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Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Many theistic religions today base themselves around ancient mythology and lore, made to come alive through numerous tales of mythical exploits and adventure by those who tell and have told, handing down stories conceived in written long ago.

Today, people don't experience first hand those types of living Gods reminiscent of which oftentimes has been described in it's mythical origin. It makes for the God's to be stuck in time.

People live vicariously through many books and traditions by which the Gods dwelling within are are helplessly and hopelessly trapped within its timeless pages with little hope of the Gods ever escaping them.

What else is a theist going to do in order demonstrate effectedly that its not metaphor or mythology?

Is it ever bothersome to have Gods that doesn't respond and cannot speak or do anything?
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Well, they can do what I do and leave the old tomes behind? :shrug:

I spend most of my time with contemporary study and experience of the gods, not with the back-when. Part of that is because I have a hard time getting into the old tales. They are distant and remote to me. Being mindful of the gods as I walk to and from work each day, on the other hand, is immediate and visceral.
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member
It's not the Gods that are stuck in time.

The holy books are static as the text do not change.

Just the translations of the followers changes if at all.
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member
Well, they can do what I do and leave the old tomes behind? :shrug:

I spend most of my time with contemporary study and experience of the gods, not with the back-when. Part of that is because I have a hard time getting into the old tales. They are distant and remote to me. Being mindful of the gods as I walk to and from work each day, on the other hand, is immediate and visceral.

They can't do what you or I can do. :)
 

idav

Being
Premium Member
Many theistic religions today base themselves around ancient mythology and lore, made to come alive through numerous tales of mythical exploits and adventure by those who tell and have told, handing down stories conceived in written long ago.

Today, people don't experience first hand those types of living Gods reminiscent of which oftentimes has been described in it's mythical origin. It makes for the God's to be stuck in time.

People live vicariously through many books and traditions by which the Gods dwelling within are are helplessly and hopelessly trapped within its timeless pages with little hope of the Gods ever escaping them.

What else is a theist going to do in order demonstrate effectedly that its not metaphor or mythology?

Is it ever bothersome to have Gods that doesn't respond and cannot speak or do anything?
I think science is finding god but it really isn't their job to create such labels.
Singularity as God
 

Mister Silver

Faith's Nightmare
I am not certain I understand the importance of the OP.

I wrote a novel about modern times. Even one hundred years from now, the specifics of what is written in that novel will be stuck in the past. That is how we understand time.

Maybe someone will read that novel in one hundred years and connect with it on a certain emotional or psychological level, but it will not make what is written in that novel relevant to the year 2117 any more than god from the bible is relevant to us now.

The god of the bible was created for the time period in which the concept existed, but what authors tend to fail to understand is that even though the work itself may achieve immortality, in no way does the concept survive relevance through time.
 

Grandliseur

Well-Known Member
those types of living Gods reminiscent of which oftentimes has been described in it's mythical origin. It makes for the God's to be stuck in time.
Sorry to disagree.

My God interacts with me in answering prayers, in disciplining when needed, in giving stark warnings if warranted. He also seems to have answered now and then prayers for individuals in hospitals, etc. Once in a while miraculous like things happens at hospitals after prayer that leaves doctors stunned. In the past, on more than one occasion I have prayed for some extraordinary thing to happen to protect my family and the righteous where I live. It was granted. I don't say that it will be granted in the future. God does what he wills, and if I need to die for his will to be done, death is no obstacle to God if that is his desire.

As scripture says, God carries the daily load for the righteous:
Psalm 68:19 19 Blessed be Jehovah, who daily carries the load for us, The [true] God of our salvation. Se′lah.
 
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Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
The same "they" you quoted in your comment. Who were you talking about?

Everyone - all humans - which is why I'm confused about your response. Anyone who wants to can take that approach. Even in the religious traditions who tend towards being more dogmatic and authoritarian have their mystical sects within them.
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member

Everyone - all humans - which is why I'm confused about your response. Anyone who wants to can take that approach. Even in the religious traditions who tend towards being more dogmatic and authoritarian have their mystical sects within them.

Not sure why you're focusing on a simple word: they.

You used it arbitrarily and somehow, I'm the one being out of context when I use the same word?

Let's just make this easier:

Replace "they" with "everyone" in both our comments and see what happens. Is it really that difficult?

"Well, EVERYONE can do what I do and leave the old tomes behind? :shrug:

I spend most of my time with contemporary study and experience of the gods, not with the back-when. Part of that is because I have a hard time getting into the old tales. They are distant and remote to me. Being mindful of the gods as I walk to and from work each day, on the other hand, is immediate and visceral." - Quint

"EVERYONE can't do what you or I can do. :)" - Me

I'm sorry, but you're obfuscating again...
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Don't mistake confusion for obfuscation. I have neither the time nor patience for smoke and mirrors games.
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member
Don't mistake confusion for obfuscation. I have neither the time nor patience for smoke and mirrors games.

Did you forget to reply to me?

The irony is... Smoke and mirrors are exactly what you're doing.

What made your use of "they" different from my use of "they"? Why do we need to focus on a single word versus the overall content? Wasn't the content simple enough to infer a context?
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Did you forget to reply to me?

The irony is... Smoke and mirrors are exactly what you're doing.

No, it isn't - you apparently didn't read my last post.
Don't mistake confusion for obfuscation. If you can't deal with the fact that I was confused about your meaning and therefore asked a clarifying question to better understand your angle, well... I don't have the patience to deal with you, especially when you start misrepresenting me. It was obviously a mistake to ask you for clarification in the first place.
 

Kelly of the Phoenix

Well-Known Member
I don't believe it's a coincidence that the more doubt we have as people over time, the less miraculous happenings we witness.
Even throughout the bible, you go from God walking around a garden and physically talking to people to being a voice from on high to needing angels to talk for Him to needing humans to talk for Him. For a "Word of God", God barely makes cameo status in His own books. You go from Moses splitting a marsh or something and being protected by a fire tornado to Jesus who probably walked on a partially submerged sandbar and told a storm to stop. It's not until John "Michael Bay" Patmos that we start seeing special effects-heavy stuff again.
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member

No, it isn't - you apparently didn't read my last post.
Don't mistake confusion for obfuscation. If you can't deal with the fact that I was confused about your meaning and therefore asked a clarifying question to better understand your angle, well... I don't have the patience to deal with you, especially when you start misrepresenting me. It was obviously a mistake to ask you for clarification in the first place.

I explained to you the usage. It was the same usage you implied with your use of the word "they".

Why was that so hard to understand? Why do you have a different standard for yourself than others? You used the same word in one context, yet, no one questioned your usage because people inferred the context. Then when I did the same exact thing you did, it suddenly became confusing and now we stuck on a very trivial part of this conversation?

Possibly, if you own up to your own actions then the confusion will stop. We are stuck on defining "they". It's an arbitrary "they" just like you used it. You defined it as everyone. Why can't I define it as everyone? What made your use of the word they so different from my use of it? Such an arbitrary word yet you choose not to go beyond it to the real context of this thread.
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
... and now we stuck on a very trivial part of this conversation?

We? Not really. For whatever reason, you ignored the substantive part of the reply below and quibbled about trivialities.

Everyone - all humans - which is why I'm confused about your response. Anyone who wants to can take that approach [one that leaves the old tomes behind]. Even in the religious traditions who tend towards being more dogmatic and authoritarian have their mystical sects within them.

tumblr_m325lrnSfr1qf3hns.jpg


No words at all about any of this. Instead, you fixated on "they." I did not fixate on it, you fixated on it. Are you done yet?
 

suncowiam

Well-Known Member

We? Not really. For whatever reason, you ignored the substantive part of the reply below and quibbled about trivialities.



tumblr_m325lrnSfr1qf3hns.jpg


No words at all about any of this. Instead, you fixated on "they." I did not fixate on it, you fixated on it. Are you done yet?

Yes, I responded to that.

I did mention to plug that same definition you provided into your original statement and my original statement, then see what comes about.

Still made sense to me.

I'm not the one the fixates on definitions of "they" and "God." It's quite easy to infer the definition from the context. I do not slow down a conversation by placing arbitrary steps to define single words. I never have to define these words outside of our conversations.

Back to the OP. You mentioned that you do not refer to the old tomes. Neither do I. I do not refer to any religious tomes. But, that does not mean others can easily do what you and I can do. Those that follow some religions are forced to adhere to older tomes and these tomes are static in their passages. They might be translated differently over time but the phrases never change. That is the core of this OP. Again, this is why your Gods are not stuck in time but other more populous Gods are stuck in time. Therefore, the followers of these Gods could be considered stuck in older conservative beliefs.

You alluded to it. I understood your meaning no matter what definition of "they" you chose.
 
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