The Big Question: "Why?"

[WayFarer]

One of the biggest question asked by seekers is 'why was everything/life/existence created'. It is a question I asked and one whose answer I share with those I know who are seeking it. Is it THE ANSWER? I could not tell you. It is my answer and it is plausible.
Why, then did (God(s)/Creator/insert TITLE/NAME here) create this? Because no matter how knowledgeable you may feel (TITLE/NAME) to be, there is one thing (TITLE/NAME) can not understand. That is what it is like not to be (TITLE/NAME). (TITLE/NAME) may have sympathy for the plight of creation but can not have empathy. If you were all powerful you could not have a "bad day". Find something you didn't think you could do only to find the joy of conquering what you thought was unconquerable. In Creation the Creator gets to learn. This life is not only a school for us but for the Creator as well.

That is the short version of it. I welcome any discussion/thoughts.

 

[Onkara]

Hi WayFarer
Out of interest. What about defeat or destruction, if creation and conquering what you thought was unconquerable is the positive, how does a seeker deal with defeat and destruction?

Best wishes, Onkarah.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

I still ask myself this very same question, and it is my personal opinion that this is a growing place. The gods plant our souls here in flesh like a seed is planted in the ground. We are to grow and develop here. We learn, make mistakes, and the like. We learn how to love, we grow as we learn and seek for the answers of what life is. That's all I can come up with.

 

[WayFarer]

Out of interest. What about defeat or destruction, if creation and conquering what you thought was unconquerable is the positive, how does a seeker deal with defeat and destruction?

Hello Onkarah. Some of the most valuable lessons we ever learn are defeats. To do what you thought you could not is a valuable lesson, but so is dealing with adversity. I would have to say some of the best things that ever happened to me started out as some of the worst. They shaped who I am now and for that I am a better person. I understand more and can empathize with others who are dealing with certain losses in their lives. The Creator could not do this as loss would not have meaning to such an entity. Kind of like playing a video game in "god mode". It's fun a a little while, but then you stop and play "for real" because what is the point of playing if you're going to win every time? I can appreciate both wins (immediately and later) and losses (usually later). I think both are important, though I must admit to having a preference.

 

[Onkara]

Hello Onkarah. Some of the most valuable lessons we ever learn are defeats. To do what you thought you could not is a valuable lesson, but so is dealing with adversity. I would have to say some of the best things that ever happened to me started out as some of the worst. They shaped who I am now and for that I am a better person. I understand more and can empathize with others who are dealing with certain losses in their lives. The Creator could not do this as loss would not have meaning to such an entity. Kind of like playing a video game in "god mode". It's fun a a little while, but then you stop and play "for real" because what is the point of playing if you're going to win every time? I can appreciate both wins (immediately and later) and losses (usually later). I think both are important, though I must admit to having a preference.

Thanks WayFarer that is a logical answer. I guess then there needs to be an attitude, a postive one before setting out on any adventure or one would risk feeling quite unhappy when faced with defeat. Would you say that defeat teaches us to find our path/religion/spritual side or rather than our Spiritual side etc exists already and defines our attitude to defeat?

 

[WayFarer]

Thanks WayFarer that is a logical answer.

Allow me to thank you for your question. I feel it is only through such question that we have the opportunity to explore our beliefs in order to explain them and in so doing we get to know them, and ourselves, a bit better.

Would you say that defeat teaches us to find our path/religion/spritual side or rather than our Spiritual side etc exists already and defines our attitude to defeat?

I believe that defeat can shake us to our core. It can make the trivial things that we think are important really fall into perspective. A blow to the ego can allow us to see its vulnerability. Loss can grant us joy in what we still have. When these things happen and we begin to understand and refine what it really important. In removing the trivial from life the spiritual foundation begins to shine through.

I had a discussion about this (trivial things impeding spiritual progress/understanding) with a Christian friend of mine not too long ago and I would like to share something we discussed. (As he is Christian I used Biblical references/ideological standpoints. Fair warning.)

In Genesis what was the first thing man(kind) created? Cloths form fig leaves.(covering their nakedness) What spurned this effort of this creation? It was an attempt to hid themselves (their nakedness) from God. It was an attempt to put something between themselves and God. Before then they relied on God to provide, afterward they began to rely on their own creations to help provide them with what was needed. The more they created the less they felt the connection with the Creator and more like creators themselves. Man(kind) began filling their lives with their own creations. Began to view things that he did not not create as resources and not creations in their own right. Pride in their creations boosted egos and this drove the wedge further between man and God. Mankind could not see the beauty of creation anymore because the mirror that man help before his own face filled his view. Though, we have a fundamental need for a spiritual connection, when man looked around to try to explain this need all he could find was things of his own creation and things he viewed as resources to fuel further creation. So the spiritually lost began to fill the void with acquisitions and with the trivial.
(Later in the conversation...)
Remember that whenever someone in the Bible (or most religions for that matter) wanted to commune with God they left "civilization" for the wilderness. They sought God not in a house that man build for God, but in the world God created for man.
​

He (my friend) said he was impressed with that and hadn't thought about how objects/trivialities could get in the way your spiritual compass. He sometimes speaks at his church and thought that he may have to work up a "talk" based on that conversation. Sorry if it sounded preachy, that wasn't my intent.

 

[Onkara]

That is a good point you raise, WayFarer
I have often wondered how we can believe in the greatness of God whilst walking down a street in a city full of cars, mobiles, skyscrapers etc etc. It seemed so much more realistic to consider the profound sensation of relgions which ancinent man must have experienced whilst sat around a fire after a day hunting and gathering to survive from a pure green land.

... hang on... the microwave has just pinged, time to stop thinking, the frozen pizza is done...

 

[Christ's Lamb]

I don't think we will ever fully understand why God created the universe. I think there might have been many reasons why he did, such as him just wanting to create something. Some say he created for his own glory, not as a selfish way but as in a good way to share in all that is good. I also think he created to share in existence.

Man can not completely understand God fully, even with the bible we don't understand God and how he works fully. All the bible is, is a little glimpse at God, to think that the creator of the universe and all of it's complex atoms, molecules, elements, stars, planets, etc. can be summed up completely in one little book would be foolish.

With every age of time, we learn a small piece of the larger puzzle, with the help of the Teacher of Righteousness of that age. Paul was the one of the last age, although some think it's Jesus, but Jesus is not because he's the incarnation of the Word of God and T. of R. are just men, but that's another story for another post.

To sum it all up, we will never understand fully why God created the universe. What we do know is that God is a god of Righteousness, Love, Peace, and Happiness. For what ever reason, God has give us existence because he definitely wants to share it with us. But, being a God of Love like he is, he gave us the choice to want to have him in our lives or not.

This is why there is so much suffering in this world, we choice to create suffering. We choice to suffer. Yes, there is always physical suffering (back pain, cancer, aids, etc.) but this suffering is rather small compared to the man-made suffering in the world. One can be happy and have illness, but it is very hard to be happy when there is 1 million dollars of debt hanging over your head while you are no the verge of losing everything you own and have, house, car, job, wife, kids, etc.

I hope you, or anyone else reading this for that matter, understood what I mean, if not write down below and I will try to make it more clearer, or if you have questions or whatever.

God Bless
-Christ's Lamb

 

[Susanpalli,JW]

To answer why God created the universe, we have an explanation in Revelation 4:11 which reads:

“You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.”

When he created Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, everything was perfect. They would have lived happily forever if they had listened to God. God didn't want them to be forced to love and obey him. He gave them free will. Unfortunately, man chose to be disobedient. Since then, God has allowed humans to try every sort of government to rule themselves. He wants us to see for ourselves, that we are not capable of independence from him.

He has provided a solution, however. He sent Jesus to save us from this disastrous course. When Jesus came to the earth, he gave us a sample of what he will do in the future when he sets up the Kingdom of God over the all the earth. This Kingdom that we pray for will end all human governments and bring the earth back to a paradise. The following verses explain:

Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite;

Revelation 21:4 "And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

That is the Bible's message. Isn't that good news?

 

[CEMB]

I believe that defeat can shake us to our core. It can make the trivial things that we think are important really fall into perspective. A blow to the ego can allow us to see its vulnerability. Loss can grant us joy in what we still have. When these things happen and we begin to understand and refine what it really important. In removing the trivial from life the spiritual foundation begins to shine through.

This view of suffering is insightful. Suffering can be a great teacher (so long as it doesn't break you of course). Chapter VII 'Tests' from Book I of 'The Straight Path' has an interesting take on suffering which you may or may not agree with:

Life is suffering and life is joy. The mind and the body shall experience both and from this experience learn much. For God created the universe as their classroom, to test them and to teach them. God teaches us the lessons we need to learn. It is up to us to heed His lessons.
God’s tests are gifts. They take many forms: success and failure, wealth and poverty, fame and persecution, loyalty and betrayal, birth and death. He tests the mind and the body in this way to strengthen them and prepare them for greater tests to come. The wise see a gift when the foolish are blind to it. Every hurt holds its lesson.
God demands that we learn and explore the universe. The sources of suffering are multitude, but nothing should deny the mind from learning and the body from acting while the body still lives...
God tests the mind to strengthen its authority over the body. Avoid becoming addicted to pills and medicines. Avoid running to a doctor every time the body has a small ailment. The best cure for the body is sleep, exercise and a healthy diet.
Trust your body. It has the ability to heal itself and overcome most diseases. Its resistance to disease has evolved in response to the diseases and ailments suffered by its ancestors. Your ancestors’ efforts have strengthened your every cell. God rewards you for their struggle. He who runs to the doctor every time he has an ailment loses self-control and becomes a slave to his body rather than master of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGPr47RDaNQ

 

[Draupadi]

I don't think we will ever fully understand why God created the universe. I think there might have been many reasons why he did, such as him just wanting to create something. Some say he created for his own glory, not as a selfish way but as in a good way to share in all that is good. I also think he created to share in existence.

Man can not completely understand God fully, even with the bible we don't understand God and how he works fully. All the bible is, is a little glimpse at God, to think that the creator of the universe and all of it's complex atoms, molecules, elements, stars, planets, etc. can be summed up completely in one little book would be foolish.

With every age of time, we learn a small piece of the larger puzzle, with the help of the Teacher of Righteousness of that age. Paul was the one of the last age, although some think it's Jesus, but Jesus is not because he's the incarnation of the Word of God and T. of R. are just men, but that's another story for another post.

To sum it all up, we will never understand fully why God created the universe. What we do know is that God is a god of Righteousness, Love, Peace, and Happiness. For what ever reason, God has give us existence because he definitely wants to share it with us. But, being a God of Love like he is, he gave us the choice to want to have him in our lives or not.

This is why there is so much suffering in this world, we choice to create suffering. We choice to suffer. Yes, there is always physical suffering (back pain, cancer, aids, etc.) but this suffering is rather small compared to the man-made suffering in the world. One can be happy and have illness, but it is very hard to be happy when there is 1 million dollars of debt hanging over your head while you are no the verge of losing everything you own and have, house, car, job, wife, kids, etc.

I hope you, or anyone else reading this for that matter, understood what I mean, if not write down below and I will try to make it more clearer, or if you have questions or whatever.

God Bless
-Christ's Lamb

Sorry I can't agree with you that cancer is less worse than being in debt badly. What troubles a person most depends on his/her nature and perspectives. I would rather be in debt than have depression.