Jump to content

Do you believe in God and why


ivor bigun

Recommended Posts

5 hours ago, Sunmaster said:

"Mathematics" as a word or concept is a human construct, yes. But it is also nature's (I would say God's) language, and would exist regardless if we humans or any other intelligent species out there can decipher, understand and catalog it.

Oh! Dear me! I've come across quite a few deeply religious people who are absolutely hopeless at mathematics. Better not tell them it is God's language. They'd be so distraught. ????

 

And let's not forget music...audible math!

 

Crikey! Even birds understand maths.  If so, it must be very, very basic maths. ????

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Oh! Dear me! I've come across quite a few deeply religious people who are absolutely hopeless at mathematics. Better not tell them it is God's language. They'd be so distraught. ????

 

 

 

 

Crikey! Even birds understand maths.  If so, it must be very, very basic maths. ????

I'm just wondering if your misunderstanding of the post you quoted is intentional or not. Should i take a bet, i would go for something in the middle ☺

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I'm just wondering if your misunderstanding of the post you quoted is intentional or not. Should i take a bet, i would go for something in the middle ☺

Whether or not it's intentional, why not illuminate us all with a rational and logical debunking of my argument? ????

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Whether or not it's intentional, why not illuminate us all with a rational and logical debunking of my argument? ????

Because explaining the colours to the blind is useless, and there is a risk to be called rude.

Yet, I have good news for you, meditate and meditate, the answers will come to you.

  • Confused 1
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi I thought maybe those who know religion and Thailand might be able to help. My girlfriend considers herself a buddhist. Her main temple though is a hindu temple in Bangkok though she goes to other classic thai buddhist temples. She says she believes in hindu gods such as ganesh and I see other thais are the same. This is despite buddhism not having a god as such. One time we were in Karon Beach in Phuket and there was a statue of a snake or dragon and she seemed to believe in that as a type of god too. Can someone tell me how this makes sense. I ask who is in control . I am guessing it's just a set of beliefs that doesn't have to make sense as such. Maybe different aspects control different things. Seems to make her feel good so good for her. 

For what it's worth I don't believe in god as such. Have had coincidences and feelings in life that made me think twice but nothing I can confirm as more than wishful thinking.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Hi I thought maybe those who know religion and Thailand might be able to help. My girlfriend considers herself a buddhist. Her main temple though is a hindu temple in Bangkok though she goes to other classic thai buddhist temples. She says she believes in hindu gods such as ganesh and I see other thais are the same. This is despite buddhism not having a god as such. One time we were in Karon Beach in Phuket and there was a statue of a snake or dragon and she seemed to believe in that as a type of god too. Can someone tell me how this makes sense. I ask who is in control . I am guessing it's just a set of beliefs that doesn't have to make sense as such. Maybe different aspects control different things. Seems to make her feel good so good for her. 

For what it's worth I don't believe in god as such. Have had coincidences and feelings in life that made me think twice but nothing I can confirm as more than wishful thinking.

Simple.

She follows the animistic principle of " energy flows where attention goes ".

Basically, all what simple minds want is money and stability, they could worship a rock, or a piece of wood, and get the same result.

If one's interested in animistic principles, nothing wrong about that, just Google "Huna".

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sunmaster said:

I read your attempt at humor but couldn't find an argument to debate there.

Maybe you can try again?

Okay! Mathematics is an abstract tool which is essential to facilitate the organization of modern societies and the development of all technological products. Just like other disciplines of science, it's a continual 'work in progress' with many unsolved problems.
I can't see any reason to believe that mathematical theories, which are obviously created by humans, would exist if humans had never evolved with the capability of abstract thought.

 

From Wikipedia:
"Since the Renaissance, every century has seen the solution of more mathematical problems than the century before, yet many mathematical problems, both major and minor, still remain unsolved."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unsolved_problems_in_mathematics#:~:text=Millennium Prize Problems,-Of the original&text=Hodge conjecture-,Riemann hypothesis,Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture
 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

can't see any reason to believe

There's some truth in your post.

Not sure you're much into books, as you keep quoting Wikipedia, but just in case, " the man who could count" by Malba Tahan, is a wonderful read.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

Hi I thought maybe those who know religion and Thailand might be able to help. My girlfriend considers herself a buddhist. Her main temple though is a hindu temple in Bangkok though she goes to other classic thai buddhist temples. She says she believes in hindu gods such as ganesh and I see other thais are the same. This is despite buddhism not having a god as such. One time we were in Karon Beach in Phuket and there was a statue of a snake or dragon and she seemed to believe in that as a type of god too. Can someone tell me how this makes sense. I ask who is in control . I am guessing it's just a set of beliefs that doesn't have to make sense as such. Maybe different aspects control different things. Seems to make her feel good so good for her. 

For what it's worth I don't believe in god as such. Have had coincidences and feelings in life that made me think twice but nothing I can confirm as more than wishful thinking.

There are many variants of Buddhism.

It is not the 'official' Thai version of Buddhism, but most Thais are actually practicing 'animism' with a Buddhist sauce on top.  They can and do worship anything that helps them connect to the 'living spirit' in everything (which we call God).  In my village in Isaan there is a well-known buddhist temple, which also features statues of Ganesh and other Hindu deities, as well as a temple for the Chinese 'water' goddess, and a shrine for the Tiger saint.  Obviously some of the large trees in the park on the temple grounds are also encircled with colorful scarfs and small statues and candles placed in front of it.  And all of these are worshipped, which is a wonderful thing as it recognizes the living spirit in everything and does not make any distinction between my God and your God, which is the source of so much atrocities.

Namaste - I recognize and greet the God in you.

 

  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

There are many variants of Buddhism.

It is not the 'official' Thai version of Buddhism, but most Thais are actually practicing 'animism' with a Buddhist sauce on top.  They can and do worship anything that helps them connect to the 'living spirit' in everything (which we call God).  In my village in Isaan there is a well-known buddhist temple, which also features statues of Ganesh and other Hindu deities, as well as a temple for the Chinese 'water' goddess, and a shrine for the Tiger saint.  Obviously some of the large trees in the park on the temple grounds are also encircled with colorful scarfs and small statues and candles placed in front of it.  And all of these are worshipped, which is a wonderful thing as it recognizes the living spirit in everything and does not make any distinction between my God and your God, which is the source of so much atrocities.

Namaste - I recognize and greet the God in you.

 

It only takes a look at our own countries, and see how many different belief societies there is. As well inside a small fora as TV. It is a shopping mall out there you can just pick what you want, and what you feel fits you. Even the most monoistic religions have different views on the text books. In cristianity you have jesus, god, maria, maria magdalena and more to reach god, or why not just pray to god directly. 

 

If you searching long enough you find there is a belief system even for you personally, and or you can make it up yourselves. 

Edited by Tagged
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Because explaining the colours to the blind is useless, and there is a risk to be called rude.

Yet, I have good news for you, meditate and meditate, the answers will come to you.

That reads like Jehovah Witness patter, never wrong.....???? 

 

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Because explaining the colours to the blind is useless, and there is a risk to be called rude.

Yet, I have good news for you, meditate and meditate, the answers will come to you.

You trust your connection is not yourselves who gives yourselves the answers you looking for? 

 

I know, I wake up or think I wake up in the night, and i get answers, and the more Im reading, the more comes back to me as a sensation of discovery, and it is joyfull as stimulating, but I know it comes from me, from my memory bank, maybe even from my dna memory. Who knows. The most important is to be in positive contact with your innerselves, then you will experience what you see, and you can call it what you want, and maybe it is some force around us, 3. Eye, but do not play stupid game with others, calling out people shallow, blind, and so on. As I said, if you have been studying, reading, and you are confident about your truth, you do not need those kind of tricks. Or do you? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Tagged said:

You trust your connection is not yourselves who gives yourselves the answers you looking for? 

 

I know, I wake up or think I wake up in the night, and i get answers, and the more Im reading, the more comes back to me as a sensation of discovery, and it is joyfull as stimulating, but I know it comes from me, from my memory bank, maybe even from my dna memory. Who knows. The most important is to be in positive contact with your innerselves, then you will experience what you see, and you can call it what you want, and maybe it is some force around us, 3. Eye, but do not play stupid game with others, calling out people shallow, blind, and so on. As I said, if you have been studying, reading, and you are confident about your truth, you do not need those kind of tricks. Or do you? 

Well, sorry again to rattle your cage, but really, it's not only about you, no need to take it personally.

And I'm not using any trick for your info, I'm simply debating like if I'm sitting in the pub.

Occasionally, I may sound rude, like you felt compelled to call me, get over it, it's not my intention to offend anyone.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Sunmaster said:

That's better.

I see we have two different approaches. You see mathematics as a human invention to make sense of the material world.

I, on the other hand, believe that mathematical principles are intrinsic in and expressed by nature, from the smallest particles to the entire galaxies. Humans then, observed these patterns and deducted mathematical formulae to explain and predict them.

Like I said, nature follows a series of common patterns. Look at the Nautilus shell...
A Cutaway Nautilus Shell Demonstrates Photograph by James Mattil

this plant...

Fibonacci | Quantdare

The sunflower...
The spiral shapes of sunflowers follow a Fibonacci sequence. :  Damnthatsinteresting

A galaxy...
The universe in a spiral – Scientific Scribbles

 

 


They all follow the same pattern which has been around a lot longer than humans have. They were there for everyone to see, but it was not until a guy called Fibonacci came along, that the pattern was translated into mathematics. 

And while we're at it, why not take it a step further....
Everything in the universe is in a constant state of vibration. The antroposophist Hans Jenny was a pioneer in Cymatics, which is a way to make sound/vibration visible. 
Cymatics & Mantra: Tapping into Matter with Sound Vibrations | COLLECTIVE  PSYCHE
The resonant frequency that causes Phi patterns in Cymatics: 528hz ~ Nassim  Haramein | Love frequency, Sacred geometry, Geometry
What is Cymatics? The Art and Science of Visible Sound – Journey of  Curiosity

As you can see...nature, plants, animals, humans, vibration, sound, music....everything is related and connected with each other. Nothing exists separated from everything else.
The mathematical patterns ("God's language") are everywhere and have been there from the beginning of time. Humans recognized this language and called it mathematics.

 

Good post, so I'll now point out the fallacies in your argument. ????

 

Finding patterns in nature, and creating patterns in our own lives and behaviour, is what humans do. The patterns we see, as in the photos you presented, are projections from our mind onto the external world.

 

The patterns we see tend to be consistent because our biology and mental processes tend to be consistent. Creating patterns, whether we consider them beautiful or not, are essential for us to be able to recognize external objects. The shape and form of a tree, or a flower, or a house, or a car, or a snake, is represented in our mind by a pattern which we memorize so that we can later recognize the objects, plants, animals, or people, when we next encounter them.

 

Also, a major point which you seem to have missed, is that what we perceive and turn into patterns, is a very tiny fraction of reality. Let's consider the two most prominent senses of perception, sight and sound. Human eyesight is sensitive to just a very small part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, from around 380 to 700 nanometers, or Red to Blue with numerous shades in between.
The same applies to the hearing of sound, which for people with excellent hearing, ranges from about 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but the range narrows as people get older.

 

Now imagine what would happen if a very sophisticated robotic device were to enable a human to detect everything about the object he was observing, including the whole spectrum of magnetic radiation that was being reflected from the object, including the capability of zooming in to see microscopic particles such as atoms and molecules, and including the air molecules surrounding the object. What do you think the person would then see?

 

I suggest he/she would see a very chaotic and pattern-less picture, with trillions of molecules bouncing around and clashing into each other, and thousands of different shades of colour all over the place.

 

In order to create a pattern, the observer would have to exclude so many distracting aspects, and even then the pattern would be as chaotic, and probably more chaotic than a Jackson Pollock painting. ????
 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Tagged said:

How about food? Do you eat Or not eat food because Of religious or spiritual matter? 

 

Or you just figure out based on other facts this is healthy and this is not? 

Is this post for the crowd ?

Well, personally I never liked meat and fish, I had to be forced and tricked into eating that stuff, until at 16 a school mate charmed me to become a vegetarian. I drink some beer or wine in the evening, it helps me to tolerate the evil in this world, although I'm conscious of the dampening effect of alcohol on the mindfulness.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, Peter Denis said:

That's correct, but religions tend to only worship what is 'in the boundaries' of their church, mosque, synagogue.  Animism does not make such distinctions, but recognizes the living spirit in everything.  And in an animistic worldview lifeless objects like statues can be inspirited by devotees, and places made holy because of a Large Soul having stayed there.

This animistic undercurrent in the belief-system of a large part of the population is what makes Thailand (as well as other parts of South-East Asia), such magic places.  Unfortunately, Western (un)belief-systems are making inroads in those countries and the locals with a college or university education are ashamed and dismiss the 'pagan' traditional values of their country because they think it will make them look uncivilized in the eyes of westerners.  

When I took my girlfriend to Europe and we visited some cathedrals, she had no problem doing her thai prayers there (because quite rightly it doesn't matter - the spirit does not make distinctions).  This is quite different than western people visiting a Thai buddhist temple and mimicking what the Thai devotees are doing there.

And yes, my girlfriend is also always attentive and looking for clues in what the outside world is trying to tell her.  A car with same numberplate as our house, a tookee choosing our buddha room as his home, a rain-shower making us change plans, etc.

Dismissed as feeble-minded superstition by some, admired by myself as the emanation of the conviction that there is no such thing as co-incidence and that everything that happens has meaning and purpose.  I am able to explain all this and she cannot as she did not get any education, but she 'lives' it and that's worth more than my intellectual understanding and trying to live accordingly. 

Beautifully written.
I too keep a close eye on the people I meet for example, what they tell me (unconsciously) that perhaps answers a question I currently have, how a dream (especially a recurring one) fits into the waking state and what it can tell me, the continuous appearance of certain numbers (11:11 on the clock for example). These can all be sign posts for those who can read them to better navigate the uncertain waters of life.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

it's not my intention to offend anyone.

Yes it is, and Im here to police you ???? 

 

well, Im not the self important, that I think it is all about me, but I believe it will be better for the debate to take it a step up. But I feel we just going in circles busy with our self, and not so receptive to others. But at least I discovered something more about myself during this tread, or maybe not discover is the right word, I can call it being more aware of how influenced I am by things I have just read with a lighter mind earlier. And how that have settled over time more than other things I tryed hard to understand. 

 

I have to be earnest, many of these caracters you find on youtube, free websites, always selling you something as a secondary mission, actually have impacted me more than I have been aware of. Of course not without my interest of nature, and being more close to nature than urban places during my grown up life, it have helped me to discover more layers to life in a very positive way. I have managed to get rid of negative thoughts and depression by open my mind up, and adress the negativity with an simple approach, Rather than The more complicated And longer way around getting deeper and deepte in to myself, or call it the force. 

 

Accepting life for what it is, right here, right now. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, VincentRJ said:

Good post, so I'll now point out the fallacies in your argument. ????

 

Finding patterns in nature, and creating patterns in our own lives and behaviour, is what humans do. The patterns we see, as in the photos you presented, are projections from our mind onto the external world.

 

The patterns we see tend to be consistent because our biology and mental processes tend to be consistent. Creating patterns, whether we consider them beautiful or not, are essential for us to be able to recognize external objects. The shape and form of a tree, or a flower, or a house, or a car, or a snake, is represented in our mind by a pattern which we memorize so that we can later recognize the objects, plants, animals, or people, when we next encounter them.

 

Also, a major point which you seem to have missed, is that what we perceive and turn into patterns, is a very tiny fraction of reality. Let's consider the two most prominent senses of perception, sight and sound. Human eyesight is sensitive to just a very small part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, from around 380 to 700 nanometers, or Red to Blue with numerous shades in between.
The same applies to the hearing of sound, which for people with excellent hearing, ranges from about 20 Hz to 20 kHz, but the range narrows as people get older.

 

Now imagine what would happen if a very sophisticated robotic device were to enable a human to detect everything about the object he was observing, including the whole spectrum of magnetic radiation that was being reflected from the object, including the capability of zooming in to see microscopic particles such as atoms and molecules, and including the air molecules surrounding the object. What do you think the person would then see?

 

I suggest he/she would see a very chaotic and pattern-less picture, with trillions of molecules bouncing around and clashing into each other, and thousands of different shades of colour all over the place.

 

In order to create a pattern, the observer would have to exclude so many distracting aspects, and even then the pattern would be as chaotic, and probably more chaotic than a Jackson Pollock painting. ????
 

Yes and no.

The patterns are there with or without human acknowledgement. If it were like you say, plants would not follow the Fibonacci sequence, but grow completely randomly, stars would not be recognizable as spiral galaxies, but would be dotting the cosmos in a random manner. 
I think this is so evident that I will not spend more time on this. If you can't see it, so be it.

 

What you say about the spectrum of consciousness is quite right though. In fact, I wrote the same several months ago. I used it as an example for showing how limited our normal perception is and how limited our knowledge of even that narrow band of frequency is. 
But you don't need to wait for tiny robots in your body to shift that perception. There have been plants around for eons that do exactly that: they open the doors of perception. Please read the homonymous book written by Aldous Huxley. Jim Morrison knew a thing or two about that. ????

By ingesting these psychotropic substances, the range of perceived frequencies widens dramatically, letting you experience things you couldn't have dreamt about. But rather than just making existing patterns unrecognizable (which they can do), they also make you see patterns that were previously hidden. The same way if you look at a stock graph right now, it doesn't look good, but if you widen the field of view (increase the time frame), you'll see that the trend is actually positive. Or take global warming...if you look at the pattern of the past 100 years, people start to panic...but if you look at the bigger pattern of hundred of thousands of years (or more), you'll see that such changes are completely normal for mother earth.
So, yes...those tiny robots (or chemical compounds) will let you look at a simple chair and maybe you won't recognize it nor understand its practical, conventional use, but at the same time they will let you penetrate in frequency ranges that are normally out of our reach. New and ever more amazing patterns will reveal themselves to you if you do that. Those patterns then, you will recognize as an expression of intelligence...call it 'cosmic intelligence' if you like...and are part of the 'higher consciousness' that mystics and religions (to some degree) are talking about.

 

There is nothing chaotic about it...it's all organized very beautifully.
 

Edited by Sunmaster
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Projection is a very significant attribute of human behaviour. We do it all the time, in many different ways. Ad Hominem attacks are a common example. We are unable to address the argument, which makes us feel uncomfortable, so we attack the messenger.

 

A very simple and basic example is describing a leaf as green. A leaf reflects a huge range of frequencies, including sound waves. Bats can detect the presence of a leaf because of the reflected sound which the bats emit. This is called 'echolocation'. What's amazing is that bats can detect objects as thin as a human hair in total darkness.

 

"Using echolocation, bats can detect objects as thin as a human hair in complete darkness. Echolocation allows bats to find insects the size of mosquitoes, which many bats like to eat."
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/echolocation

 

As I've mentioned before, a leaf has no colour. It has the capacity to reflect a certain range of frequencies, around 540 nano metres, which the 'normal' human mind has biologically evolved to interpret and memorize as a sensation which we now describe as 'green', in whatever language we use. We then tend to project our own sensation of 'green' onto the leaf, and call the leaf 'green'.

 

If I were a leaf, whilst retaining my own intelligence, I would shout, "Don't be so silly and deluded you biased humans. I'm not green and never have been." ????

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Yes it is, and Im here to police you ???? 

...

Wanted to give that a ???? , as I think it's a very funny snappy answer...

But then it would look as if I laughed away the rest of your post, which deserves a Like.

 

Also, you shouldn't take @mauGR1 's posts personal.  The Forum is not meant for a personal dialogue (use the PM-function for personal messages).  So even when giving a personal answer on the Forum it is meant for the whole community interested in this 'God' thread.

And yes, also the personal response in the present post is not only addressed to you. ????

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Projection is a very significant attribute of human behaviour. We do it all the time, in many different ways. Ad Hominem attacks are a common example. We are unable to address the argument, which makes us feel uncomfortable, so we attack the messenger.

I hope this is not directed towards me. I think I've been arguing my points quite clearly, trying to ignore snide remarks and lame jokes as best as I could. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

 

If you know some dog who is a music composer, or some horse who is building temples, I am ready to reconsider "my way of thinking".

It's not their task, so irrelevant.

We don't know/understand their way of feeling, communicate either.

Everything may have a purpose, we will know, or not, in due time.

But of course there are many interpretations and expounds.

Some are even confident that they know better, and some others even believing it.

Reactions to this vary from individual to individual.

For me it is conceitedness and thus sometimes irritating,

luckily it doesn't hurt. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

29 minutes ago, Tagged said:

Yes it is, and Im here to police you ???? 

 

well, Im not the self important, that I think it is all about me, but I believe it will be better for the debate to take it a step up. But I feel we just going in circles busy with our self, and not so receptive to others. But at least I di

Sorry to cut your post, but personally I try to be as receptive to others as I can.

Taking the debate "a step up" is exactly what me and other few regulars have been doing since the very beginning of this thread.

Of course we all have some ego, or more correctly, a "false ego" and I find pretty normal to have a little attrition between egos in a passionate debate.

Btw, as I told you a few times, i find your posts interesting to say the least, otherwise, surely I would not waste any time debating them.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Peter Denis said:

Wanted to give that a ???? , as I think it's a very funny snappy answer...

But then it would look as if I laughed away the rest of your post, which deserves a Like.

 

Also, you shouldn't take @mauGR1 's posts personal.  The Forum is not meant for a personal dialogue (use the PM-function for personal messages).  So even when giving a personal answer on the Forum it is meant for the whole community interested in this 'God' thread.

And yes, also the personal response in the present post is not only addressed to you. ????

Well, we read what we want to read sometime, and of course we take things personal, misunderstand, and also give someone a Not so worthy line or two because we are in the mood. Be it irony or just a F. You. Anything else would be crazy ???? 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, luckyluke said:

It's not their task, so irrelevant.

We don't know/understand their way of feeling, communicate either.

Everything may have a purpose, we will know, or not, in due time.

But of course there are many interpretations and expounds.

Some are even confident that they know better, and some others even believing it.

Reactions to this vary from individual to individual.

For me it is conceitedness and thus sometimes irritating,

luckily it doesn't hurt. 

If repetitiveness would hurt, you would be in a world of trouble. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.











×
×
  • Create New...