If God exists he's hiding.
People that can't find God are not looking in the right places.
You won't find God in your imagination, too obvious.
You won't find God in collective consciousness, too small, just words.
You won't find God in universal forces, too simple.
You won't find God in your thoughts, too confused.
You won't find God in religion . . . Self Worship?
You won't find God in your emotions, too crowded.
You won't find God in philosophy, too empty.
He's God.
You can't find God if he hides from you, you're just a human being.
But . . . he'll give you some hints . . . if you ask him.
Don't get mad at him. It's for your own good.
You know that much already.
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Comments: 97
Whatever these offerings provide, in terms of insight on "God", is bound to be disappointing, if I follow your line of thought (assuming I'm reading it right).
Listening to the "voice inside me" has always worked wonders, for me!
I encourage others to do it too ; )
One of the most famous sayings of Muhammad The Prophet goes something like this:
"If you take one step towards God, God'll take ten steps towards you." (Hint Hint) ( -;
I don't wish to judge religions, I was merely pointing out that God would not worship himself. Religion is for man, whether or not it is built around a valid source of inspiration. Most religions know this well I think.
superior religious zealots could
be satisfied to keep their religion
between themselves and their
God. But, no, they are told to
go out and push it on everyone
else, in the name of the founder.
I appreciate that comment about religion being self-serving. I have learned this lesson the hard way as I have recently been booted out of the church I attended for seven years because I dared to seek God's guidance for my life apart from the oversight of the local pastor.
There is no finding. Only receiving.
Knock, and the door will be opened. That is all that he is waiting for,you to knock and he will let you in.
We judge ourselves and others,too much in this day and age. We need to remember what the past was like,when people went to church on Sunday,read their Bibles every day and prayed. When was the last time you prayed for someone ?When was the last time you talked to someone as you walked by them on the street or in the mall? Do you remember people sitting on their porches and waving to their neighbors or having the neighbors over for coffee?
Just remember if you think God has moved,he hasn't.......You have.
Since a real God could effortlessly reveal themselves at any time to all humans, then if one believes He wishes us to be close to him, in some sense He must be hiding. A real God does as He pleases, and obviously it pleases Him to be less than easy to find. That you feel He has revealed himself to you, should not I think, be construed as an indication that those who haven't "found" him are less deserving of the privilege. Perhaps He intends for them to learn something profound in the searching, that you do not see.
I remember how I would watch how my daughter was reacting to my "hiding", and would try to reveal myself in ways that encouraged her to develop a healthy sense of curiosity, and confidence in her ability to find what she sought. It was never really about being found at all.
Let me ask...you said:" a real God could effortlessly reveal themselves at any time"
THEMselves? John....I detect a trifold unity here, of which you speak, eh?
In my essays on God stuff I always put in a disclaimer about using the masculine pronouns, but it didn't seem right for a poem.
Or God is real, and none of that means a thing.
Are you suggesting God would have expunged all traces of earlier mythology in an effort to preempt making reverse engineered "disproofs" of the Book possible? Kinda misses the point of my poem, don't ya think?
"John, God is real if you believe God is real"
Not a chance. God is what he is, whether you or I believe or not. And that MUST be true no matter what God is, or it is not a God at all
You are not talking about a realistic notion of a God, to me, but something that exists because we wish it. How such a thing could come about, or have any effect on the universe is of course undefined. In that sense it is no more plausible than the sort I'm talking about: The real deal, Creator of the world, Creator of us, God.
You needn't apologize, I wrote this to provoke thought. If you wish, we can discuss your concept of God, and see just how well it stands up to the kind of criticism you present of mine. This is the unfortunate problem with so many "new and improved" forms of God, they have no foundation to clearly look into. I cannot but help wonder if they are not in fact "chosen" for just this reason.
So...you just happened to feel like writing a comment four times as long as my article, and it just happened to strongly imply that the God of Abraham is a contrivance of human beings. Hmmm...
And I'm wondering just how you came to understand my concepts of God? Would those not rather be your concepts?
But you know I don't believe that is "the history of God". And for you to declare it so is clearly an attempt to make seeing the God of Abraham as real seem foolish. Are you denying either of my assertions?
Well, how exactly do you know "where Abraham adopted his version of God"? How do you know he was aware of any of those various stories you site? Surely you don't believe he was aware of all of them, do you?
"God shows up and says, "here's my story, don't pay attention to the other stories even if they all sound familiar, I've only changed the names and places to protect the innocent, and if you don't believe me, I'll kill you."'
I'd love to see some documentation on that.
So where did God mess up: by not wiping out all traces of previous religions and their stories, or by not generating some story so different from any that had already been told that no one could see similarities, or by allowing people to have imaginations and spiritual insight to begin with?
Right...but don't you see that there were many religious ideas before Abraham, and it would be virtually inconceivable that one could not pull pieces from various ones to make it appear the stories in the Bible were not original. An what gives you the idea that God was not around when these earlier cultures were forming their spiritual concepts? No where in the Book does God speak of such an absence, it is the story of just one family. In fact, it contains at least one story of a man unrelated to Abraham, and portrays him as extremely righteous and in a close relationship with God. Even speaks with him.
The idea that the Bible is somehow invalidated because other stories predate it is certainly not because the Book claims otherwise. People were always in relationship with God in some way, as far as it says.
And the Book of Genesis uses a very peculiar phrase, over and over when describing the creatures God created and how the would procreate: "after their kind". That is the pillar of evolutionary theory, isn't it? That parents generate children like themselves. How this got turned into "unchanging" is beyond my knowing, but the Bible does not say life would not evolve, or that nothing similar to humans was created.
An acquaintance of mine once casually observed: "We spirits are here (in this world) having an adventure in order to better understand what it means to be spirit by experiencing (on Earth) the exact opposite to what we actually are."
Which made me smile because she didn't exactly have a full intellectual tool box.
What a wonderful story, and a fine way of placing us relative to God (not dissimilar to my own best guess I must say) I wouldn't go so far as to say we are here to experience the "opposite" of what we truly are, but I think we're here to experience things we could not were we in God's immediate presence.
To call it "blind faith" is an insult. You know that.
And what do you call your faith? Do you know the theories of science? Or do you take the rumours you've heard as Truth? Who believes anything other than by faith? Are we not all alone in our own world of sensation and imagination, left to evaluate what we experience as best we can? Why should one dismiss their own awareness in favor of that of another, knowing they too are but trying to see "through a glass darkly"?
You have dismissed the Bible because of hearsay, because "intellectuals" tease and mock. I did this myself for most of my life. Then it occurred to me that I too was believing what made me feel good about myself, and superior to others. Not what I knew to be true, but what made the fear go away. I was being smart by omission, by what I would not let myself consider seriously....dumb.
I love science too, and think the vast bulk of it is great progress. But I also know enough to see it is very limited, and not to be taken as something complete or particularly profound. We still do not know any of the basic workings of the universe. I don't mean we should not have faith in science, but that it is just that, faith.
As an aside, bodies are vehicles to experience separation - it was wild imagination that descended into total madness. We now not only absolutely believe that bodies are real but that we are bodies. Of course, there are those who believe that we are both body and spirit, which is dissociation similar to believing that there is both time and eternity. Yet these contradict each other - we are either immortal or we are not; there is either eternity (which means that there is no time - always has not direction) or time. They cannot co-exist other than in our belief and valuing of duality. Fear and conflict result because what we are actually and what we believe are in opposition.
The spiritual journey in this insane world is awakening to the truth that all is one and one is all - everywhere and everywhen is God, and there cannot be separation, no matter how much we want it or believe it to be so. God is the life force and the glue holding all facets/ aspects together!
One more aside: in the Bible it says that Adam fell into a deep sleep but nowhere at all does it even mention in passing that he awoke. We walk in dreams of separation and these necessitate both dissociation and amnesia.
I recently wrote an article about just this subject. It's Faith All The Way Down
Check it out if you have a few minutes. It expresses my thoughts on this in some detail.
Your first statement is a great summation of something I rarely can express to others. It's good to see I'm not the only one that would think that.
I will ponder the rest at some length (I actually do that), and thank you for your wonderful "asides".
On the first part: you have no idea how much time I've spent examining that Book and myself in relation to it. To call all faith in it "blind" implies something you can only guess at. To guess is fine, and your statement that you BELIEVE it's blind faith is much less insulting, as it permits you could be wrong. I am not insulted by what you think, that would be silly. But when you casually speak of it as fact, that shows a disdain for the other. It's that disdain that makes me want to tone it down.
On Christianity; I agree.
Do take care, and thanks for your patience.
You're a handful and more, but I love you too.
Debra, what I observed about the belief that we are bodies also applies to physicality - the physical universe- and molecules. But I do not share that belief! Nor to I subscribe to the belief that there is some universal, objective human knowledge. Without exception, everything is subjective because it is interpretation and belief. What you or I believe can be totally opposite in all respects, which is to say that your universe and my universe can be total contradictions of each other. Indeed, each and every one of us on this planet, illusion though it be, is a separate and entire universe in our own belief. And each of us populates our universe with bodies and objects (be the latter a grain of sand, a city or a star or a physical universe). Our values and beliefs give all of it the only reality that it has. Thus I can be part of your universe as you perceive it, as you can be in mine. Yet the roles we each appear to play in the other's universe may have no correlation at all with the roles we each play in our own imagined universes.
To give a rather simple example to help clarify the above: you can be totally insane, believing that you are Debra, the Queen of Sheba whereas I, in my sanity, know that you are really Mother Teresa. Nothing that either of us says about your real identity will convince the other - for I know you to be insane, just as you know me to be insane. Yet neither of us actually knows because in the view of a third observer, we are both insane. Of course, we both recognize that this third person is totally mad.
Sorry, I've gone on far too long. I've enjoyed the fun, but will let someone else have a say.
William your aim is good but the apple is unreal. LOL.
Nowhere did I say that God is not love. I entirely agree with you! God is Love, and love is the life force; and because "He" is both love and just, does mercy stand at the right hand of God. And more: because God is sane, He does not answer prayers of hate. He also believes in us because He created us.
Here's something else to think about. Perfection created us in His own "image": but how then can the Perfect create the perfect which can be corrupted into the imperfect? It cannot! Think further on this - there are necessary ramifications.
We are spirit, William, and when we help each other we are closing the gap of separation (as distinct from casting out) and thus are moving off the road to nowhere and onto the quite path of awakening and remembering what it means to be spirit. That process is the gentle way out of madness, of being alive to the reality created by God - as distinct from our own scripts of isolation. Spirit is sane and is loving intellect but is not related at all to the body. You are either body or spirit in your belief, as you elect, but in God's reality you are only spirit and you cannot alter that. God did not make bodies - "He" is not a body, and He created us by extending Himself, as distinct from creating us in His image. But even if you believe the latter, we cannot be bodies unless God is a body. But the power of valuing the valueless, especially bodies, leads to dissociation so that contradictions are kept out of our awareness.
Put away your crossbow, William Tell - you have no need of weapons, for there is nothing to fear other than losing the valueless, which has never been what you heart desires. Peace of mind is what you crave, yet this is but the first real step to awakening. This applies to all of us.
There endeth the lesson. LOL
Blessings to you and to Debra and John.
Such soothing words are wise no doubt, and surely one day I will rest. But my Lord sends me on an errand, and I must do what he asks. I am told to work until he comes and that I will do. My longbow (sheesh) does not seek flesh but souls with arrows of truth. It would seem you do a bit of hunting yourself, and have not yet put aside all your "weapons" either.
A great darkness looms and there are some not yet wholly lost to it. I will work till the light is gone and I cannot see to shoot. But I thank you for your council and will let it work its purpose as best I can.
Blessings to you Nicola
This is why I can't understand why such a big furor is being made over the discovery of 5 year old human remains at the WTC. Hey folks, chill. That isn't where your loved ones are. They are a helluva lot closer to you than THAT!!!
Again, the false belief that we are our bodies and bodies are real.
As for the bible, I think that most of it is contradictory gobbledegook simply conceived in the minds of men...a LOT of men....over the ages. It's not where God is either, any more than the physical remains are where the loved one is.
You make a lot of assertions in your long post but little substance. You note that there are similarities between EL and YHWH, but similiarities really prove nothing. You gave nothing in the form of epigraphical evidence (ingravings, pottery shards, etc). Until you can show some clear causal connection between the development of El and YHWH, or Ba'al and Yhwh no one can answer you because there is no argument.
Second, you put forward a very old formulation of the documentary hypothesis. If you did not know biblical scholars are torn over the methods of Source, Form and Tradition Criticism. Some people want to do away with E and incorporate it into J, some date P earlier than J (Rentdorff), and some make the argument that the dating of Deuteronomy is based on less than sturdy grounds (McConville, Kenneth Kitchen, Ian Provan, Tremper Longmann, and V. Phillips Long). What you need to do in order to make your post discussable is prove your assertions.
John
First I noticed a good comment by Timothy C., then entered Debra W., later I AM MAGI, followed by William Tell. ... of course John was in the middle of it all.
Now I agree very much with everything Debra said (Timothy also), I agree with everything that William said, I agree very much with almost all that I AM said, and John, I agree with your view AS YOU HOLD IT, which to me is an evolved view compared to many 'Christians'.
The one thing I would like to add to this discussion, is that in my personal experience, I have received the overwhelming UNconditional Love that comes from an INTERNAL SPIRIT, that relates to a higher (than the ego) SELF, that is equivalent to me, as being my SOUL. Now that is an actual experience. Others might call it strictly Subjective (and that is to be expected), but because of IT, I now value such subjectivity far higher than most. I also believe that if Science were yet advanced enough (they will be someday) they could find evidence of my 'experience' in my Genetic makeup even. I have reason to believe that, and it is no more unreasonable than the beliefs of others associated with 'their' book/s.
The point of this being that, my experience was both mental as well as physical. It was very REAL to me, and due to that fact (Truth I call it), it is also my belief, but far from blind !
It is all in my book www.spiritcalls.us , the story is to me as valuable as any other !
Peace, j.
(+=-)=Trinity=Love
(+/-) =Duality=Conflict
I believe so, in a manner of speaking. And if you think of all that has been done by humans in their "seeking", you will see I think, that it is the prime cause of most everything we have done to advance our understanding of the universe and ourselves.
My only weapon is a rainbow. It has no arrows - seek truly, and you shall find for you shall see with vision which is not of you but for you. I but hold a lamp to shine in the darkness to gather in those who walk blind and lost along the road to nowhere but who seek the way.
Peace to all who crave it.
Peace to all who crave it :-) ( I like that, because that leaves the 'others' to get their just deserts) :-(
William and I were both using metaphors - subtleties in outlook, if you will - and addressing each other.
By peace to all who crave it I allow for the freedom of will to choose otherwise. I do not believe in condemnation or divine punishment - God's love is unconditional.
This really is my last comment.
... and you can relax Nicola, as this was aimed at all, not just you ... again, I say :-)
And to John K, I did follow your link above to your earlier article and also commented there.
Peace to all, j.
I am compelled to rebuke you rather strongly, for your repeated threats to withdraw from this thread on the grounds you've sighted. They are clearly insufficient, and if you have any further thoughts to offer at any point, I as commander of this ship, command you to engage!
I will not speak for William, but I believe you are correct in saying you're dealing in subtleties in outlook, and not in differences of intention. If I understand his points, I think he may be "hunting" for some who are not fully aware they are searching, and may mistake the rainbow for something akin to a sirens song.
Two points, both having to do with as we sow-so shall we reap
There is I believe, a rather significant clause to that outlook, though I agree with it in most circumstances. According to some prophets, there has been a stay of execution granted, if you will, in the form of a certain rather unique covenant. It would seem God may be willing to do some cancelling of "debt" on behalf of those that recognize their representation in court by a very close relative of His. Could be called nepotism I suppose, but God types tend from what I hear, to be rather fond of their children.
Also please consider reversing the phrasing to we will reap what we sow,
(It's that poet thing again)
Yes, I agree, when an apology is made in earnest, much can be forgiven. Again, it's the intention/thought that counts to whether you are more fully welcomed into the 'family'.
You're a good man ; )
Don't command, John, for you know not what you do. LOL Methinks the ship needs a navigator.
Cool response...I needed a giggle...been casting some bread.
Seriously though, these are important "details", and one rarely gets to discuss them (I guess that's a pretty sad prognosis for the real ship). I did want to thank you quite sincerely for both your comments here and your labor on the bigger ship. Like them boys said "...you know how hard it can be......."
There really is no need at all to thank me, though it is kind of you. We're all toilers in the vineyard, doing our best in often parlous times and difficult situations. Methinks the Lord of Love is gently smiling on our collective efforts and is well pleased with everyone who has taken part in this meeting of minds, and spirit.
Blessings to you and all.
I completely agree with you but at the same time i trust his existance and i know, he is always there to help me out only if i help myself.
Beautifully written.
GOd bless.
Thanks, and I too have much faith. I asked, and he gave me hints.
I'm unsure about others, but I simply don't. I pick and choose, and hope folks don't realize how long I sometimes neglect them. What I do is try to always be thoughtful and meaningful in my comments when I do stop by, this seems to satisfy most. Kind of quality in place of quantity I guess.
It is a great tragedy I think, that so many are led to believe God is to be found in ways that really make no sense. IF you really want to know about a real God - go to the source.
"18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen."
I want to make it clear that God is Love and Just. He can't be in the presence of sin and he loves the sinner but not the sin. That is why whenever I post that verse above I give the qualifier of John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."
I know we disagree on some things, but I would like to see where we have common ground. I know you say you are a Christian, but what does that word mean to you? By bearing His name you are implying that you believe everything that he stands for correct? If not you are bearing his name in vain. This is why I wrote many articles saying how important it is to realize that if we bear the name of Jesus then we are required to be a part of what he stands, which is the whole of scripture. I feel the need to be the voice of truth among the countless lies and deceptions that I have seen in this lengthy set of posts.
I agree with the poem John. I think it is well written and makes people think. I think that some of the things you have said in posting could be taken wrongly by the many Christians on gather, if not explained fully. In particular, what you mean by saying that God is he or she. The bible clearly indicates that God is male. I am just wondering if you slipped with this or meant it. Basically, I am desiring to know what God you serve. There are many gods out there, but there is only one true God.
I also want to say that any message of "find it within yourself" is very dangerous, because everything that is within ourselves is desperately evil and can only bring harm to you.
"For there is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is the way of death" Proverbs 14:12 Scripture also says in Math 7:13 "Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it."
I agree with WilliamTell. We live in a world of darkness and we must fight the lies and deceptions that are out there. I only add that we are to use the sword of the spirit described in Ephesians 6:12-20 to slice through them and set people free.
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
This is why I created the group captainbible.gather.com to unite those who wish to fight the good fight and expose the lies and deceptions for what they are slicing them apart with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. This sword is sharper than any two-edged sword able to pierce both body and soul.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16)
"... knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." (2 Peter 1:20)
"For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar." (Proverbs 30:5)
"For the word of the Lord is right, and all His work is done in truth. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." (Psalm 33:4)
"Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." (John 17:17)
"How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes." (Psalm 119:9-12)
Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31)
I remeber Nicola saying he has a lamp well listen to this, and his rainbow is stolen from the gift God gave us as a picture that he would never again flood the world:
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path ... The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple ... Direct my steps by Your word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me." (Psalm 119:105, 130, 133)
"My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:20)
This verse speaks wonders to finding life, the word of God is life to those who obey it and accept it, and it is death to those who reject it. This is why John when he eats the little book he taste bitter first then sweet, Condemnation then Redemption
I am tired so if you want to find out more check out this site:
http://www.bible-knowledge.com/Power-of-the-Word-of-God.html
www.soulcare.org this is my dad's site in which you can find more info about us.
Keep up the good work, and God Bless you all!
I realize you are anxious to spread the "good news", and that is a fine thing. But you should realize that this does not mean that every thought you have about the Bible is accurate. Your thoughts too are something from the mind of man. Quoting the Book is one thing, but interpreting those quotes is another altogether. No matter how closely one juxtaposes the two, there is room for error.
You ask about my mentioning the gender of God being not completely certain, yet you fail to provide the context of that stated view:
"When I speak of God in a potential sense I don't like to exclude the feminine or non-sexual specific possibilities. Yet the 'person-hood' of God is something I have come to the conclusion is inevitable"
You see, the Book does not actually say what you imply by:
"The bible clearly indicates that God is male"
The Hebrew language does not have pronouns that are gender neutral, so there was no possibility for God to speak as neither male nor female in that language. Many modern languages have a similar limitation. To say that God is a male implies He is sexual in nature, when this is clearly not rational. That he is a "person" in some sense IS indicated by His use of the masculine form, but this does not mean He is limited in His nature to only masculine qualities. If He is all in all, He must posses intimate understanding of all humans, so it can be misleading (especially to women) to say He is not "like" them as well as "like" men.
If you have been worshiping a "male" God, it may very well be that it is you who would do well to think this through more carefully.
You make another rather bold pronouncement that I must respond to:
"I also want to say that any message of "find it within yourself" is very dangerous, because everything that is within ourselves is desperately evil and can only bring harm to you"
Sir, you have in my opinion blasphemed God, and the Holy spirit. For God made man in His image, and proclaims often His love for us, so how can we be only evil? Christ himself said:
Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old
And have you not heard what Paul proclaimed?
"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?"
Now surely you have read that Christ bid us not judge any man.
By what authority do you judge the children of the living God?
I would advise you to take the words you yourself quoted seriously:
Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar
They meditate to try to unlock the secrets of the soul within themself apart from God. I guess I wasn't clear enough. I tend to overly assume that people understand what I am saying. Thanks for making this clear.
John, I only mention that God is male, because of the many passages that say that the head of authority is male, which wouldn't you lead to conclude that God is male? Eve was formed from adam's rib not vice versa. I do believe that there is an equal resposiblity on both parts. Scripture says "Wives Submit yourselves to your husbands", but at the same time it also gives a command to husbands "Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her." This eliminates any sexism that can come from either part.
It is when a man or a woman takes only one part of this verse that sexism is created. I do recognize that God isn't a sex, but I am saying that his attributes and character is clearly male. This is what Albert Mohler and many other Christian Theologians have come to after reading scripture carefully and relating passages to each other. My dad has also spoken much about the manlike character of God if you will. I only emphasize this, because if we say God is female there are a host of problems. I recognize that he is sexless.
Well I must go, I will talk more on this later, thanks for the wonderful correction and love, John =). I need this to be able to not come across wrongly. I am deeply thankful to you for having corrected me, because I had been misrepresenting. So I am sorry for coming across wrong. I hope that by this response people will understand. I need to remeber to think carefully and be careful before I post, sorry. I will leave you with this verse which you so beautifully did. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
You're quite welcome, and I'm glad you are approaching these matters with an eye toward cation and learning. There are a multitude of ways to interpret some aspects of the Book, and I personally hesitate to come to a firm position on many that I find confusing. I have seen in the past where my first, or second etc., impression did not stand up to further investigation.
Christ was not a simple teacher, and much like the theme of this poem I feel there is a strong element of mystery in the gospels. He beckons us to deeper and deeper consideration of ourselves and God. May we all grow wiser in the searching.
I also bought some books: Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, Hard TO Believe by John MacArthur, The Journey by Billy Graham, Velvet Elvis: Repainting The Christian Faith by Rob Bell (check out Rain 30 min or so clip on his site it is so good it is a real life application of how God sees his children with Rob Bell and his Son. It made me cry =) http://www.nooma.com, Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur, and my last book by one of my favorite Christian bands "Live Like a Jesus Freak-Spend Today as if it were your LAST" by dc Talk.
I can't wait to read these books. Once I am done reading them, I am sure I will have many things to post. I am currently thinking about making an article expressing the grief I had at looking at the Christian section and Christian inspiration in Barnes and Noble. Sadly there were so many off the wall books and some that were blatant herisy. Such a shame that there are books out there with such confusion and deception within them. The majority were so watered down you wouldn't even know you were reading about Christianity.
That is why my dad got me the two John MacArthur books, because he is one of the best theologians out there and he holds straight to scripture. His books are so loaded with scripture that when you finish you feel satisfied my dad said, and you also learn a lot about the bible. I know both his books and C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity will be good, the others are for personal reasons. The Journey relates so much to me. I had been crushed in my faith through the efforts of my roomate. He tried to convince me that my bible was not complete and that the Book of Mormon was needed to qualify it.
God showed me how wrong he was though, and He showed me passages that proved how truly logical and phophetic the bible is. I am so glad that this happened, because it showed me how much I truly need to learn and read. If I had not found this hole in my armor, I could have been really damaged by a specialist who seeks to destroy the followers of God. I have come across these people. They seek to cause confusion and loss of faith through their lies and deceptions. I have seen them come to youth groups and pick out the weak baby christians in there and draw them away.
I hope there are people who stand up and protect these new christians from the many deceptions that are out there. Satan sure has set many traps before us. The word of God can be like a mine sweeper which reveals these traps and does more it disarms them. We truly need the word of God to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path since there is so much darkness out there it is hard to see sometimes. I know this has been the case for me. Ok I am done for now.
Oh and I total agree there are mysteries within the Bible, but we can see the big picture about God and his Word which is the point of studying his word so we can know it more and see it fits together like a beautiful puzzel. When we put the pieces together, it makes a masterpiece which we can see the glory of God in all his fullness and Truth.
Scripture talks about the Mystery of Lawlessness which is why God allowed Sin into the world or why he created Satan. We can't truly know why till we ask him in heaven, be we can understand who Satan is and how he works by scripture. We can also understand the Fall of Man and what it means to us, but I do agree there are some things we have to take by Faith. Like you said, we do not have blind faith, our faith is based on evidence. This evidence is phophecy, scientific, archelogical, and logical. We do not have BLIND FAITH as some like to say. I really am glad that you stood up to that with the boldness you had =).
I will make an article later saying to be a Berean and check the scriptures. I don't think I have been diligent enough with this. Every good theologian out there tells people not to take anything they say at face value unless they check it with the word of God. Only his word is infallible anything of man is fallible. Thank you for reminding me of this John.
I am truly grateful that God has sent so many good friends to me on gather to help me stay within reason and not go off in extremes. I am also thankful to him for giving me all the gifts that I have. This telling people to check the scriptures and be a Berean takes much humility, because it says that I am not perfect and that what I say is not always true or said in the right way. I promise from now on to always be humble and to tell people to check the scriptures, and to not believe everything I say at face value. Keep up the good work and may God bless you all =).
God was created to understand what couldn't be comprehended.
God was created to offer hope were non exists.
God was created to offer eternity as an alternative to oblivion.
God was created accept the unacceptable.
God was created to find reason in what we find unreasonable in our selves
God was created to show us the way, I just don't believe we are lost. .
I'll mention your conclusions next time I speak to Him,
I'm sure He will be amused. ; )
Of course you could be right in your analysis, though I myself tend to think He new what He was doing all along, and we are more a work in progress than a failure of any sort. I always hesitate to judge my fellows, I'm so limited and all.