What is your God?

[savagewind]

Think out the box for at least a min. Years ago I watched an UU sermon online. Majority of members are either atheist to one degree or another and/or just don't identify with organized religion.

The pastor described God by saying if there are a list of value(s) you want to have or strengthen that you would "call to" what would they be?

What are your most important values that in your worse moment you'd need them most?

God-quisi idiom not a man in the sky.



Core Values List: Over 200 Personal Values to Live By Today


There are 200 "gods" so I couldn't list them all.

In my worse moment, I'd call to:

Freedom
Sound mind
Expression
Strength
Vitality

What are your gods?

Truth

 

[RestlessSoul]

Do I know my values?
Not really. I might be able to make some up that sounded rational, noble, ideal I suppose.
But, I don't think that would really be me. Just some idea of what I ought to be.

We create an idea of ourselves and create an ideal of god then struggle with both since neither are real, imo.

It's good to have ideals though, don't you think? Something to aspire to?

Granted, beating yourself up for falling short of your chosen ideal can be quite harmful.

 

[sun rise]

What does Meher Baba mean?

Does it have attributes that most describe it?

Not sure where god-man name come from. God is just a label I used to denote one's profound value(s) he or she cannot live without (their life depends on these values that without one cannot survive mentally and/or physically). Whether that amounts to love and grace in the christian faith, consciousness in the Hindu faith, truth, or emptiness, or so have you.

I don't understand what you are asking for. I answered values and that did not appear to be it. You asked what I would do in my last breath and I said call out to the one I take as the God man, God in human form and that does not answer your question or questions.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't understand what you are asking for. I answered values and that did not appear to be it. You asked what I would do in my last breath and I said call out to the one I take as the God man, God in human form and that does not answer your question or questions.

God man? I don't know what that means as a value.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Not sure I understand the OP. Mud is right on though. God is the father. Whatever gives us life from moment to moment is God. Do I understand God? Not really. But, I'm alive, so there's God. (My personal belief is that God is mental "in heaven".) It may be that the OP is talking about something else.

No. Just what your personal values are that you cannot live without (as one can't live without god). The word god, in context, could be non-religious in nature.

 

[David Weaver]

Say what you will about me, but God is who I call on, not some virtue or attribute. It's always the first thing that comes to mind for me

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Say what you will about me, but God is who I call on, not some virtue or attribute. It's always the first thing that comes to mind for me

What is God to you?
The answer is what you value and cannot live without.

 

[David Weaver]

What is God to you?
The answer is what you value and cannot live without.

If you're asking what he is to me and I have to pick one, I'd have to go with truth. It's what I value and why I believe in God.

 

[Heyo]

Think out the box for at least a min.

I'll try.

What are your gods?

I don't have any gods.

What are your most important values that in your worse moment you'd need them most?

I do have values, though. (But I don't "call" them. I might call a medic when I'm in pain and trouble.)

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

The battle cry of the French Revolution. At the time it was what they were missing the most under a totalitarian aristocracy but it turns out to be a solid foundation for a moral philosophy. Some other values are subsumed within them, privacy and trust are part of liberty, well-being, peace, community are part of fraternity, equality has the Golden Rule in it.
I'd add curiosity and truth to it as more knowledge adds to better decisions.
And I could add more which are prerequisites or conclusions of the above, responsiblity for example is a prerequisite to liberty and equality.

When I look at them, they might be part of the reason I'm not religious. These values aren't high on the list of any religion, some might never appear, like liberty which is in direct opposition to obedience and submission which religions favour.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Granted, beating yourself up for falling short of your chosen ideal can be quite harmful.

Why should we do that? We are humans. People will never achieve their ideals if they make them too lofty. If we have tried to do our best, that should be enough.

 

[sayak83]

Think out the box for at least a min. Years ago I watched an UU sermon online. Majority of members are either atheist to one degree or another and/or just don't identify with organized religion.

The pastor described God by saying if there are a list of value(s) you want to have or strengthen that you would "call to" what would they be?

What are your most important values that in your worse moment you'd need them most?

God-quisi idiom not a man in the sky.



Core Values List: Over 200 Personal Values to Live By Today


There are 200 "gods" so I couldn't list them all.

In my worse moment, I'd call to:

Freedom
Sound mind
Expression
Strength
Vitality

What are your gods?

Awareness.

 

[sayak83]

Can you guys give an example of why you picked one or two of the values most important to you?

Freedom because I never liked doing anything against my will. I feel trapped and it effects me mentally. I had two bad experiences in mental health and trauma years ago that, especially with current events, that value is being tested. Now I've lived alone for 12 years free and can express myself. Strength to keep me afloat. Vitality or life-which fosters appreciation and gratitude for living and the spirit in which my life is animated and expressed.

Awareness is the fundamental fact of a conscious existence. Deeper and broader your awarwness, more profound is the quality of the lived moments. Self-Awareness and other-awareness both. When this broad and deep awareness is unacheived, one gets into the trap of ego, short term thinking and selfish acts. The ultimate aim is awareness of All that is, was or could be. We cannot be that yet, but that is the aspiration.

 

[Tiberius]

Think out the box for at least a min. Years ago I watched an UU sermon online. Majority of members are either atheist to one degree or another and/or just don't identify with organized religion.

The pastor described God by saying if there are a list of value(s) you want to have or strengthen that you would "call to" what would they be?

What are your most important values that in your worse moment you'd need them most?

God-quisi idiom not a man in the sky.



Core Values List: Over 200 Personal Values to Live By Today


There are 200 "gods" so I couldn't list them all.

In my worse moment, I'd call to:

Freedom
Sound mind
Expression
Strength
Vitality

What are your gods?

I don't see why I should refer to any of these things as "god" when there is a perfectly acceptable word for them already.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I don't see why I should refer to any of these things as "god" when there is a perfectly acceptable word for them already.

The term god in context refers to your core values that without in essence you cannot live. It doesn't need one religious in nature. I referred to it as a label for a broader point.

Since it has nothing to do with god and a god (not mono/polytheistic) l, I'd hope people think out of the box. Always look at OPs context. Word choice is irrelevant if one gets the point.

What are the values, however you refer to them, you cannot live without?

 

[Ashoka]

Think out the box for at least a min. Years ago I watched an UU sermon online. Majority of members are either atheist to one degree or another and/or just don't identify with organized religion.

Compassion
Wisdom
Perseverance
Personal
Impersonal
Patient
Truth

 

[firedragon]

Say what you will about me, but God is who I call on, not some virtue or attribute. It's always the first thing that comes to mind for me

You are right. Yet, I dont think you understood the idea behind that OP.

 

[Clara Tea]

Think out the box for at least a min. Years ago I watched an UU sermon online. Majority of members are either atheist to one degree or another and/or just don't identify with organized religion.

The pastor described God by saying if there are a list of value(s) you want to have or strengthen that you would "call to" what would they be?

What are your most important values that in your worse moment you'd need them most?

God-quisi idiom not a man in the sky.



Core Values List: Over 200 Personal Values to Live By Today


There are 200 "gods" so I couldn't list them all.

In my worse moment, I'd call to:

Freedom
Sound mind
Expression
Strength
Vitality

What are your gods?

Okay, thinking outside of the box now. Uh, I just realized that I want to get back inside the box. Let me in.

Freedom (especially freedom of expression) is often the first thing banned by zealous religious leaders. Free speech (or writing) often detracts from the power of dictators. Some people use religion as a tool of dictatorship. They hide child molesting priests by appealing that the church would be hurt. Churches have burned books (Catcher in the Rye was too much for them to handle, and the Wizard of Oz depicted witches). After Reverend Jimmy Swaggart was caught buying prostitutes in Lancaster, California, he used a red herring (told everyone that Batman was evil because he looked like a bat, ignoring that he was a fictional crime fighter and on the side of good). But, with that distraction, people ignored the sin of Swaggart.and focused upon the fiction of Batman (which was Swaggart's plan all along).

Strength can be used for good or evil. Certainly President George W. Bush didn't use war correctly (he didn't even know if Iraq was involved in terrorism, and later found out that it was not involved). Perhaps patience is important (to wait and see if Iraq was involved in terrorism before killing a million Iraqis (some women and children))?

Sound mind: Belief in an unproven and unseen God that doesn't answer prayers and allows suffering. Minds can be changed by changing information. For example, the US wasn't attacking Iraq before the 911 attack, but once the attack was done, it was the perfect opportunity to continue killing (whether or not there was justification to kill). Revelation is a chapter in the bible that showed that God commanded us not to attack Iraq or face dire consequences (such as Revelation 15...seven plagues). It seems unsound of mind to defy God and attack Iraq (thou shalt not kill.....turn the other cheek). We could always judge our own minds to be sound (which is not a strong argument if done within the rubber walls of an insane asylum, and it is hard to put that judgement in writing with our hands straight-jacketed behind our backs). Perhaps the judgement of a sound mind should be done by others who observe us?

Maybe compassion to others is important? The hoards of homeless people might have their lives improved and they might become productive members of society rather than making livings by stealing bicycles from little girls and disguising them and selling them? By thinking of others before our own needs, we would not pollute and cause Global Warming. If we thought of others, we wouldn't place worship of mammon over worship of God and allow greedy oil companies to drill offshore (where leaks could pollute), and frack (sending gases and carcinogen fracking oil into nearby houses, and suspend the Clean Water Act to do it). If we thought of others, we would restrain our greed and not cut taxes for the rich (which allowed them to outsource their factories abroad to take advantage of cheap foreign labor and bankrupt US companies (such as car companies of Detroit). The 2008 economic collapse was due to greed (banks lending 125% of the value of homes, then foreclosing when the market dropped). If we had compassion for others, we wouldn't put our national debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren, while enjoying free money today.

Honesty is important. We wouldn't spread the lie that God is good while God's actions have been destructive (flooding the earth, for example). God allows suffering of cancer patients and doesn't answer prayers. Christians lie about atheists being evil because they don't have morals. Christians lie about Global Warming while destroying the environment.

The world is a mess (polluted, globally warming faster than nature intended, homeless, crime, war, torture camps, debt, etc). Our politicians, elected with our distorted values, made the world the mess that it is today.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Okay, thinking outside of the box now. Uh, I just realized that I want to get back inside the box. Let me in.

Freedom (especially freedom of expression) is often the first thing banned by zealous religious leaders. Free speech (or writing) often detracts from the power of dictators. Some people use religion as a tool of dictatorship. They hide child molesting priests by appealing that the church would be hurt. Churches have burned books (Catcher in the Rye was too much for them to handle, and the Wizard of Oz depicted witches). After Reverend Jimmy Swaggart was caught buying prostitutes in Lancaster, California, he used a red herring (told everyone that Batman was evil because he looked like a bat, ignoring that he was a fictional crime fighter and on the side of good). But, with that distraction, people ignored the sin of Swaggart.and focused upon the fiction of Batman (which was Swaggart's plan all along).

Strength can be used for good or evil. Certainly President George W. Bush didn't use war correctly (he didn't even know if Iraq was involved in terrorism, and later found out that it was not involved). Perhaps patience is important (to wait and see if Iraq was involved in terrorism before killing a million Iraqis (some women and children))?

Sound mind: Belief in an unproven and unseen God that doesn't answer prayers and allows suffering. Minds can be changed by changing information. For example, the US wasn't attacking Iraq before the 911 attack, but once the attack was done, it was the perfect opportunity to continue killing (whether or not there was justification to kill). Revelation is a chapter in the bible that showed that God commanded us not to attack Iraq or face dire consequences (such as Revelation 15...seven plagues). It seems unsound of mind to defy God and attack Iraq (thou shalt not kill.....turn the other cheek). We could always judge our own minds to be sound (which is not a strong argument if done within the rubber walls of an insane asylum, and it is hard to put that judgement in writing with our hands straight-jacketed behind our backs). Perhaps the judgement of a sound mind should be done by others who observe us?

Maybe compassion to others is important? The hoards of homeless people might have their lives improved and they might become productive members of society rather than making livings by stealing bicycles from little girls and disguising them and selling them? By thinking of others before our own needs, we would not pollute and cause Global Warming. If we thought of others, we wouldn't place worship of mammon over worship of God and allow greedy oil companies to drill offshore (where leaks could pollute), and frack (sending gases and carcinogen fracking oil into nearby houses, and suspend the Clean Water Act to do it). If we thought of others, we would restrain our greed and not cut taxes for the rich (which allowed them to outsource their factories abroad to take advantage of cheap foreign labor and bankrupt US companies (such as car companies of Detroit). The 2008 economic collapse was due to greed (banks lending 125% of the value of homes, then foreclosing when the market dropped). If we had compassion for others, we wouldn't put our national debt on the shoulders of our children and grandchildren, while enjoying free money today.

Honesty is important. We wouldn't spread the lie that God is good while God's actions have been destructive (flooding the earth, for example). God allows suffering of cancer patients and doesn't answer prayers. Christians lie about atheists being evil because they don't have morals. Christians lie about Global Warming while destroying the environment.

The world is a mess (polluted, globally warming faster than nature intended, homeless, crime, war, torture camps, debt, etc). Our politicians, elected with our distorted values, made the world the mess that it is today.

Are these your values?

 

[Clara Tea]

My God is the Universal Father. Truth, beauty, goodness, mercy, righteousness, love as well as his attributes all come to mind.

God's mercy? Cancer patients die in agony. Prayers aren't answered.

Righteousness? God flooded the world (Noah), and many good people, including children, were murdered by God.

Love?

The assertions are not supported by the facts. Are lies for Jesus (or God) permitted?

Many theists claim moral superiority over atheists because atheists lack the fear in God. Yet, it seems that most of the moral lapses are from Christians (including preachers and politicians).

 

[Clara Tea]

Are these your values?

Compassion and honesty seem important to me. Not everyone can live up to their values all the time. All people are flawed (because we are made in God's image, and God is flawed).

Yet, there is the pervasive assertion that God is perfect.