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Originally posted by Itisnowagain
What have I written that can harm?
The mind does not like what I speak - it is terrifying, I know.
You are nothing perceiving everything,
In this moment perceiving is happening but there is no one behind the curtain.
Originally posted by DISRAELI
reply to post by honested3
Thank you for those comments.
I think the Biblical outlook would agree that the creation was done with love ( as shown by the way the Creator relates to the world afterwards).
Originally posted by honested3
"if I can insult this person and make them feel bad, that means I won."
Originally posted by DISRAELI
The solution of some, e.g. the so-called "Areopagite", is that we don't try. We just give up trying to say anything about him.
My answer would be that we must make the best use of the language we've got, but use it with caution and reservation.
Therefore anything we can say about God, including the word "God" may be true only in an analogical way, but it's the best we've got.
God is one who Communicates
This assumption is built into Biblical religion.
In the first place, the Bible is believed to contain examples of communication (as reported, for example, by the prophets).
Furthermore, the Bible is believed to reflect a policy of communication.
It is said that God is using the Bible to "reveal himself", and so Biblical religion used to be described as "revealed religion".
The belief that "God is one who Communicates" links back with the belief that "God is one who Creates".
In the first place, some of the content of the communication points to God as Creator.
The proper Biblical answer to the question "Why do you believe your God made the universe?" is not really "Becasue that's the only way to account for the universe."
The truly Biblical answer is "Because he says he did, and I believe him."
But I think the very act of communication also points to God as a Creator.
Any act of communication necessarily implies a distinction between the communicator and the other party.
I've already said the Biblical understanding of Creation involves a distinction between God and the universe.
An act of communication implies the existence of a "will" in the communicator, or at least some sort of analogy of one.
But the same could be said, surely, of an act of "Creation".
Finally, a God who creates a universe thereby sets up a relationship between himself and the universe.
The effect of communication is to set up a relationship between himself and individuals (or even a group of individuals) within the same universe.
I assume that a purely monistic deity would not be communicating with, or setting up a relationship with, parts of itself.
My point is that
The idea of the God who Creates
and the idea of the God who Communicates
are very akin to one another.
The kind of God who would Create would also be the kind of God who could Communicate.
Anyone who cares about the truth enough to check what it is will know the truth. Those who do not care enough will not learn the truth and will be lost and deserve to be lost.
Originally posted by honested3
People forget the world was created in perfection, we were also perfect, and could speak directly to God and see God. But we threw that away for an apple. This perfection is still made available in the next life for those who accept Jesus' gift. And even today we can have perfection because we stand in this life forgiven in the next, so we all may be imperfect, but we still are perfect to God when we accept Him.
True life is perfect: You can see and experience a perfect life, because that is the way life actually is. It is only our minds that mess it up.
It is hard to believe from your current perspective and level of awareness, but it is true. It is your own mind that makes life imperfect. The universe has to be perfect to exist. The universe would come apart and not exist long if it was not perfect.
You do not have to believe it; you can know it.
The present: It is interesting that the “NOW" is called the “present.” The present is the ultimate gift; it is the gift of truth and life. You are being given the present every second, and you will receive it forever. God is giving you the present; accept it. The present is the only thing that exists, the only thing you are ever conscious of. Your life is a series of presents moving through time. The future does not exist until it becomes the present.
Life is one perpetual present.