shall not take the name of thy God in vain. I feel this one is pretty obvious, if you constantly curse and swear against God, then it is obvious that you oppose Him, this does not further the existence of mankind in any way.

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it Holy. Here we see God giving mankind a clear directive; this is to unite mankind into a collective positive behavior. This is also to show gratitude towards God, and to give mankind a break from constant labor.

Honor thy father and thy mother. I am sure you have heard the saying: “A family that prays together, stays together.” Having a strong bond and love between parents and children goes hand in hand with furthering the existence of mankind.

Thou shall not murder. This exactly opposes God’s Plan, instead of taking mankind forward, you are destroying it.

Thou shall not commit adultery. When adultery is committed it does nothing more then create ill will and hatred.

Thou shall not steal. As in the case of adultery, this brings nothing at all positive to mankind, but instead brings ill feelings.

Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor. Lying is deceitful and is usually done out of personal fault. Instead of facing up to the truth the party attempts to lie and tries to hide their own mistakes, this again retards mankind.

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor. Why was this the Tenth Commandment? Because if you look over the other nine you will see that jealousy can cause you to break each and every one of them. Jealousy is the temptation of satan, before a sinful act is committed. Once an act is committed out of jealousy, it almost always results in sin.

JBI

04-13-2009, 08:41 AM

PoeticPassions

04-13-2009, 09:02 AM

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor. Why was this the Tenth Commandment? Because if you look over the other nine you will see that jealousy can cause you to break each and every one of them. Jealousy is the temptation of satan, before a sinful act is committed. Once an act is committed out of jealousy, it almost always results in sin.

Do you mean to say ENVY, or really jealousy? The two are quite different, yet people mistake them sometimes or use them interchangeably.

I am just wondering because I am confused as to how jealousy causes a person to break each and every one of the commandments?

Envy is wanting what someone else has. Jealousy is not wanting others to have what you have (that is simplifying it). I just wanted to clarify what you really meant.

JBI

04-13-2009, 09:14 AM

Do you mean to say ENVY, or really jealousy? The two are quite different, yet people mistake them sometimes or use them interchangeably.

I am just wondering because I am confused as to how jealousy causes a person to break each and every one of the commandments?

Envy is wanting what someone else has. Jealousy is not wanting others to have what you have (that is simplifying it). I just wanted to clarify what you really meant.

The traditional Jewish interpretation is one shall not take steps to get what God hath bestowed upon another, whether by theft, or simply by purchase, as, if God willed it so, you would have it too. The general idea is not so much jealousy as a usurpation of God as the benefactor. In truth, it is said to be parallel to Thou Shalt Not Take My Name in Vain, because in a sense, it is going against God by going against humanity. The 10 laws are often read as opposite pairs within the Jewish interpretation, which I guess gets closer since it is closer to the language.

In truth though, it, I think, gestures back to Cain and Abel, and that is where it comes from. Jealousy is allowed, but a physical act resulting from the jealousy is not allowed.

planet earth

04-13-2009, 05:00 PM

I disagree with you 100%. God is infinite intelligence and love. I am sorry but I will not read your book. I would encourage you to keep up your search, but look into Eastern religion, and try to keep an open mind. :thumbs_up I don't mean to be condescending or rude to quit our conversation, I do apologize for this. But I am not interested in convincing you very much, but all I can say is that I think you have got it wrong.

In this point I do disagree as well with Truth About GOd, but he is only experessing his point of view, through some evidence.

However, in the Quran it has never occurred that Allah, allow me to call Him so, mentioned hate.

The only instance hate was mentioned, was regarding the hypocrites, and even then, Allah only mentioned that what He hated, was the bad actions they did, but never hated them.

Actions that Allah does not like (not hate) are stated as well in the Quran, only to be avoided.

Other wise, Allah, describes Himself as the Intimate, The Amnestor (if I may say so) The Gentle and many other beautiful attributes.

In fact, the shortest way to knowing Him is love. It is inside the heart that your quest does start and it is there that you discover you knew Him.

A mother loves her child only because he stayed 9 months in her womb, God created us with His own Hands.

However, the problem is that His Love should not be taken as a means not to to obey Him that is all.

JBI

I know your comment was to Nik, but I just want to tell you that what you have said is very close to the Truth I know, but (please don't take this as preaching, at all, I don't have the right to). But if I know that there an all-encompassing Divine power one way or another, I don't think then, that atheists would call themselves atheists anymore.

And you know what, that is what I was saying as well, about the thread and how much it is fruiful, that is why. It just makes us unite, by knowing the common grounds, then re-unite by discussing our conflicts. :)

TruthaboutGod

04-14-2009, 12:04 AM

How could I know it? I wasn't there when he created the world. You just blasphemed, according to scripture, by supposing you know the will of God, when, human, you cannot learn the mind of God, since you cannot understand the mind of God, because, well, he's God, according to scripture.

In a sense, that is where theology hits a wall. One can say they know God, but according to the nature of God, as you describe him, one cannot fully begin to understand God. All the bickering, assuming God exists, really reveals nothing. That's why, I think, Theologians debate rather pointless issues, such as the Trinity, or Filioque, because quite simply, when it comes to anything beyond that, assuming God exists, it would be impossible to understand them.

The nature of the universe, from what we know, is already to complex for anyone to even begin to understand. That is just what we know already - within one cell there is more than a lifetime's work. Take everything now, and try to understand that, or try to understand something beyond time, or that is made up of everything, and quite simply, you arrive at no conclusions, because you cannot.

That being said, perhaps the most important thing is knowing one's self, not God. I think that is manageable to some extent, though it is not so easy. Perhaps that is the closest way to find this "God" we hear thrown around so much. But even so, I don't think reading self help books or listening to those who claim to have all the answers works. Even scripture does not have the answers, which can be attested to by the numerous other works of literature, both secular, critical, and religious that have been made after it.

The 10 commandments may show some sort of plan, but really, they only act as basic guidelines. Hundreds of the Old Testament laws have been abandoned. Of the 613, you bring out 10, which aren't even the most important, according to the Jewish interpretation. The Pru Uorvew from Genesis, or "Be Fruitful and Multiply" is generally seen by Jews as being the central command.

Besides which, anyone who knows anything of history, would know that the Sabbath, as you call it, is not a Sunday thing, and implies a day of praying. Somewhere around the 10-11th century (I knew the date but alas, it slips my mind) one of the Pope's decided it would be better to have the Sabath on a Sunday, but i'truth how many really keep it?

Besides which, the 10 commandments are only but one set of rules.

1. 'How could I know it?" It was the very first Words that God said to man in Genesis.

Genesis 9:7 (New King James Version)

7 And as for you, be fruitful and multiply;
Bring forth abundantly in the earth
And multiply in it.”

2. The "Pope" is a religious figure, as I have stated, I am not religous.(I do not know what the Pope even represents or what he says.) As far as your questions goes, I do not know how many people follow the Sabbath. However, it was put here for man, to give man a break from constant labor.

3. I have a question for you though :) Although I do not like discussing religious matters, as I am not educated in that area, what exactly is the Pope suppose to be or do? I thought I had heard that he was supposed to be a "representative" of Jesus on earth, however I am sure this is not the case.

Do you mean to say ENVY, or really jealousy? The two are quite different, yet people mistake them sometimes or use them interchangeably.

I am just wondering because I am confused as to how jealousy causes a person to break each and every one of the commandments?

Envy is wanting what someone else has. Jealousy is not wanting others to have what you have (that is simplifying it). I just wanted to clarify what you really meant.

1. The only "power"(If you want to call it a "power") that satan uses to separate man from God is "temptation". It seems that the vast majority of the time this is done out of jealousy. As far as technical definitions, the word "envy" is found in the definition of jealous, however "jealous" is not found in the definition of envy. Either way man can use either to separate himself from God.

JBI

04-14-2009, 12:10 AM

The Pope, technically, is the Cardinal of Rome. He's supposed, traditionally, to be the keeper of the keys to heaven, and also the leader of all Catholics (in the beginning that referred to a vast majority of Christians, before the East split, and then Protestantism took over). In the past, that put him above most kings, and i'truth he acted quite like a King, Golden palaces and all. Eventually though, the Pope was reduced to what he is now, a more ceremonial figure, similar to the Queen of England, in a sense, who also is a religious icon.

TruthaboutGod

04-14-2009, 12:14 AM

In this point I do disagree as well with Truth About GOd, but he is only experessing his point of view, through some evidence.

However, in the Quran it has never occurred that Allah, allow me to call Him so, mentioned hate.

The only instance hate was mentioned, was regarding the hypocrites, and even then, Allah only mentioned that what He hated, was the bad actions they did, but never hated them.

Actions that Allah does not like (not hate) are stated as well in the Quran, only to be avoided.

Other wise, Allah, describes Himself as the Intimate, The Amnestor (if I may say so) The Gentle and many other beautiful attributes.

In fact, the shortest way to knowing Him is love. It is inside the heart that your quest does start and it is there that you discover you knew Him.

A mother loves her child only because he stayed 9 months in her womb, God created us with His own Hands.

However, the problem is that His Love should not be taken as a means not to to obey Him that is all.

JBI

I know your comment was to Nik, but I just want to tell you that what you have said is very close to the Truth I know, but (please don't take this as preaching, at all, I don't have the right to). But if I know that there an all-encompassing Divine power one way or another, I don't think then, that atheists would call themselves atheists anymore.

And you know what, that is what I was saying as well, about the thread and how much it is fruiful, that is why. It just makes us unite, by knowing the common grounds, then re-unite by discussing our conflicts. :)

1. Woah... I hope no one thought that I had stated that God hates man? I simply quoted scripture. I do hate ignorance, when I find an ignorant man, I only hate the ignorance. The man can always lose the ignorance, however the ignorance will not lose itself.

JBI

04-14-2009, 12:42 AM

Yes, and Hate in the Jewish reading of the Bible is within humankind, not God. Satan, as the Christians read him, is a later creation.

NikolaiI

04-14-2009, 01:30 AM

1. Woah... I hope no one thought that I had stated that God hates man? I simply quoted scripture. I do hate ignorance, when I find an ignorant man, I only hate the ignorance. The man can always lose the ignorance, however the ignorance will not lose itself.

No, but that is not really the issue. I am merely stating at this point, that you and I are coming from completely different perspectives. Like, we might as well be from different planets. I would never take the phrase, "God hates ignorance," or "God hates wrongdoing," as anything other than something which should be ignored. My view of God is the infinite. I have very specific, actually very many also and good reasons for believing in God. But I don't believe in the same God as you do, not in the least. First I am not saying that I understand God fully. But all of my life, experiences, reason, thought, and feeling point to the idea that our universe came from a source, which is the Divine. My idea of the Divine is infinite love and intelligence. But these are just words to describe the infinite energy source of God. I recognize their fallibility. And in so doing, I would, hopefully, say something as woefully self-blind as "God hates wrongdoing."

You quote scripture, and I saw and read the verses you quoted. But your statement is that God hates something, in this case wrongdoing, based on those writings and nothing else. This jars with me a great deal.

I just recently had a conversation with someone who said people on these forums go on to press their own views only. I am more like planet earth and I have seen 90% goodness and maybe 10% waste of time. And I have had great learning and communicating experiences. And I am not trying to press my own views. The reason I come is for the communication, and because I had the experience of switching from atheist to theist, and as this happened I thought to myself, I can help atheists see this too, because this is entirely rational and logical. And yet what you have said isn't rational or logical. You should recheck your premises, in fact at every point in your life you should check what you are saying. And all I would say is, don't repeat something like "God hates wrongdoing," because you read some other person write it down. And yes, that is essentially what the Bible is. I believe in the Divine, and I believe the Divine exists in the heart of every living being; but this doesn't mean that all of the Bible Scripture is divine word. I think there is more revealed divinity in the Vedas, even in Buddhist scriptures, but I don't take anything they say at face value either. I am not saying this to be harsh, but just as advice, educate yourself in more philosophy, and continue your search for truth. Don't take all your answers from one book.

Riesa

04-14-2009, 02:16 AM

1. You would believe that religious extremists will commit mass murder and suicide, yet you will not believe that those extremists against religion will not even threaten life?

I would believe an extremist capable of anything, but that doesn't make them atheist or religious, only extreme.

grotto

04-14-2009, 08:15 AM

I just recently had a conversation with someone who said people on these forums go on to press their own views only. I am more like planet earth and I have seen 90% goodness and maybe 10% waste of time. And I have had great learning and communicating experiences. And I am not trying to press my own views. The reason I come is for the communication, and because I had the experience of switching from atheist to theist, and as this happened I thought to myself, I can help atheists see this too, because this is entirely rational and logical. And yet what you have said isn't rational or logical. You should recheck your premises, in fact at every point in your life you should check what you are saying. And all I would say is, don't repeat something like "God hates wrongdoing," because you read some other person write it down. And yes, that is essentially what the Bible is. I believe in the Divine, and I believe the Divine exists in the heart of every living being; but this doesn't mean that all of the Bible Scripture is divine word. I think there is more revealed divinity in the Vedas, even in Buddhist scriptures, but I don't take anything they say at face value either. I am not saying this to be harsh, but just as advice, educate yourself in more philosophy, and continue your search for truth. Don't take all your answers from one book.

May I suggest that you also take your own advice?

You’re not trying to press your own views? Why do you type then? With well over 4,000 posts and your self imposed virtue of helping atheists see what it is you see, because in your view it’s entirely rational and logical, may I make a small suggestion? Reread the above paragraph as someone who doesn’t believe as you do and explain to me how this would entice anyone to want to hear what it is you have to say? Attraction over promotion will always work better if one is trying to amass disciples, especially of the online illusionary types. :crash:

I may not agree with T.A.G. on his views or his book, but if I see his book, I will pick it up and at least thumb through it. My view isn’t so closed minded that I can’t stand to have it challenged. I’m not a Christian either, but that didn’t stop me from reading St. John of the Cross’s, “Dark Night of the soul”.

You like eastern philosophy, the Vedas and some Buddhist scripture, but to throw a small wrench in the written word hub-bub about “well, it was written so it must be true” garbage, may I impose my own view and suggest a few folks to read up on? All of these to some extent tell you what you can do with the worship of scripture and the attachment to the written word. Hui-Neng has a very nice way of recycling too! :D

Benkei
Lin-Chi
Ikkyu
Chung-Tzu
U.G. Krishnamurti
Layman P’ang
Ryokan
J. Krishnamurti
Bodhidharama
Hakuin
Hui-Neng

Mathor

04-14-2009, 12:04 PM

theists and atheists are alike in that they BOTH press their views on to others.

NikolaiI

04-14-2009, 12:20 PM

let me rewrite this, hold on..

Grotto, let me first say, I am human. I am not perfect, I am fairly good and I have good qualities and I know what they are. But I know I am not perfect. But, I am not defensive about what you said, either. You didn't change my opinion. But you don't know my opinion, not the very slightest bit of my opinion. You may think you do, but you have got it wrong.

This is my situation: I do not have any situation. I not have any desires, dogmas, or agendas. What I know about myself is that I am a finite living entity, in a finite, temporary, universe. I am searching for peace. I know that I have memories of experiences which are not describable in words. I know that from that time, I have thought about these experiences and meditated upon them quite a lot. When I had them I wrote about them, and I still have those writings. I've written many, many things about philosophy, but I don't post most of them. I don't know that these things are real, except for the fact that I experienced them, and I remember experiencing them.

I won't ever forget what I experienced, and I won't forget the commanding nature of the experience; which was an urgency to get this message across. In fact I had such a desire to talk and explain it, and yet the message was in its nature unexplainable. As I wrote the last sentence, I remembered what it was but then forgot. The nature is timelessness, eternal, unborn existence, actually, divine consciousness. Realiziation of one's place as the same in nature to the whole universe. Nothing in the universe ever dies.

You may not believe me, but this is why I am at peace with my knowledge of this world, and its denizens, including authors of the caliber you mentioned; Sri Aurobindo, Sri Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda... What is important for me is living life; this forum is secondary. But they are connected in that I am as truthful as I would be in real life. I would not tell you anything different from me in real life. I don't act different, at least I try not to. Anyway, about the subject at hand, I have experienced, word for word, descriptions for instance in Alan Watts, which was after my experience seeing it in buddhist terms. With Alan Watts, he was just describing in words what he had experienced; which was, that "the sure foundation on which I sought to stand has turned out to be the very center from which I seek." This would not be beneficial, except that it is true. Actually then Watts says, "The elusive substance beneath all the forms of the universe is discovered as the immediate gesture of my hand." What Watts is experiencing is the divine consciousness. I had this in terms of divine vision. At the beginning I was meditating, and the meditative state came upon me quickly, and I paused, and it paused and receded, and then I let myself fall, or I threw, myself into it. Then I felt, just like I went through thousands of lives of karma, sort of like the weight of the world disappearing or sloughing by me, and all of this served, sort of each "life" going by, served to make me feel lighter. Until I absorbed into this expansive "lightness," and I kept being absorbed by these different images. I had this experience a few more times, also one of the very first things I went through and realized, was my own personal illusion. Then I sort of went through the personal illusions of every other type of being, each of which gave me a sort of expansive lightness, which was merely another illusive form of the previous form, and which was also empty; which I also absorbed... It was incredible. Then a little bit later, I simply had this intense desire to share this revelation; because as the first part of it, which had also shared this desire to tell everyone about it, was simply realizing my own personal illusion. So how lucky I was to realize my own illusion and realize that the rest of this is illusion.

After this I began to see things in terms of Buddha-lands, Buddha-nature, and a Lotus, which was made up of innumerable Buddha-bodies and Buddha-lands. I dwelled on this for quite a while, and there was nothing deeper than this. The nature of all the forms of the universe were like this. I myself was like this and when I saw this, my Buddha-nature, I fell into it, and then I held the wheel of dharma in my hand. I know these words might seem cliched, I don't know how else to say it. I held the world, the universe, in my hand. Power is only a matter of consciousness. The only power of intelligence is to let go of all power, always give it away. If we have some compunction about it. The only intelligence is to be at peace, regardless of power, regardless of any kind of material wealth or any other. If we are peace despite if we are healthy/sick, rich/poor, intelligent/unintelligent, then we will be at peace always.

So my divine vision was seeing this Buddha-nature, and then experiencing my own. This is why I am more likely to respond to someone's "visions" of the divine, than I am someone describing something out of a book.

grotto

04-14-2009, 01:54 PM

Judas130

04-14-2009, 04:27 PM

let me rewrite this, hold on..

So my divine vision was seeing this Buddha-nature, and then experiencing my own. This is why I am more likely to respond to someone's "visions" of the divine, than I am someone describing something out of a book.

Wasn't gonna quote it all, but this was a beautiful post. In the abstract all is possible, but do you place your heart in it, or apply it to the physical, to analyse? I have had periods, when i used to pray, of experiencing calamity and...this awareness of placing myself within the abstract, trusting concept instead of what lay outside my closed eyes. It has been proven with some amount of experiments that people who pray are using more of their cognitive ability in the process than those who do not, and I have strong hope that the mind is a very powerful instrument, capable of influencing the physical to a degree.
Yet, what i'm dying to ask you here is what is the method used in your meditation? I understand meditation as a deep relaxation, yet i am unaware of much else to it - so, what are you searching for in your consciousness when you meditate, or when you did?
peace

sorry, the above question is aimed at Nik ;) to avoid confusion

NikolaiI

04-14-2009, 07:51 PM

You are free to believe anything you like, it doesn’t matter to me.;)

I do not believe nor hold any belief; I question everything and will continue to do so until there are no more questions. I’ll keep watching this thread until I see if T.A.G. gives me something more than scripture quotes. Who knows, he may indeed have a small piece of the puzzle, maybe I will get another question to ask out of it.

Those who know, do not speak
Those who speak, do not know

Endless verbiage just seems to enforce this.:D

Yes, I just think it is ironic how often you say things like, "it your belief which is keeping you bound," when you don't know anyone on here personally or their personal karmic state. :)

And also, when I quote Vivekananda, you say my doing detracts from my originality or takes me away from truth, and yet you then put a list of 10 persons which I should read to educate myself.

I believe that people can be bound, too, for instance; addicts. But I am not going to say, nor would I for many reasons I can think of, say that an addict is bound, to them or about them, in any case. I am not their healer, not qualified, nor asked for. I have my own ideas about spiritual growth, which is in effect discipline, healing, and spontaneous happiness, and other things. I am not afraid of communicating about these things, and I think you are a bit hung up on other people thinking the way you do - always questioning; but also accusing others of being close-minded, conditioned, or "bound." I believe in bondage/freedom, but I don't say that others are bound. On the contrary, my position is that everyone is destined to be free, to be liberated. I am trying to explain that reality, or the source of reality - sort of a "higher" reality -, is the nature of bliss, knowledge, etc. If one attains balance and perfection, then one is at peace.

Lao Tzu - I believe it is Lao Tzu you quoted, correct?- did not say that quote to prevent people from using words in communication. Did he not also say, "an integral man sees without seeing, knows without knowing"?

NikolaiI

04-14-2009, 08:10 PM

Wasn't gonna quote it all, but this was a beautiful post. In the abstract all is possible, but do you place your heart in it, or apply it to the physical, to analyse? I have had periods, when i used to pray, of experiencing calamity and...this awareness of placing myself within the abstract, trusting concept instead of what lay outside my closed eyes. It has been proven with some amount of experiments that people who pray are using more of their cognitive ability in the process than those who do not, and I have strong hope that the mind is a very powerful instrument, capable of influencing the physical to a degree.
Yet, what i'm dying to ask you here is what is the method used in your meditation? I understand meditation as a deep relaxation, yet i am unaware of much else to it - so, what are you searching for in your consciousness when you meditate, or when you did?
peace

sorry, the above question is aimed at Nik ;) to avoid confusion

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti :)

My practice of meditation includes walking meditation, breathing exercises and meditation, mantra meditation, with different mantras, including "Om Namo Bhagavate," "Om Namo Naranaya," "Om Namah Shivaya," "Hey Govind, Hey Gopal," "Govinda Hare Gopala Hare," etc., also Buddhist mantras such as the Medicine Buddha Mantra, "Om Tayata Bekandze, Bekandze Maha Bekandze, Randze Samungate Soha," the Amitabha Buddha mantra, "Namo Amituofo," "the jewel in the lotus," or "Om Mani Padme Hum," the Prajna-Paramitam, the White Tara Mantra, and so on.

Also many prayers and songs in Hindi and Bengali. All of these mantras are very powerful for peace, happiness, success, healing, etc.

Meditation can be an effective and transformative tool. Even stillness meditation can be trasnformative, although it is not easy to see how it is transformative at first. A lot of it has to do with becoming aware. As soon as we become more and more aware, we need to do less and less, because we make adjustments automatically by being aware. Being aware is the first step and probably the simplest one of the positive effects of meditation. We have to live our lives and make positive efforts, but if one lives correctly, one can attain effortlessness. I am still a novice in meditation.

For me, meditation is also about bliss. It's hard to explain. For two weeks I lived in the asrama of the Radhe-Krishna temple here. During this time was chanting the maha-mantra 16 rounds a day, each round consisting of 108 repetitions; I also sang morning prayers and afternoon prayers and learned new prayers about every day. I studied the Vedas and other spiritual literature, and did service several hours a day as well, such as cooking and cleaning usually. Devotional service; service done with the goal of advancing spiritual life, and devoid of attachment to result - done for the benefit of the Lord, or of the servant of the servant of the servant of the Lord.

Anyway to cut a long story a bit shorter; there was another prayer we chant often, "Nama om visnu-pradaya krishna presthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktivedanta svamin iti namine," followed by a bit more.. anyway, we chant it often, and one time I was sleeping on the bed, which was not a mattress but wood covered with a thin padding for bed... much less "comfort" but actually quite comfortable once you get used to it; and I was falling asleep or had just woken up from a few minutes of a nap, and I chanted this and simply fell into a state of bliss. I'd not really experienced anything just like this.

TruthaboutGod

04-14-2009, 11:03 PM

You are free to believe anything you like, it doesn’t matter to me.;)

I do not believe nor hold any belief; I question everything and will continue to do so until there are no more questions. I’ll keep watching this thread until I see if T.A.G. gives me something more than scripture quotes. Who knows, he may indeed have a small piece of the puzzle, maybe I will get another question to ask out of it.

Those who know, do not speak
Those who speak, do not know

Endless verbiage just seems to enforce this.:D

1. I do not see any questions being asked, however I would just like to make a point. As God's Greatest Gift to mankind is Freedom, man is free to believe or disbelieve anything he wishes. He can be an atheist, a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim, etc... He can even be a monkey worshipper; Although we evolved, I do not see why someone would want to worship what we have evolved through, however it is still our Freedom to do so.

2. The point is...(Drum roll?) A belief or a disbelief cannot change reality.

3. There are things that I know that I will not speak. And I am sure there are things I have said in the past that I did not know.(Not in reference to the book however.)

4. Asking questions is a sign of intelligence, as it is a desire for knowledge. Man will only retard himself when he stops asking questions.

P.S. You wanted a quote... How about a quote about an ***? (C&P)

The Qur’an even equates a man losing his temper to the braying of a donkey, although you may find this comical, it is the Truth,
Surah 31:19
“And be moderate in your pace, and lower your voice; for the harshest of sounds, without doubt, is the braying of an ***.”
*A man in anger that lashes out, is a donkey in the dress of a man.*

For many years I wore the dress...

planet earth

04-15-2009, 02:31 AM

1. Woah... I hope no one thought that I had stated that God hates man? I simply quoted scripture. I do hate ignorance, when I find an ignorant man, I only hate the ignorance. The man can always lose the ignorance, however the ignorance will not lose itself.

Well I am afraid you I think you were misunderstood.
But yes, what you've explained here is what should happen, hate the wrong deed and not the doer.

Thanks for the clarification

Nikolai,

Well, I believe, Allah does not like ignorance, envy, and so one for His Worshippers. In other words, He would not be content to see one of His worshippers stealing, he does not like stealing for them because He loves them.

There is a very slight line between what you stated and this post I think. But I really hope get this right.
To assert in the Arabic text, the word does not like is used and not hate.

TruthaboutGod

04-16-2009, 09:23 PM

theists and atheists are alike in that they BOTH press their views on to others.

1. I do not force anything upon anyone, I only answer questions :) I have no authority to overide your Freedom.

TruthaboutGod

04-18-2009, 01:06 AM

No, but that is not really the issue. I am merely stating at this point, that you and I are coming from completely different perspectives. Like, we might as well be from different planets. I would never take the phrase, "God hates ignorance," or "God hates wrongdoing," as anything other than something which should be ignored. My view of God is the infinite. I have very specific, actually very many also and good reasons for believing in God. But I don't believe in the same God as you do, not in the least. First I am not saying that I understand God fully. But all of my life, experiences, reason, thought, and feeling point to the idea that our universe came from a source, which is the Divine. My idea of the Divine is infinite love and intelligence. But these are just words to describe the infinite energy source of God. I recognize their fallibility. And in so doing, I would, hopefully, say something as woefully self-blind as "God hates wrongdoing."

You quote scripture, and I saw and read the verses you quoted. But your statement is that God hates something, in this case wrongdoing, based on those writings and nothing else. This jars with me a great deal.

I just recently had a conversation with someone who said people on these forums go on to press their own views only. I am more like planet earth and I have seen 90% goodness and maybe 10% waste of time. And I have had great learning and communicating experiences. And I am not trying to press my own views. The reason I come is for the communication, and because I had the experience of switching from atheist to theist, and as this happened I thought to myself, I can help atheists see this too, because this is entirely rational and logical. And yet what you have said isn't rational or logical. You should recheck your premises, in fact at every point in your life you should check what you are saying. And all I would say is, don't repeat something like "God hates wrongdoing," because you read some other person write it down. And yes, that is essentially what the Bible is. I believe in the Divine, and I believe the Divine exists in the heart of every living being; but this doesn't mean that all of the Bible Scripture is divine word. I think there is more revealed divinity in the Vedas, even in Buddhist scriptures, but I don't take anything they say at face value either. I am not saying this to be harsh, but just as advice, educate yourself in more philosophy, and continue your search for truth. Don't take all your answers from one book.

1. I know what the problem is here, however it will be difficult to explain. However I believe I can explain it through your own words. You have stated that God is infinite.(Or this is how you see Him, correct me if I am wrong.) If God is infinite, that you cannot exclude anything from God. If you have an infinite amount have numbers and you subtract the number "8", do you still have an infinite amount of numbers? Of course not. So if you feel that God is infinite, how can you subtract the knowledge of, or the expression of, hate? It seems obvious that you are a "good natured" individual, however God IS infinite. How could God Judge a hateful person if God does not know of hate?

2. Remember I am not religious, I am not trying to get you to a religion, nor am I trying to force you to see the Truth. I am just trying to explain it so there is no misunderstanding. Quite a few Christians fall into the trap of "Jesus" being a "goody-two-shoes", that is not how Jesus was, but that is what they want to believe. I can only encourage you that if you are going to accept the reality of God, it is best to accept all, instead of only a part.

3. If you understand what I am trying to explain, yet you disagree, that's cool. It just seems like you feel that I make God out to be "hateful". God is not hateful. In my opinion, God has given more Love to mankind then it deserves.(That is just my opinion.)

NikolaiI

04-18-2009, 01:49 AM

1. I know what the problem is here, however it will be difficult to explain. However I believe I can explain it through your own words. You have stated that God is infinite.(Or this is how you see Him, correct me if I am wrong.) If God is infinite, that you cannot exclude anything from God. If you have an infinite amount have numbers and you subtract the number "8", do you still have an infinite amount of numbers? Of course not. So if you feel that God is infinite, how can you subtract the knowledge of, or the expression of, hate? It seems obvious that you are a "good natured" individual, however God IS infinite. How could God Judge a hateful person if God does not know of hate?

2. Remember I am not religious, I am not trying to get you to a religion, nor am I trying to force you to see the Truth. I am just trying to explain it so there is no misunderstanding. Quite a few Christians fall into the trap of "Jesus" being a "goody-two-shoes", that is not how Jesus was, but that is what they want to believe. I can only encourage you that if you are going to accept the reality of God, it is best to accept all, instead of only a part.

3. If you understand what I am trying to explain, yet you disagree, that's cool. It just seems like you feel that I make God out to be "hateful". God is not hateful. In my opinion, God has given more Love to mankind then it deserves.(That is just my opinion.)

Yes, I think you have got it quite wrong, but I will not bother you any more. I think you should give up these ideas, and try to start always with a blank slate. Life is a mixture of learning and teaching, and I think you have closed off the learning part, which means you need it ever so more. Learn about Buddhism, for example. A great part of Buddhism is "non-attachment." Not being attached to ideas, for instance. I sincerely or heartily recommend you to Buddhism. Then Daoism. Then Hinduism. And don't separate yourself from others so much. But these are my parting words. Reply or not it's up to you; however, I won't see your reply. May you find peace.