How is God defined

Originally posted by clickclick
Wait a minute, the bible clearly states that people are not entitled to anything. Life itself is a gift. Children do get abducted, there are a lot of bad things in the world. God's promise is salvation, not ultimate protection on earth. The truth about life on earth is that it must end. Just as God allows evil (the opposite of his will) he allows good.

sal·va·tion n. Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.

Originally posted by clickclick
God can interfer, Im not saying he cant. What I said was that there is no guarantee. If you only look at the bad, you will never see the good. God permits both. Thats not, non omnibenevolent. God hates sin and he still made it so that people can be saved. People want to only look in the shorter term and ask why but if you look at the bigger picture, what really matters is revealed.

Silly me, I am not looking at all the good things about allowing a child to be abducted, molested, and murdered. By all means, illuminate the bigger picture for the rest of us. 🙄

sal·va·tion n. Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil.

Yes.... Thats exactly what it is. That doesnt mean in this body though.
🙂 Salvation is from ultimate desctruction and a promise of great things to coem.

Silly me, I am not looking at all the good things about allowing a child to be abducted, molested, and murdered. By all means, illuminate the bigger picture for the rest of us.

Oh please. As if that is what I said. Bad things are bound to happen, so long as evil exists. For a time, God will allow it. Allowing people to decide for themselves whether they want to follow or not. There is no promise of protection in a body ultimately bound for death. Rather, there is a promise of a new life and perfect life. That is the bigger picture, you keep talking about something short term. Im talking long term. No need to misrepresent what it is that I said.

Yes, you have to look at the larger picture. Not just our minute little lives that live in the moment.

Originally posted by clickclick
Yes.... Thats exactly what it is. That doesnt mean in this body though. Salvation is from ultimate desctruction and a promise of great things to coem.

Oh please. As if that is what I said. Bad things are bound to happen, so long as evil exists. For a time, God will allow it. Allowing people to decide for themselves whether they want to follow or not. There is no promise of protection in a body ultimately bound for death. Rather, there is a promise of a new life and perfect life. That is the bigger picture, you keep talking about something short term. Im talking long term. No need to misrepresent what it is that I said.

"I am sorry that you have been abducted, and will soon be molested and murdered, but bad things are bound to happen so long as I allow evil to exist in the world. Certainly, I could intervene on your behalf, but I never promised you protection of your physical body. What would be the point? Your physical body is bound for death anyway. In any case, I realize that this is a terrible experience for you but that is because you are focusing too much on the short term. Try looking at the bigger picture."

"I am sorry that you have been abducted, and will soon be molested and murdered, but bad things are bound to happen so long as I allow evil to exist in the world. Certainly, I could intervene on your behalf, but I never promised you protection of your physical body. What would be the point? Your physical body is bound for death anyway. In any case, I realize that this is a terrible experience for you but that is because you are focusing too much on the short term. Try looking at the bigger picture."

As ive already mentioned, life in itself is a gift. You act as if life is something that is deserved. It isnt. Fact remains, if you are suggesting that God take away all those kinds of wrongdoings, you are suggesting that he takes away sin. You are suggesting therefore that he control everyones actions. Thats not what he wants, he didnt want to create robots. The reality of the situation is that bad things can happen. It sucks but thats just how it is. It happend to most of the apostles and it happend to Jesus himself. If it can happen to Jesus, it can happen to anybody. Thats what happens when people disobey him and specifically why he warns against it.

Esoteric/mystical schools of thought will all tell you the same thing: God is ineffable. Any "defined God" (even to call "Him" ineffable) is not God. The best we can do is hint, use metaphor, as long as it is remembered that it is just a hint and not to be taken beyond what the metaphor was originally used for.

Originally posted by Adam_PoE
What is the reason God allows children to be abducted, molested, and murdered? When he hears the prayers of one of these children, does He respond, "I am listening to your prayer but you cannot have everything you want. I have a bigger picture to consider here and you are just being selfish,"? 🙄

This has always been the toughest thing for me to grasp. And the best way for me to get through it (emotionally) has been to posit the following...
The murderer will be a child victim in the next life, just as the child victim was the murderer in a previous life.
I am Not saying--in any way, shape or form--that this is what I believe. The above just helps me, personally, to deal with how suffering deliberately inflicted on a child makes me feel.

Whoo you brought an old thread up...

You must believe in Karma then maybe? And this would make more since as a learning experience with really no condemnation from any deity. It would be taking responsibility for your own actions. If more people did believe in this way, we'd not have the wrongs we have today against each other....Maybe this is what Jesus meant by "you reap what you sow." ..You reap in the next life what you sowed in this one.

Originally posted by debbiejo
You must believe in Karma then maybe? And this would make more since as a learning experience with really no condemnation from any deity. It would be taking responsibility for your own actions. If more people did believe in this way, we'd not have the wrongs we have today against each other....Maybe this is what Jesus meant by "you reap what you sow." ..You reap in the next life what you sowed in this one.

It certainly would make more sense...but I just don't know, I wouldn't even begin to pretend to know if this is how it works. All I know is, when they show the faces of the young smiling victims on tv, it just kills me.

And while I'm on this: I also can't stand how the media plays with these stories (is nothing forking sacred?!?). Eg, they always say "Little" before the girl's name, just in case the viewing public's heartstrings are being yanked enough. And why always highlight the cases involving cute white females? Let's see some ugly, old, nonwhite male's case being given the same attention...or will that not rake in the Almight Ratings as well?

Originally posted by debbiejo
How is God defined in scripture (Bible) and other religions books.
Is He loving,feared, takes sides, trustworthy,...who is He. What is It/He/She? Does It hear you or not..In scriptures of any Holy Book, how is God defined.

There are 3 basic concepts for GOD/gods from what I know so don't quote me on them

Pantheistic: The belief that the universe is a divine animal GOD and we are all one.

Monotheistic: The belief in one GOd/Goddess that created the universe.

Polytheistic: The belief in many Gods and Goddesses took part in creation.

Originally posted by Blue nocturne
There are 3 basic concepts for GOD/gods from what I know so don't quote me on them

Pantheistic: The belief that the universe is a divine animal GOD and we are all one.

Monotheistic: The belief in one GOd/Goddess that created the universe.

Polytheistic: The belief in many Gods and Goddesses took part in creation.

Pantheistic is close to how I believe. However, it is imposable to understand God, so that too is wrong.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
Pantheistic is close to how I believe. However, it is imposable to understand God, so that too is wrong.

Me too 😄

Thrice is nice..........

Actually: pantheism identifies God with the physical/observable universe. He is immanent in all things but not transcendent. This is often confused with animism, where "spirits" (small "s" and plural) inhabit all things physical: a spirit for each item/set of items, as opposed to one, all-inclusive immanent Spirit.

Regardless, pantheism contrasts with Deism (not Theism), where after creating the physical/observable universe, God is no longer involved with it, letting it run on its own. He is transcendent, but not immanent.

(Theism: God created the universe, is separate from it, but still has a hand in things.)

Originally posted by Mindship
Actually: pantheism identifies God with the physical/observable universe. He is immanent in all things but not transcendent. This is often confused with animism, where "spirits" (small "s" and plural) inhabit all things physical: a spirit for each item/set of items, as opposed to one, all-inclusive immanent Spirit.

Regardless, pantheism contrasts with Deism (not Theism), where after creating the physical/observable universe, God is no longer involved with it, letting it run on its own. He is transcendent, but not immanent.

(Theism: God created the universe, is separate from it, but still has a hand in things.)

That's what I said I simply called the universe a divine animal implying that it is GOD or a being or creature...Sorry if my wording made the definition seem wrong.

Originally posted by Blue nocturne
That's what I said I simply called the universe a divine animal implying that it is GOD or a being or creature...Sorry if my wording made the definition seem wrong.

No problemo. Thanks for the clarification.

Originally posted by Mindship
...This is often confused with animism, where "spirits" (small "s" and plural) inhabit all things physical: a spirit for each item/set of items,...

Interesting; I don't call them spirits, I call them entities.

My biggest question is this in regards to how god is defined..............in most religions isn't "god" a he?

Originally posted by soleran30
My biggest question is this in regards to how god is defined..............in most religions isn't "god" a he?

There so many religions it's hard and also in pantheistic POV GOD is both masculine and feminine like yin and yang...

Originally posted by soleran30
My biggest question is this in regards to how god is defined..............in most religions isn't "god" a he?

No. I can only speak from my own. In Nichiren Buddhism, God is not even called God. The closest thing to God is Nam Myoho Renge Kyo and that is just the essence of the Lotus Sutra. I guess God could be called "the Buddha that was enlightened in the remote past", but that is just an interpretation.

Originally posted by debbiejo
How is God defined in scripture (Bible) and other religions books.
Is He loving,feared, takes sides, trustworthy,...who is He. What is It/He/She? Does It hear you or not..In scriptures of any Holy Book, how is God defined.

Well IMO "God"-would of course have three different "images" (the Tirnitarian belief)

God-Is portrayed as the loving, yet disciplining, careing father. Quick to reward, but just as quick to punish.

Jesus-Love (the actual manifestation) from which he is portrayed as Brother/Mediator/dearest friend. Like the ideal older brother that cares and watches over you.

Holy Spirit-Mediator (or throw my eyes) Voice of God; thought of God; God's will made into some easier way of convience. From this I take this to be short or long term "enlightenments"; the old "light-bulb" turning on so to speak.