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I wanted to simply start by saying something... anything really. God exists. Any responses?
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Re: Theology 101
Sun, December 7, 2003 - 7:59 PMI am still stuck at the question on whether or not *we* exist. The arguments for either side are very reasonable and I find myself flip-flopping, to the point that if I stand really still and not breathe, I begin to disappear. Actually, I don't really think I do.
Perhaps, a good question would be what is God?
Yours,
-A. -
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Unsu...
Re: Theology 101
Thu, December 11, 2003 - 11:38 AMI Googled "what is god?" and of course they're tons of stuff out there. This link seems interesting: mind-brain.com/god.php.
Here is Websrter's definition:
Main Entry: 1god
Pronunciation: 'gäd also 'god
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German got god
Date: before 12th century
1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: as a : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe b Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind
2 : a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship; specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality
3 : a person or thing of supreme value
4 : a powerful ruler
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To bring the question closer to home thought, my question is: Why ask why? Where does the inquiry come from to begin with? Why does it matter? What is the value in knowing what God is or if there is God?
What, if anything, in your life/reality suggest that there is a God? -
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Re: Theology 101
Thu, January 15, 2004 - 3:45 AMdontcha think that God created us to seek him/her/it out.? Isn't that the age old struggle between free will and creator's will.?
sometimes my whole life looks God driven.. other days I'm far far away.. =]. -
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Re: Theology 101
Thu, January 22, 2004 - 8:13 PMYes, it's the Dance of Shiva. :)
I recommend mysticweb.org. They offer free courses on astral projection, self-knowledge, and the journey to enlightenment.
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Unsu...
Re: Theology 101
Wed, February 11, 2004 - 6:31 AMI was at the library and I stumbled-briefly- upon a autobio of Madeline L'Engle
you know, the famous young adult sci-fi fantasy writer?
and she said that as humans we miss the whole point of our 'search' for god
we ask the wrong questions
like why and how and what
we don't content ourselves with simply experiencing god
and all that has been created.
I really should have paid more
attention to the writing but i was looking for a Ginsberg book
Still, i kind of see her point
we spend all this mental energy for what?
what, through intellect has been proven/disproven concerning god -since the begining of History?
if anything, intellectually dis/proving god has resulted in more bloodshed than anything else
hmmm
Another writer(Scott Helpern)
states that god is not to be understood, god is to be apprehended
get the dif?
we use our intellect
but rely very little on intuition or 'sensing'
and by sensing i dont mean the five
but rather that uncanny sixth
the one that lets us know when something isnt quite right
the one that suggests that i save some info on my computer
and i blow it off thinking
yeah, but i'm just going upstairs for a second
and then the power goes out!
what the hell is that?
im sure you all have your experiences with those kinds of incidents
but isnt it funny how we just blow them off
and get back to the 'real' stuff?
like this writing that i'm doing right now? -
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Re: Theology 101
Wed, February 11, 2004 - 6:41 AMIt's interesting you should mention this, Matt. The faculty you are speaking of is called intuition and we may increase our perception of it by vocalizing the O mantra (O as in more) for 15 minutes to an hour a day.
We exist in a moment but most of us live in a dead past and invented future. However, when we live in the awareness, we will start to see the true nature of things. This is how life should be lived -- moment to moment. That's all there is! -
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Unsu...
Re: Theology 101
Wed, February 11, 2004 - 8:18 AMIn some respects I agree with you but in others well...
Bruce Cockburn once sang that we all keep our "memories like boats in tow'
and according to sociologists, we keep our memories as 'engrams' tiny encapsulated bits of past experience- we are shaped by past experiences and we carry our past with us into our future.
it's fortunate or unfortunate that we operate like this
fortunate because as the ancients belived with their ancestor worship, we are a connected chain , only a link in the overall scheme of things and what our ancestors did, and what we now do affects future offspring. You can see this in a practical sense with the Kennedy family. Past fortune equals future opportunities
in the unfortunate, we all know what it's like to be dragged down by the undertow of past negative experiences
I know some who are actually crippled by them
I myself, well, I have moments
but we cannot shake off our past no matter how much we whistle in the dark
it is
and so it stands
but as the book of ecclesiastes states -in a loose paraphrase
"a wise person will come forth with both"past and future
each connected to the other.
am i making any sense? -
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Re: Theology 101
Wed, February 11, 2004 - 9:29 AMJesus said, "I took my place in the midst of the world, and I appeared to them in flesh. I found all of them intoxicated; I found none of them thirsty. And my soul became afflicted for the sons of men, because they are blind in their hearts and do not have sight; for empty they came into the world, and empty too they seek to leave the world. But for the moment they are intoxicated. When they shake off their wine, then they will repent."
We are connected to the past because we were the past. This body is one of many that we have had over the ages. Of course, when I say we, I mean something deeper than what we commonly think of as ourselves. It is that aspect of our Being, our Divine Essence, which carries on and collects its experience. Through this experience, it gains knowledge of the mysteries of nature. All of creation is simply a means to the end of God Realization.
Jesus said, "If the flesh came into being because of spirit, it is a wonder. But if spirit came into being because of the body, it is a wonder of wonders. Indeed, I am amazed at how this great wealth has made its home in this poverty."
Too often, men are preoccupied with hopes of tomorrow and longing for yesterday. Attachments, attachments, attachments. This is what rules them.
The Fool (Canto V) --
60. Long is the night to a sleepless person; long is the distance of a league to a tired person; long is the circle of rebirths to a fool who does not know the true Law.
62. "I have children, I have wealth," thinking thus, the fool torments himself. But, when he is not the possessor of his own self, how then of children? How then of wealth?
-- Lord Buddha
We need to let go of attachments.
Jesus said, "If you do not fast as regards the world, you will not find the kingdom."
We must learn how to "read the moment."
They said to him, "Tell us who you are so that we may believe in you." He said to them, "You read the face of the sky and of the earth, but you have not recognized the one who is before you, and you do not know how to read this moment." -
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Unsu...
Re: Theology 101
Wed, February 11, 2004 - 11:50 AMI think I agree with alot of what you're saying- I don't know where you got the jesus quotes from other than a gnostic translation. However, some of your stuff is just a bit too esoterical.
I mean you quote Buddha but Buddha really didn't -someone correct me here if I'm off- or wasn't concerned with anything other than the true self that true self being the self that exists in- well pardon me for being anthropomorphical here- some other plane of spac, out there.
I am talking about the western view of self. The individual self
and the experiences both past and present that make it what it is.
I have a hard time buying into the Buddhist mentality especially when coupled with the teachings of Jesus (no gnostical Jesus) as they are so much opposites - even though they are both 'eastern' philosophies.
Also, some of your reasoning is a little vague
what are you trying to say with the 'Flesh born of flesh bit ' then morphing to attachments (buddhistic)
However, yes it would be nice to 'let go' of attachments
but, this is an impossibility for the western mind
even in the eastern way of thinking why was it necessary for the Monks in Tibet to own all of the land?
Why do zen masters commit suicide?
of course all this why why why dosnt answer anything does it?
I am soooo digressing here!
in summation:
All flesh is grass (check)
Attachments, worldy goods suck in the long run, but in the immediate, they sure look nice in our apartments and houses! (check)
Today is tomorrow's yesterday (check)
And you cant leave the past behind cause no matter where you go...
I'd like to end with this quote:
"It is the Glory of God to hide a matter, and it is the glory of Kings to search it out"
Keep plugging -
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Re: Theology 101
Wed, February 11, 2004 - 12:34 PMJesus was a gnostic and his teachings are in accordance with most eastern philosophies. Why people defend anything other than a gnostic Jesus makes no sense to me. Invoke Jeshua Ben Pandira in the astral and then tell me what you think he came to teach. :) -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.Unsu...
Re: Theology 101
Sat, February 14, 2004 - 6:33 PMhey man
I dont need to defend
but I'm not buying what your selling
thats all -
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Re: Theology 101
Sat, February 14, 2004 - 6:38 PMThe search for truth is far more important than a subscription to any particular belief system will ever be. To each his own. :) -
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Re: Theology 101
Sun, February 29, 2004 - 7:11 AMNeither will vain arguments.
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Re: Theology 101
Tue, March 2, 2004 - 6:30 PMKurt Vonnegut said (I don't remember what book) that God is like a big balloon, and things/people are like fingers stuck into the balloon. We meet on the inside, and are the sense organs of "God". Our job is to be the "eyes, ears and concious of the creator of the universe"
I like this. It creates a connection with God and a connection with each other. -
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Re: Theology 101
Thu, March 18, 2004 - 6:36 PMSo...God is like a condom we all get to feel in touch with each other, through its barrier?
Or like meeting with the stars, encapsulated in a space suit...so close, yet so far...
Got to love that Vonnegut family.
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Re: Theology 101
Tue, February 24, 2004 - 3:45 AMI think so too. For me, the question is over how much I think I am really seeing of this god that exists. While still in seminary, I have found my God to become more real by understanding what others have seen, especially those outside of my own Christian undergirding.
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Re: Theology 101
Sun, September 5, 2004 - 12:00 AMI totally agree. I have moments when I just know God exists. I have many moments of doubt but the moments of belief are much more memorable.
