Do you believe in God and why

[mauGR1]

19 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

You obviously haven't been single long enough to know that a warm body is better than no body.

 

No, i have been single enough to learn to appreciate the freedom of loneliness and my own company.

Also, at my age i don't care much about sex, i quite enjoy my fresh bed.

I could have started a new relationship just few weeks ago, and i'm so happy that i managed to stay single ????

 

21 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The biggest killer is loneliness. It doesn't kill the body, but it kills the spirit. I wish I believed in religion, as that gives people comfort in times of adversity.

Well, you say you believe in God, how it's so difficult to accept your reality, and the fact that you have the power to make changes ?

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

No, i have been single enough to learn to appreciate the freedom of loneliness and my own company.

Also, at my age i don't care much about sex, i quite enjoy my fresh bed.

I could have started a new relationship just few weeks ago, and i'm so happy that i managed to stay single ????

 

Well, you say you believe in God, how it's so difficult to accept your reality, and the fact that you have the power to make changes ?

I believe in God the creator, but I do not believe that God is involved in the affairs of an insignificant species on an insignificant planet in an insignificant galaxy. Ie I don't expect any assistance from the creator.

I accept the reality of my life, else I'd have offed myself after my divorce, but short of winning Lotto, so I can go back and live in Thailand, I have no idea as to what changes I'd like to make. Even if I had lots of money ( but not enough to live in LOS ) I have zero interest in western women as partners, and I wouldn't want to do much different from what I do anyway. What I want is in LOS, and there isn't any way I can have it now. If wishes were horses etc.

Had I never discovered LOS I'd probably be content with what I have. However, I did discover paradise on earth, and nothing will ever be as good again for me. Thailand was what I'd been looking for all my life, and I threw it away for an illusion. The thing that really eats away at me is that I had it all, and was stupid, and blew it all away. That's a hard thing to live with.

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I believe in God the creator, but I do not believe that God is involved in the affairs of an insignificant species on an insignificant planet in an insignificant galaxy. Ie I don't expect any assistance from the creator.

God is not only outside, but also inside.

The God which is in you surely cares about you.

We have a saying in my country: "Help yourself, and the sky will help you".

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

God is not only outside, but also inside.

The God which is in you surely cares about you.

We have a saying in my country: "Help yourself, and the sky will help you".

I guess we fundamentally disagree about the nature of God then.

 

When my body stops living, the spark that is "me" will return from whence it came ( I believe that it will return to God ) but God, IMO, does not reside in me. Even Gaia, the life force of planet Earth, is not, IMO, God, but Gaia's life force is the same as all our life forces- it comes from God.

Edited March 3, 2020 by thaibeachlovers

[mauGR1]

Just now, thaibeachlovers said:

I guess we fundamentally disagree about the nature of God then. How many millions have died while begging God to save them?

I have to say i'm a bit surprised, have you become an atheist ?

Personally i won't complaining about God, and i am willing to accept whatever happens to me.

Of course my faith is not always hard like a diamond, but one thing is sure, if God exists, we have to accept what is given, and what is taken from us.

[thaibeachlovers]

Just now, mauGR1 said:

I have to say i'm a bit surprised, have you become an atheist ?

Personally i won't complaining about God, and i am willing to accept whatever happens to me.

Of course my faith is not always hard like a diamond, but one thing is sure, if God exists, we have to accept what is given, and what is taken from us.

No, I believe in God. I just don't think God is a personal God. I think God created the universe and left it to get on with it as best it could. After all, if God is infinite, this universe is just one of countless versions that have existed before and after. Being made of matter, the universe will die, then, IMO, be reborn.

[mauGR1]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No, I believe in God. I just don't think God is a personal God.

I think i understand, sometimes i feel the same, but you are putting limits to God's power.

I don't think of God as just a creator, but as a present, living force which is everywhere in the same time.

The simple fact that human seed is still producing humans, and oak seeds are still producing oaks, is the living proof that God has not gone away.

[Skeptic7]

16 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

I have to say i'm a bit surprised, have you become an atheist ?

Personally i won't complaining about God, and i am willing to accept whatever happens to me.

Of course my faith is not always hard like a diamond, but one thing is sure, if God exists, we have to accept what is given, and what is taken from us.

The label for this type of god belief is Deism. He's a Deist.

 

16 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

No, I believe in God. I just don't think God is a personal God. I think God created the universe and left it to get on with it as best it could. After all, if God is infinite, this universe is just one of countless versions that have existed before and after. Being made of matter, the universe will die, then, IMO, be reborn.

You're a Deist. Many of the USA founders were of similar belief. Introduced this term to you months ago...

 

de·ism

/ˈdēˌizəm,ˈdāˌizəm/

 

noun

 

1. belief in the existence of a supreme being, specifically of a creator who does not intervene in the universe. The term is used chiefly of an intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries that accepted the existence of a creator on the basis of reason but rejected belief in a supernatural deity who interacts with humankind.

[mauGR1]

@UbonThani you are so accurate in stalking all my posts with sad faces, you remind me of a stray dog pi**ing in every corner to mark the territory.

Thanks to your efforts, i have now a better idea of how animals think ????

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

I think i understand, sometimes i feel the same, but you are putting limits to God's power.

I don't think of God as just a creator, but as a present, living force which is everywhere in the same time.

The simple fact that human seed is still producing humans, and oak seeds are still producing oaks, is the living proof that God has not gone away.

Of course God can do anything the creator wants to. I just don't see why God would be bothered with us. We are an insignificant species in a universe with an uncountable number of lifeforms, and will soon ( in a cosmic sense ) be gone. IMO, if the creator has any interest at all ( to ascribe human emotions to God ) it would be to see how this version of a life form turned out. So far not doing well- keep killing each other and destroying our environment as fast as possible. The planet was, IMO, a gift to us from the creator, and we have been very bad occupants.

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Of course God can do anything the creator wants to. I just don't see why God would be bothered with us. We are an insignificant species in a universe with an uncountable number of lifeforms, and will soon ( in a cosmic sense ) be gone. IMO, if the creator has any interest at all ( to ascribe human emotions to God ) it would be to see how this version of a life form turned out. So far not doing well- keep killing each other and destroying our environment as fast as possible. The planet was, IMO, a gift to us from the creator, and we have been very bad occupants.

Each of us has the spark of God, or in other words we are spiritual entities beside the physical.

To ascribe human emotions to God is akin to thinking that God has no interest in one's life because of some temporary bad luck.

While is true that human society is not close to perfection, every hope is not lost.

I remember noticing every grumpy neighbour being very kind to each other when a powerful earthquake struck my hometown; perhaps a catastrophe is needed to teach the humans a lesson.

I think we were not meant to be perfect, but we are meant to learn from our mistakes and develop into better spiritual beings.

[CharlieH]

Troll and subsequent Bickering posts removed.

[Tippaporn]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Of course God can do anything the creator wants to. I just don't see why God would be bothered with us. We are an insignificant species in a universe with an uncountable number of lifeforms, and will soon ( in a cosmic sense ) be gone. IMO, if the creator has any interest at all ( to ascribe human emotions to God ) it would be to see how this version of a life form turned out. So far not doing well- keep killing each other and destroying our environment as fast as possible. The planet was, IMO, a gift to us from the creator, and we have been very bad occupants.

It's amazing, and then again it's not, that people have so easily settled on a set of beliefs which reflect the worst ideas of both science and religion.  In order to come to the conclusions that we are insignificant lifeforms, that we are and our world is so beneath God, or All-That-Is, or, again, whatever meaningless label one prefers, that we don't even register with the consciousness of that, one must truly believe in absolute worthlessness and powerlessness to an unbelievable extent.  Those views are nothing more and nothing less than beliefs.  Beliefs which, as I've said so often now, are not seen as beliefs about reality but instead seen as conditions of reality.  To believe the above must indeed be quite painful.  And so totally unnecessary.  No crying in my beer for me.

 

Also, we will never be gone.  We are eternal.  Certainly those who cherish their "lights out" beliefs will strongly object.  They will argue a belief which serves them not at all.  And the reason will most likely be the "accept our lot in life" and "that's the way it is" nonsense.

[VincentRJ]

3 hours ago, mauGR1 said:

Each of us has the spark of God, or in other words we are spiritual entities beside the physical.

Do you think this applies only to the Homo Sapiens Sapiens species, or do you include all forms of life, including the myriads of bacteria, microbes, insects, and so on? The human body is a host for bacteria. Not all bacteria are harmful to health. Without the 'good' bacteria that pervades our body, we couldn't survive.

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Do you think this applies only to the Homo Sapiens Sapiens species, or do you include all forms of life, including the myriads of bacteria, microbes, insects, and so on? The human body is a host for bacteria. Not all bacteria are harmful to health. Without the 'good' bacteria that pervades our body, we couldn't survive.

Yes and no.

It can be argued that every single atom is an image of God, but we can't be sure that every atom is self-conscious.

[VincentRJ]

6 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Yes and no.

It can be argued that every single atom is an image of God, but we can't be sure that every atom is self-conscious.

We're talking about 'life', not atoms. Bacteria is essential for all life. Even a green leaf on a tree is full of bacteria. If we were to kill such bacteria, the tree or plant would die.

Edited March 4, 2020 by VincentRJ

[mauGR1]

1 minute ago, VincentRJ said:

We're talking about 'life', not atoms.

Do you think atoms are not alive ?

[Peter Denis]

1 minute ago, VincentRJ said:

We're talking about 'life', not atoms.

As above, so below.

 

[Skeptic7]

On 3/2/2020 at 7:04 PM, couchpotato said:

463 pages of mostly philosophical ramblings. 

Maybe just a 'yes or no' would suffice, to answer the original question.

That would be a Poll or Survey...not a thread. I've conducted 2 Polls on the topic here on TV over the past few years and both revealed that among TV participants...about 70% were atheist/agnostic. 

[VincentRJ]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Do you think atoms are not alive ?

Absolutely! Life is a self-reproducing complex molecule, consisting of thousands, hundreds of thousand, and even trillions of atoms, depending on the sophistication of the life form.

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Absolutely! Life is a self-reproducing complex molecule, consisting of thousands, hundreds of thousand, and even trillions of atoms, depending on the sophistication of the life form.

Thanks, and your point is ?

[VincentRJ]

2 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Thanks, and your point is ?

There is a distinction between a materialistic atom, and a random organization of multiple atoms that is self-replication.

[mauGR1]

4 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

There is a distinction between a materialistic atom, and a random organization of multiple atoms that is self-replication.

I don't believe anything is random. Everything has a reason to be.

[Tippaporn]

I had before made mention of the latest advances in the field of quantum physics.  I again came across an article which was published just this past Monday on the subject of parallel universes.

 

Physicist Says Parallel Universes Definitely Exist and We May Soon Explore Them. Are we living in a multiverse?

 

Well worth a read.  Also within the article I found this amusing:

 

"In the past, Carroll has advanced some groundbreaking yet controversial theories on topics such as the Big Bang theory and the nature of time.

"He has said that the universe didn’t start in a huge explosion as most people now believe, but instead it is an infinitely old, constantly inflating entity in which time can run both forward and backward."

 

LOL.  Now wouldn't that be funny if the entire Big Bang theory ends up proven as a Big Hoax.

 

In any case, there's a video of an interview with the physicist Sean Carroll at the end of the article.  The interviewer is Joe Rogan.  At the 14:28 mark Rogan, severely challenged in trying to wrap his head around the implications of parallel universes of perhaps infinite quantity asks, "But do you think that each choice you make, possibly changing everything in the world you exist in?"  Ding, ding, ding!!  We have a winner!

 

Those who have read Seth have know this for a long, long time.  I mentioned before, science is catching up with Seth.  There's still a long way science needs to go.

 

Now may be a good time to re-link to this article:  Objective Reality Doesn't Exist, Quantum Experiment Shows  Or this one:  A quantum experiment suggests there’s no such thing as objective reality

 

“What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so.”  Samuel Clemens

 

The truth is usually found in a direction opposite the one your looking in.  That fact alone is what makes the truth so difficult to accept.  People generally do very poorly thinking out of the box.  You might get chastised for it, too.

[Tippaporn]

29 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Do you think atoms are not alive ?

They are.  Too shocking of a statement to believe, though.

[Tippaporn]

25 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Absolutely! Life is a self-reproducing complex molecule, consisting of thousands, hundreds of thousand, and even trillions of atoms, depending on the sophistication of the life form.

Well, I spoke too soon.

[Tippaporn]

18 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

There is a distinction between a materialistic atom, and a random organization of multiple atoms that is self-replication.

Maybe I didn't speak too soon.

[VincentRJ]

5 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

I don't believe anything is random. Everything has a reason to be.

Everything is subject to 'cause and effect'. If one atom or molecule bumps into another, it's no doubt caused by another atom bumping into it, and/or billions of particle/waves in the electromagnetic spectrum increasing the energy within the atom, or its temperature.

 

'Random' means 'beyond calculation' because of the complexity, a bit like 'Global Warming'.

[Tippaporn]

17 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

Everything is subject to 'cause and effect'. If one atom or molecule bumps into another, it's no doubt caused by another atom bumping into it, and/or billions of particle/waves in the electromagnetic spectrum increasing the energy within the atom, or its temperature.

 

'Random' means 'beyond calculation' because of the complexity, a bit like 'Global Warming'.

The usual definition for random, and as most people understand it, is:

 

1. made, done, happening, or chosen without method or conscious decision.

 

I doubt complexity has anything to do with a random event.

 

Edit: that last line should make sense now.

 

Edited March 4, 2020 by Tippaporn

[mauGR1]

2 minutes ago, VincentRJ said:

 

'Random' means 'beyond calculation' because of the complexity, a bit like 'Global Warming'.

While not rejecting your "scientific" approach, it's beyond calculation because the complexity is too difficult to understand for humans.

The "intelligent design" knows very well what's going on.