Excellent post, great thread. Wasn't until I started to surf that I got an understanding of what a god might be. Being in the ocean (as often as I can manage), whose movement and totality operates on a scale far beyond mine, has transformed it (in my own head) from an impersonal "thing", into a real, active Being that I can relate to.
Not that the sea gets involved with me, but rather, that while in the surf, I am aligning myself with It. And when I get that right there's an extraordinary feedback/payback from the big fella him/herself, inside me. Now, when I see the ocean, or even pictures and movies of it, I get excited and want to be back in the water, to be with the god. ** --- In [email protected], grate.swan <no_re...@...> wrote: > > Nice post. (did you mean jains not farsi with the inhaling of bugs > thing? God if farsi would be chagrined you did not lay your dead > relatives in an open air sacred space an let crows devour the remains. > (not a bad strategy ecologically). > > However, you and Billie seem focussed on a anthropomorphic god made > "in the image of man". What if God, if there is one, is an > experimental biologist/chemist/physisict of sorts, and cranks out a > lot of experiments, our big bang an subsequent progression and > evolution just being somewhat random outcomes of the initial mixing of > the brew. And he/she/it has no interest directing the flow. Just keen > on watching. Or maybe not even that. Perhaps he has totally retired > from any interest here. > > In other words, a God without conscious intent for a particular > outcome, and no interest in any active participation in the the > experiment. Or even the results of the experiment. > > Which may lead some to say, well then why postulate a God. Why not its > just Nature experimenting with no intent, design, goal or direct > intervention. Or its all just nature. its just what is. > > Which actually is far more magnificent, complex, beautiful and > breathtaking than any religions conception of God. I mean damn, > evolution, what a magnificent heuristic. Or the extent of the Cosmos. > And the scale factor and mechanics down at the most basic level > (which keeps evolving, or our understanding of it). And Relativity - - > what a mind blower. Better than any myth the Gospels tell (or made up). > > I get more inspired and blown away by listening to a good physicist or > biologist who can convey, accurately, his understandings in plainer > english than used with his peers, than by listening to any scripture > or God-man -- as they say in the indian tabloids. > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > --- In [email protected], grate.swan <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > > > Billie, what if God doesn't exist? Or Go exists and God is found to be > > > way different than you conceptualize God? > > > > > > I imagine your reaction would be one of devastation -- but that is > > > only speculation. > > > > > > I imagine if God exists and Curtis met God, he would say "cool" -- > > so> to speak, > > > > God and I are not cool. > > > > Actually I would be all up in his infinite grill about animals eating > > each other alive. He made some with a merciful kill bite and others > > with a strategy of eating their prey alive. This is uncool and there > > is no excuse for it. > > > > Then we can discuss the Guinea worm in drinking water. What a total > > putz for inventing that! http://tinyurl.com/da9a4m There is no excuse > > for this suffering in the world. (I know some of this material is a > > repeat but I am not over Guinea worms yet so please bear with me, I'm > > still warming up.) > > > > If he wasn't a myth I would be totally pissed about his lack of > > concern for the suffering of living creatures. (the Karma copout only > > applies to humans, and not very well IMO) > > > > And he would also have to answer for his crappy communication skills. > > Everybody else has a Website or a cable TV channel and the lord of > > the universe can't shell out a few bucks so humans have a chance to > > understand what he wants? Hellooooooo Mr. Omniscient, ever heard of > > Myspace or texting? You lack the communication skills of 13 year old > > girls and you expect use to obey your words from old books that also > > support slavery? Even Doug Henning had TV specials, how hard is that? > > > > <-- I am sure he would have more eloquent words.> > > > > You are too kind, I would be a raging idiot. The meeting would not go > > well. > > > > < His life> would be similar to how it is now. > > > > > Well, if he turns out to be Hindu there is that beef thing... > > > > Or Muslim there is that pork thing... > > > > And if he is really Amish we are all screwed just for using this > > electronic forum! > > > > And if he is a Parsi, can you imagine how damned we are for just the > > bugs we have inhaled? (I won't tell him about your roach motels if you > > don't tell him that my freezer is full of prime cuts of Bambi's mom. > > (And I would have wasted a life NOT putting "Zoroastrianism" on all > > invasively personal forms, just to see the bureaucrat's face!) > > > > And if he is Jewish and we don't have those curly sideburns and the > > years dipping lobster in melted butter and mornings with bacon, (both > > Canadian and the good kind) we are eternal toast. > > > > Of it turns out to be Kali and Pol Pot and Mao are sitting in heaven > > with big grins at the banquet table and people like me who only > > inhaled bugs and ate meat, but never took a human life, don't get in. > > And if she is Kali AND a feminist who knows what is in my JPG packed > > file in the folder named: "boring business stuff that would be > > uninteresting to any girlfriend reading this." > > > > So Pascal's Wager (you might as well believe because it is not too > > much of a pain in the ass and the upside might be huge) is bogus. > > None of us are any better prepared for the WYMS thug at the pearly > > gates announcing in his obnoxious German accent: > > > > Too bad, the answer is Poseidon. Everybody who has been making the > > appropriate offerings to the Lord Poseidon of conch shells each full > > moon can come into heaven for our eternal seafood brunch, and the rest > > of you will report below for an eternity of service to Dick Cheney. > > Don't bother packing any sweaters, swimwear optional. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "BillyG." <wgm4u@> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "curtisdeltablues" > > > > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Nice try at a dodge Billy. That spiritual psycho-babble doesn't > > work > > > > > on me. Claiming to know and act according to God's will still has > > > > > nothing to do with "humility", and your claim of it had nothing > > to do > > > > > with what is inside me. > > > > > > > > You may already be acting according to God's will and don't know it, > > > > didn't meant to imply you weren't. Conscience and intuition are the > > > > products of our pilgrimage through the rounds of reincarnation. When > > > > you spontaneously act rightly it's because you have learned your > > > > lessons and intuitively know right action from the results of your > > > > past behavior. > > > > > > > > Scripture, Conscience and Intuition are the means of knowing the > will > > > > of God, however until one is in complete accord with God will ones > > > > behavior be in complete harmony with the laws of nature. > > > > > > > > > >
