Why does God hide himself?

[Spiderman]

but it doesn't mean that our prophet or our book said that

I showed you where your book does command you to kill nonmuslims...your prophet personally cut off many heads and was a violent intolerant military Dictator.

 

[Spiderman]

PopeADope, have you asked God to reveal Himself? Prolly wouldn't use your moniker is asking Him though ha ha. Just sayin'.

I ask God to reveal himself every day...the things he reveals, many Christians would tell me is from the Devil...so, I simply don't know

 

[Spiderman]

Let me ask. What type of answer are you expecting or desire?[/qutoe]

Enlightenment, understanding of what my creator wants me to be doing at all times

What or who is god to you that you would regcognise him as the god of the bible or quran?

I'm not sure I believe God is the God of the Koran and Bible

Have you thought that god can speak through you without the quran and bible?

Yes, that is how he/she speaks to me, through nature, coincidence, dreams, visions, locutions, inspirations, other people, and the language of the heart.

Do you need something to varify what you have felt came from god or someone else?

I need God to find a way to let me know his/her voice from all the other voices in my head.

It sounds like you may benefit from reflecting in a quiet place where you are not rushed to do things and by yourself. But it all depends on how you define god.

yes, silence, meditation, reflection, contemplation, and time alone is what I cherish.

This post is messed up. I tried to edit it to no avail

 

[George-ananda]

But that's just a bunch of unsupported, made up nonsense. You have no way of objectively knowing any of those things, nor any evidence that you can present that demonstrates your claims to be true. It's just bald assertions, nothing more.

I have come to accept the wisdom of many spiritual teachers and advanced souls after full consideration. What I am saying is nothing I would have come up with on my own.

 

[Cephus]

I have come to accept the wisdom of many spiritual teachers and advanced souls after full consideration. What I am saying is nothing I would have come up with on my own.

Whether you accept or not says nothing about whether it is factually correct. Just because you like an idea doesn't make that idea true.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

@PopeADope You accidentally misquoted spelling error.

Enlightenment, understanding of what my creator wants me to be doing at all times

What do you define as a creator?

I mean, For Example if I said in Neverending Story (excellent book by the way), I'd like Falcor to answer me in my prayers all I have of his actual existence is in a novel and on movies (and maybe video games, I'm not sure). But I don't know Falcor personally without depending on these points of references.

If someone asked me to define Falcor without mentioning the novel or movie, I can't. That's all I know of him and my imagination.

People speak of the creator differently than a fictional character. They know this creator outside of the bible, quran, vedas, and so forth. What they read verifies their beliefs not defines them.

So, what or who is a creator to you (other than that he-creates) that is not dependent on the bible or quran?
​

Yes, that is how he/she speaks to me, through nature, coincidence, dreams, visions, locutions, inspirations, other people, and the language of the heart....I need God to find a way to let me know his/her voice from all the other voices in my head.

Hmm. Why does he need to talk to you through voices, though? I mean, I know my family in spirit talks to me in voices but they also talk to me through coincidences, dreams, patience, and the greatest communication is art. These are the voices.

This goes back to how you define the creator. What type of voice do you want to hear; and, how is hearing a voice different than the creator speaking to you through nature, coincidence, dreams, visions, and so forth?

What's more valid about speaking in voice than the language of the heart?​

But, really. You don't have to cross your legs and close your eyes to meditate. I meditate by sketching, writing, and coloring while listen to music and hopefully helping one out of a hundred I speak to on RF.

Explore different types of meditation?

If the creator to you is all powerful and all that, why would he be limited by only talking to you by voice?

 

[james bond]

I ask God to reveal himself every day...the things he reveals, many Christians would tell me is from the Devil...so, I simply don't know

Interesting. A much different story from mine and from Ben. You sound like someone else I knew online. Since I don't know you and what could be wrong, good luck in your search.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

He can
Read the quran
He has spoken to some special people
Besides

This world is supposed to be a world that man can choose

If he should speak to everyone so nobody would remain atheists. Actually it was clear that God exists because he every day should have spoken to people and
FAITH would be meaningless

Don't think you're getting it.

Our ability to hear god should not depend on us but on god. If god only talks to those who hear him, then the claim that god exist would be in the hands of believers not god.

If god exists, he should back up his own claim of his own existence not have his claim (choice or not) be dependent on prophets and not believers.

Also.

If we Know god exists, faith would not be meaningless. If anything, faith would be strengthened with knowledge. We would not only believe in god but know god exists at the same time.

For example,

I believe that my ancestors exist because I am here. I know (not knew) know my grandmother is alive in spirit because she has physically contacted me with my five senses. No gnostics. No faith.

I know.

My faith is so much stronger that I chuck the word and have a strong foundation.

But back to god. If god does not give his believers all believers a foundation and is invisible (thereby not convincing that he exist), how in the world can any believer back up god's presence? They are just speaking from their own experiences; but, without knowledge, how do you expect the other party to take believers truth into consideration as facts?

How can you say something is true if you base it on faith and not fact?

 

[fantome profane]

Interesting. A much different story from mine and from Ben. You sound like someone else I knew online. Since I don't know you and what could be wrong, good luck in your search.

Very interesting story. The person who decided to seek answers and study scripture more deeply becomes an agnostic, where the person who just ignores the questions remains a Christian.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

The Abrahamic deity likes to play games, obviously. He's interesting but can be a nasty character. I believe in God, but She doesn't care if you believe in Her or not. But I'm a pantheist with a monist worldview. Everything is God, in my view. I dumped the Abrahamic paradigm. It has its romantic aspects, but it's rather tortuous.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

PopeADope, have you asked God to reveal Himself? Prolly wouldn't use your moniker is asking Him though ha ha. Just sayin'.

It goes beyond that, though. What you experience from god or christ is the same thing I experience from my family in spirit and the same a hindu experience from shiva.

Our sources are different, yes. We can talk about our differences; but, how is your experience-mental and physical reaction- different than mine? Name an attribute about the christian experience that no other person can experience unless he or she is christian.​

PopeaDope has to go beyond just asking if he wants to know the christian god. Shiva could answer him for all he knows. I talked to jesus once and he pointed to his father and said "duh, I'm not my dad, girl." (No pun). So, it goes beyond asking. It's a choice to get to know someone. It's a building and growing relationship that should not be one sided. If you do not build your relationship with god, you'd be asking (and repenting) your whole life.

God goes beyond that. We develop a relationship with life and how we live it and interpret it. Outside of that, how is the christian's experience different than anyone else's (outside of sources)?​

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I ask God to reveal himself every day...the things he reveals, many Christians would tell me is from the Devil...so, I simply don't know

Are they positive? Do they help you mentally, physically, and spiritually? Do they help you make a connection with yourself, others, and your environment?

If all (or most) are yes , pardon my french, s/ christians. God talks to you and you only. If you find god talks to you through christ so be but that relationship should not (in my opinion) be defined by what a christian says. This goes for Moses, John, and Jacob.

But, if those answers are yes, then I'd start there. Write it down and see a pattern. Do you need a book to verify your experiences? What about these experiences have less affect than hearing an actual voice from the creator?

 

[psychoslice]

Can't you just live your life happily without a god, I do, for me personally the belief of god only got in my way, if your a good person and don't harm others then why worry ?.

 

[loverofhumanity]

I hear God's Voice through His Holy Manifestations and their Holy Books. There is creation, nature, the universe and the human body but for me it's the Voice of the Prophets which communicates God to me.

Christ, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad, Moses, the Bab and Baha'u'llah all connect me to God. Whether I read the Quran or Bhagavad-Gita or Dhammapada or Gospels or Hidden Words I feel a beautiful intimate connection with God.

To serve these Manifestations is paradise, nirvana and true happiness and the greatest bounty one can have in this world.

But I cannot communicate to God direct without His Intermediaries , His Teachers, because my soul is only capable of sustaining the light of the suns rays but not the sun itself.

 

[Blessed of JEHOVAH]

So, God must have a reason for hiding himself and hiding the truth. A lot will say, the truth isn't hidden, just read the Bible and the Koran. I've read them both, and the truth is hidden. Both books contain verses that say the opposite of what other verses say, leading people to opposite conclusions. Much of the Bible is hyperbole, poetry, parable, allegory, and symbolic, leading to God only knows how many conflicting interpretations. It simply isn't clear. The Koran severely contradicts itself. I'd be happy to provide a list of verses from the Koran that justify ISIS atrocities.

Even if the Bible and Koran contained clear instruction that didn't contradict itself, that still isn't enough. Everyone is different. Many of us need more than a book. We need clear instruction on what to do personally with our lives.

If God would just leave us clear messages every now and then, imagine how much good it would do. Imagine if every heretic heard the voice of God correcting them and telling them their errors. There wouldn't be so much division and confusion.

How many atheists would still be atheist if God was speaking clear messages to them and telling them what to do with their lives? Even if God just left a message in the sky once every 10 years, do you think even 1% of the world's population would still be atheist? Clearly God wants there to be Atheists.

I pray every day that God would tell me what to do with my time and my life because I simply don't know. I'd like to be doing with my time, what he/she wants me to do with my time. No matter how much I pray for those instructions, I don't get them. How is that benefiting me for God to refuse to give those instructions? If it does no good, and in fact does harm to the world, why does God do it?

What good does God hiding himself/herself do our world? If it doesn't do any good, then why does he/she do it?

1 Corinthians 1:21) 21.For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not get to know God through its wisdom, God was pleased through the foolishness of what is preached to save those believing.

 

[George-ananda]

Whether you accept or not says nothing about whether it is factually correct.

It tells you I think it is factually correct. Nobody speaks for everybody.

Just because you like an idea doesn't make that idea true.

I agree with that statement. You must objectively consider the evidence and argumentation from all sides.

 

[interminable]

What should we judge a religion by, then? What about when a religion's followers claim to be acting on words found in their holy books?

This is simple

They interpret the religion as they wish or at least aren't knowledgeable enough to understand it.

And clearly wahabi branch of Islam is a creature of US

http://cdn.mashreghnews.ir/files/fa/news/1395/2/23/1625221_984.mp4

 

[interminable]

That's all I have to judge them by.
That and a batch of unsupported assertions about things which cannot be known, like God. That doesn't help.
Tom

And considering wahabi branch that barely is 1% of Muslims population

WHY DON'T U judge Islam by other Muslims???

Is wahabi branch a representative of all Muslims???

 

[Spiderman]

Can't you just live your life happily without a god, I do, for me personally the belief of god only got in my way, if your a good person and don't harm others then why worry ?.

I can't because I've received too many signs that there is a God and spirits in my life. I want to know how I can discern what they are telling me and what my purpose is, and am not able to be happy without that.

If you are able to be happy without that grace in your life, then you have a gift I simply don't have.

 

[interminable]

I showed you where your book does command you to kill nonmuslims...your prophet personally cut off many heads and was a violent intolerant military Dictator.

Seems I wasted my breath

Have u ever read my posts or contemplateed them???

Didn't u read these verses???

الممتحنة
لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ
Allah does not forbid you from those who do not fight you because of religion and do not expel you from your homes - from being righteous toward them and acting justly toward them. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly. (8)
الممتحنة
إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ وَظَاهَرُوا عَلَىٰ إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَن تَوَلَّوْهُمْ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion - [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers. (9)