mauGR1

15 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

how about all the believer's spend some time considering and respecting a different opinion on the issue. 

I really hope that you are joking, but you are probably being serious ????

1 minute ago, Red Phoenix said:

Give it a try, and type in your question/command, it's as simple as that...

Well, thanks, but for the moment I'll keep far away.

Yet I'm curious about hearing opinions about AI, especially the non-reassuring ones.

7 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

I used AseanNow's new ChatGPT asking the question we have been discussing here for 573 pages. 

In a sense it is somewhat of an intelligent answer, as the chat-bot is unable to answer it and does not spout its usual 'accepted narrative' parrot-talk...

Ok, I'm not familiar with that thing, but the next question i would ask "that thing" is whether or not does (or doesn't) make sense to discuss it. The existence of all that is, i mean.????

19 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

That is what I was saying.

 

Perhaps I worded it badly.

Not really, in fact having read your posts since years, i understand what you are saying. 

I have to say that I'm still surprised how so many, both agnostics and believers, reject religion altogether. 

Perhaps I've been just lucky in my youth, as all the catholic priests i have got to know were decent human beings. 

A nun slapped my face once with full power though, but perhaps she was stressed that day ????

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

IMO if we can't understand the meaning of what the founders of religions meant without needing scholars to tell us what they meant, the religion isn't worth much.

I respect your opinion, but i don't quite agree.

I have to say that i like a good story, and i find old legends extremely fascinating. 

I also have a gut feeling that one can find more truth in the ancient myths than in everyday news.

There are other reasons why i disagree with your statement "religion isn't worth much", but i don't want to go there.

Of course, if you mean to say that we don't need intermediaries to reach the absolute, there i fully agree with you. 

29 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

My Mind Blown by 1560 Geneva Bible

Somewhat off topic, but of possible interest for some members...

https://naomiwolf.substack.com/p/my-mind-blown-by-1560-geneva-bible?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

I opened the link, but i found not much of relevance.

But, of course, studies of the old testament are imho always welcome , and the more controversial, the better.

Some scholar, in recent times, have suggested that the correct translation of "elohim" is not  "God" , but something akin to " gods". 

This apparently insignificant detail could indeed radically change the common perception of the " god of the bible", and instead suggest a quite different scenario. 

9 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

I've been digging up a bit more dirt on this yogananda dude.

seems like he was indeed quite the womanizer, as all cult leaders are.

here's the quote at 12:06 of the video.

"If a woman doesn't want sex, tell her she is not like other women."

 

 

Perhaps i should ignore this post, but i feel the moral duty to say something. 

By throwing pretty unfounded accusations to a great master, even all spiritual masters, you are just showing everyone some rather dark side of you.

By engaging in gossip you are not doing yourself any favour.

Even if what you say is true, and most probably it's not, many great men had dark sides, and so what ?

17 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I just remembered an example of dogs singing that didn't learn it from humans.

When I was stationed in Antarctica I was on a base with huskies, and they "sang" in unison quite often at night. I really loved listening to them. They were even able to co ordinate their "song", as while one would start and the others join in, they would all stop at the same time.

If one wants to see intelligent dogs, just observe huskies- amazing animals.

Good story, and i guess that a quiet environment is an advantage for the development of music in general. 

Interesting experience you had there, even if i guess that you had to spend most if not all of your time in the building. 

Some say there are many mysteries in largely unexplored Antarctica ????

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It's actually not unusual for dogs to be trained to sing. Pink Floyd when younger made a movie which includes a dog singing a song.

Yes, i heard that song, and surely there are many similar cases of animals learning from humans different shades of behavior. 

There's a similar pattern in behavior of humans..

How many of our actions and thoughts are derived from outer influences?

And how many thoughts can be truly recognized as our free, independent thoughts?

5 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Just taking my dog as example, she's constantly thinking.  If I get out of bed 3 times during the night, she doesn't move.   If I put my robe on, she knows she's going out for a <deleted>.  Jumps off the bed before I tell her.

Actually a dog, or another mammal, who's living in the proximity of loving humans,  can develop unexpected levels of intelligence. 

Once i witnessed a dog singing a jazz tune ( well, singing as a dog, but quite in tune) together with a couple of friends. 

21 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I see God as a force that energizes everything in the universe, which at it's most minute is ( far as I understand it ) electricity.

 

That's actually been proven on a biological level ... all living things have the same amino acids, or something like that, in their DNA strand, that binds us together and proves evolution.

 

That's a quite anodyne definition of God, and i think that evolution is an intelligent design by definition. 

Why some folks think that consciousness, awareness, intelligence belong just to humans is the real mystery to me.

7 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I don't think I was saying that was wrong, as I agree with all that, Some confusion over what I wrote perhaps, or perhaps I didn't word it well.

 

As for "how was God created", just thinking about that too much makes my head hurt, and I will have to wait a few years to find out.

I think the question " who created God " is a legitimate question from the doubters..Perhaps a higher God?... and so, ad infinitum. 

So it's just logical to concede the possibility that god is the ultimate reality, it is just "all that is", is non born and thus doesn't die.

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It's not logical to assume that "everything was always here", and the universe works on logic, even if it doesn't seem like it.

 

If scientists made a vacuum and could make something appear from nothing in it, I would have to agree with you.

Well, i have to agree with @Acharnhere, if everything which is born, has to die one day, one has to concede that there could be " something " which is not born, and it won't die.

Otherwise we are back to the infamous riddle " who created God".

Nobody created God, God is "all that is".... Otherwise it would not be God. 

Of course I'm using my own logic, so I'm open to criticism. ????

35 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

never denied the existence of god.

denied the accuracy of seth's time-space theories. 

Ok, sorry, my mistake.

As for God doing " bad things ", well, it has been discussed a lot since aeons, and i have a few opinions about that.. however, no one better than you can find the right answers, when the time is right.????

4 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

A fitting cartoon to celebrate my return to the God sub-Forum, after a long ban for speaking truth about covid and the jabs...

That reminds me of the Aesop's fable, when an astronomer falls into a well while watching the stars, and gets a proper scolding by an illiterate peasant.

A reminder not to forget the physical reality while investigating the mysteries of the natural and the supernatural. 

27 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

Hi mauGR1,

A question is meaningful FOR YOU when the answer or answers to it are helpful FOR YOU.

This is not only true for very mundane questions but also for philosophical concepts as addressed on the God sub-forum.

A simple example: It would not be meaningful to ask for directions, when you don't know where you want to go. Missing that essential piece of knowledge, will make it impossible to provide a helpful direct answer.

In other words answers to questions will only be helpful when the receiver can place them in his/her frame-of-reference. 

When someone asks a metaphysical question to which the answer is totally out of his world-view, it will as good as always be to no avail trying to answer. The answer - even if fully correct - will have no anchor-points in the questioner's world-view and it will be rejected or distorted by his pre-conceptions. While that same answer can be an Aha-erlebnis for those that do have the necessary background to appreciate it.

I vividly remember the endless discussions we had 2 years ago with members that had no clue about spirituality and always equaled it with organized religion. Missing that essential concept, their questions were often unanswerable by more knowledgeable members.

 

Thanks for the explanation, now i understand what you mean.

Yep, some folks deny fiercely the existence of God, then ask questions about God, and finally get angry with the folks who try to explain.

It seems unbelievable, but it's true!

????

35 minutes ago, Red Phoenix said:

In order to ask a meaningful question, you need to know already half of the answer...

 

Really? Is that a sort of law ?

Not saying you're wrong, but can you give an example ?

1 minute ago, Sunmaster said:

TBL and I agree on many things, but this is still one point where we completely disagree.
He believes that the Godhead created the universe and everything in it and then left evolution to its own device. God is not interested in the affairs of mankind and doesn't care what you do with your life.

My belief is that we are part of this super-consciousness that some call God and that we have a direct access line to this consciousness. Such a consciousness is aware of everything within it. I also believe that one of the fundamental aspects of reality, the driving force of the universe or "God attribute" is love and that the universe is benevolent.

These 2 core beliefs create 2 very different scenarios:
With the first one, you set yourself apart from the Godhead. "God created me and the world, but now it's off somewhere doing its thing and doesn't care or know about me". This creates a tension, a dissonance, loneliness, separation.

The second one allows you to feel connected to the Godhead in a direct, personal and loving relationship. "I have nothing to fear because I know that every path ultimately leads to the One. "God" is alive within me and I'm alive within it, and we are ultimately one and the same thing."

That's a very good description, and i fully agree. 

Of course one can ask countless questions, but it's down to every single being to understand the answers. 

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

That depends on what else they believe.  TBL said God made everything .. but what does the mean, after making, does God oversee & decide things.

 

I asked, but think he missed or ignored it ????

I think @thaibeachlovers answered rather clearly to that question, which has been asked countless times...however, I'm not so arrogant to explain God's designs, beautiful or ugly, i can only try to understand, and it's quite a long way.

Imho, good and bad are 2 faces of the same medal, and on this planet we have to live with it, and try to be as good as we can.

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

As to why God doesn't allow us to live in paradise and live on fruit, I'm sorry, but God hasn't as yet communicated with me as to why God does anything. 

I like the humbleness, how can we expect to understand God's designs in every single little detail? However i believe that we can try.

2 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

No probs, "woowoo" it's a funny word. 

Never fails to give me a smile ????

2 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

why would your God make bad things? to what end?

God ideas are beyond your understanding, especially as you deny its existence. 

So a good starting point is accepting the possibility of God's existence. 

6 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Now you're making it up. I never said that God only makes good things- I said God made everything, which means good and bad.

It's becoming quite hilarious now.

Apparently some people believe obvious lies, then they realize that they've been believing a lie, and then accuse innocents and passersby for their misunderstandings. ????

Time and space are opinions, and depend very much on the point of view. 

Imagination can bend the physical point of view of linear time.

For example, if i imagine a straight segment connecting me to some star, that segment exists in no time, and

beyond any measurable length of time.

So, linear time is a product of a limited Imagination, but Imagination is unlimited. ????

I would ask @Sunmaster to repost the " disk diagram " of few days ago, perhaps some of the "science types" here might give it some though, instead of dismissing it as " woowoo" ????