Do you see Nature as being part of God ?

[michel]

Sunstone's thread "God, Man And Nature" seems to show that many members feel 'closer to God' when immersed in nature............away from concrete etc.

I guess an immediate question arises "Do you see Nature as being part of God ?" I must admit that I do; I believe Nature is the only 'visible' manifestation of God. I believe that nature is "part ofGod."

 

[Sunstone]

It's my feeling that if deity exists, then all things are deity and deity is everything. That seems to me to make intuitive sense.

 

[Random]

The believer says "I believe IN God", the unbeliever says "There is NO God", but the mystic says "There is ONLY God". So yes, of course Nature is part of God and God is in Nature, both Human and Wild, but He is within and without it: He contains and transcends Nature @ once, so He is Nature but not identical to Nature.

 

[Sunstone]

The believer says "I believe IN God", the unbeliever says "There is NO God", but the mystic says "There is ONLY God". So yes, of course Nature is part of God and God is in Nature, both Human and Wild, but He is within and without it: He contains and transcends Nature @ once, so He is Nature but not identical to Nature.

If I go by my own intuitions, God and Nature are identical. But those are only intuitions and your own mileage may vary.

 

[Random]

If I go by my own intuitions, God and Nature are identical. But those are only intuitions and your own mileage may vary.

Ah, but then you asume the uncreated eternality of nature by identifying it exactly with God, which is pantheism. Correct? Do you suppose Nature like God is sentient or Sapient? Does your intuition say the Earth is a living God or a dead, inanimate one?

 

[Scuba Pete]

God created all of nature. Of course we are going to see his fingerprints all over his creation. One of my favorite scriptures:

Psalm 107:24 They saw the works of the LORD,
his wonderful deeds in the deep. NIV

 

[Sunstone]

Do you suppose Nature like God is sentient or Sapient? Does your intuition say the Earth is a living God or a dead, inanimate one?

My intuition doesn't take me that far. Does yours?

 

[darkpenguin]

personaly i feel that nature is "god" in it's own right and whats with refering to god as "he"? to be honest i don't think a male deity could make something as beatiful as mother nature did so it makes logic sense that if there were a "god" he would be a she!but thats just my 2 cents!

 

[Random]

My intuition doesn't take me that far. Does yours?

I think too much.

 

[retrorich]

God is a work of fiction. It can contain anything the authors wish it to.

 

[darkpenguin]

God is a work of fiction. It can contain anything the authors wish it to.

true very true!

 

[Laila]

Muslims believe that God created everything and everything belongs to God. In nature we see the signs of God.

 

[michel]

Do you know, I expected to be ridiculed by members for the suggestion. I can be really surprised sometimes.

 

[ayani]

Muslims believe that God created everything and everything belongs to God. In nature we see the signs of God.

this is how i feel as well.

in the natural world, in birth and dying, i see the works of God.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Sunstone's thread "God, Man And Nature" seems to show that many members feel 'closer to God' when immersed in nature............away from concrete etc."

Flies feasting on feces, insect infested rot under the fallen tree, noxious swamp gas, unfeeling predation, the metastasis of cancer cells - most people wax poetic about feeling more spiritual when "close to nature" but are fairly selective about the slice of nature to which they're referring. Such is always the case with human associations and projections.

 

[kai]

Flies feasting on feces, insect infested rot under the fallen tree, noxious swamp gas, unfeeling predation, the metastasis of cancer cells - most people wax poetic about feeling more spiritual when "close to nature" but are fairly selective about the slice of nature to which they're referring. Such is always the case with human associations and projections.

what he said, nature is not always about baby lambs frolicking in the sun

 

[painted wolf]

yes, you can not seperate creator from the creation.

ps. I had fun once watching flies eat a dead mole at a local 'bog' (actually its a fen). I find the cycle of decay and reabsorbsion of elements a fascinating thing. The fact that everything is just a cycle of moving atoms from "live" to "dead"... that for a living thing to survive it must break down other living things... I could wax poetic on death and disease.: hamster :

wa:do

 

[Mr. Hair]

Flies feasting on feces, insect infested rot under the fallen tree, noxious swamp gas, unfeeling predation, the metastasis of cancer cells - most people wax poetic about feeling more spiritual when "close to nature" but are fairly selective about the slice of nature to which they're referring. Such is always the case with human associations and projections.

An interesting post, and one which reminded me of a tale told by friendly ol' Chuang Tzu;

Master Tung Kwo asked Chuang:
"Show me where the Tao is found."
Chuang Tzu replied:
"There is nowhere it is not to be found."
The former insisted:
"Show me at least some definite place
Where Tao is found."
"It is in the ant,"said Chuang.
"Is it in some lesser being?"
"It is in the weeds."
"Can you go further down the scale of things?"
"It is in this piece of tile."
"Further?"
"It is in this turd."
At this Tung Kwo had nothing more to say.
But Chuang continued: "None of your questions
Are to the point. They are like the questions
Of inspectors in the market,
Testing the weight of pigs
By prodding them in their thinnest parts.
Why look for Tao by going 'down the scale of being'
As if that which we call 'least'
Had less of Tao?
Tao is Great in all things,
Complete in all, Universal in all,
Whole in all. These three aspects
Are distinct, but the Reality is One."

...

Tao produces both renewal and decay,
But it is neither renewal or decay.
It causes being and non-being,
But is neither being nor non-being.
Tao assembles and it destroys,
But it is neither the Totality nor the Void.

(This is, however, the abridged version. Chuang Tzu's friendliness doesn't extend to my typing fingers... )

 

[Random]

Flies feasting on feces, insect infested rot under the fallen tree, noxious swamp gas, unfeeling predation, the metastasis of cancer cells - most people wax poetic about feeling more spiritual when "close to nature" but are fairly selective about the slice of nature to which they're referring. Such is always the case with human associations and projections.

So carrion, decay, foul stenches and creeping things are part of Nature, sure. But memory is a filter for such experiences: tell me, have you ever scented of an absent rose? I mean, literally, smelled the scent of a rose when one is not present or near? OR seen beauty in death, which is really just Transformation? God lets us know the imperfect is Perfect in its own way: because you can't make it not die, smell, or decay. It's just the way its supposed to be: this is the feeling Wild nature offers the spiritualist.

There are two ways to view Nature: the Romantic way or the Classical way. In this I'm channeling Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The romantic sees the underlying reality of the thing and either loves or hates it in equal measure. The Classicists, of which our friend Jay is most certainly one, takes a dissected, remote intellectual surface-view of it and tries to reconcile his or her feelings with or against it. Both are valid mode of thought, but spirit = awareness, and although everyones consciousness differs each has the same potential to make a connection through Reality and Nature to God.

 

[Willamena]

Sunstone's thread "God, Man And Nature" seems to show that many members feel 'closer to God' when immersed in nature............away from concrete etc.

I guess an immediate question arises "Do you see Nature as being part of God ?" I must admit that I do; I believe Nature is the only 'visible' manifestation of God. I believe that nature is "part ofGod."

I don't see natural things (meaning things that develop without intelligent intent) as a part of god; rather, god is a part of them. God is a part of everything, natural and otherwise.