Do you believe in God and why

[Tippaporn]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

To be frank, I'm just filling in time till the exit- God's waiting room, some call it. If I can just get through a day without a catastrophe that's a win for me. So, I don't really want to think too hard about anything anymore. I'll be getting the answers to life, the universe and everything first hand, so to speak, soon enough.

 

I hate to break it to you, TBL, but death doesn't automatically fill you with the knowledge and wisdom you refused to accept in this life.  You will still be "you."  You'll still need to do the work to gain that knowledge and wisdom for yourself.  No freebies. 

[Tippaporn]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm not saying that I'm not open to new ideas, but I'm not going looking for them anymore.

 

Uhm, then why are you on this thread?   

[Tippaporn]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Having said that, this thread was brilliant. I was educated in many ways about spirituality, but when it comes to Seth etc, that's more than I want to deal with- I'd have to think too much.

 

Take it at your own pace.  Again, nothing 'wrong' with that. 

 

One final comment.  The real trouble with exploring Seth's material is not that one has to think a great deal, and certainly one does, but that the ideas he presents lead to requiring that one change ones self.  And that, my dear friends, is the real stickler. 

 

People don't like to change themselves.  They would rather that the world changes around them.  And to their liking, I would add importantly.  But since your world is your creation then the only possible way to change your world is to change yourself.  I should make the distinction very clear between your world and the world.

[Sunmaster]

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

 

'Living water' was allegory, then.  Thanks for the fuller context. 

That's how I understood it too, but Mark N. meant it literally, didn't he?

 

[Tippaporn]

11 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

That's how I understood it too, but Mark N. meant it literally, didn't he?

 

Obviously not everything in the Bible is to be taken literally.  But some do anyway.

 

But that's just a side issue to the important part of Mark Nothing's post, which deserves the focus.  Which is that he found success with it.

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Tippaporn

[Tippaporn]

Good morning, Sunmaster. 

 

[Tippaporn]

10 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

Good morning, Sunmaster. 

 

 

I forgot to mention . . . there are three pastries but only two of us.  So . . . one for you and two for me.    I am gracious and charitable in sharing knowledge but I'm a greedy bastard when it comes to pastries. 

[VincentRJ]

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

My google search found this. He is a christian after all. 

 

Later in John 7: 37-39 Jesus once again speaks of living water, saying, “'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. ' By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

 

 

My google search also revealed many religious references like the one you quoted, but I'm reluctant to propagate nonsense. 

 

My belief is in the true 'methodology of science'. This methodology, as I understand it, requires at least some degree of skepticism on all theories, so that any flaws in a theory can be investigated, using a method of enquiry and investigation which is as objective and as unbiased as possible.

 

Unfortunately, being biased and acting in accordance with an established, politicised, agenda, is normal human behaviour.

[Tippaporn]

1 minute ago, VincentRJ said:

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

My google search found this. He is a christian after all. 

 

Later in John 7: 37-39 Jesus once again speaks of living water, saying, “'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. ' By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

 

 

My google search also revealed many religious references like the one you quoted, but I'm reluctant to propagate nonsense. 

 

My belief is in the true 'methodology of science'. This methodology, as I understand it, requires at least some degree of skepticism on all theories, so that any flaws in a theory can be investigated, using a method of enquiry and investigation which is as objective and as unbiased as possible.

 

Unfortunately, being biased and acting in accordance with an established, politicised, agenda, is normal human behaviour.

 

A hearty thumbs up on your last line.  The rest are a thumbs down.  I went with the thumbs up reaction to your post as I preferred giving you the benefit of the doubt. 

[Tippaporn]

4 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

My google search also revealed many religious references like the one you quoted, but I'm reluctant to propagate nonsense. 

 

One man's gold is another man's rubbish.  Ain't that the truth. 

 

5 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

My belief is in the true 'methodology of science'. This methodology, as I understand it, requires at least some degree of skepticism on all theories, so that any flaws in a theory can be investigated, using a method of enquiry and investigation which is as objective and as unbiased as possible.

 

Your methodology would work just fine if the objective world were the only one. 

[Tippaporn]

8 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

My google search also revealed many religious references like the one you quoted, but I'm reluctant to propagate nonsense. 

 

My belief is in the true 'methodology of science'. This methodology, as I understand it, requires at least some degree of skepticism on all theories, so that any flaws in a theory can be investigated, using a method of enquiry and investigation which is as objective and as unbiased as possible.

 

Unfortunately, being biased and acting in accordance with an established, politicised, agenda, is normal human behaviour.

 

Hey, how come everyone else gets a reply but not me!!  I call foul!!    <--- That's me crying my eyes out. 

  

15 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

True.  Yet I can't blame @brianthainess, @xylophone & @VincentRJ too much.  Some of the biblical stories are, to put it mildly, far out when taken literally.  And a lot of Christians do take them literally.  I could see myself joining in on the ridicule as there's much that I think is nonsense about religion.  But I don't because I understand everyone has assumed their own challenges in life and therefore not everyone is meant to be in agreement on everything.  So I allow respect.  What anyone else believes is no skin off my ar$e.

 

I've always felt that science was a response by those who couldn't accept the fantastic religious tales in strictly literal terms and also saw the many contradictions within religion and so searched for answers elsewhere.  Elsewhere being the material world since the subjective world of religion made no rhyme nor reason in large part nor was it dependable in their eyes.  Science looked for validation of the world through physical proofs which were repeatable.  If religion is at one extreme then science compensated by going to the other extreme.  Though subjective reality is undeniable it was nonetheless discarded entirely due to it's strong basis within religion.  A new religion based on pure reason and zero faith could have no ties to the old religion.

 

Now I've rejected religion for at least the two reasons I gave above but I also rejected science for similar reasons.  As religion didn't provide the answers, and science didn't either, then I continued looking for answers elsewhere.  Fortunately - at least to me - I did have a good idea of what I was looking for.  Certainly the essence of it.  And I have been convinced since I was a young child that there was an answer to every question.  I haven't been disappointed.  Not to say I've already found all of the answers to all of my questions.    I do recognise that that is an eternal process.

 

No one has all of the answers.  Not any one individual, not any religion, and not science.  Given that then I'd say these three amigos should at least show a bit of humility as they are no more 'advanced'  or 'enlightened' than the rest of us.  But when science becomes your God and truth then, yeah, you could end up with a bloated head and believe you're walking on clouds. 

 

What say you guys?  Any serious comments to the above or just more horseplay?  Yer choice.  Either way is fine with me.  Similarly, no skin off my ar$e. 

 

You can run but you can't hide. 

[Tippaporn]

"In the game of life the truth always wins."

--Tippers, 2023  from The God Thread

 

I admit I'm very fond of and given to using sage, astute and perceptive quotes of others.  The above is my original.  I fancy that some future poster on this thread, say 200 years from now, will come across that and quote me.  They'll credit me with "Tippers, whoever the hell he was." 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Tippaporn

[save the frogs]

12 hours ago, VincentRJ said:

Sorry! I was being sarcastic. A Google search revealed the following:

 

"Exceptional purity from pristine wilderness artesian water with a balance of minerals filtered through the best system that exists. Uncontaminated Nature."

 

https://gtglivingwater.com.au/

Can you get living water at 7-11s?

 

[save the frogs]

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

My google search found this. He is a christian after all. 

 

Later in John 7: 37-39 Jesus once again speaks of living water, saying, “'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. ' By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

 

 

 

"Rivers of living water flowing from a person" and "receiving Spirit" and "Spirit flowing through a person" are meaningless phrases. It means nothing and doesn't exist. 

 

[VincentRJ]

41 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

 

Obviously not everything in the Bible is to be taken literally.  But some do anyway.

 

But that's just a side issue to the important part of Mark Nothing's post, which deserves the focus.  Which is that he found success with it.

 

The placebo effect has been scientifically confirmed. It is estimated that about 30% of the efficacy of all pharmacological drugs is due to the placebo effect, that is, the belief of the patient that the drug will be effective.

 

There have been experiments with two groups of people suffering the same problem. One group is given nothing, and the other group is given a placebo. The group given the placebo shows some improvement in their condition, whereas the other group shows no improvement.

 

In light of this, I now have to admit that I shouldn't be making fun of the 'placebo' stories in the Bible. They are not literally true, but a belief in them might have an advantageous effect in curing some problem, if the belief is strong enough.

[Tippaporn]

3 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Can you get living water at 7-11s?

 

 

Why not just get it from your kitchen sink tap?  It's cheaper.

[Sunmaster]

11 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

Hey, how come everyone else gets a reply but not me!!  I call foul!!    <--- That's me crying my eyes out. 

Hey, where is my reply to the ego topic?

Any thoughts, musings, comments? 

Not from Seth but from you. 😉😄

[Sunmaster]

2 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

"Rivers of living water flowing from a person" and "receiving Spirit" and "Spirit flowing through a person" are meaningless phrases. It means nothing and doesn't exist. 

 

"It means nothing TO ME, and I don't think it exists."

 

There, fixed it for you.

It's free this time because I feel festively generous.

[Tippaporn]

1 minute ago, VincentRJ said:

The placebo effect has been scientifically confirmed. It is estimated that about 30% of the efficacy of all pharmacological drugs is due to the placebo effect, that is, the belief of the patient that the drug will be effective.

 

The placebo effect, the schmacebo effect.  As long as it works what's the complaint?

 

2 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

There have been experiments with two groups of people suffering the same problem. One group is given nothing, and the other group is given a placebo. The group given the placebo shows some improvement in their condition, whereas the other group shows no improvement.

 

Why?  Tough nut to crack in a singular objective world.  Might it have anything to do with that other world?  You know, that subjective one?  The one that you ignore?  Question:  What is a belief and what are a belief's effects?  Okay, I lied.  Two questions.  That gives you the option to cherry pick the easiest one to answer. 

 

6 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

In light of this, I now have to admit that I shouldn't be making fun of the 'placebo' stories in the Bible. They are not literally true, but a belief in them might have an advantageous effect in curing some problem, if the belief is strong enough.

 

By God (excuse the filthy term), I think you're on to something!!!   

[save the frogs]

8 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

"It means nothing TO ME, and I don't think it exists."

 

There, fixed it for you.

It's free this time because I feel festively generous.

Yeah, so what happens when "spirit flows through you"?

 

You are able to speak in tongues? 

[Tippaporn]

8 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

Hey, where is my reply to the ego topic?

Any thoughts, musings, comments? 

Not from Seth but from you. 😉😄

 

I was holding off thinking you'd have some comments to the body of Seth's quotes.  I hadn't heard anything after the latest three.

 

As to the other two replies of yours . . .
 

22 hours ago, Sunmaster said:

Ok, I see we are jumping right into the deep end of it. 👍

 

There's no wading pool here.  Just make sure your air line is long enough before you jump in.  You're gonna need as much length as you can get. 

 

Partial response.  I woke up this morning with the intention of replying to your two responses (actually three, as I count the Sam Altman post, too).  But then I got interrupted by TBL.  Blame him.    Since then I'm just going with the flow.  But a promise is a promise. 

[Tippaporn]

40 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

44 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

"Rivers of living water flowing from a person" and "receiving Spirit" and "Spirit flowing through a person" are meaningless phrases. It means nothing and doesn't exist. 

 

"It means nothing TO ME, and I don't think it exists."

 

There, fixed it for you.

It's free this time because I feel festively generous.

 

And a Happy New Year to y'all!!  I think a good New Year's resolution for some would be to learn something in the coming New Year.  Now don't throw in the towel by mid-day Jan. 1. 

 

I went with a non-religious theme so as not to upset any of those living in a strictly objective world. 

 

 

Wait a minute . . . it's supposed to be a goddamned GIF (excuse me Lord).

 

 

Damn it.  Still not working.  Lemme try again . . .

 

There we go.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  I'm a persistent prick.  Actually, I like this one the best.  It's got an image of my favourite beverage!

 

This used to be one of the quotes in my signature:

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”

See, God does exist.  Ben Franklin knows!  And he had a scientific mind, too!

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Tippaporn

[Sunmaster]

17 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Yeah, so what happens when "spirit flows through you"?

 

You are able to speak in tongues? 

What happens is that it's friggin scary at first, but if you're not trying to control it and just go with the flow (surrender), it is the most amazing thing you'll ever experience. An experience you'll be forever grateful for.

You are able to speak in tongues? 
Not me, but I'm sure some people do.

[Tippaporn]

BTW, where's the party tonight?  Whose house?  I'm not as yet booked so PM me with directions.  I really don't want to go to sleep at 8 PM tonight.  And can I bring my wife?

[save the frogs]

20 minutes ago, Sunmaster said:

You are able to speak in tongues? 
Not me, but I'm sure some people do.

 

I'm guessing it's a hoax.

This guy wrote an article claiming it's a hoax. Doesn't mean he's right.

But there is some crazy sh*t going on in some of those churches. 

 

https://theunexpectedcosmology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Speaking-in-Tongues-Is-a-Hoax.pdf

 

[save the frogs]

30 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

I think a good New Year's resolution for some would be to learn something in the coming New Year.  Now don't throw in the towel by mid-day Jan. 1. 

 

what your brain cells look like when you learn something new. 

 

 

[Tippaporn]

WOW!  I think I've just suffered from a religious experience.  It took me three tries before I was successfully able to post a GIF.  Thinking about that no doubt brought about my epiphany . . . all good things come in threes!  It's TRUE!  Think about it!

 

The Holy Trinity

The Three Kings

Israel has three patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (see Exodus 3:6 and Matthew 22:32)
Noah has three sons (Genesis 6:10); Job has three daughters (Job 1:3; 42:14)
Jonah is the whale three days (Jonah 1: 17) ;Matthew 12:!4) and it takes him three days to walk across Nineveh (Jonah 3:3)
God appears to Abraham and Sarah as three persons (Genesis 18:1-15)
Abraham and Isaac travel for three days on their way to Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:4)
Joseph puts his brothers in jail for three days (Genesis 42:17)
Isaiah says that God is three-times Holy (Isaiah 6:3)
God creates the world in three days. Well, no. I am just making sure you’re not just skimming through this. God creates the world in 6 days, which is 3+3.

Mary goes to visit Elizabeth and stays three months (Luke 1:56)
The wise men bring three gifts to baby Jesus: gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11)
When Jesus is lost in the Temple, he is missing for three days (Luke 2:46)
Jesus stays 40 days in the desert and tempted three times (Matthew 4:1-11)
Three guys witness Jesus’ transfiguration: Peter, James and John (Matthew 17:1)
Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane three times (Matthew 26:36-46)
Peter denies Jesus three times (Luke 22:54-62) and confesses his love to Jesus three times (John 21:15-17)
St Paul on his way to Damascus, after Jesus reveals himself to him, is left without sight for three days (Acts 9:9)

There are 27 books in the New Testament: That’s 3x3x3. Perfection to the third power!

A genie grants three wishes.

The Three Bears - Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear

Three little pigs

The three musketeers

The three amigos

Moe, Larry and Curly

The good the bad and the ugly

A tryst

A tricycle.

 

WOW!!!  Just WOW!!!  I feel like I'm in a cloud right now!!

[Sunmaster]

1 hour ago, Tippaporn said:

I was holding off thinking you'd have some comments to the body of Seth's quotes.  I hadn't heard anything after the latest three.

 

I already said that I agree with how Seth describes the ego. Not sure what exactly you're looking for? 

Correct me if I'm wrong....it's been a long time...

The "ego contention" we had was that I said the ego has to "die" or "step back" in order for the "light to shine through". Another way of saying, we have to surrender everything, down to our identity-construct ("I am Sunmaster. I am x,y,z.") and down to even the most intimate anchor to life: our breath.

To which you stated that you love your ego and see no reason to give it up, let alone "kill" it. After all, you worked so hard to improve and polish it to a mirror shine. Right?

So, now that we have defined what the ego is (an ever-changing, dynamic perspective-awareness-point we use to interact with the material world and feed back to the inner world), we can explore the contention in more detail. Why would we want to neutralize such a formidable tool?
Notice that in the ego definition above I say "we use it", which implies that we are NOT the ego. We use the ego like we use a tool. But now the question is, who is this "we" if not the ego. Who is this "I" if not Sunmaster?

And if we continue to use the tool analogy.... Would you walk around with a spade every day and even go to sleep with it? Would you bring a chainsaw to a wedding? What about a car jack? Certainly a useful tool, but would you take it to the beach?
The ego is a useful tool when we interact with the world. Without it we would not be able to survive physically.
However, that doesn't mean we should carry it around all the time. In fact, there are times when its presence is not beneficial at all. When? Well, for example when creating art and music. Or when we observe a beautiful sunset. You don't need the ego with its endless monkey chattering to distract you from the Here and Now.
Or during those times when we shift our perspective from the outside to the inside, towards the self (inner ego) and beyond. During those times the ego-tool is useless and holding on to it, however efficient and polished it appears to be, is counterproductive.
A Japanese Katana is an amazing object. It is beautiful and super sharp. It can cut ignorance in tiny pieces, slash injustice to a pulp, chop up right from wrong with a single touch. But how useful is it when you sleep in your bed, when you floss your teeth, when you go for a swim? 

So far, I found nothing in Seth's books that would contradict this interpretation. 

I think that's where we are at the moment.

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by Sunmaster

[Tippaporn]

15 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

I'm guessing it's a hoax.

This guy wrote an article claiming it's a hoax. Doesn't mean he's right.

But there is some crazy sh*t going on in some of those churches. 

 

https://theunexpectedcosmology.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Speaking-in-Tongues-Is-a-Hoax.pdf

 

 

Geezus, save the frogs.  Who is gonna read 28 pages of that?  Just the idea that I would do that has me speaking in tongues, all of which would be censored here.

 

Much better is a tutorial on how to do it.  Give it a whirl. 

 

 

[save the frogs]

2 minutes ago, Tippaporn said:

Much better is a tutorial on how to do it.  Give it a whirl. 

blabbedy blah blah blah