How do you Define God????

[Bird123]

The Bible DOES teach hate, yes. For example, God HATES divorce.

God loves fidelity, happy marriages, children. God made sex, love, commitment.

God HATES when mockers mock the Bible.

God HATES when people self-destruct via their sin.

The implications--love one's spouse, stop sinning, love the scriptures, be saved.

You are teaching that if God hates then it is acceptable everyone should hate. In reality, there are no real excuses for anyone, including God, to hate. One must move to a Higher Level by which petty things like hate are no longer a viable choice. Since mankind has not reached this, their holy books reflect who they really are in their words.

AS I see it, God could not possibly be that backward.

 

[Mister Silver]

How would you define a God who would create Hell knowing someone would go there?

How would you define the Quality of Justice in a God who creates an eternal punishment without the possibility of redemption?

A monster unworthy of worship.

Some say God is Unconditional Love, yet in the next breath they list conditions in order to get God's favor for things such as eternal bliss and heaven.

Any time that "conditions" are placed on someone, that is not "unconditional" love.

 

[arthra]

How would you define a God who would create Hell knowing someone would go there?
How would you define the Quality of Justice in a God who creates an eternal punishment without the possibility of redemption?

I think for Baha'is the essence of God is unknowable or undefinable for us as human beings.

In our belief God didn't create "Hell" as that's something we humans more or less create for ourselves and there is no eternal punishment either. Some of us may take longer to progress than others but we can all progress to the presence of God eventually.

Think ye of love and good fellowship as the delights of heaven, think ye of hostility and hatred as the torments of hell.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 244)

The rewards of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual worlds after leaving this world, while the rewards of this life are the real luminous perfections which are realized in this world, and which are the cause of eternal life, for they are the very progress of existence.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 224)

Justice for us would be an attribute of God:

We cherish the hope that the light of justice may shine upon the world and sanctify it from tyranny.

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 218)

 

[Bird123]

A monster unworthy of worship.



Any time that "conditions" are placed on someone, that is not "unconditional" love.

Yes. Common sense is so easy yet some ignore that in favor of beliefs.

 

[Bird123]

I think for Baha'is the essence of God is unknowable or undefinable for us as human beings.

In our belief God didn't create "Hell" as that's something we humans more or less create for ourselves and there is no eternal punishment either. Some of us may take longer to progress than others but we can all progress to the presence of God eventually.

Think ye of love and good fellowship as the delights of heaven, think ye of hostility and hatred as the torments of hell.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 244)

The rewards of the other world are the perfections and the peace obtained in the spiritual worlds after leaving this world, while the rewards of this life are the real luminous perfections which are realized in this world, and which are the cause of eternal life, for they are the very progress of existence.

(Abdu'l-Baha, Some Answered Questions, p. 224)

Justice for us would be an attribute of God:

We cherish the hope that the light of justice may shine upon the world and sanctify it from tyranny.

(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 218)

Yes, no child is left behind. In time, God will educate us all to that Higher Level.

 

[BilliardsBall]

You are teaching that if God hates then it is acceptable everyone should hate. In reality, there are no real excuses for anyone, including God, to hate. One must move to a Higher Level by which petty things like hate are no longer a viable choice. Since mankind has not reached this, their holy books reflect who they really are in their words.

AS I see it, God could not possibly be that backward.

All persons should be intolerant of and hate sin, false teaching, etc. Why is that a problem?

 

[Bird123]

All persons should be intolerant of and hate sin, false teaching, etc. Why is that a problem?

Hate breeds hate. One might say they only hate sin, however the act of hating leads to more hating. Soon, one hates the person committing the sin and might not even realize it, but it shows through their actions and choices.

If one hates false teachings, one must be sure those teachings are false and not simply going against their Beliefs of what the true might be. Once again hate breeds hate. Soon the anger shows so often when people do not hear what they want to hear.

As I see it Choosing is part of God's educational system. One will never learn without the freedom to make that bad choice. Instead of hating and condemning, I lovingly point them in the right direction. If they do not listen right away, there might come a time when my words will hold greater value to them.

Mankind will protect themselves from crime. On the other hand, it would solve so many more problems if they would focus on the underlying reasons thereby finding the fix rather than focus on revenge and punishment. The problems will never go away until the problems are fixed. That is a lesson that still needs to be learned.

Hate breeds Hate. Is Hate what God really wants to teach?? I think not!

 

[Mister Silver]

I define god as a fictional creation of mankind.

 

[BilliardsBall]

Hate breeds hate. One might say they only hate sin, however the act of hating leads to more hating. Soon, one hates the person committing the sin and might not even realize it, but it shows through their actions and choices.

If one hates false teachings, one must be sure those teachings are false and not simply going against their Beliefs of what the true might be. Once again hate breeds hate. Soon the anger shows so often when people do not hear what they want to hear.

As I see it Choosing is part of God's educational system. One will never learn without the freedom to make that bad choice. Instead of hating and condemning, I lovingly point them in the right direction. If they do not listen right away, there might come a time when my words will hold greater value to them.

Mankind will protect themselves from crime. On the other hand, it would solve so many more problems if they would focus on the underlying reasons thereby finding the fix rather than focus on revenge and punishment. The problems will never go away until the problems are fixed. That is a lesson that still needs to be learned.

Hate breeds Hate. Is Hate what God really wants to teach?? I think not!

If I accept as axiomatic that hate breeds hate, than God breeds hate, for the scriptures say specifically, "God hates divorce." God would not do anything He hates and the citation is for those who think God has utterly rejected Israel and the Jewish people. He would hate to do so.

However, you keep saying things like "The Bible can't be right here, because hate is wrong, always!" This begs two questions:

1) How do you know hate is always incorrect? If hate is sometimes right, than even breeding it could be right. Perhaps if more passive Germans hated Nazi ideology instead of tolerating it . . . hate, like love, is contextual. Love is not always right, either. If less Germans had loved Nazi ideology and rather had hated it . . .

2) Some of your remarks almost sound like you hate the Bible. I say this to you in love, for I've noticed that many people are intolerant and hate-filled regarding intolerant people!

 

[Bird123]

If I accept as axiomatic that hate breeds hate, than God breeds hate, for the scriptures say specifically, "God hates divorce." God would not do anything He hates and the citation is for those who think God has utterly rejected Israel and the Jewish people. He would hate to do so.

However, you keep saying things like "The Bible can't be right here, because hate is wrong, always!" This begs two questions:

1) How do you know hate is always incorrect? If hate is sometimes right, than even breeding it could be right. Perhaps if more passive Germans hated Nazi ideology instead of tolerating it . . . hate, like love, is contextual. Love is not always right, either. If less Germans had loved Nazi ideology and rather had hated it . . .

2) Some of your remarks almost sound like you hate the Bible. I say this to you in love, for I've noticed that many people are intolerant and hate-filled regarding intolerant people!

It is up to each of us to decide what are the best choices. In time, through God's education, as I see it, you will one day know that Hate is always a bad choice.

Should not one always lead with their intellect? If not, one could become lost in a sea of emotion. It's never fun to be lost.

There are many lessons to learn around world war 2. How many recognized the problem? How many ignored the problem? How many were a part of the problem with greed and hungry for power? Hating a problem is an emotion that can generate bad results. Intellect and understanding are the first step toward resolution.

The Nazi empire was built on Hate. How did that turn out? Many jump on the Hate bandwagon. Many also choose hard lessons for themselves. Hard lessons can sometimes hurt, however the understanding and wisdom acquired in the process lead one to true perfection. I guess there are growing pains along one's path. Our ignorance, narrow vision, and Egos get in the way of so much learning.

I do not Hate the Bible or any Holy Books. How can one argue when the Bible talks about Love? On the other hand, the Bible, like all Holy Books, is a creation of mankind. It reflects who mankind is. It shows the petty things mankind holds so dear such as Hating,Blaming,Judging,Condemning,Punishing,Controlling,Coercing,Intimidating,and so many other things. If one questions instead of blindly accepting Holy Books, one soon starts to discover these things.

Any Being capable of creating the universe and beyond has to be very very smart. If I can see all these petty things prevent one from truly reaching a Higher Level, how could an Intelligent God value those lower levels? It's not going to happen. People in their controlling nature want to shape God into what they want rather than what actually is. Everybody wants to rule the world is mankind's greatest problem.

As I see it, one should look at themselves if they think God could be as Holy Books describe. Widen the view. It stares us all in the face waiting for that light bulb to go off over our heads to find true Discovery.

 

[osgart]

God is omnipresent, omnipotent, love and justice. That means by all evidences God is non existent.

I demand absolute ideal perfection from God, after all He/She wrote the job description for the title of God.

I mean rule the earth by attending it with presence for starters.

Be there God! Score a few touchdowns or something.

 

[LukeS]

I don't really want to give a standard sentence as a definition. That's too abstract and uninformative. Rather its relating to God that we know him, and as a sentence doesn't do this, its an empty kind of cognition. And after all, in defining God we want a cognition of Him, right?

Through the following ways, we know of spiritual states, and these lead to a kind of mystic cognition and understanding.


If you practice the faith you come to know the spirituality and customs of Islam, and accustom yourself to the "Sunnah" or paths of Muhammed saws - and through following the instrucitons you get a sense of the personality of the instructor. So when I say I'm clean, sober healthy and fulfilled, smell nice, have smart friends etc - that's part of "understanding God". So Gods love for example is not automatic, you have to impress him and listen and follow the prescribed ways.

I think God is implicitly manifest through his activity in creation, so there are 99 names of Allah, like "as salam" (peace) and "al malik" (sovereign king) or "al Rahim" (the especially merciful) or "al Wahid" (the One). So he is known through effects, if you understand the attributes, and know where to find them, you can check their definitions through observing creation. But also understanding God as the ultimate singular creator and cause.

Afaik Islamic theology is apophatic, God is known via negativa, he is beyond and unlike anything we can see hear touch experience or imagine. Transcendent. Let this "touch your soul" and you have a taste of an existential cognition, as opposed to mere intellection.

 

[BilliardsBall]

It is up to each of us to decide what are the best choices. In time, through God's education, as I see it, you will one day know that Hate is always a bad choice.

Should not one always lead with their intellect? If not, one could become lost in a sea of emotion. It's never fun to be lost.

There are many lessons to learn around world war 2. How many recognized the problem? How many ignored the problem? How many were a part of the problem with greed and hungry for power? Hating a problem is an emotion that can generate bad results. Intellect and understanding are the first step toward resolution.

The Nazi empire was built on Hate. How did that turn out? Many jump on the Hate bandwagon. Many also choose hard lessons for themselves. Hard lessons can sometimes hurt, however the understanding and wisdom acquired in the process lead one to true perfection. I guess there are growing pains along one's path. Our ignorance, narrow vision, and Egos get in the way of so much learning.

I do not Hate the Bible or any Holy Books. How can one argue when the Bible talks about Love? On the other hand, the Bible, like all Holy Books, is a creation of mankind. It reflects who mankind is. It shows the petty things mankind holds so dear such as Hating,Blaming,Judging,Condemning,Punishing,Controlling,Coercing,Intimidating,and so many other things. If one questions instead of blindly accepting Holy Books, one soon starts to discover these things.

Any Being capable of creating the universe and beyond has to be very very smart. If I can see all these petty things prevent one from truly reaching a Higher Level, how could an Intelligent God value those lower levels? It's not going to happen. People in their controlling nature want to shape God into what they want rather than what actually is. Everybody wants to rule the world is mankind's greatest problem.

As I see it, one should look at themselves if they think God could be as Holy Books describe. Widen the view. It stares us all in the face waiting for that light bulb to go off over our heads to find true Discovery.

I gave examples specific to Nazism contextualizing hate, which you have not responded to. Our society is ignorant of God's truth because it has turned from Bible study. You mentioned "God's education" but it sounds like you don't want me to use Bible study to further this education.

Jesus Christ contextualized love and hate to their proper states.

 

[Bird123]

I gave examples specific to Nazism contextualizing hate, which you have not responded to. Our society is ignorant of God's truth because it has turned from Bible study. You mentioned "God's education" but it sounds like you don't want me to use Bible study to further this education.

Jesus Christ contextualized love and hate to their proper states.

I have responded. You just do not want to see.

God's true education continues regardless of any Beliefs. Be who you must! It's a part of the Plan! Listen to the advice of others but walk your own path. Life's lessons are best learned that way.

I would never want to limit or restrict your choices. Free Choices are part of God's system. I am merely one who strives for truth, facts, knowledge and the wisdom that comes through Discovery and not Beliefs.

As I see it. It has never ever been about Beliefs. God has never ever depended on books. Holy Books come from mankind's religion. God's system is guiding everyone toward perfection all within one's free choices. No child is left behind. No child is discarded. All will advance step by step, lifetime by lifetime. In time, one will acquire Great Wisdom and Knowledge. One will discover the Intelligence of Unconditional Love. After all, no matter how you serve it up, Unconditional Love is the only real viable choice to make. Perhaps, it will become more clear when you really understand what all those petty things mankind holds so dear mean. Perhaps, Understanding Unconditional Love will make the difference. You will see with new eyes.

 

[BilliardsBall]

I have responded. You just do not want to see.

God's true education continues regardless of any Beliefs. Be who you must! It's a part of the Plan! Listen to the advice of others but walk your own path. Life's lessons are best learned that way.

I would never want to limit or restrict your choices. Free Choices are part of God's system. I am merely one who strives for truth, facts, knowledge and the wisdom that comes through Discovery and not Beliefs.

As I see it. It has never ever been about Beliefs. God has never ever depended on books. Holy Books come from mankind's religion. God's system is guiding everyone toward perfection all within one's free choices. No child is left behind. No child is discarded. All will advance step by step, lifetime by lifetime. In time, one will acquire Great Wisdom and Knowledge. One will discover the Intelligence of Unconditional Love. After all, no matter how you serve it up, Unconditional Love is the only real viable choice to make. Perhaps, it will become more clear when you really understand what all those petty things mankind holds so dear mean. Perhaps, Understanding Unconditional Love will make the difference. You will see with new eyes.

You are correct in that I do not want to see certain things, as do all persons.

I do not want to see more of your New Age touchy-feely love or hate that robs both love and hate of their true power.

The Bible is the Word of God.

 

[Bird123]

You are correct in that I do not want to see certain things, as do all persons.

I do not want to see more of your New Age touchy-feely love or hate that robs both love and hate of their true power.

The Bible is the Word of God.

It's not touchy-feely. It's Math. As I see it, if you really knew God, your holy book would look much different to you. On the other hand, everything else would as well. The world would not be the mess you think it is. There is Method to the Madness.

Hmmm? Where does one find God if it is not served up on a plate as religion does?

So many people and religions focus on the Feeling part of God. For a Being capable of creating the universe, God has an Intellectual part. With that in mind, as I see it, THINKING is Required.

How can God be boxed and limited to a holy book written by men? It's not going to happen. This brings us to the question. How can one understand God when all one sees is a holy book, a box of the Beliefs of mankind? True Discovery comes from those willing to venture into Undiscovered Country.

We all Choose what we really want to Discover. Once again, our choices and actions define who we are, what we know, and what we need to learn. We each show the world and God what we know and what we need to learn. I do see you.

 

[BilliardsBall]

It's not touchy-feely. It's Math. As I see it, if you really knew God, your holy book would look much different to you. On the other hand, everything else would as well. The world would not be the mess you think it is. There is Method to the Madness.

Hmmm? Where does one find God if it is not served up on a plate as religion does?

So many people and religions focus on the Feeling part of God. For a Being capable of creating the universe, God has an Intellectual part. With that in mind, as I see it, THINKING is Required.

How can God be boxed and limited to a holy book written by men? It's not going to happen. This brings us to the question. How can one understand God when all one sees is a holy book, a box of the Beliefs of mankind? True Discovery comes from those willing to venture into Undiscovered Country.

We all Choose what we really want to Discover. Once again, our choices and actions define who we are, what we know, and what we need to learn. We each show the world and God what we know and what we need to learn. I do see you.

Here's where we've left touchy-feely and New Age to become--no offense--against Christ or Antichrist. "If I knew God my Bible would read differently?" I read it as:

* A book of ultimate love
* Perfect
* Able to reform individuals and society
* A guidebook for life
* The Word of God
* Etc., etc. including the very thoughts and mind of God

To ask me to reverse my stances on the Bible is a VERY anti-God stance. You are always welcome to share your thoughts with me but fighting God will ultimately lead to any person's destruction. Be more cautious, discerning.

Read the Bible more. Pray about what you are reading--pray to the true God!

 

[Bird123]

Here's where we've left touchy-feely and New Age to become--no offense--against Christ or Antichrist. "If I knew God my Bible would read differently?" I read it as:

* A book of ultimate love
* Perfect
* Able to reform individuals and society
* A guidebook for life
* The Word of God
* Etc., etc. including the very thoughts and mind of God

To ask me to reverse my stances on the Bible is a VERY anti-God stance. You are always welcome to share your thoughts with me but fighting God will ultimately lead to any person's destruction. Be more cautious, discerning.

Read the Bible more. Pray about what you are reading--pray to the true God!

Religion has corrupted your view. I am not asking you to do anything. Have I not said your Free Choices are important to God's educational system?? Be who you must! It's a part of the Plan.

I have supplied you with information you choose to ignore. Example: How can you confine God to a holy book or a box of the Beliefs of mankind? Religion places God in a nice little box. How much does one miss by ignoring everything outside that box? AS I see it, there is more of God outside that box than in.

Make your choices. Ignore what you will. There are lessons to learn. The reason people can not just be told is because so many just must Live their Lessons. That is why this universe exists. You have my blessing.

On the other hand, there are always those who are at the point or open enough to Understand what I have been saying. Perhaps, in time, it will become clear. In the meantime, I'm Happy!!

 

[Kenny]

Teaching a holy book is not the same as discovering the underlying causes.

When you look at a manual on how things are suppose to work, you can discover the underlying problems

 

[syo]

How would you define a God who would create Hell knowing someone would go there?

God never created hell so people would go there. human learned about hell after the fall of Adam and Eve, when they ate the forbidden fruit.