What is your belief in regards to God?

[Deathbydefault]

Doe it matter if it's ''appealing'' to you? If Cthulhu started destroying your town, would the fact that it is ''unnappealing'', change anything? Do you think that I am getting my conclusions because they are ''appealing''?

It wasn't appealing due the massive lack of evidence for such a huge claim.

 

[Kartari]

I voted "atheist," though I vary from hard atheist to agnostic atheist depending on the particular deity concept. Every western religious conception of God I've heard imho is logically fallacious (e.g. all claims are based on appeals to ignorance and other logical fallacies) as well as contradictory (e.g. you cannot be both benevolent and genocidal), hence I'd say those notions of God are simply impossible. I view pantheistic notions of God to be the least logically problematic though, and fall more into the agnostic atheism category there. Iow, I remain unconvinced that a pantheistic deity exists, but I can concede it is a valid possibility, albeit one we simply don't know enough to rightly discern its real or imaginary status.

 

[Gambit]

Don't have one

I didn't think so.

 

[Desert Snake]

It wasn't appealing due the massive lack of evidence for such a huge claim.

That's fine. I believe that you would think differently if you had a religious experience, though, /like many people.

 

[Kartari]

Hi q konn,

That's fine. I believe that you would think differently if you had a religious experience, though, /like many people.

Speaking as someone who had a particularly potent spiritual experience many years ago, one which convinced me for a while of a pantheistic view of the universe, the problem is that such experiences are entirely subjective. As hard as it is for someone who went through such an experience to admit, there is simply no way to prove the experience came from anything other than one's own mind.

 

[YmirGF]

Ok, but the OP isn't asking whether we care or not.

And my original post was compatible with the OP. The not caring comment was in response to your esteemed observation.

 

[Desert Snake]

And my original post was compatible with the OP. The not caring comment was in response to your esteemed observation.

No problem, I missed that.

 

[Deathbydefault]

I didn't think so.

Let me have you answer the same question, then.

 

[Deathbydefault]

That's fine. I believe that you would think differently if you had a religious experience, though, /like many people.

Grew up in a highly religious environment, the experiences sucked.
I don't want any.

 

[Gambit]

I also should add I have a problem understanding any dualist (God and creation are two) theology and concepts like one lifetime.. It seems to present logical problems that would leave me with little faith.

What exactly is the problem with one lifetime?

 

[George-ananda]

What exactly is the problem with one lifetime?

One lifetime and then eternity? So many people of the past never lived to 5 years of age, lived in ignorance, poverty, brutality, etc.. What the DOES happen after death...no one can present much of a believable or desirable scenario.

 

[Gambit]

One lifetime and then eternity? So many people of the past never lived to 5 years of age, lived in ignorance, poverty, brutality, etc.. What the DOES happen after death...no one can present much of a believable or desirable scenario.

What do you believe happens?

 

[George-ananda]

What do you believe happens?

We are more than physical bodies; we have interpenetrating physical, astral and mental bodies. After death we exist in a temporary heaven-like astral plane. Eventually we realize our need for further growth at our soul level. This will spawn the incarnation of a new form on the lower planes fit for our growth level. Eventually after many, many experiences on the many planes we will realize that all consciousness is One; Brahman-Realization.

 

[Jumi]

I believe some weirdness might exist outside of the observable physical universe. Don't think it has anything to do with the physical universe. I don't know what this qualifies me as so I picked none.

 

[Gambit]

We are more than physical bodies; we have interpenetrating physical, astral and mental bodies. After death we exist in a temporary heaven-like astral plane. Eventually we realize our need for further growth at our soul level. This will spawn the incarnation of a new form on the lower planes fit for our growth level. Eventually after many, many experiences on the many planes we will realize that all consciousness is One; Brahman-Realization.

So, there is only one self. Right?

 

[George-ananda]

So, there is only one self. Right?

Right.

 

[Gambit]

Right.

Okay. This implies that individuality is illusory. So, why are you complaining about the injustices of life? The "haves" and the "have nots" are all the same self. Right?

 

[George-ananda]

Okay. This implies that individuality is illusory. So, why are you complaining about the injustices of life? The "haves" and the "have nots" are all the same self.

This Oneness is experienced only by the Self-Realized.

 

[Gambit]

This Oneness is experienced only by the Self-Realized.

There's only one self that is realized. Right?

 

[George-ananda]

There's only one self that is realized. Right?

Right. That self animates an untold number of finite forms, each trapped in the illusion of their own finite experience.