Miserable and seeking

[ameyAtmA]

I have picked through it, but not sat down to read it thoroughly. I would like to though. The many gods are just the myriad aspects of...Brahman, is it? Thank you!

You are welcome, and yes.
I think you are at a point where studying the Bhagavad Geeta can only benefit, and will not hurt. Bhagavad Geeta has benefited some Christians to understand their own faith better - per their own testimony.

Again, Bhagavad Geeta is more comprehensive than advaita - it does not toss everything out. So that need not be the focus.
Geeta should be read without any siddhAnta (paradigm) in mind.

 

[Brickjectivity]

I actually do have a Quaker Meetinghouse and UU church that are close by. I would love a discussion group. Have you not reached stage 3 due to not being able to find enough folks to start one with? Meetup makes you pay to start a group, but maybe it's worth it.

I reached stage 2 in a metropolitan area but then had to move hundreds of miles. Now I am working on stage 1 again in a rural area where its hard to find a fit where I can just be.

Meetup is expensive: about 60 a month last I checked; but there are others which do the same thing. Like...you could advertise on Craig's list or FB or something like that. There are also startup competitors with Meetup.

 

[muhammad_isa]

Both. I explained it in an earlier post responding to Trailblazer.

I see.
Being angry with G-d and people causes us loss.
We isolate ourselves.

You shouldn't expect people to be perfect.
I'm not, and I doubt whether you are.

However, G-d is perfect.
Thinking that G-d should behave like a "good person" is invalid.
G-d is not a person, and cannot steal or murder or commit adultery.

 

[Sand Dancer]

I see.
Being angry with G-d and people causes us loss.
We isolate ourselves.

You shouldn't expect people to be perfect.
I'm not, and I doubt whether you are.

However, G-d is perfect.
Thinking that G-d should behave like a "good person" is invalid.
G-d is not a person, and cannot steal or murder or commit adultery.

Well, if you read in the OT, God has murdered. Or is it classified as killed? Perhaps in the Quran, Allah hasn't murdered. I have read it but it's been a while.

 

[Redemptionsong]

I might need a little more prompting to remember.

Luke 6:46-49. 'And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which l say?
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, l will shew you to whom he is like:
He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
But he that hearerh, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great'.

All l would ask is, Did you ever build your house upon the rock?

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Well, if you read in the OT, God has murdered. Or is it classified as killed? Perhaps in the Quran, Allah hasn't murdered. I have read it but it's been a while.

You're correct, Thirza Fallen. According to the Bible, God has personally killed people, he's committed worldwide genocide, and he ordered the ancient Israelites to totally destroy other nations, killing every man, woman, child, infant, and all their animals (Exodus 17:8–13; 1 Samuel 15:2; Deuteronomy 25:17). It's written in the Book of Acts that he killed a man and his wife for lying to Peter (Acts 5:5-10). The Book of Acts is in the New Testament, and it is amid all the contradictory verses in the rest of the New Testament that speak of God's alleged love for mankind. I don't know about you, but God personally killing people and ordering people to be killed in cold blood doesn't sound like a loving God to me. I don't know what's written in the Quran about Allah, but the Christian God has proven himself to be a sadistic bloodthirsty psychopath, who's personally guilty of crimes against humanity and global genocide.

 

[muhammad_isa]

Well, if you read in the OT, God has murdered..

G-d can't murder.
If you think He can, then G-d "murders" each and every one of us, because we are all destined to die.

If you refer to Noah's Ark and such like, I don't see how people who didn't listen to Noah, and hence got drowned is the fault of G-d.
Furthermore, if G-d had done nothing, and allowed evil to predominate, we wouldn't be here now.
That was not what He ordained.
However, mankind will eventually be extinct, along with Earth.
It is inevitable. We are inclined towards sin.
G-d is aware of what He creates and why.

I believe in the unseen. I believe in the saved and unsaved.

 

[Trailblazer]

Well, it started with the problem of suffering and at that time I left fundamentalist Christianity for mainline Christianity, and I started questioning the morality of how Yahweh is portrayed in the Bible. Good, yet very bad. That and the fact that so many Christians are the opposite of what Jesus wanted for his followers, I figured, "what's the point if it doesn't make someone a better person," so I left completely.

I don't believe the Old Testament stories about God, I believe that are anthropomorphism of an ancient people. If anything would make me lose my faith in God, it would be the problem of suffering, but it was my religion that allowed me to not lose faith in God, because I believe what Baha'u'llah wrote about God being all-loving and all-good, despite the suffering. I won't say it has not been a struggle to maintain that belief, given all the suffering I have endured, but I finally realized it was only my own ego that made me see God as bad.

I never worry about what other people do or if they do not live up to all the expectations of my religion because I am only responsible for myself. We are all struggling to live life on this planet so I try not to judge others, as Jesus said in Matthew 7:1-5.

 

[Viker]

After leaving Christianity in 2014, I must have tried most religions out there. I want a religion so badly, of the reason I am not totally sure, but I just can't seem to be okay with any. I feel lonely, untethered and empty. Not sure what to do. I am not a spiritual flake, just confused.

The lonely and empty part is difficult. But the untethered could be a bonus.

Eventually feet find the perfect shoes, it just may take a few more miles.

 

[Sand Dancer]

Luke 6:46-49. 'And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which l say?
Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, l will shew you to whom he is like:
He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
But he that hearerh, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great'.

All l would ask is, Did you ever build your house upon the rock?

Okay, that's the one I thought it was. Yes, I did. I was sincere, invested and fervent. Sadly, some denominations, or maybe it's specific churches, don't grow good fruit. That's a liability.

 

[Sand Dancer]

G-d can't murder.
If you think He can, then G-d "murders" each and every one of us, because we are all destined to die.

If you refer to Noah's Ark and such like, I don't see how people who didn't listen to Noah, and hence got drowned is the fault of G-d.
Furthermore, if G-d had done nothing, and allowed evil to predominate, we wouldn't be here now.
That was not what He ordained.
However, mankind will eventually be extinct, along with Earth.
It is inevitable. We are inclined towards sin.
G-d is aware of what He creates and why.

I believe in the unseen. I believe in the saved and unsaved.

So what do you make of the verses where he kills the man who touches the Ark of the Covenant because it was tipping to the ground? What of His commandments for Joshua and his men to kill the people and animals of Ai? And his murder of Job's innocent family? He killed two boys who made fun of a bald man. These are murder, IMO.

 

[muhammad_isa]

So what do you make of the verses where he kills the man who touches the Ark of the Covenant because it was tipping to the ground? What of His commandments for Joshua and his men to kill the people and animals of Ai? And his murder of Job's innocent family? He killed two boys who made fun of a bald man. These are murder, IMO.

Firstly, I don't believe that the Bible is the literal word of G-d.
The OT is an ancient text, and I doubt that it hasn't had a few words changed here and there in its numerous revisions.

Secondly, I don't believe that the concept of murder is applicable to G-d.
He created all. He gives life, and He takes life.

The idea of G-d being a person is derived from Christianity. This gives an impression that Jesus corrected the OT and is a perfect God-man.

There is no such thing as a God-man or God-woman.
Only G-d is God. Only Allah is God. Only Yahweh is G-d.
Only the Father is God.

..and God does not have to behave as a perfect man.
..because He isn't one.

If he wanted to "murder" every single creature alive, then that is his prerogative, and I'm sure there would be a good reason for it.
It's OK for men to drop bombs on Japan or Iraq or Libya, but if God decides that a man's soul should return to Him and be killed in a car accident or drowning, then that's horrific?
Not to me, it isn't.

 

[ElishaElijah]

So what do you make of the verses where he kills the man who touches the Ark of the Covenant because it was tipping to the ground? What of His commandments for Joshua and his men to kill the people and animals of Ai? And his murder of Job's innocent family? He killed two boys who made fun of a bald man. These are murder, IMO.

“Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding. He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ as a plan for the right time  — to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him. In him we have also received an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory. In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:3-14‬ ‭CSB‬‬

When I see what lengths God went to save us and give us this inheritance, He says we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, so to see God as a murderer doesn’t make sense to me at all.

 

[Redemptionsong]

Okay, that's the one I thought it was. Yes, I did. I was sincere, invested and fervent. Sadly, some denominations, or maybe it's specific churches, don't grow good fruit. That's a liability.

That's why, lMO, we should all be led by the Holy Spirit!

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

So what do you make of the verses where he kills the man who touches the Ark of the Covenant because it was tipping to the ground? What of His commandments for Joshua and his men to kill the people and animals of Ai? And his murder of Job's innocent family? He killed two boys who made fun of a bald man. These are murder, IMO.

Yes, God ruthlessly killed people with impunity, and no amount of excuses or attempts to rationalize his atrocious behavior will ever change it. According to the King James Bible, it's "Thou shalt not kill," but according to various other versions of the Bible, it's "You shall not murder." Either way you phrase it, God doesn't live up his own standards. He killed countless people with ferocious impunity, and we're supposed to believe that he's a loving and merciful God, let alone a 'heavenly father' to us? I don't think so.

 

[Harel13]

I did consider going to synagogue. I did a quick search of Noachideism, but I need to look at it more deeply. Oh, sorry to hear that there are no face to face communities.

There are face to face communities, but not many. Don't know what @Sedim Haba meant. But who knows, there might be one in your vicinity.

Anyway, good luck in all of your endeavors.

 

[ElishaElijah]

Yes, God ruthlessly killed people with impunity, and no amount of excuses or attempts to rationalize his atrocious behavior will ever change it. According to the King James Bible, it's "Thou shalt not kill," but according to various other versions of the Bible, it's "You shall not murder." Either way you phrase it, God doesn't live up his own standards. He killed countless people with brutal impunity, and we're supposed to believe that he's a loving and merciful God, let alone a 'heavenly father' to us? I don't think so.

God is loving and merciful, is He not? Jesus said if you’ve seen Him you’ve seen the Father. Do you have a problem with Jesus Christ?

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Okay, that's the one I thought it was. Yes, I did. I was sincere, invested and fervent. Sadly, some denominations, or maybe it's specific churches, don't grow good fruit. That's a liability.

I was also sincere, invested and fervent in my Christian faith while I was growing up, and yet I still suffered constant abuse at home and relentless bullying in school. I devoutly read the Bible and I regularly went to church, and I prayed to God every day asking him to save me from the abuse and bullying. All of my prayers for protection and deliverance went unanswered, because I endured the abuse and bullying for 13 1/2 years, and it didn't stop until I left home when I was 18 years old. I've suffered from PTSD for years as a result of the abuse I suffered as a child. I foolishly held onto the false hope in my Christian faith for thirty years, despite the inner struggle of trying to reconcile the belief in a loving, merciful God with the horrific reality of my childhood. It took me thirty years to finally break away from Christianity and be free from it. As I said earlier, it was the best decision that I've ever made for myself, and I don't regret it for a single moment. But I wish I had let go of my false hope in God years ago, because I would have saved myself a lot of anguish and heartache if I had. It took me three decades to fully deconvert, but I'm relieved that I didn't give up. My personal deconversion was hard, but it was worth it. I feel peace and contentment in my life, which I never felt when I was a Christian. My mental health is also getting better since I left Christianity. I actually feel liberated, as if a massive burden has been lifted off of me.

 

[ElishaElijah]

I was also sincere, invested and fervent in my Christian faith while I was growing up, and yet I still suffered constant abuse at home and relentless bullying in school. I devoutly read the Bible and I regularly went to church, and I prayed to God every day asking him to save me from the abuse and bullying. All of my prayers for protection and deliverance went unanswered, because I endured the abuse and bullying for 13 1/2 years, and it didn't stop until I left home when I was 18 years old. I've suffered from PTSD for years as a result of the abuse I suffered as a child. I foolishly held onto the false hope in my Christian faith for thirty years, despite the inner struggle of trying to reconcile the belief in a loving, merciful God with the horrific reality of my childhood. It took me thirty to finally break away from Christianity and be free from it. As I said earlier, it was the best decision that I've ever made for myself, and I don't regret it for a single moment. However, I wish I had let go of my false hope in God years ago, because I could have saved myself a lot of anguish and heartache if I had. It took me a while to deconvert, but I'm relieved that I didn't give up. My deconversion was hard, but it was worth it. I've never felt peace in my life before and my mental health is better since I've forsaken my Christian faith.

Really sorry to hear all you’ve gone through, I can’t speak to that because I was just a brat kid who was ungrateful and entitled. My wife in the other hand had to endure abuse like you speak of, she is a very discerning person and doesn’t trust people very easily. She doesn’t share your sentiment towards God but really hates the devil and how he oppresses, steals, lies to people.

 

[Bird123]

After leaving Christianity in 2014, I must have tried most religions out there. I want a religion so badly, of the reason I am not totally sure, but I just can't seem to be okay with any. I feel lonely, untethered and empty. Not sure what to do. I am not a spiritual flake, just confused.

So you no longer have a religion. You are in good company. God doesn't belong to a religion either. All religions are creations of mankind.

So you have the desire to have a Label. Will not one always be so much more than a Label?? If you must have a Label, you already possess the only label that really counts. You are a Child of God!!

Are you Lonely? Perhaps, it's the People connection that you lack. There are people all over the world seeking nothing more than Love and Understanding. If you give all that you see nothing but Unconditional Love, people will be drawn to you.

Remember, Unconditional Love always does what is Best for the other. Stay with that regardless. You will Discover that Unconditional Love is the hardest thing to walk away from. Since, Unconditional Love is Universal, that includes everyone and every religion.

Do you seek Beliefs or the Real Truth? If you seek beliefs, make up all the ones that make you feel good. This is something being done by all religions. Make up a name or label for your own created religion. It is no worse than what exists all over the world.

If you seek the Real Truth, it will take much more work. In this time-based causal universe, God's actions can be seen. When you understand God's actions and why, you will come to understand God. God hides nothing. All the secrets of it all stare us in the face. The Real Truth waits to be Discovered.

Religion makes things easy. They serve up the beliefs and there is no work to be done but accept or reject. Are you really looking for others to do it all for you??

Perhaps, it's time to search your soul and decide what it is you really want. Choose, Decide, and Act. Stop walking on eggshells. There are no wrong answers. God is going to let you decide what the Best answers really are. Regardless of your choices, God will Love you Unconditionally.

Perhaps this is just the time you need to stand on your own two feet and lead your own path instead of blindly following. This is a step forward. Though it can be a bit scary, there are always limitless number of choices within your reach regardless of the path you take. You are far more capable than you could ever imagine.

That's what I see. It's very clear!!!