The ONLY religious question!

[A Vestigial Mote]

When it comes to ideas about supernatural entities, or "supervising intelligence" - in general, any time you apply unobservable properties of consciousness to an unobservable entity that you claim pulls the strings of the universe, or created the universe, etc. - you either admit that you are taking a shot in the dark with your beliefs, or you're just not cool.

 

[chinu]

"the only way to salvation,"

Everybody is already on their way to salvation and infact this journey was started right after entering into the creation, or right after aparting from the God

What the hell do you think you know that everybody else doesn't?

I know that everybody is searching salvation in some way or another. (That is what I know which some don't know)

How can you be so blindly stupid as to imagine for yourself a God that could make his truth known to you -- but was utterly powerless to make it known to everybody else?

This is my own research rather than God told me.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

Because God made it so you have to seek the truth. Even without a god that would be how it works. The truth doesn't come to you, you don't accidentally find it. You have to seek the truth. It can be found it your honest with yourself, open to all ideas and patient.

Religious faith is not seeking truth, it is pretending you already found it.

 

[Aštra’el]

What the hell do you think you know that everybody else doesn't?

Oh, many things.

The artist often understands that what is seen in the mind may have never before been seen by anyone else. And there are many forms of art. Many forms of Creation. That place one goes to when one closes ones eyes... it is like the primordial waters, a powerful abyss of infinite potential from which anything might be born.

How can you be so blindly stupid as to imagine for yourself a God that could make his truth known to you -- but was utterly powerless to make it known to everybody else?

Behind your poorly constructed question is something that begs an interesting reply.

It is not that one must be "blindly stupid", or that God(s) must be "utterly powerless".

When one has made choices to experience God(s), when one has made the time and effort to experience God(s)... when one has engaged with enthusiasm in acts of worship to honor and revere God(s), various "Truths" may be experienced.

I am my own "prophet", and I encourage others to be as well. The strength, power, wisdom and beauty I have experienced through God(s), some would call "Truth", but these are things I have experienced that enhance and grant meaning to my own life that complement and resonate with my own Weltanschauung, my own spiritual-religious system, and my own True Will.

 

[bobhikes]

Funny on how it's continually put that way.

That actually dismissess each and every centralised character mentioned and described in the bible for where God, throughout the bible's entire narrative, does just the opposite.

There are many Gods other than the Bible's God, many people seem to forget that.

 

[bobhikes]

Religious faith is not seeking truth, it is pretending you already found it.

I don't recall saying anything about faith.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

I don't recall saying anything about faith.

And now the games . . . .

 

[Kenny]

Sorry, had to post this, after having just had a rant in another thread...

To everyone who has a religious belief that the hold to be "the Truth," or "the only way to salvation," I want to ask this one simple question:

What the hell do you think you know that everybody else doesn't? How can you be so blindly stupid as to imagine for yourself a God that could make his truth known to you -- but was utterly powerless to make it known to everybody else?

With all due respect... isn't this more of a rant than a discussable statement?

Is this more of a beef with a certain person than religious beliefs on what each believe "Truth" is and what their way to salvation is?

Why do you think that no one else knows what was written? I may not subscribe to a certain faith but that doesn't mean I don't know what they believe or say.

If the first statement had no foundation then your second statement has no valid expression. In that "whosever truth" can be understood and known in the perspective they had, then how does that translate into someone imagining "themselves to be God"?

If God (whosever God) can express truth (whosoever's truth) on paper, is it really "utterly powerless" to make it known to everybody else? Or is it more like "I simply don't want it for myself". We have a mentally challenged young lady in our midst and it seems that she understands truth (as per our understanding--of course, not yours) without a problem. If a mentally challenged young lady can understand, I can't comprehend that someone of your caliber couldn't.

 

[Revoltingest]

Great question! On the surface, it certainly seems monstrously unfair that certain people have experiences that leave them with no doubt while the rest of the population is left to blunder along the best way they know how ...

Best of luck finding an answer that satisfies you.

I am one of the few chosen to know the truth.
I am better....I am special.

 

[bobhikes]

And now the games . . . .

I gather you don't understand my meaning

Truth and Faith are not equals in fact I would call them opposites. A god that requires faith is not going to have Truth readily available. If everyone could find the truth what reason would you have for faith.

In the bible because that is what you picked, truth is very rarely revealed. Yes some people hear the voice of God and are given assignments but they are expected to do it because god says so, not because god revealed the truth

Even Jesus would constantly dodge the truth. He used parables to explain things. He answered questions with questions. Who do you say I am?

Do you understand my view now?

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Because God made it so you have to seek the truth. Even without a god that would be how it works. The truth doesn't come to you, you don't accidentally find it. You have to seek the truth. It can be found it your honest with yourself, open to all ideas and patient.

I do "seek truth." But truth cannot be found by simply believing what somebody else said -- otherwise, there'd be no point in seeking. So no, Gabriel may have talked to Mohammed, but he's not talking to anybody else, so what reason can the rest of us have for being Muslim? Moses may have got the law on tablets of stone, but the rest of us don't -- nor has anyone you or I know ever seen them -- so why should anybody but Moses be Jewish? Joseph Smith may have found tables of gold in "Reformed Egyptian" (no such thing) and "seer stones" to read them, but nobody else ever did -- so why should anybody be Mormon?

No, I am confident (note I do not say "believe") that I have found -- if not "The Truth" -- at least a means of proceeding, and it's called Humanism. Humanism uses human reason, human ethics, social justice and philosophical naturalism (science) -- while always rejecting dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience and superstition as the bases for morality and decision making.

You say "even without a god that would be how it works." I say, "since there is no god, that is how it works." Because if there were indeed a god, that god would need to be deliberately deceitful to allow humans to believe "revelation" which leads -- and has always led -- to division, dissension, war and death.

 

[Jeremiahcp]

I gather you don't understand my meaning

Truth and Faith are not equals in fact I would call them opposites. A god that requires faith is not going to have Truth readily available. If everyone could find the truth what reason would you have for faith.

In the bible because that is what you picked, truth is very rarely revealed. Yes some people hear the voice of God and are given assignments but they are expected to do it because god says so, not because god revealed the truth

Even Jesus would constantly dodge the truth. He used parables to explain things. He answered questions with questions. Who do you say I am?

Do you understand my view now?

"Do you understand my view now?"

Ya, it is a game of semantics.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Christians don't say God is powerless. We teach just the opposite. Do you not know what "Omnipotent" means.

What qualifies you to declare the Bible is not true?

Yes, actually, I do know what "Omnipotent" means. And that -- coupled with my reason -- qualifies me to declare the Bible is not "true" in the sense that you mean it.

 

[bobhikes]

I do "seek truth." But truth cannot be found by simply believing what somebody else said -- otherwise, there'd be no point in seeking. So no, Gabriel may have talked to Mohammed, but he's not talking to anybody else, so what reason can the rest of us have for being Muslim? Moses may have got the law on tablets of stone, but the rest of us don't -- nor has anyone you or I know ever seen them -- so why should anybody but Moses be Jewish? Joseph Smith may have found tables of gold in "Reformed Egyptian" (no such thing) and "seer stones" to read them, but nobody else ever did -- so why should anybody be Mormon?

No, I am confident (note I do not say "believe") that I have found -- if not "The Truth" -- at least a means of proceeding, and it's called Humanism. Humanism uses human reason, human ethics, social justice and philosophical naturalism (science) -- while always rejecting dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience and superstition as the bases for morality and decision making.

You say "even without a god that would be how it works." I say, "since there is no god, that is how it works." Because if there were indeed a god, that god would need to be deliberately deceitful to allow humans to believe "revelation" which leads -- and has always led -- to division, dissension, war and death.

I am glad you found Humanism but each of us have different experiences and find different things comforting.

As to both Religions you spoke of they both require faith to believe not truth. Yes the faithful claim their faith is the true faith but their god has revealed no truth's. The 10 commandments are commandments not truths. Do these because I said so and you believe in me. Gabriel speaking to Mohammed revealed what to him, I am not familiar with the Muslim religion. How was what he revealed a Truth.

 

[Quintessence]

What the hell do you think you know that everybody else doesn't? How can you be so blindly stupid as to imagine for yourself a God that could make his truth known to you -- but was utterly powerless to make it known to everybody else?

Are you familiar with the fundamental attribution error?

 

[David1967]

I am one of the few chosen to know the truth.
I am better....I am special.

Behold the Oracle. Rev the all wise and knowing. I knew it all along.

 

[Muffled]

Sorry, had to post this, after having just had a rant in another thread...

To everyone who has a religious belief that the hold to be "the Truth," or "the only way to salvation," I want to ask this one simple question:

What the hell do you think you know that everybody else doesn't? How can you be so blindly stupid as to imagine for yourself a God that could make his truth known to you -- but was utterly powerless to make it known to everybody else?

I believe the concept is that one would not put a gun in the hands of a child. God has found me trustworthy so He has no problem speaking to me. I would not speak to you because you are unbelieving and bellligerent.

 

[Muffled]

Great question! On the surface, it certainly seems monstrously unfair that certain people have experiences that leave them with no doubt while the rest of the population is left to blunder along the best way they know how ...

Best of luck finding an answer that satisfies you.

I believe there are many people willing to follow someone who claims to hear from God but often those people are also easily duped into following the false ones like Jim Jones and Sun Moon.

 

[Muffled]

It's simply egotistical and inseparable from a person's psychology.

One's ancestors believed in [some ****] so that revered ancestor (probably dead) couldn't possibly had it so wrong.

The OP is describing weak minded, insensitive, unthoughtful individuals.

I believe I should thank you for having such a low opinion of me. But are you sure which side of the looking glass you are on?

 

[Twilight Hue]

There are many Gods other than the Bible's God, many people seem to forget that.

That's true, yet it dosent discount that it's still a mental desk of cards with people when God is relegated within one's mind alone.