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"The LORD is my Shepherd..."

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posted on Aug, 2 2014 @ 07:16 PM
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a reply to: nenothtu

"He won't be 'leading them beside still waters'."

Dear nenothtu, Perhaps you have been reading too much D.H. Lawrence, but I see you as a
misanthrope of minor conviction.
Perhaps your true family lies beyond the ties of blood.
It is really a matter of how we define our family.



posted on Aug, 2 2014 @ 07:33 PM
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a reply to: orangetom1999

"The counterfeiter who would try privily ..without many knowing it..to take Gods Glory. Please give me a name for this other religion and this other god??"

Dear orangetom, Perhaps I misunderstand you, but
the Truth that I embrace is not a religion.
Glory is not the sole province of God.
We observe the majesty before us
and you might see the hand of God.
I see the spectacle of Nature.

Nature is God is Nature.



posted on Aug, 2 2014 @ 07:48 PM
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a reply to: OpinionatedB

Dear Opie, Hello again.

God is inscrutable, unknowable, and unfathomable.
Yet we devote ourselves to his infallibility.
Some souls honor the will and essence of God.
Thank you, Opie.



posted on Aug, 2 2014 @ 09:28 PM
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a reply to: Diderot

Nature is God is Nature.
God us uncreated.
Nature is a product of the universe, which itself is created.



posted on Aug, 3 2014 @ 02:06 PM
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a reply to: jmdewey60

Thanks for posting those passages.

Orangetom



posted on Aug, 3 2014 @ 02:19 PM
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originally posted by: Diderot
a reply to: orangetom1999

"The counterfeiter who would try privily ..without many knowing it..to take Gods Glory. Please give me a name for this other religion and this other god??"

Dear orangetom, Perhaps I misunderstand you, but
the Truth that I embrace is not a religion.
Glory is not the sole province of God.
We observe the majesty before us
and you might see the hand of God.
I see the spectacle of Nature.




Nature is God is Nature.


No problem Diderot,

Oh..by the way...put me in there with nenothtu as a misanthrope. I will gladly accept that label. Thank you.

I am not a nature worshiper or pantheist..nor any of those other brands so popular today. I have no problem with being a good steward of that which which we are blessed and so instructed. But worship nature or the creature...no thanks.

For that is to me what promoting human qualities is..worshiping the creature and not the creator.

Humanism is indeed a religion..that human qualities are the ulitimate reality in the universe. I don't think so. For me God is the ultimate reality in the universe.




Glory is not the sole province of God.


This is very interesting to me Diderot. Very interesting because the God I know declares that His Glory He will not share with another.

You see ..we have two different belief systems between you and me. No problem. I merely point this out.

Give me the name of the god who would share his glory with another??? By name please.


For you see...Diderot..I have had experience twice now with members of another religion and another god...under oath..and both of them when I asked them to give me the name of their god...could not tell me. They both stated that they cannot ..for they were under an oath. A very strange thing for a person to tell you ..and see and hear it for yourself.that they cannot give you the name of their god. That they cannot for they are under an oath.


Now here we are ..you and I...and so far you have not given me the name of your god..by name!! Very interesting.
Are you under such an oath??

Give me the name of he god of pantheism...nature the creation..not the creator.....by name please??

Thanks,
Orangetom


edit on 3-8-2014 by orangetom1999 because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 3 2014 @ 02:22 PM
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originally posted by: jmdewey60
a reply to: Diderot

Nature is God is Nature.
God us uncreated.
Nature is a product of the universe, which itself is created.



Bingo!!



posted on Aug, 6 2014 @ 06:43 PM
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a reply to: orangetom1999

Hello again orangetom,

"Oh..by the way...put me in there with nenothtu as a misanthrope. I will gladly accept that label. Thank you."

I think that we might have two different perceptions of the meaning of misanthropy. To me it is essentially a pathological
animus towards humanity. This necessarily entails a degree of self-loathing.

Please forgive me, but you come across as a questionable misanthrope; I perceive too much positive humanity (if I may)
in your words to suggest the stigma of misanthropy.

"Give me the name of the god of pantheism...nature the creation. not the creator.....by name please??"

You ask me to name my god.
I have no name to offer.
I have no god to venerate.

Your God is a God of perfection.
Reason is my standard of perfection.



posted on Aug, 7 2014 @ 02:22 AM
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originally posted by: Diderot
a reply to: jmdewey60

"What that means is that God will not abandon his sheep, as it continues on in the analogy to describe what He continues to do as the good shepherd."

Dear jm, You point is well taken, but I have a problem with the first line of the psalm. I have no problem with God our Father, or God our Teacher, or God our Inspiration, but God our Shepherd puts us on the level of sheep, with no autonomy, or promise of our rightful domain upon the earth. The excellence of Humanity is no virtue to this God the Shepherd.



I missed the part where humanity is excellent. Are we living on the same planet?



posted on Aug, 7 2014 @ 08:30 AM
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The LORD is my CEO, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green fifties and one hundreds,
He leads me beside quiet cafes, He restores my internet connection.
He guides me in paths of corporate takeovers for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no lawful conviction, for You are with me;
Your military and Your nuclear arsenal, they comfort me.
You prepare a virus before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my corporations with oil; my pockets overflow.
Surely madness and hate will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Amen.

Just thought I'd put up this version again just in case anyone missed it...



posted on Aug, 7 2014 @ 09:19 AM
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originally posted by: subtopia
The LORD is my CEO, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green fifties and one hundreds,
He leads me beside quiet cafes, He restores my internet connection.
He guides me in paths of corporate takeovers for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no lawful conviction, for You are with me;
Your military and Your nuclear arsenal, they comfort me.
You prepare a virus before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my corporations with oil; my pockets overflow.
Surely madness and hate will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Amen.

Just thought I'd put up this version again just in case anyone missed it...


The Lord is my Caretaker, I shall not want.
He makes sure my bed is comfortable, and that I am surrounded in restorative peace.
I am rejuvenated, in the deepest reaches of that which is me.
Because of Him, I want and try to be the best possible person I can, in emulation of Him.
Even though I am going through some damn hard times, there is nothing I am afraid of now
Because He is right here with me, I'm no longer scared
The world can throw their worst at me, yet, I'll come out strong
Because every time I fall, He helps me up again
Everything I need, He has provided me
Those who condemn me, stand in awe of how I overcome every adversity
His influence permeates my existence - His Touch upon me is so great in the spiritual sense I am like the wealthiest man on earth
Certainly His touch will be with me always, and nothing can take this away!
Not even death, because even after I die, I will be with Him then too!
Amen.

edit on 7-8-2014 by OpinionatedB because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 7 2014 @ 09:28 AM
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a reply to: OpinionatedB
I like your version too.

I still feel though that the belief in a God like that stems from mans inability to accept the possible reality that he is the result of coincidence and chance within the evolution of existence.



posted on Aug, 7 2014 @ 09:46 AM
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a reply to: subtopia

You are partly correct, yes perhaps. Reason and logic denies that this was all an accident - in the minds of those who DO believe in a God.

Look at the human body and brain... better than the best computer man can make. All biological, such perfection in nature - such beauty... so little a possibility even that all this just simply evolved from nothingness.

It's kind of like sitting in a room with nothing in it, and thinking if you sat in that room long enough that a computer and table would simply materialize out of thin air.

The atheist believes that something can come from nothing, and those who believe in God do not, "GOD" is our first cause... the atheist believes the first cause is something, anything, other than intelligence... which is fine - for them.

but that is only 1 aspect of why someone who does believe, believes. The other aspects an atheist is incapable of understanding, however.

In the end, to each his own - as far as beliefs.

edit on 7-8-2014 by OpinionatedB because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 7 2014 @ 03:17 PM
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originally posted by: subtopia
a reply to: OpinionatedB
I like your version too.

I still feel though that the belief in a God like that stems from mans inability to accept the possible reality that he is the result of coincidence and chance within the evolution of existence.


What caused existence? Something can not come from nothing. The universe is limited by time because all mass is limited by time.

That sure was a strange set of coincidences you made up in your mind. What are the odds? 1 in....well...infinity.



posted on Aug, 8 2014 @ 08:26 AM
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a reply to: OpinionatedB

Is there that much difference between a billion to one spontaneous organic occurrence and immaculate conception?



posted on Aug, 8 2014 @ 09:05 AM
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a reply to: subtopia




posted on Aug, 8 2014 @ 09:22 AM
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Shepherds eventually kill, butcher and eat their sheep (or sell them to someone that will).

.....just sayin.



posted on Aug, 8 2014 @ 12:54 PM
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originally posted by: Diderot
a reply to: nenothtu

"He won't be 'leading them beside still waters'."

Dear nenothtu, Perhaps you have been reading too much D.H. Lawrence, but I see you as a
misanthrope of minor conviction.
Perhaps your true family lies beyond the ties of blood.
It is really a matter of how we define our family.



I am indeed a misanthrope, although I don't understand the "minor conviction" part - I've never been convicted of anything.

I've always defined "family" as a matter of blood relation, although there are people in this world who are, as individuals, "closer" than family. Rudyard Kipling's "Thousandth Man", one who is closer than a brother, comes to mind. That said, I don't engage in wholesale adoption of an entire species as "family" - it's on an individual basis, by merit, not simply because we happen to share the same general body plan.



posted on Aug, 8 2014 @ 01:23 PM
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originally posted by: Diderot

I think that we might have two different perceptions of the meaning of misanthropy. To me it is essentially a pathological
animus towards humanity. This necessarily entails a degree of self-loathing.



I have observed through life that there are two different sorts of people on this rock ball - those who profess to "love humanity", and yet paradoxically hate "people" - the individuals who comprise said "humanity", and those who profess to "love people" (i.e "individuals"), and yet paradoxically hate the aggregate they make, "humanity". It's essentially the age old dichotomy between "collectivism" and "individualism".

I am of the latter persuasion - I love "people", individuals, on their own merit, and detest the aggregate of "humanity", and believe that "humanity" is not worth the nuclear reactions it would take to blow it up.

Should individuals control society, or should society control the individual?



edit on 2014/8/8 by nenothtu because: (no reason given)



posted on Aug, 8 2014 @ 01:39 PM
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originally posted by: subtopia
a reply to: OpinionatedB

Is there that much difference between a billion to one spontaneous organic occurrence and immaculate conception?



I don't happen to subscribe to the notion of "Immaculate Conception", and have only ever heard Catholics use the term, which means something other than a mere "virgin birth" to them - it goes back through Mary's nature and whatnot, essentially imparting divinity on her as well, creating a "goddess", or, more accurately, imparting an ancient "goddess-hood" (which, if the Venus statuettes from Europe are any indication, goes all the way back to the dim mists of the paleolithic) on Mary where the Bible does not.

If you mean instead a "virgin birth", then yes it's possible, but vanishingly unlikely. It's called "parthenogenesis", and a discussion of what would be necessary for it to occur in a human (naturally, that is, rather than super-naturally) can be found here.

Now, with all the above said by way of disclaimer, the fundamental difference between the two (parthenogenesis vs. creation of something from nothing) is that in the former, it's NOT a "creation of something from nothing" - there is already "something" present for a parthenogenesis to occur, whether naturally or supernaturally.

The basic mechanisms for "life" creation are already present in the egg cell, fertilized or not, but the basic mechanisms for life creation are NOT present in two rocks being randomly banged together by ocean waves... they're just rocks. The raw materials of "life" may be present in the rocks, but the mechanisms for organizing those raw materials into "life" are not.





edit on 2014/8/8 by nenothtu because: (no reason given)




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