Is God Ignorant?

[Thief]

It came up in a discussion....
Seems that some elaboration is in oder.

There are two levels of ignorance.
Simple ignorance...a lack of knowledge, or perspective.
Profound ignorance...choosing to ignore.
Or perhaps there are other possibilities.

Can any of this be said of God?

 

[dogsgod]

God is beyond ignorant. He's omnignorant. There is ignorance and then there is ignorance which is beyond belief and understanding, that is God, and that is why He is called God.

 

[Willamena]

It came up in a discussion....
Seems that some elaboration is in oder.

There are two levels of ignorance.
Simple ignorance...a lack of knowledge, or perspective.
Profound ignorance...choosing to ignore.
Or perhaps there are other possibilities.

Can any of this be said of God?

If "God" is all things then "God" necessary is both ignorance and knowledgability.

 

[Just_me_Mike]

Whether or not God is ignorant I know not, but I can attest that the question is indeed ignorant. :yes:

 

[dogsgod]

Whether or not God is ignorant I know not, but I can attest that the question is indeed ignorant. :yes:

So, you don't know the answer to an ignorant question. What makes it ignorant besides it's assumption that God exists?

 

[Thief]

Well let's narrow this down just a bit.
My initial post does assume the existence of God.

So....is God's perception all encompassing? sees all...knows all?
Can He actually perceive every prayer?
If so...is He ignoring us?

Does He perceive animal life as well? even to the most minuscule?
If so is He God to all?

 

[Willamena]

Well let's narrow this down just a bit.
My initial post does assume the existence of God.

So....is God's perception all encompassing? sees all...knows all?
Can He actually perceive every prayer?
If so...is He ignoring us?

Or even, is he you ignoring you?
:run:

 

[enchanted_one1975]

Gods (of any religion) are supposed to be all knowing. If anything, those that "spread the word" would be the ignorant ones.

 

[Onkara]

In Advaita Vedanta, Maya might also be explained as "Simple ignorance...a lack of knowledge, or perspective." of the truth. This Maya is that which stops us from reaching Brahman (God). The answer is that one must remove ignorance to reach enlightenment.

 

[Thief]

I might agree...ignorance on the part of Man could be an obstacle when trying to understand God.

But is God making a practice of ignoring Man?
or could it be His attention is focused in some other direction?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I might agree...ignorance on the part of Man could be an obstacle when trying to understand God.

But is God making a practice of ignoring Man?
or could it be His attention is focused in some other direction?

I think he's far too occupied trying to fend off the intercosmic legions of the Kzr'layyz'szkt of Universe 326.15b to pay us much mind.

 

[Thief]

Oh pleazzzzzze.....

I was leaning more to His presence and interaction.
So many claim their prayers are heard...and answered.
But there is complaint all around...if there is a God...why all the grief in the world?

So the initial question...post one...is a consideration to whether or not...
God is unaware of us....or as you suggest...preoccupied.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Well let's narrow this down just a bit.
My initial post does assume the existence of God.

So....is God's perception all encompassing? sees all...knows all?
Can He actually perceive every prayer?
If so...is He ignoring us?

Does He perceive animal life as well? even to the most minuscule?
If so is He God to all?

So... you're defining "ignorant" as "not omnipotent"?

If that's the case, then it seems like it all comes down to is the question of which God you've assumed exists.

 

[Onkara]

I might agree...ignorance on the part of Man could be an obstacle when trying to understand God.

But is God making a practice of ignoring Man?
or could it be His attention is focused in some other direction?

Hi Thief
Yes, it is ignorance in the sense of not yet knowing the truth. One aim in Advaita Vedanta is to remove ignorance which is metaphorically keeping us (our minds) restricted to the mundane materialism and so blinded from the wonder of Gods creation. We may even deny God or any beauty in the world.

God, Brahman, is not ignoring man kind rather Maya (ignorance) exists so that God can experience Himself (his creation). By keeping mans mind shielded from His Truth we act out roles, similar to actors of the stage: we cry when we are sad, we laugh when we are happy, we give our full unquestioning belief in the lifes we lead. Often we may not even question our desire for more wealth or for carnal needs for example.

So Brahman is not acting out of maliciousness, but rather he has created a state where experiences and interaction can unfold unquestionably. Through mankind Brahman experiences Him/Herself. As Brahman is omipresent (he doesn't look away, which is why some statues have faces on each side).

However there is a way to remove the influence of ignorance (maya) and hence arrive at knowing Brahman (moksha). Brahman can be known by His divine nature: consciousness, absolute knowledge and bliss. This can be done in numerous ways, including worship, meditation, and intellectual study.

I find it interesting so share it here. Nothing more.

 

[Thief]

We humans have the ability to focus to the task at hand.
Do you think God must do likewise to accomplish His efforts?
This might explain His apparent lack of interest...when we think we need Him.

 

[Onkara]

Hi Thief
I approach it the other way around, it is my desire that God notices me, but not my right that He does. Why do my desires dictate? Why do I base God's behaviour on my limited abilities?

My desires and my limitations then become under question first.

 

[Dunemeister]

Is God obligated to answer all prayers the way we want them answered (namely, affirmatively)? Heck, is God even obligated to answer all prayers? Is God ignoring you when his answer to your prayer is "no" or "wait"? On what basis does God receive prayer? What role does/need faith play? What role to human agents play in the answering of prayer?

There's a lot more to this than the mere observation that complaints about outrageous suffering apparently go unanswered. Honestly, it's as if some people think that if there's a god, life should be free of all care or puzzle. Weird how it's the religious on this board who get saddled with such epithets as "cannot deal with reality the way it is."

 

[Thief]

Of course ignorance, is a trait of mind.
So too, 'presence of mind'.

So when the prophets prayed, and their requests were granted....
Was that really God?

 

[Madhuri]

In Advaita Vedanta, Maya might also be explained as "Simple ignorance...a lack of knowledge, or perspective." of the truth. This Maya is that which stops us from reaching Brahman (God). The answer is that one must remove ignorance to reach enlightenment.

Just to add here, Maya is an aspect or energy of God. The soul, which is the individual life force and is present in every living thing, is a part and parcle of God. So Maya, ignorance, is one quality that is associated with God's material energy. The soul in the material universe can be said to represent the aspect of God under illusion. In this sense, and perhaps on a very superficial level, it can be said that a part of God is ignorant.
Otherwise, God -is- complete Awareness. Once the covering of maya is taken away, the individual realises this and also becomes completely Aware.

 

[Falvlun]

You seem to be using "ignorance" synonymous with "ignoring", when I don't think that's really the case.

Ignorance is not knowing about something.

You can be willfully ignorant about things too, in which you purposefully remain blind to certain knowledge. This is slightly different than what we do when we ignore someone or something.

To take the prayer example:
Ignorance: If God is ignorant, then he doesn't know people are praying to him.
Willful Ignorance: God knows people are praying to him, but is pretending that they are not/ or he is pretending to not know that they are praying to him.
Ignoring: God knows people are praying to him, but he is choosing to not listen.

In the case of the traditional Judeo-Christian concept of God, I would think that God ignoring people would be the most probable option. Afterall, if you are omniscient, it's kinda hard not to know something, or pretend that you don't know something.