Do all panentheists believe that Creation is an illusion?

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

I did when I was a panentheist. I was wondering if you guys do too.

 

[Straw Dog]

I did when I was a panentheist. I was wondering if you guys do too.

I can't speak for all panentheists and I try to avoid god-descriptions in my own belief system, although I do dabble on occasion as a mental exercise, but consider our findings through science. The vast majority of the universe is composed of particles, dark matter, dark energy, and other stuff that we simply cannot normally observe. If we take what we can directly observe and mistake it for all reality then we are accepting an illusion of it. Even after we accept that reality is much more intricate and convoluted than we would like to think, we still experience the illusion created by our limited perceptions so no, the universe is not an illusion, but yes, our perceptions create an illusion of it.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

I can't speak for all panentheists and I try to avoid god-descriptions in my own belief system, although I do dabble on occasion as a mental exercise, but consider our findings through science. The vast majority of the universe is composed of particles, dark matter, dark energy, and other stuff that we simply cannot normally observe. If we take what we can directly observe and mistake it for all reality then we are accepting an illusion of it. Even after we accept that reality is much more intricate and convoluted than we would like to think, we still experience the illusion created by our limited perceptions so no, the universe is not an illusion, but yes, our perceptions create an illusion of it.

So it depends on the person?

 

[Straw Dog]

So it depends on the person?

Of course.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

Of course.

Oh, okay. Thank you for telling me.

 

[Jainarayan]

I can only speak for myself when saying no. I don't believe creation is an illusion. It is most definitely real. We just don't see it properly with our senses. Our senses fool us. Remember in Star Wars when Obi Wan told Luke not to trust his eyes while practicing with the light saber, they can deceive? That's it right there.

A better example is when Arjuna asked Krishna to show His Divine Form. Krishna told Arjuna He would give him special divine sight. Arjuna only saw Krishna as He is in this world, but with divine sight, he saw Krishna as He really is... part of creation and creation itself... very real.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

So was I a bad panentheist to believe that Creation is an illusion?

 

[Straw Dog]

So was I a bad panentheist to believe that Creation is an illusion?

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that all freethinking theologians not constrained by dogma would not condemn another freethinking theologian just because their theology differed slightly. How could you be "bad" because of it?

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that all freethinking theologians not constrained by dogma would not condemn another freethinking theologian just because their theology differed slightly. How could you be "bad" because of it?

This is true. Thank you for saying that.

 

[Falvlun]

Neat. I'm not a panentheist, but I agree with the general sentiment: The universe is real, but our perception of it is likely to be faulty, skewed, and-- most obviously-- incomplete. And by necessity, we interact through our perspective, and not with things as they might actually be.

 

[IsmailaGodHasHeard]

Neat. I'm not a panentheist, but I agree with the general sentiment: The universe is real, but our perception of it is likely to be faulty, skewed, and-- most obviously-- incomplete. And by necessity, we interact through our perspective, and not with things as they might actually be.

Oh, okay. Thank you for telling me.

 

[Nancy Davison]

As far as creation is concerned, I don't think that's how it works. I think everything IS the divine Life in manifestation. There was, as far as I'm concerned, no separate "creation", but rather an emanation of divine qualities into matter, and the formation of the forms needed to help carry out the plan.