What is God?

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by TVCasualty

All I know is that if I were an infinite, omnipotent perceiver/creator, I'd get bored after awhile out in the Void all by myself. I'd schism my awareness into infinite tiny specks, each on a journey to experience some novelty. After awhile (infinity) I'd have had all possible experiences from all possible perspectives, at which point I would recombine for a full understanding of Everything. This is a work in progress. Some traditions call reality the 'ocean' and we are 'droplets' that ultimately return to that ocean, becoming one with it. Same thing.

This is probably the best description of god there is - heard it a couple times from a couple diff sources... but it comes close in my humble opinion. ...i'd omit the "I" statements ...it just is - stranger than we can suppose... but that shouldn't stop us from trying ...that's growth

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by Shosh

There is only one God..That is what I believe and Hippie 3 isnt him!

Uh, you went after Hip when the last time he posted in this thread was March of 2007? Was it just to be a pest, or is there another angle you are pursuing here?

Or both?

[mwillis71]

God is love man

Without mentioning all the moral stories about good samaritans and how one could be good and giving and generous all the time, that are a pretty good guide for someone on the wrong track. Of course there are some who just take it too seriously like puritans or traditional jews who just follow the rules blindly when actually its more of a "guidelines" than rules.

You absolutely nailed it bro! I feel the same way about the bible. I don't feel that it is the absolute word of God but it does have some good advice for some situations.

Originally Posted by Hippie3

some folks lack the intellectual capacity to comprehend a divine principle,
seeing nothing greater than their self.
i let such folks be.
they need more time to evolve
and no one can be forced to sensibleness.

Very well said Hip!

[Shosh]

Uh, you went after Hip when the last time he posted in this thread was March of 2007? Was it just to be a pest, or is there another angle you are pursuing here?

Or both?

I only joined this month. How could I have went after him in 2007 when I wasnt here.. I just spoke the truth so dont be hating!

[Hippie3]

oh shut up.
you aren't fooling anyone.

[mwillis71]

Originally Posted by Shosh

Uh, you went after Hip when the last time he posted in this thread was March of 2007? Was it just to be a pest, or is there another angle you are pursuing here?

Or both?

I only joined this month. How could I have went after him in 2007 when I wasnt here.. I just spoke the truth so dont be hating!

I think that she meant that hip didn't comment on this thread since way back in 07.

[Shosh]

Hippie 3.... I cant believe u have the nerve to deem me untrustworthy. You cant even abide by ur own rules. You are the one who is untrustworthy. Like I said you will have a place in hell whether u believe in it or not. This is what he says to me in an email: "i make the rules here, not your place to insult your host here. don't like it then leave....." Big man can dish it but cant handle it when its given back to him. BIG ASS DOUBLE STANDARD!!! Your pathetic!! Im outta here!

I prefer to belong to a site that the man that runs it isnt above his own fucking rules...The thing is without members like us u arent shit so instead of ppl kissing ur ass u should be kissing ours! BTW "way to run a democratic website".. There's no difference between you and Hitler! One last thing no one on your site even really gives a shit about you or your opinion. Im just the one with the balls to say it!! Big man in a little world! See ya!

[sangraal]

Zeit Heil Hippie, Fuhrer of Fungi!

Wow. This went from God to Goddamn! in a matter of moments.. But I suppose religious discussion is rare to span over a year's time without some insanity.

[DasBoot]

Originally Posted by Shosh

Hippie 3... I understand this is ur forum but shouldn't u also follow ur rules? U say not to offend and to be accepting of others yet u insult the one and ONLY God!! And have offended me and possibly many others as well as Jehovah. I am really disappointed about how negative you are being. I noticed u shut down one of my threads over something wayyyy less offensive and nasty than this. I dont get it! I have read ur threads that u used to be a preacher so shouldnt u know better? I hope u respect my opinion & not kick me off for this because it would be VERY wrong. I didnt even fisnih reading all your comments cuz they were just ugly! Hey man I'm just callin it as I see it!

you can also just choose to ignore comments that offend you. There are plentry of comments that offend me (like the above) people who claim to know god... this veiw of god is soooo ...oh how shall i say it juvenile and from the iron age.
The moral zeitgeist is something that religion tries to take credit for - where no credit is due. Organized religion is one of the great ills of the world - the further we can get away from it - the better off we will be as a species - that's the TRUTH! don't even get me started on religious texts

[TastyBeverage]

Originally Posted by Shosh

Hippie 3.... I cant believe u have the nerve to deem me untrustworthy. You cant even abide by ur own rules. You are the one who is untrustworthy. Like I said you will have a place in hell whether u believe in it or not. This is what he says to me in an email: "i make the rules here, not your place to insult your host here. don't like it then leave....." Big man can dish it but cant handle it when its given back to him. BIG ASS DOUBLE STANDARD!!! Your pathetic!! Im outta here!

I prefer to belong to a site that the man that runs it isnt above his own fucking rules...The thing is without members like us u arent shit so instead of ppl kissing ur ass u should be kissing ours! BTW "way to run a democratic website".. There's no difference between you and Hitler! One last thing no one on your site even really gives a shit about you or your opinion. Im just the one with the balls to say it!! Big man in a little world! See ya!

This whole post made me , thanks for a good chuckle!

Don't let the door hit ya on the way out.

[TastyBeverage]

Thought you were leaving? This is too funny.

[mystic]

Totally disrespectful Shosh have some class.

[i.p.freely]

Originally Posted by Shosh

Hippie 3.... I cant believe u have the nerve to deem me untrustworthy. You cant even abide by ur own rules. You are the one who is untrustworthy. Like I said you will have a place in hell whether u believe in it or not. This is what he says to me in an email: "i make the rules here, not your place to insult your host here. don't like it then leave....." Big man can dish it but cant handle it when its given back to him. BIG ASS DOUBLE STANDARD!!! Your pathetic!! Im outta here!

I prefer to belong to a site that the man that runs it isnt above his own fucking rules...The thing is without members like us u arent shit so instead of ppl kissing ur ass u should be kissing ours! BTW "way to run a democratic website".. There's no difference between you and Hitler! One last thing no one on your site even really gives a shit about you or your opinion. Im just the one with the balls to say it!! Big man in a little world! See ya!

this is a dictatorship, not a democracy...hip's house...hip's rules. it takes some longer than others to realise this...

also...this pole leaves no room for my vote...i am agnostic...i have never believed in cookie cutter religion...

[Hippie3]

it's a Sole_proprietorship,
not a government.
might as well call the manager of taco bell a dictator.

[DarkLestor]

God is a Giant tub of masaman curry and a good book.

[i.p.freely]

thought they're some definite similarities...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictator



and before this turns into a debate that i will
inevitabley lose, i concede...merry christmas hip...

(i.p. slinks away, and hides)

[rocketman]

Dear Lord,

Please forgive the fucking moron who talks of shoving yummies in her hoohoo, and while youre at it forgive Bev for laughing at the simple minded.

Amen

[omnibot]

Our universe exists
Because it must exist
Because its existence is inherent
In a way so deeply important and unavoidable
That if the source of existence
Had not given way to existence
It would have denied itself.
This, perhaps, we can call god.

It is…
Aware, infinite, void, nothing, everything;
It is…
The source for the process through which existence proceeds, and the process itself;
It is…
The ghost in the machine and the machine in the ghost;
It is…
An infinite well of meaning, love, and intention;

It expresses itself by existing!
It contains everything, and is contained within everything;
It is pure nothingness itself, and it is simultaneously a well of possibility
So vast and unfathomable that nothing can contain it or even begin to express it;
It is connection itself;
It is connection between existence and non-existence;
It is both, simultaneously;

And there is no “it”!

It is love.
It is loving.
It is unconditionally loving of everything, including every human being on this planet.
It, all of it, all of existence, is invested, infinitely, in every place and every moment Simultaneously.
It is here and it is now.
The reason for all of existence is you.
And it is also me.
It is a gift to me so that I might learn, love, explore, grow, and begin to know;
And it is a gift to you so that you might learn, love, explore, grow, and begin to know.

It is us at the very bottom of our beings.


It is...

NOW!


All of everything came into existence
As an ultimately futile and ultimately meaningful exploration;
And the meaning is made that much more poignant because in the end it is all futile;
And the futility is made all the more poignant because there is meaning;
And in the end
Meaning and futility both fall away
And reveal themselves as only infinitely small pieces
Of a larger picture
More wonderful, mysterious, and beautiful
Than anyone every imagined.

Everything is merely (and completely) a gift for everything else;
It is merely (and completely) a gift for itself;
And nothing, absolutely nothing, is left out.
That is unconditional love, and that is what I would venture to call God.

[rocketman]

Originally Posted by omnibot

Our universe exists
Because it must exist

Ill start there, prove it. Actually, I would love for anyone prove the first 3 words.

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by rocketman

Ill start there, prove it. Actually, I would love for anyone prove the first 3 words.

"Our Universe exists"

Well, I'd say that statement is true because we the perceivers have defined the terms Universe and existence, and have assigned them as givens. So, the Universe exists because we have defined it into existence from the perspective of our own limited perception. This does not preclude the existence of other Universes or the possibility that places exist where there is no Universe at all, except they aren't exactly 'places,' then. So, statements such as "the Universe exists", "the Universe does not exist", and "the Universe both exists and does not exist" are all true in some sense.

That implies that the existence of the Universe and any perceptions of it are entirely subjective and arbitrary, and I'm fine with that. But, who is this "I" that I speak of? Could ego be a false dichotomy of separation between "You" and "Me?" I think yes, and I think it's false because at the root All is One, but the One had to schism into the Many so it could check itself out.

Originally Posted by Shosh

Im just the one with the balls to say it!!

I knew it! There were no ta-ta's, there was no whoo-whoo. Now there is no Shosh. The real question is, did Shosh ever exist?

[DarkLestor]

Originally Posted by TVCasualty

I knew it! There were no ta-ta's, there was no whoo-whoo. Now there is no Shosh. The real question is, did Shosh ever exist?

Well, I'd say that statement is true because we the perceivers have defined the terms ta-ta and whoo-whoo, and have assigned them as givens. So, Shosh exists because we have defined ta-tas into existence from the perspective of our own limited perception. This does not preclude the existence of other ta-tas or the possibility that whoo-whoos exist where there is no whoo-whoo at all, except they aren't exactly 'shosh's,' then. So, statements such as "the ta-tas exist", "the whoo-whoo does not exist", and "the shosh both exists and does not exist" are all true in some sense.



one who questions the allmighty Ta-Ta as our lord and savior is not fit to put yummy's in their whoo-whoo.

[firerat]

Originally Posted by i.p.freely

also...this pole leaves no room for my vote...i am agnostic...i have never believed in cookie cutter religion...

I'm with you here, that's why I didn't vote. I have nothing against religion, I have just never felt it has any meaning to me personally.

I used to consider myself an atheist, but I do now consider the possibility and even probability that "God" in some way shape or form does exist. What or who he or she or it is, I don't know. I don't think anyone really does.

That may sound funny, given in my sig it says Happy Chanukah.

I did that for my wife. She's Jewish and loves her religion.

[DasBoot]

comment removed ...we can talk monotheistic religion and "god" another time...

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by DarkLestor

Well, I'd say that statement is true because we the perceivers have defined the terms ta-ta and whoo-whoo, and have assigned them as givens. So, Shosh exists because we have defined ta-tas into existence from the perspective of our own limited perception. This does not preclude the existence of other ta-tas or the possibility that whoo-whoos exist where there is no whoo-whoo at all, except they aren't exactly 'shosh's,' then. So, statements such as "the ta-tas exist", "the whoo-whoo does not exist", and "the shosh both exists and does not exist" are all true in some sense.

Touché.

(actually, I was referring to Shosh's ta-ta's and whoo-whoo specifically, which I think we can all agree clearly do not exist)

If we are all a part of God, or if some Godly entity separate from us exists, then one statement I can make with confidence is that God is weird.

[rocketman]

All I know as truth comes from my experiences. The way in which we experience things would also vary depending on many other socialogical variables. By saying i, we tip our hand showing our belief that we are seperate or special or different. I know from a lot of deep trips, this is not all there is. That is my truth today, it will be a little different tomorrow and changing over time.

Studying languages would be interesting because some languages do not include words we use daily, nor do they assign meaning to all they can. Some do assign words we dont have as well. We have to examine our language, as that is a part of the formation of I. Or part of the dissolution of I.

[ventastega]

That's a really simple question requiring complex answers.

The most simple answer I can give is that "god" is music.

Of course the full answer is much more complex. I'd be interested to talk to anyone who believes this as well, how you would describe what you beleive, and why.

[ndbreuha]

Rain falling and freezing as snow, is god. It is only snow, but in now being snow, it is god.

[Lookin 2 Grow]

This thread is a classic

Page 4 turned from religion to hate pretty quick..

I reakon the 2 best way's to start a fight is talk about religion or politics, neither of which I give 2 shit's about. But people's views on the subjects are so varied you always offend no matter what you say & will cause arguments.

Ha. Isn't religion meant to be about LOVE, UNDERSTANDING ect??
Seems the opposite most of the time..

[TVCasualty]

Originally Posted by Lookin 2 Grow

This thread is a classic

Page 4 turned from religion to hate pretty quick..

I reakon the 2 best way's to start a fight is talk about religion or politics, neither of which I give 2 shit's about. But people's views on the subjects are so varied you always offend no matter what you say & will cause arguments.

Ha. Isn't religion meant to be about LOVE, UNDERSTANDING ect??
Seems the opposite most of the time..

Ah, but you clearly do give two shits (or more) about religion at least, evidenced by your reply in this here thread that's about God. But thanks for stopping in and telling us how you're above it all, or post-padding, or whatever. And where did you get the crazy idea that religion was about love and understanding? You gotta read between the lines of religious marketing hype...

[Irishlion]

ghillie: ppl's thaughts of god aren't based on god himself they're
just based on what ppl want from him

Very very good point.

DO I believe in GOD, yes wholeheatedly, but, do I believe in the christian ideal of god? Do I believe in the catholism ideal of god? Do I believe in the tibetian version of god?

The answer to the above questions are NO I do not, I believe in the Idea of god as in a higher life form, the true question is, if god does exists as we perseve him to be, is he in fact a lifeform? A conciounes presence which knows all things and can ultimaly creat life from nothing. If that is the case then intellegence and sentient behavoir would dictate a life form would it not. Carbon based or not still a lifeform. SO with that being said, a lifeform and all life as we know it evolves, so god had to evolve from something, so then for him to exist something had to create him, evolution or some more evolved species's test tube?

These are the things that I believe must be answered, in order to truely understand the orgins of a being that is god like. I personally believe our Idea of god comes from sentient more evolved beings that have came here and taught us. Perhaps GOD really did create us just not in the way most people think. Perhaps we are a combination of "gods" genetics and the species that was evolving on this earth at the time. A genetic experiement.

I just find the bibles version of god to be a lil far fetched but, then we will never really know what the original manuscript said will we, as with each copy some man changed a word here and there and interjected a though and so forth till what we have now, a book that is almost souly based on MANS word not some omnificent beings thoughts and laws but, that literally of man and man alone.

So if man truley did write the book and I do believe he did, wheres god?

Personally I believe god to be a being that is apart of a accended race perhaps charged with the task of monitoring their creation. US. Or pehaps he could be the leader of that race but, for a few thousand years until we evolve as such we will never know.

[ShroomGuerilla]

[dpwishy]

We are the divine,
only temporarily relating to the human condition

love, peace, compassion and respect
-wishy

[ou3308]

I don't believe in Santa Clause, Do you?

[Getafix]

To me God is an icon representing a collection of ideas with its own agenda – an agenda quite separate from the best interests of the individual minds that hosts it.
Your Main Stream God is nothing more than a well oiled System of Control that's designed to manipulate the masses.
Honestly only sheep need shepherds.
Christian/Jews/Catholics/etc set GOD outside of nature.
By placing the creator, controller and judge outside of the visible universe, it guarantees that we cannot know the answer to Life, the Universe and Everything by normal means.
However, the answer to all questions is present in religion:
"As God wills it!"
Proof of this answer, however, is not available.

I believe in ~Ubuntu~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(philosophy)
I am Sorry If I offend!

[Doqaz]

We are all extasis capable beings looking at a wonderous world, go figure...


I think god can only be felt, never reasoned. Until you cease feeling it, you realize it only felt right. Google -neurotheology-... maybe god indeed planted anthenas on us. (Never reasoned: logical constructs don't trascend craneal boundaries).

There's more mysterious puzzles than god; taking we are prone to hallucinations (or different states of mind), jerarchical thinking (ex. son/dad weak/strong), fear of death (evolutionary feat) and tribal consensus, it's no surprise we ended up with a phenomena like "god".


For example as something more mysterious, has anyone ever measured consciousness? Has anyone ever found a way to tell from a living being and a sentient stoic rock? No. How does it come to exist? Noone knows... as far as we know, the only one we know is our own. What is it that separates us? What makes it? What varieties are there? Can someone feel someone else's "soul"?

Not to make it a topic, we just don't know yet.


Phew... that came out right, been accused too many times of hating religion/some god in particular... I just don't like that it isn't yet an innocuous anomaly, too big to ignore.

[Hatch_]

donor-great link into story about meeting god on the train,

[whitethumb]

yes i believe

[BuckarooBanzai]

God is the intent that began the singularity of the big bang.

God is manifest in the rules of physical and chemical interaction that keep the whole shebang rolling merrily along towards the big crunch at the end of time.

God is not a he. God is not an it. God is everything. The sum total of all existence and all time. God can not be easily categorized and explained.

God can only be imagined.

[Om shanti]

I prefer the concept of Brahman - the eternal essence of the universe, uncreated and forever the same. Of course, many use the word God to refer to this, but I often think it's a bit confusing because others talk of God as a being.

On good days I'm a Hindu. One great philosopher, Shankara, famously summed up Classical hindu philosophy ("vedanta" - the end of knowledge, or the final knowledge) something like this:
The world is an illusion
Only Brahman is real
There is no difference between Brahman and the Self (Atman)

Illusion in the Platonist/Buddhist sense: because it is transitory and relative it is not real "in it self". (Buddhists of course deny there is anything that is beyond this "emptiness" of being.) The final phrase, on the identity of Brahman and the Self: there is no need to search anywhere. Our true being is the true being of all.

The teaching is, however, of course a part of the sensory world, and thus ultimately also unreal. So the snake starts to bite its own tail, and it all gets a bit.. paradoxical...

[BuckarooBanzai]

Any attempt to define the infinite in terms the finite can understand MUST be riddled with paradox.

To me, any easy definition of God is, by definition, wrong.

[piggy69]

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Can someone post the link properly. Its Richard Dawkins the God delusion. Brilliant book by the way

Thanks for your help to post the Links Om Shanti

[Beastmaster]

http://forums.mycotopia.net/testing-...tml#post779524 (youtube tags)

[piggy69]

Here's some more food for thought:

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[slowmow]

God is a cozy little spot in your mind that you create to feel better about your own mortality. Nobody wants to die(for the most part) and if you can do something to feel better about it you will do it. I just have a hard time believeing that there is some invisible being in the sky that pays special favors to those who believe and forsakes those who don't. What kind of hussle is that? Sorry if my skeptic ways seem brash, I just have always lived by what I was once asked. When comeing home from school one day I saw an old bum on the street and he asked "Well what did you do in school today? Did you learn how to believe or did you learn how to think?"

[heritage ranch]

Originally Posted by Hippie3

i noticed your distinction about the words
indian
and native american
but i daresay the term
native american is inaccurate too
as humans were not native to america
but immigrated here from eurasia ,
america itself had no native human species
as far as we know.

ever heard of or been to calico

i have been there and excavated there, dont know if i believe but it is there

[riseabovethought]

Im pleased to see the evolution of this conversation into "I am God/god." This is how we must be brave enough to accept ourselves, even if its the last thought we have upon our deathbed. Thankfully, we can know ourselves as god's fragments learning who we are and then finding our way back home- we can know this before we die. Robert Munroe, a famous Dr and explorer and expert in -(OBE) out of body experiences, said, "We are here to learn 3 things...1) a measurement system (good and bad, positive and negative, must know pain to know pleasure. 2) how to manipulate energy... and 3) to develop an analytic ability, an intellect to get escape velocity to spiral up and out and back home and show what we learned. If we know ourselves as god, as part of everything, (everything can include nothing but to know nothingness even better would be helpful when inquiring about God- know space as infinite and space as something, know that due to the huge space within atoms between the circling electrons and the inner nuleus that most of matter is really empty space- this exemplifies the importance of empty space, and we should get comfortable with nothingness since everything else decays and disappears, EVERYTHING, except our soul and God and their interconnectedness keeping this whole science experiment going. Lets evolve. What is God? I am.

[riseabovethought]

aww man, bummed that this thread was stopped. Gets heated 4sho, but it sure is fun stuff! Cmon, keep her rolling, whats the harm? Maybe were going to figure it all out... I betting we will, at least a hell of a lot sooner than the preachers in the pulpits handing out the donation trays. Here it can be real, and it comes from truly open minds. I love this Topia!!

[potatocore]

god is the fullness of perfection. what i mean by that, everything that any sane person can agree with any other sane person constitutes goodness is essentially divine. and anything that's divine is part of who/what god is.

i "believe" a lot more than that but by my actions you wouldn't think so. so, i'll leave my personal beliefs to be called "hopeful agnosticism" but technically i'm a confirmed episcopalian

now back to the vaults for this lil spud...