Who is God to you?

a reply to: ARM1968

God does come across as a tough, cold, hard bastard with some of the things that goes on at times. It is sad dealing with death, can be painful and agonizing events along the way. I see this as just part of the price for life to exist, grow and thrive. How this world works when getting into physics, chemistry, electricity, biology as all the other sciences presents a rich complex picture, the deeper you look, the deeper it gets.

Seams like god has gotten somethings right for life to even exist. When working with this complex environment, the universe just has to try new things to find that practical way that does work. Many things will fail and break along the way, just part of the price to pay if god is to find a better way. There have been many improvement over the years and generations, it does look like god is trying to do better.

When the community standard was 'In God we Trust', there was stronger focus on finding that better way quicker. Now with God under attack more these days, always got the hard way to sort this mess out.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

Nooo friend. You are now living your next "fore-life", and you in fact, have many "bodies".

It is a strong theory supported by a lot of substantial evidence. The technicalities gets hazy, some common themes, lot of individual differences. Maybe there is soul cycle?

Once this body is dead, sort it out then. Looked into some of before, sketchy territory if trying to make a connection to some of these past lives. Too easy to get lost in imagination, dreams and other parts of our mind. When getting into some of this MK Ultra stuff, when a young soul is broken, it opens up doors for more to enter. Where is that line between ones soul, character and identity?

a reply to: RAY1990

Can you prove matter can exist under any other format than the one we see?

What about a Mass Spectrometer or the Large Hadron Collider? I cannot see a lot of the things they measure, lot of proof around these machines work. Common for stuff from outer space to have different isotopes not found or very rare on Earth.

If humanity can keep its act together and gradually explore more of the universe more closely, sure there will be many strange and weird things going on.

a reply to: kwakakev

What about a Mass Spectrometer or the Large Hadron Collider?

We're still measuring things that exist. There's no new existence just because you think it. It'll still be using the building blocks of the universe. Energy cannot be made or destroyed so everything is merely borrowed, it's how I see it.

Common for stuff from outer space to have different isotopes not found or very rare on Earth.

We understand more than enough to predict where they may be found and under what circumstances, I'm sure space will keep surprising us as we see more. With gravity and time (funny relationship they have) the possibilities are almost endless. All that from simple fundamental principles.

Point being there's no other principles of existence than the ones we know, the math is right and our predictions are spot on. Anti matter on the other hand? We're clueless, my mind goes to the noble gases and helium but I'm a bit of an idiot. Something about that non-reactiveness... All that said I'm not sure if God can be found in the works or the maths anymore than faith can be found in the mundane.

a reply to: kwakakev

It's probably not your intention but when you speak of community and God you're inadvertently showing a bias.

I find the way modern nations are built is strange when it comes to faith and religion. We have the freedom to choose where our faith goes but we're also raised in a world pointing in a certain direction. By the time we're developed enough to actually make quality decisions there's a whole framework to work around that's placed on your behalf.

I know my thoughts were framed when learning about other religions. I know I've unlearned a lot in the process of learning. Something to ponder, I find it all terribly ironic personally.

a reply to: RAY1990

It's probably not your intention but when you speak of community and God you're inadvertently showing a bias.

The Ten Commandments was a good document that helped keep community working together better. It looks like an important step to help build the world we do have today.

There is just one God that we all share is my take on the first commandment. I do have a bias, I don't want to lose god or community.. Seeing how vile some can become as they turn their back on god also looks to be doing a lot of damage throughout the community.

a reply to: kwakakev

I won't know anything until death for sure, or maybe not. As for right now, I know there is something there, a force, perhaps it's all me doing it(?)

a reply to: kwakakev

There was an album in the 60's of Blood Sweat and Tears referring to "Child...is Father...to the Man".

Metaphorically we are babies, grow up, become our parents, then decline to an end of this existence...only to fly spirt-free thru the Cosmos till God sends you back. Again and again, like before... forever.

God bless ya!

God (Insight on the Scriptures)

...

The True God Jehovah. The true God is not a nameless God. His name is Jehovah. (De 6:4; Ps 83:18) He is God by reason of his creatorship. (Ge 1:1; Re 4:11) The true God is real (Joh 7:28), a person (Ac 3:19; Heb 9:24), and not lifeless natural law operating without a living lawgiver, not blind force working through a series of accidents to develop one thing or another. The 1956 edition of The Encyclopedia Americana (Vol. XII, p. 743) commented under the heading “God”: “In the Christian, Mohammedan, and Jewish sense, the Supreme Being, the First Cause, and in a general sense, as considered nowadays throughout the civilized world, a spiritual being, self-existent, eternal and absolutely free and all-powerful, distinct from the matter which he has created in many forms, and which he conserves and controls. There does not seem to have been a period of history where mankind was without belief in a supernatural author and governor of the universe.”

Of course, there are many more things that can be said about the God described in the Bible specifically (and I only quoted a small portion from the link above), but that's a pretty succinct summary.

originally posted by: kwakakev

Later in life got some Christian upbringing, Omnipotent and Omnipresent or Everywhere and Everywhen was the main vibe that stuck out.

Is God Everywhere, Omnipresent? (Bible Questions Answered)

The Bible’s answer

God is able to see everything and to act anywhere he chooses. (Proverbs 15:3; Hebrews 4:13) However, the Bible does not teach that God is omnipresent​—that is, present everywhere, in all things. Instead, it shows that he is a person and that he resides in a dwelling place.

- God’s form: God is a spirit person. (John 4:​24) He is invisible to humans. (John 1:​18) Visions of God recorded in the Bible consistently portray him as having a distinct location. He is never depicted as existing everywhere.​—Isaiah 6:​1, 2; Revelation 4:​2, 3, 8.

- God’s dwelling place: God resides in the spirit realm, which is distinct from physical creation. Within that realm, God has a “dwelling place in the heavens.” (1 Kings 8:​30) The Bible mentions an occasion when spirit creatures “entered to take their station before Jehovah,”* showing that in a sense, God resides at a specific location.​—Job 1:6.

...

Misconceptions about omnipresence

Misconception: God is present everywhere in creation.

Fact: God dwells neither on the earth nor elsewhere in the physical universe. (1 Kings 8:​27)

1 Kings 8:​27 is also a good reminder for those who believe that Jesus is the God “whose name alone is JEHOVAH” (Ps 83:18, KJ). After all, Jesus did dwell on the earth for a while. 1 Kings 8:27 says: “But will God really dwell on the earth? Look! The heavens, yes, the heaven of the heavens, cannot contain you; how much less, then, this house that I have built!”

Continuing where I left off:

Fact: God dwells neither on the earth nor elsewhere in the physical universe. (1 Kings 8:​27) It is true that the stars and other creative works “are declaring the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:1) However, God does not inhabit his creation any more than an artist lives in his painting. Still, a painting can tell us something about the artist who made it. Similarly, the visible world tells us about the Creator’s “invisible qualities,” such as his power, wisdom, and love.​—Romans 1:​20.

These subjects as discussed in the Bible texts quoted above also come up in the 2 middle songs of my previous comment, We Cleave to Jehovah brings up what's mentioned at 1 Kings 8:​27 and Creation Reveals the Glory of Jehovah is based on Psalm 19:1 and thus also Romans 1:20 since that's the same concept based on inductive reasoning. As Newton explained it:

“Rule I. We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances.
...
Rule IV. In experimental philosophy we are to look upon propositions collected by general induction from phenomena as accurately or very nearly true, notwithstanding any contrary hypotheses that may be imagined, 'till such time as other phenomena occur, by which they may either be made more accurate, or liable to exceptions,

This rule we must follow, that the argument of induction may not be evaded by hypotheses.”

“As in Mathematicks, so in Natural Philosophy, the Investigation of difficult Things by the Method of Analysis, ought ever to precede the Method of Composition. This Analysis consists in making Experiments and Observations, and in drawing general Conclusions from them by Induction, and admitting of no Objections against the Conclusions, but such as are taken from Experiments, or other certain Truths. For Hypotheses are not to be regarded in experimental Philosophy.”
- Isaac Newton (from Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica)

The Encyclopædia Britannica on inductive reasoning:

"When a person uses a number of established facts to draw a general conclusion, he uses inductive reasoning. THIS IS THE KIND OF LOGIC NORMALLY USED IN THE SCIENCES. ..."

Misconception: God must be omnipresent in order to know all things and be all-powerful.

Fact: God’s holy spirit, or active force, is God’s power in action. Through his holy spirit, God can perceive and do anything, anywhere, at any time, without being present in person.​—Psalm 139:7.

Misconception: Psalm 139:8 teaches that God is omnipresent by saying: “If I were to ascend to heaven, you would be there, and if I were to make my bed in the Grave, look! you would be there.”

Fact: This scripture is not talking about God’s location. It poetically teaches that no place is too remote for God to act in our behalf.

I actually removed the song about Psalm 139:8 from my previous comment, now I feel I should use it again (as it also relates to Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20):

Similar to this one (all part of the evidence for the existence of a Creator, whom the Bible identifies as Jehovah God; as well as giving us information about His attributes, as the song below puts it: “they reveal His way”):

Michael Behe also explains fairly well how to use inductive reasoning to consider the evidence for a Creator found and observable in nature (the things that were created specifically, such as the machinery and technology that makes up the miracle of life). From 2:42 - 18:03 and in particular regarding the term “inductive reasoning” from 26:37 - 39:30:

a reply to: whereislogic

When it comes to this creation v natural selection debate, I see both at these arguments having some pieces of the puzzle. For the full story of how the universe started is so much more complicated than one chapter in a book. Even with massive libraries these days there is so much just not adding up.

For the short story, got things like genesis and the big bang, and in some ways there is a lot of validity to them. Alone neither are strong enough to stand alone. As a starting point to find a clearer picture you could do worst.

Maybe Earth did have some ancient aliens at some stage sharing their bit of the universe? As for calling these entities god don't fit. They may of conquered space travel but did they make a universe? I would not be surprised to find a lot universal influence with the events on Earth than what is recognized.

In getting closer to what God is about, forces like time and space do appear infinite. In a fast enough spaceship, I don't see hitting some kind of wall as empty space does not exist. As for time, there is one wall if mass can reach the speed of light, we can get close which take more energy, but as things go faster, relative time does slow down which does cause some time dilation effects. The GPS systems do account for this to work as they do.

Anyway, it takes infinite energy for any mass to reach lightspeed. Maybe there is some way to negate mass for Faster than light travel? Some theoretical physics do. As for the walls of this reality and the limits of God, this is the closest I have gotten so far to finding one.

With the 'Let there be light' start, I read it as the electron was the first. In classical physics, a photon is released every time an electron drops in its orbit sphere around an atom. I see it more that a photon is a measure of the waveform between electrons. A bit like how a bunch of magnets will move around when moving one of them. Whatever this force of light is, it does not drag on space like the rest of the matter that makes up reality does.

In some ways if fells like a Jedi force in describing God, I don't want to stereotype it. Perhaps just knowing that there are bigger forces at play and a level of complexity that will blow our brains if you really want to know. Just keep doing the right thing, look after this world as best we can and you have an ally in finding a better way.

God can be a spirit making things happen.

When you're focussing on doing the dishes and suddenly an idea pops up that makes you stop doing the dishes and go for it, were you born with the DNA to make that idea appear years later after you were born? God can be an intervening spirit.

a reply to: Creep Thumper

He is elusive to me. Always has been. I see more evil than good in the world.

I wish I was more familiar with him.

Anyone who wants to be more familiar with Him only needs to ask.

Ask Him to reveal Himself to you.

Then, talk to Him (pray) - all the time. It goes both ways.

Acts 17:27 tells us He is not far from each of us. I urge you to take advantage of that.

The peace that comes from knowing God is priceless.

originally posted by: kwakakev
a reply to: whereislogic

For the full story of how the universe started is so much more complicated than one chapter in a book. ...

For the short story, got things like genesis and the big bang, and in some ways there is a lot of validity to them. ...

Note that the big bang theory does not explain how the universe started, i.e. it makes no mention of the cause for the big bang. As The Encyclopedia Americana puts it regarding God, "the First Cause" (as quoted before).

What the Big Bang Explains—What It Doesn’t (Awake!—1996)

...

That leads to the biggest question of all: What is supposed to have caused the big bang itself? No less an authority than Andrei Linde, one of the originators of the very popular inflationary version of the big bang theory, frankly admits that the standard theory does not address this fundamental question. “The first, and main, problem is the very existence of the big bang,” he says. “One may wonder, What came before? If space-time did not exist then, how could everything appear from nothing? . . . Explaining this initial singularity—where and when it all began—still remains the most intractable problem of modern cosmology.”

...

Note that the Bible does not teach that the universe came from nothing. One of the attributes of God, is an abundance of dyamic energy (Isa 40:26). So if he used that energy to create the universe (energy can be transformed into matter), the universe did not come from nothing. Through the prophet Isaiah, Jehovah God reminds us to look up at the heavenly bodies, such as the sun and the stars, and meditate on how they came into existence. “Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power, not one of them is missing.”​—Isaiah 40:26; Jeremiah 32:17.

It makes a whole lot more sense than this:

The creator of the universe and author of the bible.

He has no beginning which bogles the human mind as this is beyond our ability to grasp.

I CHANGED MY MIND ABOUT GOD - HERE'S WHY

One view from awakenwithjp.com

Why does god read like good?

I know I gave Satan a hard time recently. It is more of a theology than the devil, d-evil these days, but goes down those allies. Lucifer the light bringer is a good thing once our ancestors ate that apple. It does fit into the same camp as the UN goes depopulation agenda these days.

Jesus did like wisdom. He had a lot of it and it was not always pleasant to hear.

With the Muslims, they have a few profits, Jesus is on the list. Whit it comes to their main one as Mohammad took many child brides, that standard continues in parts for those building their harem.

If this transgender / artificial womb works, a lot can change in a generation. Those doing the code have too beat nature, no easy task.

There is some good data around arranged marriages for the family unit. When a couple can sort there issues out as a kids, makes it heaps easier as the stakes build and things get heavier. It does not always work. As one factor in building a strong family unit, teachings about commitment will work better than sterilization and living in denial.

After going through some of this MK Ultra stuff, trauma can have a big impact on ones identity. So do we bury the trauma and keep the con rolling.

I tend to look at Jesus as some great master wizard of sorts, a that instead of conquering a slaughtering with might, he killed with his Heart an Laughter. And that if the whole Son of God/Man wasn’t a literary metaphor for having some strong connection to some grand supreme over ruling spirit, or if was that over ruling spirit that got killed an everything really happened, an we done f***** up. Our bad.

As for Satan, it the same guy.

Dbl

I often wonder if God is a computer (AI). What makes me think this is everything is energy/electricity, the secrecy around it, souls having to have different experiences, experiments like the Earth one, and the obsession with collecting and storing information.