here's different thinking about god, you've never heard

[slowbreath]

I am not a follower of the Christian, Mormon, Jewish or Muslim paths, and nor do I believe in the historicity of the Bible or believe in the Biblical conception of God that one obtains from reading the Bible literally. I'm what I call a Dharmic syncretist: I follow Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism. At the same time.

If I did believe in such a God, I would view him to be an asura, though. An asura is a sort of "materialistic/foolish god", if you will, so in a way.

However, this doesn't mean I think any of those who use or believe in the God of the Bible are worshipping an evil or nonexistent entity, though, only that these events if taken literally. Most people I have encountered, however are knowledgeable enough to know that they are myths that have a symbolic purpose. I find the Jewish interpretation of the Bible to be the best, and I do like Jewish philosophy.

My own God, though, I have no maltheistic beliefs. My God is love. My God is the essence of sat-chid-ānanda: truth, consciousness, and bliss.

do you have any links on jewish philosophy?

 

[slowbreath]

My own beliefs about the nature of God---benevolent vs. malevolent and sadistic--- depends a lot on what kind of a day I''m having.

now that is interesting! your mood influences the type of god you believe in. i have to admit that i have experienced this phenominon.

have you been able to come to any sort of a conclusion concerning god?

 

[Breathe]

do you have any links on jewish philosophy?

I can suggest you speak to a few of the Jewish members on RF. We have some great Jewish members. They will be able to provide you far better sources than I. Hop on over to the Jewish DIR to learn more about it.

 

[slowbreath]

AKA a stinking British hippie!

As to the OP, I think notion of good and evil is a mistake. There is nothing that is explicitly good or evil. G-d is omnipotent, but what He does does not necessarily make Him evil because we are only human and we can only judge and see things from our narrow perspective, whereas G-d's is infinite.

nothing is explicitly good or evil? this interests me........are you saying that nothing is good or evil from mankinds perspective or gods? if it is from gods perspective, then how could one assume to know anything about gods perspective from what you call a narrow human perspective?

 

[slowbreath]

Whoaaa man, why all the haaaate? The universe is inside us both, maaan.
Whoa.. I have hands.

*stares at them vacantly*


Um. I'm running short on hippie-like things to say.

to be fair, he didnt say he hated him, he just said he stunk, and a persons body odour is not a true felextion on their philosophy.

 

[slowbreath]

For me God is pantheistic. God = here, now. No judgments, no petty jealousy, only the moment as it is. There's not much else I can add to that since "God" is just a word. The truly supernatural cannot be expressed intellectually, you can only have guide posts. Unfortunately Christians think the finger pointing at the moon is the moon.

youre going to have to dumb it down for this farmboy, you lost me with most of that.

 

[slowbreath]

I can suggest you speak to a few of the Jewish members on RF. We have some great Jewish members. They will be able to provide you far better sources than I. Hop on over to the Jewish DIR to learn more about it.

how do you get to the Jewish DIR? what is the Jewish DIR?

 

[xkatz]

nothing is explicitly good or evil? this interests me........are you saying that nothing is good or evil from mankinds perspective or gods? if it is from gods perspective, then how could one assume to know anything about gods perspective from what you call a narrow human perspective?

I am trying to say that in the grand scheme of things, there really is no "good" or "evil" period. We as human beings though, with only limited perspective, tend to label things as intrinsically good or evil.

 

[Breathe]

how do you get to the Jewish DIR? what is the Jewish DIR?

Simply click on the title up top (religiousforums logo) or go to religiousforums.com

Then scroll down to Discuss Individual Religions. Then you will see Abrahamic Religions DIR. Then click Judaism DIR.


Or go here: Judaism DIR - Religious Education Forum

Just remember, DIRs are a bit different: you're limited to respectful questions in there, no debating or answering questions if you aren't a member of that faith.


Hope that helps.

 

[Quagmire]

now that is interesting! your mood influences the type of god you believe in. i have to admit that i have experienced this phenominon.

have you been able to come to any sort of a conclusion concerning god?

No, but I think this approach has shown me something about myself.

 

[slowbreath]

No, but I think this approach has shown me something about myself.

what have you learned about yourself?

 

[no-body]

youre going to have to dumb it down for this farmboy, you lost me with most of that.

In more simple terms I think most religions idolize a person and/or book instead of God even if they claim otherwise because of that person and/or book.

 

[Quagmire]

what have you learned about yourself?

That my convictions are malable and subject to emotions.

The great thing about that is it helps remind me not to take them or myself too seriously.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

If man is made in god's image, then it's safe to assume he's probably kind of a jerk.

 

[Quagmire]

If man is made in god's image, then it's safe to assume he's probably kind of a jerk.

The true jerk is the person who thinks he's the only one made in God's image.

 

[slowbreath]

That my convictions are malable and subject to emotions.

The great thing about that is it helps remind me not to take them or myself too seriously.

i want to know one of your convictions..........any one will do, and by conviction i mean some principle that you feel so strongly about that you would almost die for, or maybe you would die for it.

 

[Quagmire]

i want to know one of your convictions..........any one will do, and by conviction i mean some principle that you feel so strongly about that you would almost die for, or maybe you would die for it.

Well there's the rub: one of my core beliefs is that we humans don't know or understand ourselves nearly as well as we would like to think we do. given that, I could say I would lay down my life for this or that belief, but if someone were to put a gun to my head and ask me again I can't say in all honesty my answer wouldn't change.

In reference to the topic: my most consistent beliefs regarding God and "His" nature in descending order of conviction would be:

--"He" exists
--"He" involves Himself with humans
--"He" has our best interests at hear
--Everything He does or lets happen serves a purpose.

And by "belief" I mean: a hope that via experience evolved into a suspicion that subsequently evolved into something somewhere between a suspicion and a conviction.

That applies to everything except the first thing on my list: that one is an unqualified certainty for me.

 

[cottage]

some people have a problem with the god of the bible being cruel. they see that good things happen to evil people and horrible things happen to good people, they see a god that has no problem ordering the killing of innocent babies and children, they see the wholesale slaughter, in sometimes very sadistic fashion, of millions of people with no intervention by this god. has anybody else ever considered that maybe theyre expecting a kind, gentle god that never allows destruction, pain, or suffering, and will only make people happy with whatever he does for them? and that maybe the god of the bible does exist, but the fact might be that he's a hateful deity, and we're unfortunate enough to have been created by him for bent pleasure?

Aye! Could be! It can of course be said that this evil, hateful deity also permits joy and happiness. And yet, as with the PoE, it is but a single instance of evil that proves the contradiction. And perhaps it can be considered a greater evil for the deity to sadistically allow his creation some pleasure before seeing it suffer.

Overall, though, the evil deity is no more credible than the omni-benevolent one.

 

[slowbreath]

Aye! Could be! It can of course be said that this evil, hateful deity also permits joy and happiness. And yet, as with the PoE, it is but a single instance of evil that proves the contradiction. And perhaps it can be considered a greater evil for the deity to sadistically allow his creation some pleasure before seeing it suffer.

Overall, though, the evil deity is no more credible than the omni-benevolent one.

this is an interesting delema that you point out, i've heard it said that a person cannot experience joy, untill they have known sorrow. some would say this is why we have so much traggidy in the life of mankind, so the he can truly have the wonderful feeling of joy, and happiness........i dont by into that at this point because i believe there is a better way for this diety to show mankind joy.