sindex.1983
Helpful Friendly Advice
...and here's why! I wrote this.
God is hidden. Thus nothing can prove He exists. But if you marry faith to reason, you can determine He does exist through inference, like a problem of Euclid. It is simple; everything in manifestation has a cause, and thus, following the chain of causality to its source, we must arrive at a First Cause. Bingo, we have arrived. However, to the untrained eye, this only seems to indicate that everything had a beginning: Not so! For there to be a First Cause in a realm of causality, it must be a Causeless Cause, thus, manifestation/causation must have sprung out of somewhere that does not function in such a linear way as our existence does. In other words, everything emerged from nothing, which is the same as saying it arrived from the infinite - these two ideas combined show us that an infinite source that is hidden from us produced existence. If that's not going to indicate God to you, what is?
The mistake most people will make at this point will go, "That still doesn't make sense! How do you know that a creator exists and made everything!" Simple: It was created. Therefore there is a creator. Just because you can't and don't understand that creator, does not mean that He is not there, hidden for ever and ever; and just because you cannot ascribe Him any particular qualities directly, does not mean you cannot look at His creation for an Order about it, a design, an infinite series of patterns interlaced to maintain the stability of the Cosmos. You can examine the patterns in Nature to gain a clearer sense of that not only that the creator is ultimately infinitely loving, but you can also start to grasp that there is a meaning and intended purpose for your life here on Earth as well! Only a blind fool would not agree that God exists, in light of this! And yet, search over what I have written - where did I provide you with proof, or concrete evidence? I didn't.
There is one loophole to be taken care of before I leave this - how do you know there was a First Cause? Perhaps all causality stretches back infinitely! If you marry faith to reason again, it becomes a simple matter: We must find a pattern in nature that pervades practically everything, then apply it to causality. For instance, every 'thing' we distinguish as its own object has a beginning, that is to say, is created and comes into being at some point; this is regardless of the fact it is also comprised of infinite individual pieces into which it can be subdivided (atoms, quarks, etc.). The very concept of beginning itself is rooted in our perception that something can emerge from something else and be totally distinct from its origin; a baby is not its mother, and yet it took form, grew inside her, and was birthed. Thus, since all things in finite manifestation have beginnings, causality itself, which is a limited and finite concept, must too have a beginning. Therefore, we have a First Cause, and once again, we are enriched by the knowledge and understanding - not just the belief - that yes, there is a God...
[FONT="]...my view actually incorporates atheism. Let me explain how I am an 'atheistic theist' and a 'theistic atheist':[/FONT]
[FONT="]God is hidden, utterly unknowable. Thus, in the realm of manifestation - existence - God does not exist. Therefore, atheism is true.[/FONT]
[FONT="]BUT, refer to what I wrote previously in this post: Through inference, you CAN identify there is a creator. Therefore, theism is true.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So, you might ask, what is the difference from being an atheist and from believing that there is God (even if He doesn't exist!) - other than seeming irrationality?[/FONT]
[FONT="]It's simple - it's the effect it has on your mind. If you believe in a Godless universe, not only are you in error from being utterly lopsided to one side of the fence, you are actually removing the foundation by which you view all creation in your mind. What this means is, you float in an amoral void because you have nothing to base your beliefs on, other than preference and whimsy. It destroys you inside: Pure atheism leads to self-deception, egotism, confusion, ignorance - evils of the worst kind.[/FONT]
[FONT="]HOWEVER, being totally in favor of the other side of the fence - that of Knowing God, is poisoned too: You have basically used faith to imagine up an idea of a creator (usually someone else's idea, from a book such as the Bible), an image of the creator that is basically just an anthropomorphic fallacy (a reflection of you, your ideas, your fears). So in ascribing God ANY specific qualities without basis, you have only started to worship a vain idol in your mind that you refer to as God - thus, a blind theist is no better than an atheist. BOTH views lead to the 'evils' I just referred to in the last paragraph.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You have to recognize God is real, but he 'does not exist' - He is hidden from finite comprehension, because He is infinite. I have really said nothing here, and yet in some way you will begin to understand what I am talking about.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The only way to infer - not KNOW - that God has some qualities, is to examine patterns in his creation - thoroughly - before arriving at any working theories. Not conclusions. An unknowable God will always remain unknowable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]For example, I can theorize that God is a loving creator, not because I ascribe him human qualities - I do not - but because I recognize throughout all creation a pattern that indicates to me that there is a harmony about things, an Order, a seeming unity between All, from the depths of the oceans, all the way out to the Cosmos.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Another and better theory I can bring forward to you is that God is pure Order - that Chaos is not God's creation, but that God presides over Chaos and through perfect power, shapes it into creation. This idea requires a lot more explaining, but this post is already long enough as it is.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Before you jump to any conclusions about God - such as "why is life so unfair if there is a God?", you must ask yourself - if you really find existence unfair, what exactly were you comparing it to, in order to arrive at this conclusion?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Food for thought, hope you enjoy[/FONT]
God is hidden. Thus nothing can prove He exists. But if you marry faith to reason, you can determine He does exist through inference, like a problem of Euclid. It is simple; everything in manifestation has a cause, and thus, following the chain of causality to its source, we must arrive at a First Cause. Bingo, we have arrived. However, to the untrained eye, this only seems to indicate that everything had a beginning: Not so! For there to be a First Cause in a realm of causality, it must be a Causeless Cause, thus, manifestation/causation must have sprung out of somewhere that does not function in such a linear way as our existence does. In other words, everything emerged from nothing, which is the same as saying it arrived from the infinite - these two ideas combined show us that an infinite source that is hidden from us produced existence. If that's not going to indicate God to you, what is?
The mistake most people will make at this point will go, "That still doesn't make sense! How do you know that a creator exists and made everything!" Simple: It was created. Therefore there is a creator. Just because you can't and don't understand that creator, does not mean that He is not there, hidden for ever and ever; and just because you cannot ascribe Him any particular qualities directly, does not mean you cannot look at His creation for an Order about it, a design, an infinite series of patterns interlaced to maintain the stability of the Cosmos. You can examine the patterns in Nature to gain a clearer sense of that not only that the creator is ultimately infinitely loving, but you can also start to grasp that there is a meaning and intended purpose for your life here on Earth as well! Only a blind fool would not agree that God exists, in light of this! And yet, search over what I have written - where did I provide you with proof, or concrete evidence? I didn't.
There is one loophole to be taken care of before I leave this - how do you know there was a First Cause? Perhaps all causality stretches back infinitely! If you marry faith to reason again, it becomes a simple matter: We must find a pattern in nature that pervades practically everything, then apply it to causality. For instance, every 'thing' we distinguish as its own object has a beginning, that is to say, is created and comes into being at some point; this is regardless of the fact it is also comprised of infinite individual pieces into which it can be subdivided (atoms, quarks, etc.). The very concept of beginning itself is rooted in our perception that something can emerge from something else and be totally distinct from its origin; a baby is not its mother, and yet it took form, grew inside her, and was birthed. Thus, since all things in finite manifestation have beginnings, causality itself, which is a limited and finite concept, must too have a beginning. Therefore, we have a First Cause, and once again, we are enriched by the knowledge and understanding - not just the belief - that yes, there is a God...
[FONT="]...my view actually incorporates atheism. Let me explain how I am an 'atheistic theist' and a 'theistic atheist':[/FONT]
[FONT="]God is hidden, utterly unknowable. Thus, in the realm of manifestation - existence - God does not exist. Therefore, atheism is true.[/FONT]
[FONT="]BUT, refer to what I wrote previously in this post: Through inference, you CAN identify there is a creator. Therefore, theism is true.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So, you might ask, what is the difference from being an atheist and from believing that there is God (even if He doesn't exist!) - other than seeming irrationality?[/FONT]
[FONT="]It's simple - it's the effect it has on your mind. If you believe in a Godless universe, not only are you in error from being utterly lopsided to one side of the fence, you are actually removing the foundation by which you view all creation in your mind. What this means is, you float in an amoral void because you have nothing to base your beliefs on, other than preference and whimsy. It destroys you inside: Pure atheism leads to self-deception, egotism, confusion, ignorance - evils of the worst kind.[/FONT]
[FONT="]HOWEVER, being totally in favor of the other side of the fence - that of Knowing God, is poisoned too: You have basically used faith to imagine up an idea of a creator (usually someone else's idea, from a book such as the Bible), an image of the creator that is basically just an anthropomorphic fallacy (a reflection of you, your ideas, your fears). So in ascribing God ANY specific qualities without basis, you have only started to worship a vain idol in your mind that you refer to as God - thus, a blind theist is no better than an atheist. BOTH views lead to the 'evils' I just referred to in the last paragraph.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You have to recognize God is real, but he 'does not exist' - He is hidden from finite comprehension, because He is infinite. I have really said nothing here, and yet in some way you will begin to understand what I am talking about.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The only way to infer - not KNOW - that God has some qualities, is to examine patterns in his creation - thoroughly - before arriving at any working theories. Not conclusions. An unknowable God will always remain unknowable.[/FONT]
[FONT="]For example, I can theorize that God is a loving creator, not because I ascribe him human qualities - I do not - but because I recognize throughout all creation a pattern that indicates to me that there is a harmony about things, an Order, a seeming unity between All, from the depths of the oceans, all the way out to the Cosmos.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Another and better theory I can bring forward to you is that God is pure Order - that Chaos is not God's creation, but that God presides over Chaos and through perfect power, shapes it into creation. This idea requires a lot more explaining, but this post is already long enough as it is.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Before you jump to any conclusions about God - such as "why is life so unfair if there is a God?", you must ask yourself - if you really find existence unfair, what exactly were you comparing it to, in order to arrive at this conclusion?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Food for thought, hope you enjoy[/FONT]
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