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Give us your (short) opinions on God

  1. Does God exist? If so, how do you define him?
  2. If he exists what is he like?
  3. Where does he exist?
  4. have you experienced the presence of supernatural evil?

My current opinions
1)God is not the cranky, angry old man in the sky of the OT. The things we worship or consider the most important goals in Life can be interpreted to be our"God." Christ said the Holy Spirit is the "Spirit of Truth." Mature good people often seek Truth above all else. Peace, Justice, and love fit in there somewhere, too.
2)If God exists, we are probably incapable of describing him---but--What if God is an Egregore of all passed good and decent souls who have aggragated into a functional spiritual power/being?
3)He would likely reside in all things--particularly in the conscience of each individual.. Like Christ said--"The Kingdom of Heaven is within you."
4)Yes, the experience with supernatural evil is not too uncommon. If supernatural evil exists, it would seem to be necessary for supernatural good (God/Angels) to exist also, although they would be less likely to be so obvious as evil.entities.

These are just a few "toss 'em out there and see if they stick" ideas. Tell us yours. And offer critiques or possible improvements on these or other ideas presented.

MarPep 7 Mar 12
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20 comments

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0

God is an invention of man. Religion uses fear,oppression, manipulation and guilt to control the masses. - and ALSO turns a tidy ( tax free ) profit. The roman catholic church has been collecting tithe for over 2 thousand years - and we STILL have a poor 3rd world, pedophiles operate freely within MANY religious circles, and the word of god has caused more division, fear & hatred, war and setting of one man against one another - than any other single thing in human history - throughout our history.

0

God is eternal. We are created in his image. I believe that the Jews are Gods chosen people. He has dealt with them a bit differently with each period of disbelief. I believe that God is a fair judge. I believe that God provides answers that we struggle with and I believe that God wants all to come to him because the world would be a better place. I believe that God has made a permanent place for those who reject him in favor of their own Gods. God, Jesus Christ, never force themselves on anyone, it is individual free will.

0
  1. No, I define god as a sentient mechanism by which the universe was created, could add that the supernatural element is even less convincing.
  2. If he did exist and had some supernatural means by which he influences the world I'd be horrified and amazed.
  3. I hope nowhere near me.
  4. Nope, just biological monsters. Many species exhibit infanticide as a means of reproductive competition, not surprising we have a few bad apples
1

I believe God exists because in my heart I know and love the feeling when I do something good and if I even think of something bad a feeling comes over me that is unsettling. God is good, God is love, and God forgives. When my daughter was a toddler I did not know but she climbed out of the 2nd floor window and was hanging over concrete steps a feeling came over me and I knew I needed to find my daughter. I saved her because God/angel helped me. Also, I believe there was a creator because everything just did not happen by accident, conditions would have needed to be too perfect.

0

Yes, God exists. He is a paradox, indescribable. The way I experienced Him (a few times) was as an ocean of love without horizons or limits. So, in nature, He is most like water. In art, He is most like the Creator God of the Sistine Chapel, striving towards Adam to give him life (spirit). His face is old with wrinkles which denote experience and wisdom. His hair is blowing in the wind. He is a dynamic force, not static. Michaelangelo got it right.

And Jesus could not have used a more accurate term to describe our relationship with him - He is our Father. However, His love is more akin to what a mother feels when she first sees her child - pure, unconditional love.

God is supremely "in Himself" but he is also everywhere in the universe as well, including inside us.

Yes, I have experienced the presence of supernatural evil. The only reason I was not overcome by it was because the Holy Spirit guided me through the lies.

0

Each of us could be said to have some thing, or some idea, that we consider to be the highest good--or the highest power. For children's Sunday School, that might be an old man in the sky watching us to see if we do any "badness" by not following his 10 commandments. For more mature adults, the highest good might be an indwelling constant "drive", or Spirit. The Spirit of Truth, the spirit of Love--these are things that can drive us to action.

1

Karl Barth, considered the most profound evangelical theologian of his time, summed up his writings by saying, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Simple yet elegant.

I look at the universe and see the work of a creator. I look at history and see the same. I look at the Bible see it conforms to what I know about history and science. I am convinced this is correct. Others are not and I do not know why because I do not know their hearts.

Karl Barth, considered the most profound evangelical theologian of his time, summed up his writings by saying, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

Simple yet elegant. - A hand me down instruction manual " because this BOOK tells me so "...argument um ad-populism....if enough people hear and read it...it is taken as truth ( without question ). " Faith " is the shedding of reason, logic, and the surrender of common sense, and the ability to think objectively. I could provide many logical reason for not only why - but HOW religion operates using human psychology to achieve control over many people using the " stroke " technique. - and no, its not what one would imagine.

Howdy @ROGAN

You see faith as abandoning reason and inquiry. I see a different aspect of it. Forty-odd years ago Patty and I held hands and promised to be partners for the rest of our lives. We did not know everything about each other, but we knew about the character of the person we were putting our trust in. Enough to commit to a relationship. That's what faith is. That's what God wants.

You are right when you say it's about the BOOK. I've read the Bible a long time and I've grown more and more impressed with its depth, its profound insights, its subtlety. It's a dialog with humanity spanning fifteen-hundred years and scores of authors. I believe in its divine inspiration. But this is more of an informed consent than a blind acceptance.

"Come, let us reason together..."
Isaiah 1:18

2

God exists. He's amazing. He lives in your heart. He can be felt. He does speak to us and he is a ever present helper in troubled times. You can't get to know God unless you read the bible and pray. If you do, you will discover the most loving, amazing unbelievably forgiving man ever!! Jesus is Lord! And even the muslims know it!! Praise Jesus!

0

I don't believe in God exactly, I do believe that infinity as is definable, makes the impossible possible. All you need to believe is that nothing is an impossibility, due to infinity always eventually creating something i.e. the Infinate Monkey Theorem.

2

Yes, God exists. We are his children, created in his image. Therefore, he is a a perfected man and his son Jesus is too. The Holy Spirit is a being of spirit that allows God’s influence to be with us. He created all things and allows Satan to tempt us so that we can use our free agency to learn and grow and become more like him. He is omniscient and through the spirit is omnipresent. Through the condescension of His son Jesus we can repent of our sins. Our time on earth is a testing period to see if we will use our agency for good or bad. Would like to comment more, but do not have the time. Perhaps later.

1

I belive "God", whatever you call it in your faith, DOES exist. Not necessarily in the traditional sense of Good VS. Evil, but in the sense of all things.

God just "IS", whether it is accepted or not. There is no choice of believing and it doesn't matter one way or another. Be happy with "your" God, or don't. IMHO, I don't think it's relevant what anyone "thinks" about their God, it's there, either way. I do think you have a better life if you are happy with your God.

To me, God is energy and all things around us, all the time. WE are energy that just happens to be collected and bound into a specific form, therefore, we ourselves are made up of "God."

There IS, I believe, positive and negative energy (good / evil), and energy is fluid in that it can change from positive to negative or negative to positive and back and forth, capable of ever changing..

I fully believe in the "Commandments" of the Christian based faith of which i was raised, but also believe they were created by man and are common across most, if not all faiths. "Don't be a Dick" being the common thread. Don't be or bring negative/evil energy.

I think we've probably ALL "felt" good and /or bad energy from something or someone or someplace. To me, that is "God". And if you can acknowledge "feeling" the energy of something else, it's an easy step to realize that it is ALL connected and fluid.

Whoa! Sounds DEEP, now that I've written it out. LOL

0

1- This universe is too dynamic and appears that every piece is exactly where it needs to be, from our relationship with the sun, Earth's tilt. All way to intricate not to be created. So simply identity the entity as creator (not Tyler)

2- if we can't even fully comprehend the universe yet, how would we even know how to fathom it. How much does an ant know of the sun?

3- likely unfathomable, but I liken it to a lighthouse. There's a guidng light not always visible but cutting through the infinite darkness as a clue to reach the shore(heaven)

4- It's clear evident in the hearts of so many. First if you believe in good, there had to be evil. And what is super natural, a Tsunami seems a literal example.

2

Science deals with observable evidence. But too many scientists have offered their opinion on matters outside of their realm, and have caused many to be cautious in regard to the supernatural.
If you think about it, there is no reason to believe that there couldn't be a supernatural realm. Many claim to have encountered this realm. Some by purpose, others by chance. I have encountered it by chance and by purpose. I have witnessed observable evidence of its existence.
That's why I am a Christian

0

I believe God exists. He is our eternal Heavenly Father - the father of our spirit. We are quite literally, his children. Jesus Christ is His beloved Son, who came to accomplish the will of the Father. I believe He is a loving Father, who wants us to be happy. This is the reason for our existence on this earth. Just as we as parents want the best for our children, He also wants us to achieve our full potential. His commandments are intended as a guide to show us how to be happy - though shalt nots to protect us from heartache, though shalts to show us the path of happiness. He sent his beloved Son, Jesus Christ to overcome our weaknesses and to provide a path back to Him. Through Jesus Christ, all the demands of justice are met and mercy prevails.

We are here to learn to love, Godly love, to develop charity. We do so by keeping His commandments to the best of our ability, calling on the mercy of Christ when we fall short, and developing Christlike love as we forget ourselves and serve those around us.

0

Indefinable. How does a fish in an aquarium mark out the bounds of the sea. Can't get my head around infinite (but I keep inflating it to try). Seems preposterous that an infinite being would be interested in us. But, if you have all the time since forever ...

0
  1. me, OF COURSE HE exists. If HE didn't, we wouldn't be here! I think that he loves His creation (US)! He gave His son for US.
  2. I think He wants US know Him and love Him. I think He wants us have a personal relationship with Jesus and ALL of US...
  3. God is Omni-Present. He's all around us all of the time. Watching over us and keeping US in line... (Stirring the pot, you might say)
  4. While I have had an OOBE (Out-of Body-Experience), I've never seen supernatural evil. Just human's version of evil and I hope I don't see supernatural evil! That would scare the crap out of me!
0

Given what we know about science now, e.g. How many solar systems there, billions more than previously, quantum entaglement...it's proposterous that some super sky- exists, and that he creates all these flaws, handicapped kids, storms on Pluto...insane.

If I may David, I want offer a different perspective. God is not the creator of all things flawed. He is the creator of all things good. The earth is cured by an opposing force whom is the opposite of all things good. Which is why we have death, disease, disasters, etc.

1
  1. Does God exist?
    Yes. He is a spirit and must be worshipped in spirit as the scripture says.
  2. If he exists what is he like?
    Many things. He first gave freewil, so believe is, and should always be, a conscious decision. He is likened a Father who gives his children unconditional love, and whatever they need in abundance if they ask Him for it and believe in their heart receive it. The scripture says He loves us uniquely as we are all individually important, especially once we decide receive the holy spirit and become part of the “body”.
  3. Where does he exist?
    Scripture says He is everywhere present being the largest spirit and that He lives inside of you through your spirit (different your soul. Your soul life is your personality, character, your mind. Whatever makes you, you) once you receive this spirit you have direct communication with God. When you don’t have the spirit, you can pray Him but His spirit doesn’t yet reside within you.
  4. have you experienced the presence of supernatural evil?
    Yes.
0

I like the idea that god is like the ocean and we are like cups of water. Vessels of spiritual energy enacting roles played out create life. Water gives us life, and came from space. So I see this as the seeds of life and since the source is unknown, am open it being happenstance or intelligent design.

Asking where he is or what he is like is like asking where the water is, its literally everything that we know and we wouldn't exist without it. I generalize the consept of god by referring it as mother nature when I need . I don't believe it is a tangible subject observe in the manor that these questions hope answer.

I've experienced a few "supernatural" type events in my life, but I think this is because my physical experience of the world has been skewed by health issues. I do not experience many things like other people, and wouldn't label anything as good or evil. I also technically wouldn't label them as supernatural ether since the existence of it would make it natural IMO. So I suppose I group that consept in with man made, good vs evil and discount it.

I would say that god exists within the consepts of different religions that over lap, they all seem have the same basic understanding when you take away the colorful stories. Though I haven't done much research on religion so this is a general observation from an outside perspective. I prefer philosophical ideas because I feel like they give the power back to the people rather than asking us to bend to an all seeing power.

Or we could just be an alien experiment, or maybe we really are in the matrix and this is all just grasping at meaning where there is none.

... or all of the above? I suppose I don't have a belief so to speak, but I do feel connected to something.

0

Can't say I believe in a god(s) or an afterlife as I've not observed any solid evidence to support the existence of such. If you go by what the Bible says, it depicted the god of the OT fairly well. If you believe such a being exists, than it would have to exist outside of this world, and that means there would have to be alternate realms none of which any human being could verify to be real. As for evil? That is a human-made force, and human beings have the choice to decide on whether or not to be benevolent or malevolent.

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