Why you choose your "god"?
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Hi everyone
This thread not only directed to muslims, but also members from various beliefs (Christian, Hindhu etc).
I belief members in here have good intelectual and I also believe if members in here have the valid reason for why choose this "god" to worship for (for muslim = Allah/God, for Christian= Jesus etc).
So please give the valid reasons for
-What the reasons you choose your current "god" to worship?
-What the reasons you reject another "gods" beside yours? (to members who already studied/experienced some religions).NOTE -No debate, rudeness and jokes.
-If you don't understand what I mean, then jusk ask me.
-Please visit http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=9606230.msg347187#newPeace
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I reject that for christians Jesus is the God. I come from a catholic background and educated as such and I never have had any doubts as to the One God. In that sense I am not going to go into the eleaborate doctrine of trinity and all that that, at any rate, catholics at large do not understand nor care to understand, but I grew with a clear conscience of God, one, and not Jesus.
However I can see in some christians, not catholics, though, do put a tremendous weight on Jesus to the oblivion of God. That sounds to me shocking and I think it shocks also most catholics, not at a doctrinal or teological level but at an emotional level. Seems completely unbalanced. One feels uneasy on hearing the kind of emotionally overcharged speech on Jesus. So no, I would never say that the God of Christians is Jesus. May be of some Christians. I vouch that for catholics, as far as I know, God is God and the Trinity is a bit of a theological masturbation, which may cloud intelectually, but that going to the nitty-gritty in fact means they do believe in one God and just let the rest glide. Also, at a mystical level there are readings as to the trinity that make sense, but that is not the usual doctrinal fare.
Salaam
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Well,
I reject your way of putting the question, as I don't believe there is "my god" and "the other gods" (and not "one true god, many false gods", but only one god that is not really understandable by humans, therefore all of us have different images/imaginations of what God is. I suppose all of them have a share of the truth, and altogether they may create something that is nearer to reality than one single image. Therefore we have been created with differences so that we may get to know each other, as the Quran says. -
Salaam
For huruf
I also in Bible Jesus didn't claim himself as God but "Son of God".
Protestant, the largest Christian denomination in my country believe if term "Son of God" and "Sons of God" is different.
I don't know, but Christian's intepretaion changed time to time, based on church council.For Reee
I don't believe there is "my god" and "the other gods" (and not "one true god, many false gods", but only one god that is not really understandable by humans, therefore all of us have different images/imaginations of what God is.
I also think the same.
In this circumstances, the truth = one.We cannot said if both YHWH and Shiva are the true "God".Assume we're non-theist, don't belive any gods-Scriptures before.The definition of "What is god" can be found in Scriptures and has each own version.
For me the "true god" is logic, the real AlMighty, has biggest authority and has no weakness.Until now I see the Quranic version of YHWH who fit this criterias. -
Quite simple for me. I find that all religions we have today that have been dogmatized come from a progressive evolution of theology and mythology bound together with culture and chronology. The pagan roots of many religions are evident and as a person who enjoys semitic cultural historical studies and especially theology. I decided to revert back to the previous model of religion and simply became a semitic neo-pagan
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Peace.
Personally, I don't think there are as many different deities (gods and goddesses) as many people perceive in differentiating philosophies, especially in modern religions. For the most part, I generally see people as revering the same deific figure - they simply perceive this deity differently. For example, some see "The One" as being primarily merciful; others see him/her/it as being all-powerful; others see him/her/it as upholding justice; others see him/her/it as being all-wise, etc. Some people recognize that this figure can be all of these things, but they separate the qualities assigned to their god(s) into different figures altogether (e.g. god of mercy, god of strength, god of justice, god of wisdom, etc.). Most of this, in my opinion, is based on people's tendency to anthropomorphize and personalize their deities, assigning to them human qualities and characteristics, even to the degree of petitioning them for guidance and assistance in their daily affairs.
As for me, I see "God" (ALLAH) as being the 'Universal One', the underlying energy ("mind"/"spirit" existing everywhere, including in us. In a sense, the Universe could be said to exist "in" God, with God also permeating every aspect of the Universe; in modern philosophy, this idea would fall under the classification of 'pantheism' or 'panentheism' (depending on your interpretation). I choose to adopt this frame of thinking because it appears to be the most reasonable conclusion (according to me, at least), and it fixes many of the doctrinal differences between many of the world's religions in existence today. It certainly clarifies Qur'aanic principles that God can be transcendent and 'high above' us, while also being 'closer to us than our jugular veins'.
Peace,
Ahmad
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even to the degree of petitioning them for guidance and assistance in their daily affairs
I wouldn't see this negative. Whom else should we petition for guidance and assistance? Any so-called or self-assigned scholas or sages? I believe there is a tendency in humans to look to someone for help, so the wisest thing is to search this help with the one creator of the world instead of any human being.The rest of your post I agree more or less.
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Peace, Reee.
I wouldn't see this negative. Whom else should we petition for guidance and assistance? Any so-called or self-assigned scholas or sages? I believe there is a tendency in humans to look to someone for help, so the wisest thing is to search this help with the one creator of the world instead of any human being.
I see your point, and that's why I made the statement regarding ALLAH (God) existing 'within all of us'. Even greater than any holy book, prophet or messenger, God has given us the greatest thing possible when it comes to philosophy THE HUMAN MIND. With it, we have the capacity to make decisions regarding our beliefs, cultures and lifestyles. Many people fall into the pit of dependency and self-criminalizing attitudes - believing that God needs to help them with problems they can ultimately fix themselves, believing that they are unworthy of God's love and blessings, and feeling (as the Christian doctrine teaches) that they are nothing more than "filthy rags" when compared to God's infinite perfection.
If people, instead, adopted the viewpoint that ALLAH (God) is in them, and vice versa, and that he has given them the ability and authority to tend to their own affairs, then, in my opinion, the world would be a much better place - to the degree that people wouldn't need to petition God to 'give them their daily bread'. Instead, people would be prompted to get jobs, make money, and buy their own bread. People don't need to ask God to give them understanding; they need to study, and then to examine what they study through the eyes of reason and logic. If God gave us a brain, perhaps the most exceptional brain on the planet, then I can be fairly certain that he gave it to us for the purpose of using it... Why would we need to talk to sages and scholars to get their opinions on religious matters? What makes them more qualified than we are to provide (or determine) guidance and instruction? If it's because they study the fundamental precepts of their religion(s), what's stopping us from studying too? If they receive 'divine guidance' from God, how are they doing it, and what's stopping all of us from receiving it too? Etc.
When people fall into the trap of dependency, they tend to stop doing things for themselves; they prefer to wait for someone else (e.g. God, scholars, or whoever else) to do things for them. On a broader scope, ideas of religious inferiority lead to dependency, and dependency leads to complacency. And, in my view, complacency is one of the main reasons why the world is in the condition that it's in today. When people escape that dependent mentality, then they'll realize that they have the choice and ability to improve their own conditions and the condition of the world in which we live.
Peace,
Ahmad
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Peace,
In my humble opinion, due to certain interpretation issues some people think that we should uphold passivism. That is not true. We need to live our lives, only that God's Spirit will aid us as we understand that God is really real and depend on this "energy" in the Universe. And actions are very important too and to make the right ones and be a good person. It is simply put only good vs. evil. God's subtle energy will only help us if we are good.
God bless you
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Peace, Man of Faith.
I hope you've been doing well, sir...
In my humble opinion, due to certain interpretation issues some people think that we should uphold passivism. That is not true. We need to live our lives, only that God's Spirit will aid us as we understand that God is really real and depend on this "energy" in the Universe. And actions are very important too and to make the right ones and be a good person. It is simply put only good vs. evil. God's subtle energy will only help us if we are good.
In traditional religious doctrine, adherents generally believe that God (e.g. ALLAH, Jehovah, Jesus, Krishna, etc.) will usher in a 'new world' and "fix" our current condition. This will, according to most theological worldviews, be represented in the form of people living in heaven, on another planet, or in a paradise on Earth. Due to this idea, many religious believers find it futile to improve the world in which we live, since it will eventually be 'destroyed' by God.
What is your view concerning this? Do you think that it's practical for us to seek to improve our conditions on Earth today, such as by cleaning up our neighborhoods and cities? Or is this type of behavior futile? Should we take action to improve things ourselves, or should we wait for God's intervention on the matter?
Peace,
Ahmad
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Peace Ahmad Bilal,
This is not supported by "Qur'an" actually as much as I have been reading it anyways but quite the opposite to that. In my interpretation due to the fact that people challenged God at taking responsibility then God put them in a temporary situation of (relative) "control" on Earth, a temporary playground. Because of this (true) Believers need to uphold God's system actively themselves because the system is not simply there because God left the "illusion", or the game as I tend to see it, running and thence you see results of that because obviously when man controls things themselves without seeking the Spirit of God then it will be like it is. Of course God ever-present but only that the energy of God is hidden, unseen, and also quite subtle to most except those that have come close to God. However, passiveness is futile, because humans are in physical control of the world as it is and God's power is something like 'the Force' in Star Wars, like a helping hand in an otherwise human-controlled world. God is on the other hand in full control so it may seem like I contradict my own statements, but God is in full control and present, but passive, perhaps because man as a race was arrogant enough to think that they live by their own authority. Doing so is possible due to how the world is constructed and the world is perfectly measured and sustains itself and we live in a system that runs itself with natural laws and all that so basically it is just a game field that feels very real.
Over more to your question; deeds are what will separate those who will not go to the better ending of this world from those who will, so it is quite contra productive to remain passive and not fight for what is right. That is something that is supported by the narration written down by the fallible human Muhammad through inspiration which may cause Qur'an not to be so infallible as people say. I know this annoys people if they read it, but that is the conclusion I have reached by now. However, I will not stop considering this book as at least one of the best God-inspired sources available, but I am not as obsessed with it and I do not consider it the foundation of Faith. The "Message" or "Lore" of God is what is the foundation of Faith and that is something abstract and cannot be touched by any hand and learned through inspiration, even though books like Qur'an may help. It says itself that it is a guide. More than that it cannot help people. It cannot help people become guided except if they seek to get in a kind of one-way symbiosis with God.
Do you think that it's practical for us to seek to improve our conditions on Earth today, such as by cleaning up our neighborhoods and cities?
Absolutely. We ought to live our lives in a struggle to improve living conditions for everyone. We are viceroys here on Earth and God created everything in service to us temporarily, but we will all return to The Lord. Angels (or malaika whatever they are, perhaps "controllers" knew that it would be utter chaos, but God said that He knew something that the "angels" did not know, and that is the dodgy fact that a certain extremely small portion of these people would go against the stream within this utter chaos. That is the tiny group of people that actually discover the path and most importantly DO GOOD, i.e. uphold God's system of justice, goodness and sound judgment. It is good vs. evil, i.e. those that are good will be well and those that are evil will perish. Not-so-difficult-to-practice "religion" really, basically only figure out about God and do good from the bottom of your heart and avoid what is not right, be unselfish and all that which you probably already know about.
It is a story difficult to really grasp and I cannot say that I could plainly tell "God's agenda". I mean who can really understand existence. God is eternal says the recitation Qur'an. All I say is that I believe in God, that there is a mystery behind creation that I have no knowledge of and I intuitively feel that I must do good. Am I delusional and subject to my own imaginations? Well, I see no error in believing in a Creator and crazy temporary playground and that there is an order behind this. My belief is not really mainstream anyway and there much mind efforts carried out on my own. I believed in God before I "adopted" Islam or Christianity. But I more than love to erase the phenomenon with religions and God as something that you serve with neanderthal ritualistic practices but rather like some ultra-intelligent force in the Universe, Omni-present "being" and we do not know what it really is.
Or is this type of behavior futile?
No. If you will not do good then you will likely have done lot of bad things because it is in the nature of most people. You can see it as a game with positive vs. negative score.
Should we take action to improve things ourselves, or should we wait for God's intervention on the matter?
God will not do much until the matter is settled and it is too late. He will only bless people with further insight by the Spirit (or The Force if you like Star Wars terminology) and thus cause them to be more in control. Otherwise the world will run like a game by the rules already set. All the bad that comes are by the people themselves but if there is good then it is from God and His system.
You are born, live your life and you die, and probably get into an awakening scene again once you are dead where you will learn to know your future pretty much immediately. Your time on Earth will have felt like but a very short period and you might laugh over how silly things feel, unless you are of those that did evil of course.
This did not answer your question however, but I will get to that now. We should live righteous lives to the extent possible and be steadfast and patient until our lives are over and do as much good as possible and oppose what is not right. And not create many strange rules as there are not many at all from the beginning (in the Faith I have anyway). I suppose that as long as you do good and believe then that will be enough in most cases. The Book Qur'an could have been consisting of merely one page and it was sufficient. I imagine that you need no book at all with a common sense and some good nature and intelligence and not following the crowd and also not becoming critical of God and Faith simply because of the pathetic state of world faith and all conjecture. Seek within yourself and you might discover about God. It is no "hocus pocus".
We all know that we are born and we die and all meet that fate, but what differs is that believing people think that the world will eventually come to a stop and then replaced by another creation with a new set of rules and system and authority. Many people think that they will simply cease to exist once we die. No way I can prove to either of them including you if you have that belief that you will not even if I believe that you will not. I cannot guide anyone in that regard in matter of control and there is no compulsion either in the system. God, the omnipresent being and Force in the galaxies, told us to look and ponder upon the creation and hopefully realize about Him, that is what I can help with among a few other things. My first thoughts about something like it was when I stared at the maps of galaxies and how the star systems are designed.
I believe in Oneness, that there is just one single core that the world originates from and that the Universe expands from. There is no other real highest authority and no one but this Force is in control of things. It is complicated to explain really.
Many religionists are certain that there is just the human creation, but I would say that this is nothing we have knowledge of. There may be more galaxies and star systems with intelligence and life on which we do not know about. At the same time I do not consider it a coincidence that stars and planets are in their positions and functioning according to their system and ability for planets to sustain life without being part of an intelligent Creator and Its agenda, but that stands for my opinion. I simply do not believe that all this would exist without the presence of a tremendous intelligence bound to the core mentioned first in the paragraph. I mean "something" knew how the layout should look like before initiating whatever creation cycle initiated. It feels farfetched that things would evolve into the beings they are without any plan of where it should head towards.
And skip HOW the world was created, I just meant from an original point of view, it all must come from something. I believe in the big bang kind of evolution with a Universe that keeps expanding and it is a cycle that will return to a giant implosion again which will basically crush everything in existence including like the very literal storytelling of the recitation written down through inspiration by the fallible unknown person Muhammad.
At a bottom line I will not even try to explain how it works and when it will happen only is that this is how I believe. I do not know that. I am not enlightened about this.
In ways some people are right when they say that God is within ourselves and His will is mainly carried out through people. Just look at the legends of people like Jesus that performed things mostly physically. However with enough Faith and God's favor I believe that a meal can actually be sent down straight from Heaven as in the tales. But as a summary the Faith starts from within ourselves rather from the opposite.
I like to align myself more towards a controlling Force of the Universe rather than the old-fashioned concept of gods. Still One in substance but a bit more flexible in my opinion. Not a neanderthal kind of being as in traditional minds. And I believe that you can bond/link with this energy to reach a state much like the practitioners of Jedi in Star Wars (do not know if you have watched these motion pictures, sorry otherwise if I am just confusing), and much like Star Wars you can be born naturally strong in the Force too for real, but its current condition can always be improved. Basically if you believe in the Force, bond with it, then you can also use it to your advantage in different ways and it will help you.
With Star Wars you almost have a modern Qur'an, if you allow me to joke a little and hope God will forgive for saying this.
God bless you
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Peace Ahmad Bilal and Man of Faith,
I enjoyed reading your recent posts in this thread... because it resonates alot with me. I'd just like to add one thought
I don't think there anything such thing as really passive.. a passive stance. I believe that a passive stance is just to actively remain in the current state, to keep up the current conditions, mentality... to maintain the status quo. It may appear passive on a physical level, but on an energetic and psychological level it is actually an active, though unconscious, maintaining of the current steady state. Passivity is a choice to uphold what already present.
Peace and best regards!
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I don't and cannot choose God, God choose me.
(a pun famously known as "Russian reversal"I don't believe in deities and I don't worship heroes, legend, books, symbol, rites etc..
So to me there's no other God and it's not a matter of 'choosing among options'.
Through organized religion, people get mislead of "what is God".
Because organized religion is a mean of subjugating people towards certain group of people by stating that those certain group of people are God's representative on earth and they have such authority from God proven by books, documents, oral stories etc..Although not all organized religion behave in such manner, but western originated organized religion (middle east included) tend to have such characteristics. It's pretty much understandable given western originated religion was invented and endorsed by political institution (Roman Empire, Caliphate, Sultanate, Kingdom etc..)
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Peace Jafar,
I suppose you mean that people tend to "objectify" God? God, or the Force that is God, simply exist, no limits and no borders, and most importantly no mass. The energy penetrates everything in existence.
Everything in existence stems from this one energy and to this it will return. It is owned and controlled by the same source that is One. This unknown entity is your Creator and beyond this we have no comprehension and to us we can only know that God simply is and what God has done.
Thus there is no "choosing your "god"" because there is just one giant source in the Universe that is your Creator and as both scriptural "evidence" and human empirical studies have not revealed it is unseen, the energy cannot be observed yet it is there, and it is also very powerful in nature. And this energy (God) said to Moses that "you cannot see me" but the energy caused the whole mountain to shake. Is that not a testament to its power?
From one the whole Universe was created and to one it will return.
God bless you
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I don't and cannot choose God, God choose me.
(a pun famously known as "Russian reversal"I don't believe in deities and I don't worship heroes, legend, books, symbol, rites etc..
So to me there's no other God and it's not a matter of 'choosing among options'.
Through organized religion, people get mislead of "what is God".
Because organized religion is a mean of subjugating people towards certain group of people by stating that those certain group of people are God's representative on earth and they have such authority from God proven by books, documents, oral stories etc..Although not all organized religion behave in such manner, but western originated organized religion (middle east included) tend to have such characteristics. It's pretty much understandable given western originated religion was invented and endorsed by political institution (Roman Empire, Caliphate, Sultanate, Kingdom etc..)
Agreed.
Also, divinity and religions are pondered, discussed, explored, evaluate, judged, chosen, adopted, interpreted etc almost exclusively on an intellectual, analytical and philosophical level BY/THROUGH OUR MIND. This, by definition, means our ego is involved, which in turn makes it all more or less biased and partial. Hence we have differences in sects AND a competition, comparison and judgment among the sects/religion/schools of faith. Our minds will always judge others' systems as less good than our own... and from there comes the friction, misunderstanding and conflicts.
Unless we starts to find out what "know thyself" really means, we'll keep fumbling in the dark regarding that which we call God. We keep looking for answers on the outside... and neglect our inner world, which is the thing which actually determines our world and comprehension of things. No matter how intellectually rich and knowledgeable, or even spiritual, we are, it is just intellectual. If we don't first come to know OURSELVES, to the core, layer by layer, we'll remain ignorant and blind in regards to divinity and religion.
I'm always amazed when I see people who call themselves believers and knowledgeable argue and debate like sulky and angry children. We should really commence on our inner journey to get to know ourselves before we start lecturing others on what's right and false. Of course, I'm not referring here to anyone specific. I'm actually talking about humanity as a whole.
If we'd just start to explore our inner selves honestly, our minds, and admit all our weaknesses openly to ourselves, and then surrender in peace to The Creator for purification, we can then hope to evolve and improve. If we'd just let God guide us, we'd be so much better off.
Peace and warm wishes to all!
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Hi everyone )
So please give the valid reasons for
-What the reasons you choose your current "god" to worship?
Peace
I did not "choose" but was chosen
Therefore (for) whomsoever Allah intends that He would guide him aright, He expands his breast for
Islam, and (for) whomsoever He intends that He should cause him to err, He makes his breast strait and
narrow as though he were ascending upwards; thus does Allah lay uncleanness on those who do not believe.So please give the valid reasons for
-What the reasons you reject another "gods" beside yours? (to members who already studied/experienced some religions).
There is only one God, the others do not exist.
GOD bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge.
Truthfully and equitably, He is the absolute God; there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise.And
You shall not worship beside GOD any other god. There is no other god beside Him. Everything perishes
except His presence. To Him belongs all sovereignty, and to Him you will be returned.God bless
peace
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Peace, Zulf.
I don't think there anything such thing as really passive.. a passive stance. I believe that a passive stance is just to actively remain in the current state, to keep up the current conditions, mentality... to maintain the status quo. It may appear passive on a physical level, but on an energetic and psychological level it is actually an active, though unconscious, maintaining of the current steady state. Passivity is a choice to uphold what already present.
I couldn't agree more! Standing by and doing nothing is (literally) choosing to keep things the way they are, and that's just as bad as helping to establish the condition itself...
Peace,
Ahmad
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Peace, Man of Faith.
Thanks for your response. I agree with you on most of your points, and I definitely think that we need to take an ACTIVE approach in making the world better, rather than sitting around waiting for someone else to do it for us.
Peace,
Ahmad
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Peace, hawk99.
There is only one God, the others do not exist.
This isn't really an answer to the question at all... Regardless, though, for the record, the same "proofs" that you use to reject certain gods (and goddesses) are the same proofs that others use to reject YOUR god. On a philosophical level, there is nearly no difference between ALLAH, YHVH, Mithra, Krishna, Zeus, Apollo, etc. There are books or ideas in nearly every monotheistic religion that claim that all of the 'other gods' are not real. Quoting from the Qur'aan to validate the existence of your deity doesn't help your argument at all; if anything, it severely cripples it.
Peace,
Ahmad
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Peace, Jafar.
Through organized religion, people get mislead of "what is God".
Because organized religion is a mean of subjugating people towards certain group of people by stating that those certain group of people are God's representative on earth and they have such authority from God proven by books, documents, oral stories etc..Although not all organized religion behave in such manner, but western originated organized religion (middle east included) tend to have such characteristics. It's pretty much understandable given western originated religion was invented and endorsed by political institution (Roman Empire, Caliphate, Sultanate, Kingdom etc..)
I completely agree!
Peace,
Ahmad