If God spoke directly to everyone...

[Trailblazer]

Why assume that “everyone” wants to hear from God? There have to be some people who would not want to hear from God. God is All-Knowing so God knows that. God wants belief to be a choice and that might be one reason God does not speak directly to everyone.

However, that is not the main reason why God does not speak directly to everyone, because hypothetically speaking, even if God spoke directly to everyone, people could still choose not to listen or hear.

Imo, the main reasons why God does not speak directly to everyone are as follows:

1. God wants us to seek Him out and use our innate intelligence to decide if we have found Him. God rewards true seekers.
2. God does not want to make belief easy to acquire. God wants us to exert an earnest effort in order to believe.
3. God wants us to have faith that He exists without absolute proof. Those who have faith will get the proof they need.
4. Last but not least, nobody except God’s Messengers can comprehend God. Messengers act as mediators between God and humans, communicating what we would otherwise be unable to understand.

 

[Left Coast]

Why assume that “everyone” wants to hear from God? There have to be some people who would not want to hear from God. God is All-Knowing so God knows that. God wants belief to be a choice and that might be one reason God does not speak directly to everyone.

But belief isn't a choice.

Do We Choose Our Beliefs?

 

[Spirit of Light]

Why assume that “everyone” wants to hear from God? There have to be some people who would not want to hear from God. God is All-Knowing so God knows that. God wants belief to be a choice and that might be one reason God does not speak directly to everyone.

However, that is not the main reason why God does not speak directly to everyone, because hypothetically speaking, even if God spoke directly to everyone, people could still choose not to listen or hear.

Imo, the main reasons why God does not speak directly to everyone are as follows:

1. God wants us to seek Him out and use our innate intelligence to decide if we have found Him. God rewards true seekers.
2. God does not want to make belief easy to acquire. God wants us to exert an earnest effort in order to believe.
3. God wants us to have faith that He exists without absolute proof. Those who have faith will get the proof they need to believe.
4. Last but not least, nobody except God’s Messengers can comprehend God. Messengers act as mediators between God and humans, communicating what we would otherwise be unable to understand.

The list you made with points is very good in my understanding.
But maybe a reason why people today do not hear God`s voice the way they did before, is the lack of understanding of the "language" used? It does not need to be spoken words that we hear even if a God did speak to us, it could be heard, humans could hear a sound like thunder and miss-interpret it to not come from God. But sign in nature can also be from a God

 

[Trailblazer]

But belief isn't a choice.

Do We Choose Our Beliefs?

I did not mean that belief IS a choice.

I meant that "if we choose to believe" God wants that to be OUR choice, not something that He chose for us.

 

[Lyndon]

God is speaking to everyone, it just that most of them aren't listening or don't want to listen.

 

[Left Coast]

I did not mean that belief IS a choice.

I meant that "if we choose to believe" God wants that to be OUR choice, not something that He chose for us.

But we don't choose to believe, so isn't that pretty much irrelevant?

 

[Trailblazer]

The list you made with points is very good in my understanding.
But maybe a reason why people today do not hear God`s voice the way they did before, is the lack of understanding of the "language" used? It does not need to be spoken words that we hear even if a God did speak to us, it could be heard, humans could hear a sound like thunder and miss-interpret it to not come from God. But sign in nature can also be from a God

That is true. God can be apparent to believers in nature or thunder but that could also be interpreted in other ways if one is an atheist. So that kind of indirect language is not good enough for everyone. When I referred to God speaking I meant God actually speaking to someone directly in a voice that could not be misconstrued as being anything other than the Voice of God. It would be the same thing that happened to Messengers of God happening to everyone on Earth.

 

[Trailblazer]

God is speaking to everyone, it just that most of them aren't listening or don't want to listen.

That may be true that God is communicating to everyone in some way, but God is not speaking in a voice.

What I meant was what I just explained to Amanki: When I referred to God speaking I meant God actually speaking to someone directly in a voice that could not be misconstrued as being anything other than the Voice of God. It would be the same thing that happened to Messengers of God happening to everyone on Earth.

 

[Spirit of Light]

That is true. God can be apparent to believers in nature or thunder but that could also be interpreted in other ways if one is an atheist. So that kind of indirect language is not good enough for everyone. When I referred to God speaking I meant God actually speaking to someone directly in a voice that could not be misconstrued as being anything other than the Voice of God. It would be the same thing that happened to Messengers of God happening to everyone on Earth.

I do agree with you in this but as far as I understood, because of almost every human being is on a low level of spiritual understanding in today's society, God very seldom actually speaks in a fully audible voice these days.

 

[Trailblazer]

But we don't choose to believe, so isn't that pretty much irrelevant?

I think we do choose. Why don't you think we choose?

 

[Trailblazer]

I do agree with you in this but as far as I understood, because of almost every human being is on a low level of spiritual understanding in today's society, God very seldom actually speaks in a fully audible voice these days.

I agree about the low level of spiritual understanding, but do you think that God used to speak in a fully audible voice? When?

 

[sun rise]

That may be true that God is communicating to everyone in some way, but God is not speaking in a voice.

There are people who think God is speaking to them vocally. Unless it's a sadguru, Man-God, or the Avatar speaking, they're misguided or wrong. "Hearing voices" is part of a clinical diagnosis.

 

[Spirit of Light]

I agree about the low level of spiritual understanding, but do you think that God used to speak in a fully audible voice? When?

If you mean the Abrahamic God (personally i believe there to be many Gods) I understand it so that God in Abrahamic religions spoke with words to Jews in the time before Jesus, so let's say 5000-2000 years ago

 

[Vinayaka]

Anybody can 'say' God spoke to them.

 

[Lyndon]

God speaks to lots of people, not just a rare few Messengers

 

[Left Coast]

I think we do choose. Why don't you think we choose?

If to believe means to genuinely be convinced something is true, no, we obviously don't choose what we believe. I can't choose to believe in a god any more than I can choose to believe the Earth is flat or vaccines cause autism. I'm constrained to believe/not believe what I do based on the evidence I've seen. I explore this idea in the thread I linked you to.

 

[MonkeyFire]

If you were born on earth you and God would need a born prophet to intermediate.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Well...

God wants us to seek Him out and use our innate intelligence to decide if we have found Him. God rewards true seekers.

People do seek him out because they want to. If god talks to you directly, then wouldn't you want to talk back or tell him "No. It's not you until someone else speaks for you; then, I'll listen."

It's implying you don't want to speak to god unless he speaks through someone else.

God does not want to make belief easy to acquire. God wants us to exert an earnest effort in order to believe.

It's not easy to talk to god when he talks to you directly. Actually, it's harder because you're trying to get to know someone that you feel is much more holy than you.

The effort is increased because "no one can see god's face." However, people can see prophet's face, that is why it is easier (aka. it's the other way around)

God wants us to have faith that He exists without absolute proof. Those who have faith will get the proof they need.

There are two ways to see it.

1. Faith (or trust) encourages people to find and know proof
2. Knowledge (and relationship) encourages people to experience their proof

Wouldn't you want to know who you have a relationship with?

Last but not least, nobody except God’s Messengers can comprehend God. Messengers act as mediators between God and humans, communicating what we would otherwise be unable to understand.

As bahai, I'm sure every other person's belief have something in common. No one wrong over the other, just different rays from one sun, right?

Some people hear god directly and others need a messenger.

I personally rather hear god directly. If I had a relationship with god and god is, well, god, why "wouldn't" he talk to us directly?

Are you putting limitations on god so you can have faith in his messengers and not in him??

 

[Trailblazer]

If to believe means to genuinely be convinced something is true, no, we obviously don't choose what we believe. I can't choose to believe in a god any more than I can choose to believe the Earth is flat or vaccines cause autism. I'm constrained to believe/not believe what I do based on the evidence I've seen. I explore this idea in the thread I linked you to.

We do choose if we are convinced by the evidence. You are not convinced by the evidence so you do not choose to believe. I am convinced by the evidence so I choose to believe. It is a conscious choice I made just like everything we do is a choice. I did not just suddenly decide one day to believe in God. I did not believe in God before I became a Baha'i because I had no reason to believe that God existed.

 

[Trailblazer]

If you mean the Abrahamic God (personally i believe there to be many Gods) I understand it so that God in Abrahamic religions spoke with words to Jews in the time before Jesus, so let's say 5000-2000 years ago

I guess you mean God spoke on Mt. Sinai. I do not know if that ever actually happened, but it is a nice story.