There are 9 choices, 10 votes for ennoia's debate

Is God interested in us?

I've often wondered this.

If God is Absolute, All Eternal, All Loving, and Extremely Clever Far More So Than You, then why does he need us to tell Him this?

"We often hear people suggesting 'do this, as this will make God happy and you shall be rewarded or don't do that, God will get angry and punish you'. But can we really make God happy or unhappy? Do our actions affect Him? Does He actually feel the pain or pleasure through our actions?"

Is the supposition that God is a Divine Judge, that he is interested in all human affairs, just a requirement for there to be a Divine Code of Morality, a system of control, and a threat for people to behave in their earthly lives?

And why would a God of Love say things like this? :

EXO 15:3 "The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name"

So is God interested in how we go to war in His name? Or how we use Him as an excuse to persecute homosexuals, or people of slightly different religions?

JER 13:14 "And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them."

Is God like the Abrahamic God - judging and vengeful?

Or is He like the God of the eastern religions - a divine energy, or wisdom that we are each touched by, and must accept that we can be left to decide on our own, more forgiving code of morality and laws?


  • God isn't about judging, or being separate and superior to any of us.

    As usual, in times of religious confusion, I shall consult the Monty Python boys.

    Excerpt from The Meaning Of Life:

    "Chaplain: O Lord,

    "Congregation: O Lord,

    Chaplain: ooh, You are so big!

    Congregation: ooh, You are so big!

    Chaplain: so absolutely huge.

    Congregation: so absolutely huge.

    Chaplain: Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You.

    Congregation: Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You.

    Chaplain: Forgive us, O Lord, for this, our dreadful toadying, and...

    Congregation: and barefaced flattery.

    Chaplain: But You're so strong and, well, just so super.

    Congregation: Fantastic!

    Chaplain: Amen.

    Congregation: Amen."

    Contraversial stuff, you'll agree.

    Now, I'm not an atheist by any standards, but I think this piece does make some interesting points. Why, if God is All-Knowing and wonderful, and separate from us lesser beings, does he need to be reminded of this? By doing so, are we better people?

    I see a promlem in a God who is judging and vengeful, and who is frequently used as an excuse to discriminate against or go to war on just about anyone.

    In the Bhagvad Gita, which makes for very interesting reading, Lord Krishna says "All this work cannot bind me. I am ever detached from all these material activities." (text 9 ch=9). This clearly states that God is detached, independent from all we do on the material earth, and all our work cannot "bind"(whether that is connect, or affect) Him.

    This makes sense to me.

    Now, I don't disagree with appreciating the beautiful world we find ourselves in. In fact, I find endless beauty and elegance in the universe, and I think it is only more beautiful that it is a self-governing system, not necessarily by chance, but as part of an extended life force, that we all, eventually, find ourselves to be a part of.

    I disagree with a God who will always be spiritually greater than us, rather than spiritually part of us, especially if this means we must directly praise the infinite amazingness of this separate being (which is, by the way, how he's always been by default, so I am told) and constantly repress our own race as inherently sinful (which, surely, is then not our fault, even if it is true that, once, one of our people "betrayed" us, by wishing only to seek knowledge.

    To refer to the Bhagvad Gita once again, Lord says: All people are subject to the laws of Nature. Even a wise man acts according to his nature, which he has acquired from the three modes. What can repression accomplish? (ch III-text - 33)

    Why not leave it up to us to decide how to live our lives in this existence? Many of the laws of the judging God seem entirely unsuited to our lifestyles, after all. (Open up Leviticus on any random page) If we are subject to the laws of nature, as the 'Songs of the Spirit' suggest, then why not make laws in accordance with this nature, and live our lives as we individually see spiritually (or not) fit?

    I think it is up to each inidividual to make their own peace, and their own codes with the Ultimate Manifiestation of That Which Is. Everyone is different, and we shouldn't try to produce an all encompassing code of morality, whose prime purpose, I often fear, is so our religious superiors and leaders can control us.

    God isn't interested in if we are gay or not, God isn't interest in how sinful we are, and how wonderful he is, because this gets no one anywhere.

    God is part of all of us, and it is up to each individual to behave how they will (if this creates societal problems, then we deal with them through our laws of society, which should not be related to a God who is, apparently, entirely unlike us!) up to each individual, to find peace with whatever they find divine in the world - whether that be Love, Knowledge, Reason, Wisdom, Beauty, Art, Music, so that they might better understand whatever, however, or whenever, heaven and enlightenment are.

    Pax Vobiscum

    Ping-An

    Esalam Ala el djamia

    Sholom Aleichem

    Shanti

    Namaste

    .........................................

    http://spirituality.indiatimes.com/articleshow/35849436.cms references from Bhagavad Gita

    30%  Voted for by ennoia, Weydon, Mad-Hatter.
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  • NewSpring

    I live in South Carolina. I go to church every Sunday at this place called NewSpring Church. It's awesome! They've got a live band and great preaching topics. It seems like you are confused a whole lot about the bible. Go check out NewSpring's website: www.newspring.cc You can download some of the sermons on the website if you want to. This may explain some things.

    Voted for by livinlarge.
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  • ..

    God=?

    Voted for by IiYiIiIzage.
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  • No idea

    Interesting points. Not sure if I full-heartedly agree with everything, but I'm with the general idea 100%.

    I never really trusted the Bible for the end-answer. Even as a kid the story of God seeing if Abraham would kill Isaac or not made me a little uncomfortable.

    But I do think he's interested in us. I like to believe that universe itself (and us, either on purpose or accident) was created by God for--in a sense--entertainment value. For the beauty of it all, and the eventual creation beings with original thoughts and free actions and companionship.

    As for God's supposed anger at our "betrayal" from eating the fruits of knowledge, I've been doing some thinking about that. Humans were dilly-dallying all naked and free and fun in the garden of eden without even being able to sin because they didn't know better. Then they "eat some knowledge" and suddenly they realize they're sinning and have to face hardships.

    Maybe this is all just symbolic for primitive forms of man coming into self-awareness and developing language and moral systems.

    Granted, why we would have any recolection of this switch and document it, or why God would inspire anyone to jot that little tidbit down is beyond me. Come to think of it, I may have been a little trashed when I came up with that little mind-blower....It's not as mind-blowing now. Oh well!

    Voted for by Weydon.
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  • There is no God.

    People who thinks that there is any sort of a higher power are just blind to the real world. People use their religious beliefs to give themselves direction in life, which is positive for some people. However you should not work hard and achieve things looking for the approval of a God, you should do it for yourself and you own morals that you believe are important here, on Earth. The world we live in now is the only thing that can count on and have faith in. To live your life in service for hopes of a better afterlife is absurd.

    Voted for by creason.
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  • there is a God,

    Man there is a God, I can prove that he exsist, that you talk to him every day, it just that God is not what religion teaches, your opinion of God is based of their opinion, that is why you will forever be debating if God exist.

    Voted for by Roo.
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  • God's a dad

    No matter how many times a child tells his dad that he loves him, it never gets old. That's why God wants us to tell Him how great He is. He gets joy from seeing us and hearing from us.

    Voted for by Makessenseright.
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  • The Most Likely Truth

    I think it was William Willard who said, "If God has cable, we are the 24 hour Doofus Network." That is my opinion and if that is true, imagine what His Discovery channel must be like.

    Voted for by keyman7.
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  • The Truth

    First of all, if your going to quote scriptures, you need to grab more than one verse to make your point. The only way to understand God is through Jesus, and when I say Jesus, I mean the Word. If you know anything about the bible, then you know that Jesus is the Word. John 1:1-3 says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He(the Word)was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him(Jesus), and without him nothing was made that was made." I took three verses to make my point and you need to do the same. The reason God punished those people that you were referring to is because of their unbelief and especially thier disobedience. They didn't listen to or teach his Words. Genesis 6:5-8 says: "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man(men and women)was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry the He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, I will destroy man who I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." As we know the story, God did destroy the world by a continuous rain lasting 40 days and 40 nights, but because of one man, God didn't destroy him and his family because he followed his Words.

    Now, if you want to talk about homosexuals, remember, you brought it up. The bible speaks very plainly about this. I will give you a couple of simple verses. In Genesis 2:23-24, Adam says: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; "she is called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Then God says: "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." A woman is apart of man. There is nothing written about homosexuality. God purpose for sex is to concieve children and the only way that you can do that is by One man and One woman, that's it. In chapter 2 of Genesis at the 26th verse, God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to our likeness." He also says in verse 27-28, "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him: male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it". Are you saying that God is a homosexual. We are created in his image, man and woman alike. Leviticus 20:13 says "If a man who lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination". I didn't even write the rest of that verse. If you want to know what the rest says, look it up.

    When God brought Israel out of Egypt, they were the only group who could say that they were his chosen people. In Ephesians 4:1-6, Paul says "I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love. Endeavering to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptisism: one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all". There isn't religions, just religion. There is only one. There was only one when Moses brought the children of Irsael out of Egypt and there is only one today. It is our duty on this beautiful earth to spread His message to everyone who is willing to hear it. That makes God happy. He wants us all to be with him in heaven. That means, He doesn't want to loose not one man or woman. If your want to follow Him, it's your choice and yours alone to make. God doesn't force you to follow Him. He does know what's best for you, but if you want to find your own way, He will let you.

    If you believe in God then you know that God is interested in us. God gave his only begotten son to die for our sins so we might have a closer relationship with Him. What I suggest anyone who reads this and says to themselves that this is a bunch of crap, first, read the verses I gave you, then read the whole bible from front to back or get an audio of the entire bible. I didn't make up one word. In Revelation 22:18-19, the writer says: "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book"(all the good things). My job is to give you the truth. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says: "If you abide in My word, you are a disciple indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

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