Is God Outside Us Or Within Us?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how human beings perceive God. We tend to imagine God as something larger than ourselves. We think about Gob being outside of ourselves, as if we are contained within God. God created the universe, and since we are inside of the universe, the universe must be inside God.

What if we are looking for God in the wrong place? We spend, or at least I do, so much time looking at the stars trying to see the edge of the universe expecting to find God there. Perhaps God isn’t out there. Maybe God is inside of us? I feel that we spend too much time looking for God in the cosmos, that is, in things greater than us, but we don’t spend as much time pondering the fact that we too are the sum of many. Organs. Cells. Atoms. Quarks. Is not the infinitely small just as important as the infinitely big? Without the small, I say there is no large. Without atoms, there are no cells, and no organs and no organisms.

My point is this: Since everything grows and starts from something smaller than itself, the sperm / egg for example, shouldn’t we look for god within the material voids of ourselves, and not that which surrounds us such as the cosmos. I am in no way undermining the awesome sight of heavenly bodies, I just think that the world that is too small to be seen is just as important as the world too big and too far away to be seen, if not more important.

Is God outside or inside? For the record, I am not religious, but I do think this applies to anyone who considers the existence of anything that could be called in any light a “God.”

To quote the Bible, which is a book I have not read in the better part of decade and is also a book that I consider just as important as any other religious text, “He who does to the least of my brothers, does unto me.” Perhaps god is the smallest of all creation.



Post response edit: Think of Derrida's Transcendental Signified.

reply to post by SubPop79


Both Man Both. I am inside God who is inside me. Every dimension and every universe is inside me, who is inside this universe... hahaha

Of course the easiest place to find God is within, you don't have to go anywhere. Your body is the Temple.

God is The Center.

The Axis knows everything as Jimi Hendrix would say... And yet God is Everything... It Just IS.

reply to post by SubPop79


He`s around you, above you, inside you and in every little thing that you see..
you are a part of him the hole time, if you like or not.
God is the creation of everything, its hard to believe in him sometimes i know...but..who knows..

reply to post by SubPop79


As an agnostic, I view what is considered God as basically the simplest of things that make up everything we perceive in the universe, and the interaction of those things, such as electrons, and the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Apparently I've subscribed to the "electric universe" (?) theory, and I didn't know it until about 2 years ago when I came across mention of it here.

A bit hard to explain from my viewpoint, but to answer your question, IMO (and I'm sure religious and non religious alike will agree) that God (or what is perceived to be God, depending on what you subscribe to) is "all encompassing", meaning that he, it, permeates throughout the universe as a form of habitant, whether in spirit or some kind of observable physical phenomenon.

My 2C (I felt like I was rewriting parts of Life of Brian, lol...)

reply to post by Earthscum


That's surprisingly close to my view. I guess I would say If I HAD to label it, that I am an

"experimental spiritualist physicist."

"For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes." _Yoda

why does there always have to be a god? I never understand your reasoning behind this god thing.

reply to post by SubPop79


In my opinion the NT makes it pretty clear that God dwells inside all believers and that's where we should be looking. At least the Holy Spirit part of the trinity anyway. Believers are actually the new temple where God dwells. At least for now.

Originally posted by yourmaker
why does there always have to be a god? I never understand your reasoning behind this god thing.

See that is one of the things I am trying to get at. There doesn't always have to be a god thing. To me God is a simple way of saying "universal creator," the "very beginning," or the "permanent." I don't believe there is an omniscient, omnipresent, and benevolent Abrahamic God who can speak to people and causes miracles and acts of nature that would not occur otherwise. I do however believe there was something that started it all, and no matter how mundane or overrated, or blown out of proportion, could be called a "god" merely out of a lack of better word choice. God may even be dead for all I know, regardless of all of it's power, size, and scope. If there is, was or will be a God, I think it is something that you can ponder you whole life and never know. If you could communicate with God, you would never be able to communicate that conversation with anyone.

Originally posted by SubPop79

Originally posted by yourmaker
why does there always have to be a god? I never understand your reasoning behind this god thing.

See that is one of the things I am trying to get at. There doesn't always have to be a god thing. To me God is a simple way of saying "universal creator," the "very beginning," or the "permanent." I don't believe there is an omniscient, omnipresent, and benevolent Abrahamic God who can speak to people and causes miracles and acts of nature that would not occur otherwise. I do however believe there was something that started it all, and no matter how mundane or overrated, or blown out of proportion, could be called a "god" merely out of a lack of better word choice.

edit on 8-4-2012 by SubPop79 because: (no reason given)

Lol even the Bible says he's called God due to a lack of a better word choice. I mean not exactly, but when they ask God what his name is he says, I Am. That kind of answer is the very definition of not having a better word choice to describe it.

Point is you and the Bible are in agreement. Even it basically gives up and says, well I don't know what to call me, I just AM lol.

reply to post by SubPop79


Jesus said, "If your leaders say to you, 'Look, the (Father's) kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, 'It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the kingdom is within you and it is outside you.

When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty."

Thomas

Originally posted by yourmaker
why does there always have to be a god? I never understand your reasoning behind this god thing.

AS For Me:

I don't mean a religious God...
...Though I think religion IS based on what I am talking about.

It's just the Best Word in English that means the right thing.
I also give it a spirit feel, that is my take. I think it's consciousness.
If you meditate you can sense consciousness all around you.
The Universe Buzzes with consciousness even in the most empty space.

I call it God.
What do you call it? Energy?

Some of my earlier thoughts:

"God is a blanket, and like the fabric of space time, is bent, not by mass, but by mass of Love and Understanding. This is the gravity of consciousness..."

~Me

"(Love is All and Love is Everyone), so lets have Fun and Become one. The guise of this Human disguise is our Demise"

~(Beatles) and Me

"The vibrations are calling, energy increasing, strange experience not ceasing, The energy is called god by me, I dont wish to offend if you disagree. It flows through me, changing me, very subtley, yet most powerfuly, Permanently, join me, become free, enlightened we'll be!"


~Me

***AWESOME Post by Akrogon above me***

reply to post by tinfoilman


Then I am also in agreement with the Bhadavad Gita which essentially says that even if I had no knowledge of God and were to live a righteous life, that I could be one with Brahman, go to heaven or be reincarnated. Just because I quoted the Bible doesn't mean it is my sole reference.

Careful... are you talking about aliens that were called Gods, or the"spiritual" God?

I guess I gotta admit it online at some time, but I think there really are 2 forms of gods... one may or may have not been aliens or whatnot, these are recorded in historical texts that are historically... well, molested by "TPTB" to suit an agenda.

The second God, or form of, that I believe exists (remember, I'm agnostic) is the philosophical form, or spiritual God. Whether you think it's just good morals inside a person, or a giant spaghetti monster, or some santa claus, or what the historically molested texts tell you to perceive, it is still a different God than the ones actually recorded in original text. The idea is sound, to create an order of humanity with a side of morals, but... I still, personally, have to make a distinction between the "all encompassing" God, and the historical Gods.

Originally posted by SubPop79
reply to post by tinfoilman

 

Then I am also in agreement with the Bhadavad Gita which essentially says that even if I had no knowledge of God and were to live a righteous life, that I could be one with Brahman, go to heaven or be reincarnated. Just because I quoted the Bible doesn't mean it is my sole reference.

Sure if you want answers about different religions from people that don't practice that religion and know nothing about it. It would be more logical to take answers from people based on which religion they believe or know the most about. You'll get better answers. But if you want really bad answers I guess I could talk about Bhadavad Gita. Which is fine. But I would just wait until other people join the thread to give different perspectives.

But in my religion you can just skip the 8000 reincarnations and paying off that Karma and go straight to Heaven if you want. Jesus will pay off all the karma for you if you just ask. But hey if you wanna do it yourself, I support you all the way yo.

reply to post by SubPop79


I'm getting sick of all these religous threads and posts. Don't you people ever want to be free? Can't you see that religion is oldest form of mind control there is?

Originally posted by learnatic
reply to post by SubPop79

 

I'm getting sick of all these religous threads and posts. Don't you people ever want to be free? Can't you see that religion is oldest form of mind control there is?

can't you see that your post was the most controlled and boxlike here?

I am NOT religious.

reply to post by tinfoilman



My religion, if you want to call it that, is based off millions and millions of years of human knowledge where people are born, realize they are alive one day, realize they do not know where they are, where they have been, or where the are going the next, and on the last day they realize they are done.

If you are part of the .0000000001 % of all human existence that could be called a "saint" for lack of a better word, then you do not know God.

I like the idea of a spiritual God without any need of religion. It's an option for all but a requirement for no one. What I view as God is not a single thing, but a vast tapestry consisting of many energies, entities and layers that all come to together with incredible synergy.

reply to post by SubPop79


Well sounds like it's all settled then. Whew, glad you found your answer. Onto the next topic then shall we.