What is the highest good? (I say "Patience" rather than "Love")

reply to post by arpgme


God is the greatest good, and then I think love, and then faith.

I would say patience is an attribute/virtue/state of faith and love.

Faith is an extremely powerful thing...almost as powerful as love. Strong faith can make love easy. And no faith creates an impenetrable block.

All of these are good answers...well most anyway, but all are thought provoking. I do, however, kind of take issue with "justice" being the highest good. Justice has a different meaning to different people and I think, in my not so humble opinion, that justice is often used as a means to seek vengeance - and I don't think anyone would believe that vengeance is a good thing. Justice seems too hypocritical at times. You will be punished for your wrondoing by having the same thing done to you...which certainly is not "good". That's just one thought of many anyway - not trying to start anything.

I think that love really has to be right up there, but I think that maybe selflessness/altruism might be in the top spot. Being a humble, selfless person who loves everyone unconditionally probably should be the highest good that one can attain.

Originally posted by creatives
reply to post by arpgme

 

Compassion.
With compassion for your fellow man all the good things will automatically follow.

Compassion

Absolutely (Gratitude a close 2nd).

It is an aspect of Love.

It is the catalyst for enlightenment/mastery. It is a 5th dimensional energy.

With compassion comes the potential for a well-developed sense of balance/intuition and the ability to manifest well-being. Survival 'worries' can then be shed. Opportunities to uplift yourself/others in appropriateness start to become clear/available.

Blessings,
*e

reply to post by eli9x

Originally posted by eli9x
The Urantia Papers are in the public domain. Let's see 3 instances of the word 'Love' there, since I agree it is love the highest good: www.urantia.org...

Your source is the Luciferian Urantia cult which is a blatant Skull & Bones mind control tool.

Urantia is an obvious front with many links to the CIA, MK Ultra, and the S&B family.

Urantia CIA experimental mind control

Don't be fooled...

There IS a stealth agenda behind Urantia and all other false religions that is FAR more dangerous than people realize.

Here is the bottom line: ALL false religions are Illuminati mind control

reply to post by Hopechest


If that is what your definition of love is then yes.

reply to post by arpgme


Agape.

Self sacrificial love.

All other goodness stems from this manner of thinking, not "love" like the English language uses, but the greek word "agape". This type of charcter (full of agape) is the greatest goodness mankind can develope and it is learned over a lifetime of experiences and changes made in the mind of the student.

Patience is self sacrificing (your time) love, or a type of Agape.
Charity is self sacrificing (your possessions) love, or a type of Agape.
Mercy is self sacrificing (your definition of right or wrong) love, or a type of Agape.
Compassion is self sacrificing (your mind) love, or a type of Agape.
Forgiveness is self sacrificing (your judgement) love, or a type of Agape.

When scripture states God is "Love", the word used is the greek "Agape" (self sacrificial love) not the greek "Eros" (physical love between lovers) or the greek "Philia" (brotherly love, friendship). This character (Agape) is God's character and He molds and fashions that goodness in those "called out ones" (ecclesia) in which His spirit communicates and edifies all the days of their life, until the mind is created (forged, molded, fashioned) in the image (character) of God's.

God Bless,

The prime moral or good from which all other morality or good is derived is respect.

Respect the base for love, honesty, kindness, fidelity and all other morality. Each aspect of morality can be traced back to respect. The reason for this is that morality or good exists in the relation of one person to another and when people act with respect to one another, you achieve harmony or goodness.

When I say respect, I don't mean "respect my "authorita"" what I talking about is respect for all things living and non living. So many religions are based on an externalization of morality where you seek to follow an external moral code set down by others. Authority based religions are a good example of externalized moral codes.

Whereas, an internal moral code that a person lives 24/7/365 is the antithesis of many of today's religions. If a person were to center themselves and take respect as the prime good, they would go along ways towards understanding what "good" actually is.

Highest good is Zero mind where everything exists and doesn't exist at the same time.

Patience still implies I am better than you and i tolerate you. If you say both words
Patience and Patients.....lets just say we are all patients of this Medical Military Petro Industrial Complex

Break free now-

reply to post by superluminal11


Patience does not imply anything except one is open to different experiences and understanding anticipating more and more but not controlling.

reply to post by Murgatroid

That is false: there are 2 free online books on the origin & history of the Urantia Papers that prove, demonstraste, & confirm otherwise:

The Birth of a Divine Revelation--The Origin of The Urantia Papers
A History of the Urantia Papers

Originally posted by eli9x
That is false: there are 2 free online books on the origin & history of the Urantia Papers that prove, demonstraste, & confirm otherwise...

Don't be fooled... It's nothing but a massive new age psyop...

Religion ALWAYS lies.

Urantia is fraudulent lies with a massive stealth agenda.

The Urantia Cult is a Skull & Bones Spin-Off
Urantia CIA experimental mind control programming
Links to CIA and the MK Ultra
The Cult of Urantia
The Urantia Book Scam
Urantia: The Great Cult Mystery
Urantia - One of Satan's greatest masterpieces of deception

As a species of biological organism, there is only one good and that is reproduction, continuation of DNA, and every other kind of action or intention exists only to serve that.

The Birth of a Divine Revelation by Ernest P. Moyer, pgs 32-33:

(...)
Many of these new names and words can also be traced to origins in English,
Greek, Latin and Hebrew. I shall illustrate.
' Page 182: Satania has a headquarters world called Jerusem, and it is system
number twenty-four in the constellation of Norlatiadek. Your constellation,
Norlatiadek, consists of one hundred local systems and has a headquarters world
called Edentia. Norlatiadek is number seventy in the universe of Nebadon. The
local universe of Nebadon consists of one hundred constellations and has a
capital known as Salvington. The universe of Nebadon is number eighty-four in
the minor sector of Ensa. '
The most painful of all such names is Satania. As seen in the quotation, it is
used as the name for our local star administrative system. Satan is understood
universally across the Judeo-Christian world as the devil, the one who now appears
to destroy God’s people. Would any person in his right mind use a word
derived from the name for the most notorious and despised personality in Christian
religious history? Would a man, if he were the author of The Urantia Papers,
borrow such a name? He would have lost all sensibility to do so. Would the Devil,
if he were the origin of The Urantia Papers, bring such attention to himself? Such
use could only repel everyone. Given that these names are arbitrary, devised at
the fancy of our planetary supervisors why, then, did the Revelators use a word
which was sure to bring strong adverse reaction from the Jewish and Christian
communities?
If we credit the Revelators with intelligence and sensitivity to human cultural
attitudes, the choice of this word could not have been accidental; it had to be
intentional.
Several possibilities exist on the reasons behind this choice:
• To repel those irretrievably embedded in Christian mythologies. This would
mean that if someone is unable to rise above the historic cliches of Christian
theology, above the superstitious conceptual structures of that religion,
within the context of the immediate world spiritual crisis, that individual
would not be able to contribute constructively to the renovation of
the earth.
• To cause devout persons to concentrate on the truths of the Revelation,
not on its nomenclatures. This would remove minds who cannot perceive
the value of the Revelation beyond its linguistic designators.
• As a reverse method to demonstrate that the Revelation did not come
from evil sources. An evil spirit personality would not choose a word
which would bring direct focus upon himself. This word certainly does.
• The word Satan in Arabic means to be remote, as from the truth. In
Hebrew it means an opponent or an adversary. This star system went
into rebellion; as a result it became adversarial to God, and to his plans.
Application of the name by our Revelators makes the designation literal,
descriptive of the misfortune brought on by the rebel system administrators.
This star system will be forever remembered as a rebel system in
the annals of the universe. Eventually, as time flows through the ages,
the darkness of that memory will evolve into images of the stage on
which Michael of Nebadon set his saving acts. He is the great Creator
who brought salvation to a wayward segment of his creation.
• If Salvington invokes images of salvation, then does Satania invoke images
of rebellion. Both words will condition future generations to these
conceptual connections. This conceptual invocation will affect their attitudes
about spiritual realities, and about system administrative relationships
in the heavenly realms.
Thus, we should be able to recognize the possible multiple reasons for this
choice of name for our star system. The authors of The Urantia Papers used a
word which would be descriptive for us, in our language. This means we were not
given a universe name, recognized throughout the space realms as the name of
this system, but rather a name suited to our present planetary condition, and
remindful to future generations of our rebellious history.
(...)

Lots of good ideas on this thread.

I think for my "highest good" I would have to say love, yet not at all in a worldy sense... rather the love that is the general honoring/celebration of existence in a positive way... an eternal love that unifies all the separate parts of existence

"The opposite of love is not hate but apathy"
The above quote kind of demonstrates what I believe love should be... in a world that may seem so meaningless and where we can easily lose our path, this eternal concept of love is the thing that allows us to transcend our physical nature and become spiritually enlightened... it is the overall spirit of Life, and opposite the spirit of Death

Another important one is humility. With humility comes love, understanding, and acceptance, and humility generally reduces the ego.

ROFL
i don't normally post on arpmge's threads, as i find him "way out there", though an interesting
mixture of "Mad" and "Sane".
[He'd make a Great "Mad" Prophet or Bishop in my Church, if he could just let go and lose his "Sanity]
but really...:shk:

Originally posted by RobertF


1-Love doesn't feed me
2-Love doesn't keep me warm at night
3-Love doesn't keep me safe from harm

1-whoever fed and clothed you as a child disagrees
2-your spouse/lover will be "glad" to hear that, no doubt
3- you have no care or concern for yourself? self-love keeps you safe and alert.

as for love and non-humans feel free to attempt to pet new born animals in front of their mothers...

i have all my fingers due to my foster mother preventing a sow that had just given birth from biting them off when i was 4.
[cause i thought the piglets were soooo cute.]

also, the capacity to hate is equal to the capacity to love, so you should not excite yourself too much denouncing, you could have a stroke/heartattack, and wind up preaching on ATS!!!!

reply to post by Hopechest


ROFL!!!
Siddhartha preached greed?!!!?

brought to you by :your misunderstanding of Buddhism


bonus
have a Buddha palm


here's cartoon with rap music for kids!

and when you decide to do something about the ignorance
Greed and Desire
Buddhism versus Consumerism
buddhism.about.com...

It's fair to say that in Buddhism, greed is not good. Greed is one of the Three Poisons that lead to evil (akusala) and that bind us to suffering (dukkha). It also is one of the Five Hindrances to enlightenment.

What-Is-Buddhism
video.about.com...
for starters

as others have called you to notice regarding your oft given habit of expostulating from ignorance, I'll refrain, as it's obviously had the opposite effect; while being contrarian is an admirable trait...

"you're doing it wrong"

reply to post by arpgme
"4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8Love never fails" -(1Cor 13:4-8)

Then again, who has time for "religion"?

reply to post by arpgme


Chicken or egg?
Patence is born of love i think.....without love, no need to forbare

I'd like to offer a different perspective on your definitions if I may.

Originally posted by arpgme

-Scale of Goodness-

Patience leads to Acceptance.
It takes patience in order to have acceptance towards a person or a situation because impatiences will lead to the impulse to control or become irritated.

Patience can also lead to apathy, acceptance can often be near instant if one understands and empathises well and chooses to avoid the possibility of pointless conflict. Patience affords too many opportunities for the negative to fester sometimes.

Acceptance leads to Compassion.
Having acceptance towards a person will allow one to understand the person's thoughts and emotions more (Compassion). Having acceptance towards a situation, rather than quickly trying to change it, will allow one to have a clarity of thought and to gain more perspective to make a decision.

Acceptance is not always relevant to compassion because it can be a point that doesn't necessarily involve the action or reaction needed for compassion.

Compassion leads to Giving.
When a person understands that other people have their own fears, beliefs, and struggles in life (compassion) that will influence a person to do something about it. Pain hurts and sharing in another person's pain also hurts which will then lead to giving (either advice or something material) in order to help the person to be more successful and happy in life.

Compassion can also be destructive and selfish. How many times have we all heard things like "Don't worry, it'll be alright" or "Try not to let it bother you". Statements that may often serve to benefit the person saying it moreso than the recipient. Bieng around another person's negativity is not a strength we all have all the time, quick solutions are often just metaphorical magic wands with no power.

Impatience leads to Control
Feeling impatient will lead to a strong impulse to act. Acting from impatience can cloud a person's judgement. It can also cause one to become angry faster and it is more likely to turn into aggression (control) than with having patience.

What you say here is understandable, but insecurity also leads to control. A desire to feel comfortable with the future, the safetey zone or cocoon. Being impatient can also cause withdrawl due to the frustration of not having the control. Not everyone controls because they cannot wait for something, some control because they cannot live in a world that doesn't fit their understanding and rules regardless of what they feel they can do about it.

Control leads to Apathy
When one is controlling, the only thing that matters is if everything is being controlled in the way that the person wants. The only thing that matters is if everyone is "obeying" their rules. The feelings, thoughts, opinions, experiences of pain and suffering becomes ignored because more effort is going into controlling out of impatience rather than the acceptance in order to understand which comes with patience. This leads to apathy (not caring or not even noticing the mental and emotional state of others - compassion)

Apathy is the supression of thoughts and emotions and an unwillingness to show empathy, a lack of interest. Sometimes apathy is due to a LACK of control imo. The inability to decide what to do which is the opposite of "control".

Apathy leads to Taking
When there is apathy, then everyone's emotions, thoughts, and opinions are not considered or not noticed. In this mindset, other people are just "things" where one can take what they want for them.

Don't confuse APPARENT apathy with a conscious decision by someone not to act after consideration. Chances are they HAVE given a person thought but do not know how to react or believe there is nothing they can say or do to improve a situation, especially towards someone they know could be reactive in a negative way. Their lack of apathy is actually false and kudos could be given for helping someone understand themselves from the inside....the only way to truly learn.
Also, if a person understands apathy and accepts and or expects it in some people, then there is nothing to "take" if it is not offered.

-------------------------------

I have to say, I could go on all day and offer many perspectives, some of which would be conflicting. The need to define and pigeonhole all our inner workings does not take some big factors into account, we are all individuals with different lives and different situations.

Lumping everyone together and trying to tell people you have definative answers is slightly naive imo. Leave that to the real wackos (psycology authors). Each situation and the individuals involved must be considered in their own light, otherwise there is just ignorance.

cheers.

Compassion.

How can anyone think love is the "highest good"? People will kill people for "love". Entire wars are fought for "love" of country. People think they are in "love" all the time. You could probably argue more people have died from love than from hate.

Compassion is the highest good. Compassion applies to anyone, not just spouse or child or family. Compassion saves lives. Compassion gives food and clothes to the needy. Compassion does what is right when no one is looking and expects nothing in return.