Guide to the Gods

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Originally Posted by ThisYouWillDo

I know people have died for asking less, but, does it matter? One God with three personalities, or three persons comprising one godhead? If we believe, and God is a fair god, he will not condemn us for failing to understand what is incomprehensible; and if we do not believe, the distinction is fatuous anyway.

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If we don't believe, and God is a fair god, he will judge us on our merits, not on whether or not we worshiped him. This is the problem which has plagued my understanding of the Christian religions. The proponents of these different cults all espouse their own superstitions as the only true religion, and all non-believers are condemned to everlasting torment. It's not sufficient to just be a believer, you must be their kind of believer.

From a non-believers perspective, then, the Trinity is just a means of explaining the contradictory natures of God. There seems to be no other means of reconciling the Old Testament God with the just and merciful version of the modern world.

I would recommend a book by Robert Heinlein called "Job: A Comedy of Justice" for a different perspective on God, Satan and religion in general. Yes, it is fiction, but there is much to think about in there.

The Trinity of things. An example that (to me) seems to run through most religions.

I believe in the One Goddess-God, Day-Night, Clear Light-Void that separated itself into two yet stayed whole: Day and Night, Yin and Yang, Good and Evil, Punishment and Reward.

The Egyptians of old believed this happened through masturbation of the Supreme Being (name eludes me at the moment), creating offspring that took control over Heaven and Hell.

This seems to be the general idea of almost any religion or flavour of religion. Where they differ IMO is where they view who created the World, the Universe and ultimately the Omniverse.

My beliefs say that we are a part of the One Mind-Soul that permeates everything yet is apart from everything.

Does science confirm this? It really depends on who performs the tests I think. A scientist believer in the Higher Being(s) will enter with a different perspective than a scientist non-believer. While I haven't looked at the site yet, the quote provided by IDCrewDawg seems valid enough.

We as human beings are capable of anything. Endless love and endless hate. Untouchable belief and immovable scepticism.

A few years back I read an article asking the question: "Are today's scientist the modern priests?" Maybe they are. They do what the shamans, priests, oracles and other holy people used to do: Interpret the world. They don't hold to a religion per se, but they tell the working people, the "not-so-well-educated-in-these-matters"-people what it is like.

I hold no grudge against any person because of their belief in, or dismissal of a higher being. What I hold a grudge against is people who feel they need to shove their belief on others. Like Jehovah's Witnesses that comes to your door. I once found a pair of them at my doorstep asking me if I would like to hear the words of God. I asked them to wait and brought out my own Bible. I read a passage from it, and to me it seemed like they were taken back by what I said. As if they had never heard it at all. I haven't read their book/Bible so I can't say for sure.

To end this post: If God/Jahve/Jehova/Allah/The Trinity/The Clear Light-Void is out there/in us/beside us through our lives, do we really need to worship them? If there are no such thing(s), it really doesn't matter, does it? All that matters is that we are here and every day we are charitable, greedy, compassionate, vengeful, loving, spiteful, considerate, egotistical, creative, destructive.

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Originally Posted by Thorne

If we don't believe, and God is a fair god, he will judge us on our merits, not on whether or not we worshiped him.

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God! I do hope so.

Karen Armstrong writes lots about it in History of God. She's done her homework. The trinity is a political construct.

It has to do with pre-Christian traditions of Greece clashing with pre-Christian Cappodocian, (Turkish) traditions, which Christianity was adapted to.

It's got very much to do with language and how they used the terminology of god, faith, spirituality and belief. Anyhoo, it threatened to tear the east Roman empire apart and emperor Constantine threatened the quarrellers with death unless they came up with a compromise.

On one side was Arius who claimed that Jesus was not divine and that worshipping Jesus as such would be idolatry. There can only be one God.

On the other side was a variety of theories on variants on how Jesus had some divinity in him. ie was of God. Gregory of Nyssa, Athanasius, Marcellus among others belonged to this camp.

They managed to agree on that God could be felt by the worshipper when praying, ie the holy ghost. The part of God that fills the prayer when praying.

But they managed to agree on nothing much else.

This is where the concept of "the father, the son and the holy ghost" was born. It was formulated this way because it doesn't say anything and mediates between the two camps. How this purely political and not theological solution has managed to linger up until today, is just one of those mysteries in life.

Arius eventually ended up being branded a heretic, but Arianism still went strong for centuries after his deaths. Especially with the Gorths, who managed to conquer Rome.

The debate whether Jesus is of the same stuff as God still rages today.

edit: I looked through that page some more. I don't think it's supported by any biblical research. I think it's fantasy. I'm guessing somebody just read the Bible and drew their own conclusions ignoring centuries of research and material to be found on the subject. Just my guess.

I've always had problems understanding the seemingly convoluted idea that there is but one god, although 3 personas. Like ID, I've abandoned "religion" due to its inconsistencies. However, I still ascribe to Christianity. I try to think of it in this way. God of the old testament still exists. He is like a good father in that he loves his children and wants them to do well. However, like any father trying to deal with wayward children, it's his way or the highway. He'll let you do your own thing, and just like the story of the prodigal son, he'll welcome you back when you're tired of wallowing around with pigs. *smiles* Jesus is God's son. He is of God, yet not God, in that he does his father's will. He was sent to earth to teach us that the laws and sacrifices were not enough to save us from damnation because most people's hearts were not in the right place. He came as the living word of God to show us what love is, i.e. forgiving people who don't necessarily deserve it instead of demanding an eye for an eye as well as giving up everything for those you love and what you believe in. Once Jesus had performed his task, he ascended back to heaven where he rules at the right hand of God. He knows what it is to suffer, and he intervenes on our behalf. The holy ghost is God's spirit. He has a physical being which remains in heaven and a spirit which he sends to us. Were we made in His image? I don't know what He looks like, but we also have a logical side, an emotional side and a soul. Hmm....so do I believe in a triune God or 2 separate people and a spirit?!?! arghhhhhhh I don't think it really matters in the long run. I won't burn in hell for being stupid. *ggls* Just think of Him as the ultimate Dom who can dish out love and punishment, who wants love and respect, who wants you to earn your rewards, etc.