What does God want from us

originally posted by: Woodcarver
a reply to: SaturnFX

"That ain't no god, thats the damned ole locked ness monster"

Best episode ever: www.dailymotion.com...

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Woodcarver

I like that you actually think for yourself. Most people prefer not to think about these questions because it hurts most people's heads. I have no criticisms of your answers. I do not believe any of these questions have an absolutely right or wrong answer.

Thank you very much. I have been questioning religions since kindergarten. there were lot's of books in my families library and i was fascinated by greek mythology at a very young age. It did not take me long to realise that all religions were an attempt to explain the world around people who had no understanding of it. Christianity was all around me and i saw it as a means to control people with no real redeamable qualities that couldn't and hadn't been applied by other cultures. I quickly gave up on other supernatural claims that were longheld by almost all cutures, such as ghosts/spirits, astral projection, mind reading, etc. whenever these things are scrutinized with real science, they are found to be lacking any substance. I'm not saying i'm absolutely correct, but you will have to show me some real solid research to back up any claims as such.

a reply to: enlightenedservant

In short, we're AI robots that have been given a chance to show our true colors in a test dimension. Our behavior here will determine if we'll be allowed into the real dimension or sent to the scrap pile.

That's a pretty "Matrixy" type of Theophany coming from a Muslim - Don't take that the wrong way, I think its admirable

I agree he doesn't exist....but his minions want cash, check, or credit card & they will pray to him for you. Joel Osteen can "smile' the damn cash out of ones pocket.a reply to: corblimeyguvnor

originally posted by: Woodcarver

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: Woodcarver

I like that you actually think for yourself. Most people prefer not to think about these questions because it hurts most people's heads. I have no criticisms of your answers. I do not believe any of these questions have an absolutely right or wrong answer.

Thank you very much. I have been questioning religions since kindergarten. there were lot's of books in my families library and i was fascinated by greek mythology at a very young age. It did not take me long to realise that all religions were an attempt to explain the world around people who had no understanding of it. Christianity was all around me and i saw it as a means to control people with no real redeamable qualities that couldn't and hadn't been applied by other cultures. I quickly gave up on other supernatural claims that were longheld by almost all cutures, such as ghosts/spirits, astral projection, mind reading, etc. whenever these things are scrutinized with real science, they are found to be lacking any substance. I'm not saying i'm absolutely correct, but you will have to show me some real solid research to back up any claims as such.

I have pretty much similar experiences. So when I was in my twenties I was a little more irreverent. I spent time on a USENET thread "Christianity Vs Atheism". It was pretty easy to argue the atheists position. So one day I decided just for a challenge I would take the opposite position and start arguing the theist position. After about 10 years a funny thing happened. I started to believe my own pro-theist arguments! How goofy is that!

Science is no sanctuary either. In seems our full understanding of nature's behavior is always just one step beyond our full comprehension. I see nothing in science when we will ever reach a result when we have no existential mysteries remaining. Every time I've heard someone speak who thinks science has all the answers I feel like there are always still holes in their way of thinking and in many ways they sound just like a religious fanatic.

I think it is important to appreciate the eternal mystery of existence. There's no evidence to think anything divine exists in the world. But, I think it is still important to have a divine sense of meaning when appreciating the idea of something existing as opposed to nothing. Although nothingness is not something we've ever experienced, I think there can be a sense of the divine in our understanding of the Universe.

Meaning

a reply to: openyourmind1262

LOL

originally posted by: Revolution9
a reply to: dfnj2015

HE wants us to suffer A LOT for putting His Boy on a cross and torturing Him to death.

I don't blame HIM. Suffer on!

"Us" ? I had nothing to do with it!

a reply to: dfnj2015

Without derailing this thread:

You need to understand that Jesus was involved with making the first man and woman. It is because of JESUS why we walk around on this planet.

Now his FATHER ..... GOD..... aka... Jehovah or Yaweh is a loving God that loves everything and Can NOT destroy anything he has created.... so.... who was it that was doing all of this destroying as God in the OT? Jesus or his Father?

Is Jesus.....the same one who was Jehovah or Yahweh spoken about in the bible? Then Jehovah/Yahweh had a female mortal impregnated which produced a mortal offspring of Jehovah which was called Jesus. Is Jesus correct when he says Jehovah is his father?

When Jesus was twelve years old and in Jerusalem with his parents and they were returning to Nazareth when they noticed Jesus was not with them in the convoy (back then many would travel together as security - they would travel in convoys) Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus preaching to the Sanedrin and other priests as they looked on in astonishment and not at just any place .... but where priests were allowed to hang out and not the normal people. When Jesus was asked where was he this whole time he said I am at my Father's house. So even at twelve years old he knew who he was.... didn't he.

When you understand this you will understand the need for why Jesus came to this world to repurchase mankind.

P.S. Who said he would return one day and lay God's enemies at his foot to use as a footstool? Quick tip: He died on a cross.

Is God the one who will punish mankind or is it his one and ONLY begotten son that does?

originally posted by: dfnj2015

originally posted by: Revolution9
a reply to: dfnj2015

HE wants us to suffer A LOT for putting His Boy on a cross and torturing Him to death.

I don't blame HIM. Suffer on!

"Us" ? I had nothing to do with it!

You been taking my jokes seriously again, Willis???



And now, my friends, I must take leave of you as I drift into another legal prescription Diazepam trance because the world irritates me to the point I get quite uncontrollable, even for myself to handle. I could do with a personal Mod to 404 me and delete me when I feel like this.

Yes, right now Diazepam are a lot more powerful than anything God can offer.

Indeed, WTF does God want from us, blood?

Life looks as sore as the hole Van Gogh made in the side of his head when he cut off his ear. Man, I totally get where he is coming from:



Those Dutch artists are way out there. Respect! Gekke "cool" mensen

a reply to: DeathSlayer

I think they both will have a good old go at us. We will get a thrashing to remember.

Sore whipped bottoms all round!

Ouch!

a reply to: DeathSlayer

Everything you've said is what the Bible tells us to think.

a reply to: Revolution9

Van Gogh and Gauguin were larping with swords and Gauguin accidentally cut it off; both being fond of the "green fairy" it's said Van Gogh made up the story to protect his friend. Didn't protect people thinking him crazy, but how many women do you think swooned at the idea someone could be so in love with a muse to do such a thing for her?

So if you think about it... perhaps they decided to fabricate such would turn out to be win win. Of course in hindsight rather devious a plot; but that is how legends are often made. The truth ear got cut off that is fact either way, it cannot be uncut off even if later re-attached... so what does the how really matter at that point? The ration in fabrication simply to keep his friend out of trouble... perhaps, as some sort of agreed to farce to see how long it could go before the truth got out as much of the artist community at that time hung out and where very much encouraged and influenced by each other.

So a larp came with a lark.

a reply to: SaturnFX

HA!

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: DeathSlayer

Everything you've said is what the Bible tells us to think.

And most people are not aware of this and just think how many would turn their swords into shears when hearing this Gospel.

AND if you are history buff then I suggest you take a hard look at the entire Roman era. They were great note takers and historians, they documented almost everything.

originally posted by: DeathSlayer

originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: DeathSlayer

Everything you've said is what the Bible tells us to think.

And most people are not aware of this and just think how many would turn their swords into shears when hearing this Gospel.

AND if you are history buff then I suggest you take a hard look at the entire Roman era. They were great note takers and historians, they documented almost everything.

I appreciate your offer. But it's hard not to be a little irreverent when it comes to the religion of goat herders. We are little more sophisticated nowadays in our understanding of the Universe. We now know the the Earth is not flat.

There's a lot stuff in Bible I just can't accept as moral. How can the Bible be the word of God and get the morality around slavery all wrong. I think the slavery bits alone make the Bible the word of man and not the word of God. I'm just not interested anything the Bible has to say. It seems really archaic hard to read. Show the same paragraph to 10 people and you will have 20 different interpretations of the same morality.

I don't need Jesus. My faith is in an omnipotent God who is all-loving and all-forgiving. I believe my loving God will let me through the gates of Heaven regardless of my earthly sins. All we have to do is have faith in God's infinite love and we will be saved. If anyone tells you differently, they are trying to get your money or get you to vote for a Republican. Maybe you think I will suffer eternal damnation. All I have to say is if you think I'm going to burn just means I have more faith in God than you do.

originally posted by: dfnj2015
So if you accept the idea of pantheistic type God, then maybe we could use ourselves as a mirror in determining what is good and moral.

All 'value', all 'good', all 'evil' exists in the eye (thoughts/ego) of the beholder.
Value is not found in the diamond, just carbon. Any 'value' is in the thoughts of the beholder!
'Morality' is the insanity of judging 'others' as 'good/evil/bad', and is clearly warned against, but the ego feels so good with all that self-righteousness and related egoic vanity, Pride...
Further...
(you know, you might want to write about your experience/Knowledge, it is obvious, 'pantheism' isn't more than an intellectual/egoic exercise.)
Further, if all is God, exactly what are you ignorantly 'judging', calling 'good' and 'evil'?
Further, we would be insanely judging Self!
All is Self!
Shall I judge my left index finger?
That would be insane, no?

"God cannot know himself without me." - Meister Eckhart

"The eye by which I see God is the same as the eye by which God sees me. My eye and God's eye are one and the same." - Meister Eckhart

The Loving eye only sees the Beloved!

tat tvam asi (en.wikipedia.org...)

Jehovah Wants People to Gain Life—Do You? [between brackets is mine]

1, 2. (a) What can we learn from Jonah’s reaction to Jehovah’s decision about Nineveh? (b) Why should we examine God’s mercy and his view of life?

JEHOVAH was glad. The prophet was gloomy. God had mercifully spared the lives of thousands of people. Jonah would have let them perish! Jehovah chose to forgive and preserve those who had been his people’s enemies.

Even God’s servants at times may not grasp the scope of his mercy.

2 As we can see from Jonah’s case, at times it may be hard for humans to grasp the scope of God’s forbearance and to reflect His desire that people gain life. Jonah found Jehovah’s decision to spare the Ninevites “highly displeasing, and he got to be hot with anger.” Is it possible that Jonah was more concerned with his own feelings than with mercy and the saving of lives? He may have imagined that if the Ninevites were spared, he would lose face. (Jonah 4:1, 10, 11)
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JUSTICE AND MERCY WITH LIFE IN VIEW

3. Is there a contradiction between God’s justice and his mercy? Explain.

3 Some people feel that these 12 prophetic books, page after page, talk about God’s wrath and his punishing of people, his executing of justice. They might ask: ‘Where is Jehovah’s mercy? Does he care about saving lives?’ In reality, rather than contradicting each other, God’s justice and his mercy work together and contribute to the saving of lives. Justice and mercy are two facets of his perfectly balanced personality. (Psalm 103:6; 112:4; 116:5) By undoing the wrongs of the wicked, God is showing mercy toward the rightly disposed. That evidences his perfect justice. On the other hand, being fully just, Jehovah in his mercy allows for the limitations of imperfect humans. You might put it this way: judgment where needed, mercy wherever possible. In the prophets’ messages, you can find many statements that bear out this perfect balance, showing that God wants people to gain life. Let us examine this and in the process find lessons that we can apply in practical ways today.

4. What evidence is there that God wants people to gain life?

4 The prophet Joel conveyed a message of denunciation, yet he also confirmed that God “is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness.” (Joel 2:13) About a hundred years later, in the eighth century B.C.E., Micah stressed how much we need Jehovah’s forgiveness. After asking “Who is a God like you?” Micah described Jehovah this way: “He will certainly not hold onto his anger forever, for he is delighting in loving-kindness. He will again show us mercy.” (Micah 7:18, 19) As we can see from Jonah’s account of the Ninevites, God is willing to reconsider bringing punishment on objects of his wrath if they back up their remorse with works befitting repentance.

5. What aspects of God’s mercy and his interest in saving lives do you find most heartwarming? (See also “They Made Themselves Available.”)

5 We are not living in the time of the 12 prophets. Yet, are we not touched by such indications of Jehovah’s mercy and his interest in saving lives? Your feeling that way can strengthen your attachment to God and increase your interest in helping others to gain life. Though most people today pursue a bad course, we are assured that God “does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Such a desire on Jehovah’s part is illustrated in the warm expressions uttered by Hosea upon receiving his adulterous wife back. Jehovah ‘spoke to the heart’ of his people. God was not obligated to show forgiveness, but he was willing to do so of his “own free will.” (Hosea 1:2; 2:13, 14; 3:1-5; 14:4) Do you know why God’s attitude and actions in this regard are so important? Because lives are involved. You can see further evidence of God’s mercy and of his desire that people gain life when you look at the [real] Christian congregation,...
...
13. What reasons do we have to show mercy toward those whom God has forgiven?
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God stated through Hosea what He wants from us: “In loving-kindness I have taken delight, and not in sacrifice.” Jesus Christ drew on those words and expressed the thought this way: “Go, then, and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice.’” (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13) Our demonstrating such mercy is critical to maintaining our own relationship with God. Note how the apostle Paul linked being forgiving with imitating God: “Become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you. Therefore, become imitators of God, as beloved children, and go on walking in love.” (Ephesians 4:32–5:2) How are you doing as to imitating God in this respect?

John 17:3

This means everlasting life, their coming to know you,* the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

*: Or “their taking in knowledge of you.”

Can You Trust the Bible?

To Trust or Not to Trust
...
A Unique Book

“The Bible is the most widely distributed book in history.”—The World Book Encyclopedia.
...
Of course, impressive details and statistics alone do not prove that the Bible is trustworthy. Next, we will examine five reasons why millions of people are convinced that the Bible is worthy of trust.
...
1. Historical Soundness

It would be hard to trust a book that is found to contain inaccuracies. Imagine reading a modern history book that dated the second world war to the 1800’s or that called the president of the United States a king. Would such inaccuracies not raise questions in your mind about the overall reliability of the book?

NO ONE has ever successfully challenged the historical accuracy of the Bible. It refers to real people and real events.

People.

Bible critics questioned the existence of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea who handed Jesus over to be impaled. (Matthew 27:1-26) Evidence that Pilate was once ruler of Judea is etched on a stone discovered at the Mediterranean seaport city of Caesarea in 1961.

Before 1993, there was no proof outside the Bible to support the historicity of David, the brave young shepherd who later became king of Israel. That year, however, archaeologists uncovered in northern Israel a basalt stone, dated to the ninth century B.C.E., that experts say bears the words “House of David” and “king of Israel.”

Events.

Until recently, many scholars doubted the accuracy of the Bible’s account of the nation of Edom battling with Israel in the time of David. (2 Samuel 8:13, 14) Edom, they argued, was a simple pastoral society at the time and did not become sufficiently organized or have the might to threaten Israel until much later. However, recent excavations indicate that “Edom was a complex society centuries earlier [than previously thought], as reflected in the Bible,” states an article in the journal Biblical Archaeology Review.

Proper titles.

There were many rulers on the world stage during the 16 centuries that the Bible was being written. When the Bible refers to a ruler, it always uses the proper title. For example, it correctly refers to Herod Antipas as “district ruler” and Gallio as “proconsul.” (Luke 3:1; Acts 18:12) Ezra 5:6 refers to Tattenai, the governor of the Persian province “beyond the River,” the Euphrates River. A coin produced in the fourth century B.C.E. contains a similar description, identifying the Persian governor Mazaeus as ruler of the province “Beyond the River.”

Accuracy in seemingly minor details is no small matter. If we can trust the Bible writers in even small details, should that not bolster our confidence in the other things they wrote?

2. Candor and Honesty
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3. Internal Harmony
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4. Scientific Accuracy

Science has made great strides in modern times. As a result, old theories have given way to new ones. What was once accepted as fact may now be seen as myth. Science textbooks often need revision.

THE Bible is not a science textbook. Yet, when it comes to scientific matters, the Bible is noteworthy not only for what it says but also for what it does not say.

Free of unscientific views.

Many mistaken beliefs gained wide acceptance in ancient times. Views about the earth ranged from the idea that it was flat to the notion that tangible substances or objects held it aloft. Long before science learned about the spread and prevention of disease, physicians employed some practices that were ineffective at best, lethal at worst. But not once in its more than 1,100 chapters does the Bible endorse any unscientific views or harmful practices.

Scientifically sound statements.

Some 3,500 years ago, the Bible stated that the earth is hanging “upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) In the eighth century B.C.E., Isaiah clearly referred to “the circle [or, sphere] of the earth.” (Isaiah 40:22) A spherical earth held in empty space without any visible or physical means of support—does not that description sound remarkably modern?

Written about 1500 B.C.E., the Mosaic Law (found in the first five books of the Bible) contained sound laws regarding quarantining of the sick, treatment of dead bodies, and disposal of waste.—Leviticus 13:1-5; Numbers 19:1-13; Deuteronomy 23:13, 14.

Partly as a result of turning powerful telescopes toward the heavens, scientists have concluded that the universe had a sudden “birth.” Not all scientists like the implications of this explanation. One professor noted: “A universe that began seems to demand a first cause; for who could imagine such an effect without a sufficient cause?” Yet, long before telescopes, the very first verse of the Bible plainly stated: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”—Genesis 1:1.

Even though it is an ancient book and touches on many subjects, the Bible contains no scientific inaccuracies. Does not such a book merit, at the very least, our consideration?

5. Fulfilled Prophecy
...

Skipped a lot.

a reply to: dfnj2015

If I may say, your thoughts reflect those of the great Buddha himself, very deep and insightful, tearing away the illusions of reality, using logic as a sword. But understanding truth in itself is meaningless unless it contains a key. Perhaps that key is in your hand and all you need do is to grasp it, to awaken. I pray you do, if not this life, then soon. Because the world needs people like you to open our eyes to the madness of egoism.