Does God EXIST???
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Harun,
I understand exactly what you are saying, although it is very difficult, or rather impossible, to express in words. This is what I keep trying to express in some of my posts.
This is the core problem with religion. Religion is the institutionalized upholding of faith in a separate, outside, supernatural, character/person in the "sky" that they call God. They have an image of God that is nothing like God. Religion has made God into a thing, a person. I find that even using the word "God" is misleading. It gives you images that are nothing like God. This is why it says in the Quran that we should not associate anything with Allah. This includes mental images as well. I like to say that it is easier to move closer to a more accurate understanding of God, by thinking about what God is NOT.
This is why I think that some "believers" are better "categorized" as unbelievers. If you don't "get it"... if you cannot sense or feel God.... if it doesn't just make sense to you... then it doesn't matter what you call yourself. But of course, we will never be able to figure out another person's understanding of God, so therefor we must never judge others.
This thing which you, Harun, is pointing towards, will never be understood by someone who doesn't "sense it". But the funny thing is, that it may or may not be understood even by people who claim to believe in God. Actually what happens is that you'll end up discussing totally different things. Atheists discuss one thing, the one who senses God discusses one thing, and the religious person is discussing one thing. Typically, what the atheist is arguing against is the god image of the religious person, because it can be imagines intellectually with the mind. This image of a god is not the same as that which you are referring to, hence everyone is talking about different things. One can have different intellectual, philosophical or logical images of a god, whether you believe in them or not, but in reality, either you sense/feel that which you may call God, or you don't. Your mind won't make you sense it. It's out of the domain of the mind. The one who cannot sense it just won't understand what you're talking about. It will appear as stupid nonsense. And it cannot be explained, because it is not in the realm of the mind. Even this statement will appear as stupid nonsense to someone who can only see the world from the point of the mind.
This is why debates where different parties are trying to convince each other about the obviousness of their own stances regarding the "existence of God", are futile in essence and outcome. But it can be interesting to read though.
Cheers
I read this again, and I think you make some really good points. Harun's post as well as the others on this thread offer an interesting or helpful perspective that may bring more clarity to our understanding of God. Of course, if we want to understand God we must go to God - the One. Your point about sensing God makes sense - the point that some types of knowledge exist outside of what some think are sources of knowledge.
I also think Harun makes a helpful point - God is outside of any "realm" any idea of a "realm" we create, I think would be limited and finite. Existence itself as we know it is a "realm" and God cannot be confined. The 99 names of Allah and His attributes give us an idea of His nature but as Hawkninetynine mentioned, these give us an indication, an idea of the attributes and the nature of God as we need to understand it.
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Peace, LeBelysa.
Have you read the Kybalion? I think you'll find it quite interesting.
I hadn't noticed this post previously, but, though short, it was a very good one. The Kybalion is a phenomenal book, and it goes into this topic very thoroughly, if people can grasp the meanings projected by it...
Peace,
Ahmad