posted August 19, 2011 10:56 PM            

I agree to the above.

Please share your Views.

posted August 20, 2011 10:16 AM            

It is said God is as near as our juglar vein.

God is both Tanzih - the unknowable, transcendent God/Being and

Tashbih - the manifested, imminate, personal God/Being

In the Perfect Human (Jesus), there is a perfect experience of BOTH realities at the same time. One is not give a preference over the other. They are balanced and integrated.

Tanzih in Tashbih and Tashbih in Tanzih.

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Submit to Love without thinking, as the sun rose this morning recklessly, extinguishing our star-candled minds.

posted August 20, 2011 12:26 PM            

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It is said God is as near as our juglar vein.

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posted August 20, 2011 08:36 PM            

'Course not all manifestations of God/dess are good to us to be around, such as erupting volcanoes (though they provide a lot of good).

Luckily I don't see God/dess as some genie or guardian spirit the way some others do. If I did I'd be seriously creeped out by the things God/dess allows to happen, who just WATCHES.

But speaking of omniscience, it's a conundrum of many forms of Christianity to believe that God is BOTH all knowing and yet also all powerful but still allow evil to afflict the innocent, especially to those who pray to him for deliverance and protection (and even on holy ground including churches), though some chalk it up to God "allowing free will." 'Course the Bible doesn't help when it talks of God interfering with free will, sending lying spirits to those He doesn't like (like 2 Chronicles 18:21), and changing the hearts of people he wants to damn (even making people gay as explained in Romans 1: 26-27). But since I'm not a Christian I can just shrug such disturbing views off and not worry about issues like omnipresence.

posted August 20, 2011 11:22 PM            

Therefore, when we are speaking of people who talk about spiritual things—claiming to have regard for God—but never permit that spiritual orientation to affect day-to-day life, we are speaking precisely of the condition God calls ungodliness. It is not, therefore, an accusation or diatribe to be called ungodly, but a simple acknowledgment of our true state.

posted August 20, 2011 11:25 PM            

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Originally posted by juniperb:
Greetings rajji,

It is said God is as near as our juglar vein.

God is both Tanzih - the unknowable, transcendent God/Being and

Tashbih - the manifested, imminate, personal God/Being

In the Perfect Human (Jesus), there is a perfect experience of BOTH realities at the same time. One is not give a preference over the other. They are balanced and integrated.

Tanzih in Tashbih and Tashbih in Tanzih.

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posted August 21, 2011 12:40 AM            

Many are good, decent people who are nice to others and are emotionally and mentally stable. They care about others. They're not "angry with God" anymore than they're angry with Santa Clause.

Scandinavian countries are made up about half of unbelievers and they're doing pretty well and show a lot of social responsibility.

Likewise, religions like Christianity has produced some of the most immoral and reprehensible behaviors possible, from inquisitions to mind boggling tortures (that outdid even the Nazis) to horrendous war crimes this day (such as in Serbia). Today many who are angry and get violent claim to believe in God. Many even cover up sexual abuse in the church they know about. And I've lived in the East Texas Bible Belt and seen how Christians can squabble, bear false witness, and be hostile to those of a different belief (even a different denomination), be prone to anger (and violence), and living in total hypocrisy. The entire state is pretty much run by the Bible and they're among the highest in teen pregnancy and teen STDs among other problems (and I think other Bible Belt states are right up there with them) while San Francisco has a lot less teen pregnancy and teen STDs.

posted August 21, 2011 01:42 AM            

. Difference in Knowledge
A gnostic atheist not only believes there are no gods, he also claims to know there are no gods.

An agnostic atheist doesn’t believe in gods, but doesn’t claim to know there are no gods.

2. Difference in Affirmation
A negative atheist merely lacks a belief in gods. He is also called a weak atheist or an implicit atheist.

A positive atheist not only lacks a belief in gods, but also affirms that no gods exist. He is also called a strong atheist or an explicit atheist.

3. Difference in Scope
A broad atheist denies the existence of all gods: Zeus, Thor, Yahweh, Shiva, and so on.

A narrow atheist denies the existence of the traditional Western omni-God who is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful.

4. Difference in the Assessed Rationality of Theism
An unfriendly atheist believes no one is justified in believing that gods exist.

An indifferent atheist doesn’t have a belief on whether or not others are justified in believing that gods exist.

A friendly atheist believes that some theists are justified in believing that gods exist.

5. Difference in Openness
A closet atheist has not yet revealed his disbelief to most people.

An open atheist has revealed his disbelief to most people.

6. Difference in Action
A passive atheist doesn’t believe in god but doesn’t try to influence the world in favor of atheism.

An evangelical atheist tries to persuade others to give up theistic belief.

An active atheist labors on behalf of causes that specifically benefit atheists (but not necessarily just atheists). For example, he strives against discrimination toward atheists, or he strives in favor of separation of church and state.

A militant atheist uses violence to promote atheism or destroy religion. (Often, the term “militant atheist” is misapplied to non-violent evangelical atheists like Richard Dawkins. But to preserve the parallel with the “militant Christian” who bombs abortion clinics or the “militant Muslim” suicide bomber, I prefer the definition of “militant atheist” that assumes acts of violence.)

7. Difference in Religiosity
A religious atheist practices religion but does not believe in gods.

A non-religious atheist does not practice religion.

Of course, there are many more “kinds” of atheism than this, for one may be a Republican atheist or a Democratic atheist, a short atheist or a tall atheist, a Caucasian atheist or an Hispanic atheist, a foundationalist atheist or a coherentist atheist, an enchanted atheist or a disenchanted atheist etc etc.

Yes I was talking Of a Particular kind since any one of a kind cannot be ruled out.

posted August 21, 2011 10:44 AM            

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Originally posted by Voix_de_la_Mer:
I have never been able to come to an interpretation of god that made sense to me. And as time goes on, I find the whole concept of god unnecessary. Things that people attribute to god, I attribute to life. Perhaps it is just a case of semantics. Also, I don't always feel the need to have a name for the things in life that go beyond my realm of understanding, I only feel the need to be aware of them.

Not sure if any of this makes sense, it's hard to put into words.

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posted August 21, 2011 02:06 PM            

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Originally posted by rajji:
If God were everywhere, then that means He would be located in Hell,inside Sinners,Atheists and in filthy places like toilets and brothels etc. That is blasphemy. God is All-Holy. He is not within His creation. He is Transcendent. He does not need to be omnipresent in order to be Omniscient. His Presence is beyond the creation, above His throne.

I agree to the above.

Please share your Views.

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He is omnipresent. There is nothing linear. So he cannot be above. That is just our way of putting it in words inorder to milestone our spiritual progress. He is MACRO and MICRO so WITHIN and WITHOUT. So he will be in holy waters as well as in s**t or rather the holy water or s**t is made of him. There is actually no such thing as matter. Only vibrations. Even an atom has a lot of space. So there is nothing so gross as we see it. Its just a matter of perception. Its all there only we are not aware. An Indian saint Meerabai was given poison by her brother-in-law (who was opposed to her) saying that it was holy water. She drank it. And it indeed got converted to holy water. She survived. Another instance she was given a snake in a basket saying that it was a garland for her lord. She accepted it. And when she opened the basket for removing the 'garland' lo! there was a garland inside and she offered it to her lord. Another veg eating saint was once given non-veg which is a big No No here for some caste people. He was given that as 'prasad'(anything, usually edible, that is first offered to a deity, saint, Perfect Master or the Avatar and then distributed in His name). It became sweetmeat. So he is everywhere even in inanimate things. So many times i handle my PC or any other machine with love and if it has stopped it starts working. Why? Do i make it work. No. Even things, not only plants have life. And life responds to love.

posted August 21, 2011 02:27 PM            

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Originally posted by rajji:
The spirit of Godliness and the love of God and the yearning for God, these are the noble things, and to have a spirit willing to accept the things of God is the most rational choice.
There is nothing noble about ungodly(sinful) thinking and ungodly hoping. Ungodliness brings nothing with it but hardness and ruthlessness and ruin and desecration of the earth, which, along with the unreasoning irrationality of godless thinking and godless hoping, only demonstrates how destructive ungodliness really is.

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All this is absolutely right. But humans themselves have chosen to experience all this. And GOD has given us the choice so? What do we do? WE CHOOSE. And one things leads to another. What we want we get. So simple. So if one really thinks all this is miserable then he/she goes back. That is towards the source. And if he/she thinks they enjoy it then they experience it. Then life goes on from one experience to the other. The play goes on. What YOU CHOOSE is what matters to YOU. All spiritual inclined ppl go through this frustration. The frustration of this 'world being a hopeless place to live'. This very frustration helps them to move fast toward the goal via the inward journey by retracing their path to the source. For some world could be the most beautiful place to live in. Destruction is a part and parcel of GOD i.e. creation (Generator), maintenance (Operator) and destruction (Destroyer).

Don't worry! We can always choose to be born in a better place. There are n number of choices of places like different earths, universes, parallel universes, different frequencies where we could choose to be born the next time, if we so desire.

posted August 21, 2011 02:55 PM            

And just to be clear I see many good Christians. My granny is one. Another is a Russian babushka who went through what most wouldn't imagine in their worst nightmares and yet was loving and understand to all. It's an interesting observation to me that those who are busy with loving others are generally too busy to be condemning and persecuting them (and vice versa).

Back when I was a volunteer helping the poor and homeless I found some who were interested in starting a Bible study so I gave them the help they needed and they got a group together. They were mostly good people and the couple of bad apples weeded themselves out. I recall one was saying gays deserved to be put to death as commanded by the Bible and the group responded with other verses about judging others bringing judgment on one's self, all have sinned and in need of God's love, etc, and he was on the verge of violence as he left. Eventually the group found out I wasn't a Christian and they were loving to me, saying that since I was helping the less fortunate and made their Bible study possible that God was with me even if I didn't see their god in the same way as they did.

posted August 22, 2011 06:08 AM            

just when you assume that God is not present in some places or with certain people then you are admiting that God is limited (i.e. he has physical limits) and thats goes against my beliefs..

posted August 22, 2011 06:39 AM            

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Originally posted by abcd efg:
Thats why i am weary of religion. Same things happen here also in all the religions. Religion is a path to GOD if followed with proper spirit. But ppl mostly forget the spirit with which the path is to be followed and stick only to the structure. Its like a body without life in it.

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You know the same can be said of politics, they eventually become an empty structure devoid of life.

posted August 22, 2011 08:34 AM            

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Originally posted by Venus:
oh but God IS omnipresent, the main falacy as i believe is that we have come to regard God as an entity, a man perhaps(?) with a face sitting on a throne in the sky.. the odds are when you pray to God you visualize an old man with a long white beard looking over you, (perhaps a man that resembles Zeus?!)
god has no limits, then how can he not exist in some places, he is the whole, he has no beginning no end

just when you assume that God is not present in some places or with certain people then you are admiting that God is limited (i.e. he has physical limits) and thats goes against my beliefs..

sinners and atheists are God's creation as well, ofcourse he is withen them.. God loves man even more than man can love himself..

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posted August 22, 2011 10:05 AM            

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Originally posted by Venus:
abcd are you familiar with the Druze faith?

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