What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 01:09 PM

To me "God" means that out of which all phenomena arise. All energy. All things. The original intelligence out of which all intelligence is an extension. The Unmanifest out of which arises manifestation. The Infinite.

"God" also means Unity to me...Oneness...as opposed to concepts like separation and duality. There's only one thing that forms a complete Unity and that's the Infinite, because the Infinite comprises absolutely everything.

It's what religions attempt to refer to in various ways when they talk about God, but it would exist even if no religions existed. It would exist if no human beings existed. It would exist if nothing finite and observable whatsoever existed...in which case, there would be no one talking about it. ;-)

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Bee
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 01:40 PM

Georgiansilver - Mike: I don't want to get personal at all, of course, although belief by its nature is personal.

I read plenty of confusion rising from the New Testament (the Old even moreso), from Jesus habit of using parables that are often hard to fathom and very subject to interpretation, such as the cursing of the fig tree; the exhortation to hate one's family to follow him; the bringing of a sword, not peace, and so on, all of which can be interpreted to mean something other than what they sound like (although that poor fig tree, which wasn't even in fruiting season...), but why did he sow seeds of misinterpretation?

But Jesus own words are for the most part (and in my opinion only) not usually so difficult, it is more often the words of those that came before and after. I frequently cannot agree with Paul's doctrines, particularly those regarding women, and the Old Testament is full of references to a deity who is jealous, wrathful, vengeful, merciless, coferring favour on 'his' people regardless of their behaviour, while ordering the wholesale massacre of entire populations based on their being in the way of his plans for 'his' people. Who is not horrified by the orders to kill every male Canaanite including infants, and every female who is not a virgin? Who is not horrified by the casual toying with Job; a bet with Satan no less, during the playing out of which dozens of innocent bystanders (Job's family)are killed?

Who can begin to understand why an omnipotent entity wants or needs to create such a set-up as the Tree in Eden?

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 01:42 PM

"An incomprehensibility invented by the unscrupulous to impose on the undiscriminating."


A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 01:46 PM

Oh, now, don't be so uncharitable, Amos! ;-)

How about instead..."a one-syllable attempt to label everything that's beyond our reach and our understanding"

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 01:55 PM

Sorry Bee was not implying that you would get personal..just an observation that some people on here seem to enjoy a nasty battle rather than a sensible discussion.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Bee
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 02:27 PM

No need to apologise, Georgiansilver! I was just indicating my own good will. ;-)

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 02:30 PM

It usually means some eedjit using his belief as an excuse to murder or maim those who don't share those beliefs.
Giok

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 02:32 PM

Is there a Dog?

sal

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 02:36 PM

Hell and Dalmation you mean Mrs L?
G.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: guitar
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 02:40 PM

God means that he is the Father of heaven

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Bunnahabhain
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:00 PM

To me, the word God unfortunately means that one or a group of believers are doing something that would otherwise be wrong, or do not feel capable of doing something good without an excuse.

I know this is very negative, but it seems all too true, too often.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:05 PM

Ok, so who's the mother of heaven, and on what side is his favourite auntie? And when's heaven's birthday?
Honestly, it's meaningless stuff like that which puts off many intelligent people from looking twice at the Church. I've lost count of the number of times I've walked past a church or chapel which has a biblical text on a poster outside - "God so loved the world,,," or whatever.
What the religious fail to grasp is that, to the non-religous, such stuff is simply meaningless. Speak to people in their own language, then they'll understand. That's why the vernacular and vulgate bibles were banned!

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: guitar
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:05 PM

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:17 PM

I don't feel charitable about massive boondoggles that undermine people's faculties and sometimes even ruin their lives, LH. While I know there are many poeple who do good works in the name of this symbol, I am quite sure they good do those same good works for their own sake.

And there are excessively large munbers of people who are willing to pervert the concept in order to justify their orn insanities and crimes.

So I fail to see where being charitable about it will get anyone any fuhthah.

A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:25 PM

Tolerance, Amos, tolerance. Are you asserting that you will defeat the religious intolerance in the world by not tolerating it?

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Scoville
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 03:26 PM

I don't believe in a humanoid God or in souls. I think souls in particular are a nice idea but I've found I just can't accept them in any sense except maybe as a way to describe one's own incorporeal consciousness, meaning that I do not believe in them as a separate spiritual force that animates the body and outlasts us when we die. No, this doesn't bother me. If all that happens when I (my mother, my dog, whoever) die is that I turn to sod, so be it. I had my turn.

I think the nearest I can get to "God", and I still balk at actually calling it that, has something to do with humanity, community, and empathy. It has no human form or emotions and is certainly not limited to any religion in particular. I've been told that this still "counts" as God but I feel it's disrespectful to insist on that terminology when others who do not worship God with a capital "G" may otherwise hold the same view.

I'm trying to learn to be less literal and less cynical so I can better accept my Southern Baptist neighbors. I think I'm making progress. It still frustrates the Hell (oops! I don't believe in that, either!) out of me when they try to legislate their religion but I feel less tempted lately to apply unflattering adjectives to their beliefs and mindsets.


As the bumper stickers says: "Just another soulless atheist in search of world peace & harmony."

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 06:49 PM

I'm sure God will appreciate your bumper sticker.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 07:31 PM

LH:

No, I am not. Religious intolerance is a waste of time, and it typically is born from religious blinding causing the inability to see other points of view.

Someone asked what the word meant.

A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 07:36 PM

It means anything you think it means. Same as any other word. We should ask Bill Clinton what it means. ;-)

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Scoville
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 07:59 PM

He was talking to me. It doesn't matter, though, since there is no God.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 08:00 PM

You got a chance to talk to Bill? Wow. You're pretty lucky.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Slag
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 08:03 PM

God. How about the personification of some aspect of inescapable or immutable human nature? The myth is essentially an etiological story that explains "why" things are the way they are. The fact that it happens on Mt. Olympus removes it from our ability to tamper with it. Also, the gods represent the perfect, i.e. the complete pattern and humankind is a less-than-perfect reflection of the paradigm.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 08:22 PM

Exactly. "God" is simply the archetype of that which is perfect and whole (thus: "holy"). God is also the archetype of that which is the origin of things. If you want to look at it scientifically, God is whatever caused the Big Bang, and created the Universe as we know it.

People personalize it because it's their nature to personalize things. After all, they often personalize their cars, don't they? I've heard people yelling at their cars and pleading with them... ;-)

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 09:50 PM

Yeah. But personalizing your car doesn't lead you to commit mass mayhem on those who drive the other brand!

The two most unfortunate characteristics of our species overall seems to be our proclivity for founding religions, and our proclivity for categorizing and then slaughtering our own kind. Oddly enough, I seem to detect some sort of statistical corrlation between these two things. Would we could abandon them both as grievous errors of mind and heart.

A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Slag
Date: 22 Jan 07 - 10:15 PM

Pantheism, God in all things, all things are God.

Polytheism, Many gods, each controlling one or more aspects of the human condition and the interactions of those conditions reflect the interactions of the gods.

Monotheism, (in short) the one uncreated, creator God.

Atheism, disbelief in any god.

Agnosticism, if there is a god, it is unknown and unknowable.

Humanism, that Man is god or as close to the concept of god that we will ever know. Man created god.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: dianavan
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 12:44 AM

Can I be a Pantheist-Humanist?

or would that be a Human Pantheist?

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Bert
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 01:42 AM

...generally by NON-Christians...

I guess you've never heard of Ireland!

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 10:40 AM

Panhumanism: the recognition of humanism in all things

Polyhumanism: The belief that there are multiple humans in the world.

Monohumanism: the belief that there is only one human of importance in the world. Variants include self-worship, mother-worship, and Republicanism.

Ahumanism: The belief that none of the bipeds driving around on Earth are particularly human in nature.

Agnostihumanism: The belief that noone knows what makes humans human.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 11:54 AM

Ignorant cognitive arrogance...Knowing and having an opinion on everything without full understanding.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Scoville
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 12:21 PM

. . . which would make all of us ignorant cognitive arrogants since, from what all the Christians tell me, only their God is omniscient.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 12:50 PM

Whose ignorance or arogance were you, in particular, speaking to there, Robin Goodfellow?


A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 01:30 PM

Is it possible for even a believer to understand god? And opinions don't require understanding - if they did, there are certain posters here who would be struck mute!

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 02:31 PM

Oh? By whom or what would such "striking" be performed? The High-Voltage Deity? The Winds and Storms Lord? Maybe the Sudden Falling Blunt Objects Department In Charge? Sheesh. The notion that anything spiritual could be so vengeful is reeedickledockle.





A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 03:28 PM

Har! Har! I like that one, Georgiansilver.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 03:57 PM

No no no, it's 'smiting' that's done by deities. Just as the humans do the begetting.
The striking I mention would be merely the action of irrefutable logic. Or prunes.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 04:21 PM

Yes, that's right. Deities smite. And people get smitten. I've been smitten myself on a few occasions.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: GUEST,Chongo Chimp
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 04:38 PM

What does the word "God" mean to me?

Well. Hmmm. It means the final arbiter. The one who brings down the hammer at the last trump and settles the score with all them that done wrong, and rewards the righteous. Yup. That's when humans are gonna get brought down a peg or two and us chimps and other primates are gonna get what's owed us! Yeah.

Other than that, it means a realllly long-legged, good-lookin' dame with a lonnng cigarette holder wearin' nothin' but a few bits of lacy negligee and black fishnet stockings and high-heeled shoes. Yeah. Kreegah!

- Chongo

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Georgiansilver
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 05:59 PM

What does the word God mean to me? It means the very means by which I changed from being a heavy smoking, heavy drinking, swearing, womaniser into the person I am now and I quite like me as I am. I hated myself for the things I did before 1991 when I was zapped by God. I am not perfect now and no person who claims they are Christian is! We all fall short of the Glory of the Lord and all say and do wrong things at times but we are working, or should be working on ourselves to become perfect in His sight.
Before becoming Christian I had for years felt an unfulfilled emptiness in my life in spite of a 'full' living lifestyle. That 'gap' has been filled and no-one can convince me that God does not exist or that Jesus does not love me for who I am. Answers to prayer and events that happen in my life could not do less than convince me that there is someone out there much bigger than me.
There is someone out there bigger than all of us even though some of us don't know it yet.
Seek your own truth and believe what you want to believe but at least keep seeking.
Best wishes, Mike.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: LilyFestre
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 06:10 PM

Reedickledoggle....LOVE IT! LOL!

Michelle

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 06:14 PM

Seek your own truth and believe what you want to believe

The first is the best advice anyone ever got; the second is inevitable.

There is someone out there bigger than all of us even though some of us don't know it yet.

This is logically untenable as a proposition. It is also condescending, but what the hey -- arrogance comes in lots of flavors.

Best of luck with your on going answers, Mike.

A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Rasener
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 06:19 PM

>>There is someone out there bigger than all of us even though some of us don't know it yet.
<<

Me :-)

My father always told me that you should never talk about Politics, Religion, and I agree with him. They both cause so much conflict.

Mike you don't have to be religious to change your life style, you need to beleive in morality and have the strength to realise when things ain't going right and do something about it.

However if you beleive that is what helped you to change your lifestyle, then who am I to criticise.

We all get bum deals in our life and most get up off the floor and sort our life out. That doesn't need God. Well not in my mind.

You may have had a tough time, but I am pretty sure I can match you, but I have never looked to God to get me out of it.

No offence M8 but I have done the same as you but without some fictitious being up there.

Will you still talk to me :-) Glad you ain't coming Friday LOL Iam only joking - you are a very good M8

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 07:45 PM

Indeed you don't have to be religious to change. I, too, was once a heavy smoking, heavy drinking, swearing, womaniser. God had nothing to do with my changing - it was my own realisation that I was letting people down, pissing them off and playing fast and loose with my health. Selfish reasons, if you like! And I, too, prefer the 'new' me to the old (even if some say I've become boring) - but I can have the pride in a job well done rather than letting a god take the credit! ;-)

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 07:46 PM

"This is logically untenable as a proposition."

Only if you give it a literal (physical) interpretation, Amos.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:03 PM

Perhaps, Captain Ginger, the better side of you that enabled you to find the strength to change is exactly what other people refer to as "God"...

If so, what does it matter what they call it?

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Captain Ginger
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:05 PM

Probably not - I don't mind being called 'God'!

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:08 PM

Excellent! ;-)

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:08 PM

Sorry, LH, I don't agree. The illogic hinges on the cognitive dissonance inherent in calling the infinite a "someone" .

A

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Little Hawk
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:12 PM

Yes, I understand, but that's just personalization....like people do with a lot of other things. However, I do get the gist of your objection.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: Amos
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:17 PM

One Hundred.

Subject: RE: What does the word 'God' mean to you?,II
From: robomatic
Date: 23 Jan 07 - 10:27 PM

God as embodied in physics is an ideal limit like the speed of light whose symbol is C, which is also a symbol for
100