What, in your view, is God about?

[On the Inside]

No, no, no. The mirror is going to reflect back what it sees. If a person "sees" what they want to see, that is in their own mind and not reality.

Now you're getting somewhere. But I would question the bit about what we see in our own mind is not reality.

In a previous post I mentioned a mirror as a detection device, I say that a human being is a very elaborate detection device, we have our senses. But we also have a powerful ability to interpret what we detect. Both our senses and our interpretations work to distort reality to a lesser or greater degree, we can't help it. There is distortion. But some of what we sense and our interpretations of it are truly real.

 

[Grumpy Cat]

Wrong, no light, no reflection. Even night goggles require light.

You know, Mr. Taurus, that I forgot to put something back in that "Romance" thread - it's very romantic to let the female always be right. Haven't you ever heard the saying "Female always right, then no fight"? (Ha! That's an Angie Original)

 

[Harrison]

You know, Mr. Taurus, that I forgot to put something back in that "Romance" thread - it's very romantic to let the female always be right. Haven't you ever heard the saying "Female always right, then no fight"? (Ha! That's and Angie Original)

You're right Ms Taurus

 

[Warmheart]

Somebody in Logical Aspie Land is gonna throw a net over me! I have since babyhood always sensed a caring presence nearby, associated mainly with nature. The reason I cannot define this, is because it has nothing to do with my head or thinking, only a sense.. of a warm, attentive presence. Being in the woods really intensifies this feeling. It's always there. I am often distracted away from noticing it. I sense some of this in my friends, in the grass, stones, animals. I feel, I sense.. I don't think, in regard to this.

So I have no idea if this may be a supreme being, something within natural energy, or simply our collective unconscious. Truly, no idea. Only a sense of a presence that I have always felt. I am comfortable in not trying to define it.

When I am grateful (which is often and always), I will sometimes address this sense of presence as God. It just doesn't feel like it fits in the same box my upbringing tried to teach me it did.

 

[JCPHN]

God, or labelling the creative/destructive metaphysical presence throughout the universe as such, is simply a way of applying human characteristics to a concept which all of us are aware of yet none of us understand, much less agree upon. It's a way of putting a face on something, et cetera. By that logic, I would say you could label me as an agnostic, but I hate labels, so to me I'm a believing non-believer, haha. I think the existence of God is something you can believe in or choose not to believe in, but you can't prove or disprove it. For me, religion and atheism tend to look very similar, and generally annoy me for similar reasons.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I kind of like this article, although it expresses only a small part of what I think about God.
Aquinas Proves Atheists Are Closer to God Than They Think | Catholic Answers

 

[AutumnRed]

There's been a good thread here, asking whether or not we believe in "God". I thought it might be interesting to ask the next logical question: What do we think God is about?

For example, not for answering, explicitly: Are we made in God's image? Where is God? Of what is God made? Does God care about God's creations? At what level of interest? Does God judge us? What about? Does he play favourites? Is he the gatekeeper of the eternal, just a keeper [sans gate duty], or merely a resident? Are we part of him, or separate? How can we communicate with him? Should we? How can we ever know any of this? Should we?

It's funny, if I believed everything I read in books about Asperger's Syndrome, I would have expected this thread to be dominated by rampant atheism. When I was 30 I gave myself a real headache trying to prove the existence of God to myself, because I felt that sure that there was one. An interesting but wholly inconclusive exercise. Now, to try and answer you questions:

Are we made in God's image? : We are probably the closest God has got to expressing Itself fully in the physical world. Or, I don't know!
Where is God?: It is likely that God is omnipresent, but I think he's hiding.
Of what is God made?: Of particles ultimately unobservable in the external world due to prejudices obfuscating the eyes of the observer, ten trillion times smaller than quarks, is my guess.
Does God care about God's creations?: Not in the way we think about caring, but we are critically important to God.
At what level of interest?: Quite a lot, we are her ultimate and only experiment.
Does God judge us?: No, not at all, judgement is probably a human conception based on human ideals, of which God only entertains a passing interest.
What about?: 73!
Does he play favourites?: It very much bloody well seems that way! The only thing my sister had to do for my mother to buy her a house, was to get pregnant to an ex-con. How can God allow this?!
Is he the gatekeeper of the eternal, just a keeper [sans gate duty], or merely a resident? : That is well out of my ability to comprehend!
Are we part of him, or separate?: Definitely part of.
How can we communicate with him?: By attempting to interpret our dreams and fantasies, and then honouring them in the physical by symbolic ritual.
Should we? : There is no greater purpose!
How can we ever know any of this?: Because when God is present, doubt is impossible. You can't rationalise or practice reductionism on a truly numinous experience. So when you know, you KNOW!
Should we?: Oh hell yes!

God seeks to understand his creation through us, (probably) the only beings capable of observing the universe, and then asking why. I reserve the right to be wrong about this.

Thanks for asking these questions, answering them was fun! Iron Maiden rules \m/

 

[Nitro]

The presence of God is a belief in what could be considered a fictional character in books with little factual evidence to back said character or the books up.
A belief is only real to the one it matters to and should not be snuffed to use as tool for conformity. I play the agnostic-theist card when it comes to religion,because there is far too much order in our existence for it to all have occurred randomly. There is little proof that any of the religious events have ever played out for me to choose a following or even name a figurehead. What happens if the figurehead doesn't like the name I chose,let alone reside in a human form...what happens if I piss it off?

I believe in spiritualism and a oneness with nature,not dressing up and putting on an air that my belief is the only one and yours is wrong.


The look at religion in the first of the Zeitgeist series of movies was a real eye-opener for me...please throw your stones lightly

 

[Maelstrom]

[QUOTE="Nadador, There's been a good thread here, asking whether or not we believe in "God". I thought it might be interesting to ask the next logical question:[/QUOTE]
1: What do we think God is about? Getting joy from caring for others, see my do you believe in God posts.
2:Are we made in God's image? Yes, but since he's likely radio active and glows in the Dark, likely in shape only.
3:Where is God? in Zion in Orion constellation for now.
4:Of what is God made? How should I know, dark mater?
5Does God care about God's creations? Yes see 1:
6:At what level of interest? Stupid, risked his son life. maximum
7Does God judge us? Yes but to see if we can survive immortality.
8Does he play favorites? Probably less than you.
9:Is he the gatekeeper of the eternal, Yes Book of life, records your brain and body for cloning.
10:Are we part of him? do you glow in dark?
11:How can we communicate with him? any way, use smoke signals if you want, Yes you should, he is the gate keeper of eternal.
12:How can we ever know any of this? Well I have had run-ins with both kinds of Angels is that good enough for you? Could say more.
........................................................
Hi So now I'm baffled, I get sanctioned in the do you believe in God thread for showing how I came to believe his existence was logical, and here's another God thread. So I answered a few of your questions hopefully you don't find them too offensive.

 

[NewOldAspie]

That's not true, Mr. Taurus. The reflection is still there you just wouldn't be able to see it unless you were wearing night goggles. So there.

If you stretched the bandwidth of light from New York to San Fran, the width of the visible light band would be the width of a dime!

 

[Randomperson]

God is whatever god is, religion on the other hand is all a load designed to enslave the zealous to the leadership of a handful of people. So I for one do not participate in religion.

 

[Balkan1996]

Well, I'll go first. I have to admit I really wanna know why the Jews are God's chosen people. Why not me or all of us, I mean? I figure I'm just supposed to accept it.

I think nobody believes that anymore, except the zionists.
I read the whole Bible and found out there are many wrong historical facts in the Old Testimony. You have to understand that politics and power have always been inside our minds.

 

[epath13]

If God does exist we shouldn't be able to comprehend him/ her/ it. If you want to travel through the insanity of my perception of God - take a look at my book... in a couple of years from now... my book just like the god in it, exist and doesn't exist at the same time

 

[Nadador]

Well, I'll go first. I have to admit I really wanna know why the Jews are God's chosen people.

That’s a common misreading, your question about Jews being the “chosen people”. All it means is that the Jews were chosen for that particular covenant, at that particular time. Got that explanation from a former rabbinical student, along with the note that a broader interpretation has helped the Jews survive more than their share of tragedy. I'll give them that one.

Do you have any that it is?

Didn’t your last conversation along this line result in a breakup?

That's not true, Mr. Taurus. The reflection is still there you just wouldn't be able to see it unless you were wearing night goggles. So there.

Arguing with an Aspie is futile. Arguing with a Taurus Aspie is fatal.

god, (lowercase intended) is the force of creation, from which all things have sprung. Good, evil, beauty, conflict. Mud, flowers, impatience and eternity.

Only we humans choose to bicker about it.

Gorgeous.

I don’t like the bickering, but I do enjoy the exploration, and discussion. There are few forums where I would feel safe to ask the question. Cheers, Aspies.

Everybody should be able to believe what makes sense to them.

Amen to that.

Neti Neti

bhavatah vacanam satyam

 

[Nadador]

…(edit) So I have no idea if this may be a supreme being, something within natural energy, or simply our collective unconscious. Truly, no idea. Only a sense of a presence that I have always felt. I am comfortable in not trying to define it.

When I am grateful (which is often and always), I will sometimes address this sense of presence as God. It just doesn't feel like it fits in the same box my upbringing tried to teach me it did.

It seems you’re about where I’m at. The God I was raised on was much more defined that the force to which I am sensitive now. He wasn’t a bad chap, at least not the way He was taught to me. But years of contemplation in the wilds have found me doubting that anything I learned before could possibly be accurate. The energy I feel around me now is much more extraordinary, and much more humbling, in part because I don’t feel humans are special to it. I find that liberating. Because I don’t feel beholden to it, I don’t feel a particular need to know what it’s all about. Just thought it would be interesting to discuss.

God, or labelling the creative/destructive metaphysical presence throughout the universe as such, is simply a way of applying human characteristics to a concept which all of us are aware of yet none of us understand, much less agree upon. It's a way of putting a face on something, et cetera. By that logic, I would say you could label me as an agnostic, but I hate labels, so to me I'm a believing non-believer, haha. I think the existence of God is something you can believe in or choose not to believe in, but you can't prove or disprove it. For me, religion and atheism tend to look very similar, and generally annoy me for similar reasons.

Nice summary. I could say a lot in response, but I’d have to say all of it to say any of it, so I’ll just leave it there.

It's funny, if I believed everything I read in books about Asperger's Syndrome, I would have expected this thread to be dominated by rampant atheism.

Where is God?: It is likely that God is omnipresent, but I think he's hiding.

Hiding everywhere. Fitting.

I’ve been surprised by how many people of devout faith I’ve been finding here. I actually think that’s a good thing. I would hate to see us all too uniform in our beliefs. It would make me doubt us, somehow.

Glad you enjoyed the exercise.

I believe in spiritualism and a oneness with nature, not dressing up and putting on an air that my belief is the only one and yours is wrong.

The One True Religion position has always fascinated me, as any of us could have been born anywhere, into any faith. It all seems too random for such certainty. At least for me. I don’t begrudge others their own views on the matter.

Hi So now I'm baffled, I get sanctioned in the do you believe in God thread for showing how I came to believe his existence was logical, and here's another God thread. So I answered a few of your questions hopefully you don't find them too offensive.

Not offensive at all. An invitation to all comers is an invitation to all opinions...as long as things stay peaceful. Sorry I missed your post in the other thread. Sounds intriguing, but perhaps you’d better not re-post it.

God is whatever god is, religion on the other hand is all a load designed to enslave the zealous to the leadership of a handful of people. So I for one do not participate in religion.

This isn’t a thread about religion, actually. I wouldn’t dare start one. I honestly don’t care what religion, or anti-religious view, people subscribe to. I’m more interested in what they believe, as within every religion there is vast diversity of convictions. I’ve found it better not to exclude any individual’s perspective based on the umbrella under which they stand. One can miss out on profound insights that way.

 

[StephF]

I think God is an invention created so that people can exert social control and try to create guilt where it is not appropriate.

 

[Maelstrom]

[QUOTE="epath13, exist and doesn't exist at the same time [/QUOTE]

Hmmm! Haven't seen the book so can't speak to it. I am a little puzzled by the Pantheism in this thread, so if God is in everything?, and you just dropped pants in a outhouse, what is about to happen??
Sorry! exaggeration is sometimes required to make a point.
Personally I think God may eat plutonium frosted cheerios for breakfast, but is as real as the chair your sitting on. Weather he can outsource his mind is another question? I do think he understands the natural laws of the universe down to the last drop.
On the chosen people thing, I am a son of Adam who is a relative of those who walk in the halls of God, nobody has a edge on me, unless they are nicer.
So now that I'm down to a janitor for a friend, I will sing...A cup of hemlock for meee!...A cup of hemlock for meeeee!

 

[Nadador]

I think God is an invention created so that people can exert social control and try to create guilt where it is not appropriate.

Depends on the god. In my travels, I've learned of many deities who can't really be used for that purpose. Mostly from tribal cultures few people have probably ever heard of. Hmm. Perhaps that's why few people have heard of them.

I like many indigenous gods, because they are more for explaining natural phenomena and allowing for communication with those. The only gods I tend to have problems with are the ones that are believed to take sides between humans. Having said that, the Christian God I was raised on, the way I was raised to conceive of Him, wasn't really one to do that sort of thing. So even a Western god can be a good egg, depending on who's doing the teaching about it. I have experience of religionists who don't care a whit about social control, but granted, they are few and far between.

 

[On the Inside]

I play the agnostic-theist card when it comes to religion,because there is far too much order in our existence for it to all have occurred randomly.

I think along these lines, too. Even though I know time and space are in some way infinite, and within that understanding of infinity, anything is possible, it does appear too ordered to be completely up to chance. But perhaps we've just spent enough time hashing it out to tidy things up a bit. That is why I like discussions like this.

The energy I feel around me now is much more extraordinary, and much more humbling, in part because I don’t feel humans are special to it. I find that liberating.

I've felt that energy when I was meditating regularly and most at peace. It was humbling, being aware of this great energy, knowing I was part of it, yet not being able to identify it in any way. And by not identifying it, I was in no way claiming it, it was for all beings, all matter.

 

[wyverary]

I'm glad of the direction this thread has been going so far, but as always with threads of this nature, as a mod I have a duty to jump in and remind everyone to keep it respectful and mindful of our official forum rules.