Is God A "white Man" In A Robe?

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

quote=neosnoia]

No


No


Yes

Succinct enough? [/quote]

Yes, that is very good, it has all the elements of the "kiss" principal

K= KEEP
I= IT
S= SIMPLE
S= SAM



Now, to throw another log on the fire. Should we draw a picture of SAM...LOL Just kidding

[Dondi]

Originally Posted by taijasi

Wow! I have never read this before ... that I'm aware of. It strikes me as a wonderfully, beautifully mystical presentation of God's macrocosmic Being (or Being-ness). Nothing about this is literal, imho, unless it might happen to be the reference to 7 Stars. But then, hmmm, there are the 7 Candlesticks - of the Menorah ... and Seven Spirits before the Throne. Could John be trying to tell us something, with this repetition of 7?

taijasi

Well, it explains in the chapter what the seven stars and the seven candlesticks are:

"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." - Revelation 1:20

Now these angels could be presiding angels for that particular church or I have heard that it could be pastor, since a pastor could in a sense be a messenger as well. The seven candlesticks evidently are the churches being adressed in the following chapters (2&3).

The seven Spirits of God would take more study on my part. I don't understand the concept of the seven Spirits, especially when passages like Ephesians 4:4 state that there is one Spirit. But they do show up later in Revelation in a heavenly setting before the throne of God:

"And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." - Revelation 4:5


But you probably have a good explaination for this, huh taij?

[wil]

Namaste InLove, I hear you.

And I think it did have its place as a developmental level of understanding.

And I think Michealangelo was on the ball, the navel, the G-d depicting creation thru the power of thought (cutaway brain)

I think how I told my kids, "Yes there is a Santa Claus, it is a choice, he is real, in your heart, you can choose to keep the spirit alive and keep him real"

But yes, I think we do kids a disservice when we don't tell them, this is a representation of G-d...not G-d. It is utilized for the purposes of the story, no throne, no white robe. When children's eyes are opened to possiblity...that there is a world to explore without all the barriers of others perceptions...tis amazing the discussion.

When I first saw a 'black' bible, with pictures of Jesus and Moses, and G-d as something other than white...it made sense to me.

lol, my daughter at 5 picked out a book that she wanted from the store...an illustrated bible...for African-Americans....with colored skin in every picture plate...I thought it interesting....At the playground, in the sandbox, in school...they grow up without colors...without colors defining thought.

We put the notions in their heads....we create the divides....like the ancients, we put heaven up there and G-d in the sky every time we point up or look up and say, Thank Heaven or Praise G-d.

(please note I'm an indicating that when we combine the praising and thanking while presenting a direction (other than within) we confuse the issue)

my thoughts.

[InLove]

wil--are you saying that we must "drink" responsibly?

I agree.

This is why questions like this one are valuable.

InPeace,
InLove

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

Originally Posted by wil

But yes, I think we do kids a disservice when we don't tell them, this is a representation of G-d...not G-d. It is utilized for the purposes of the story, no throne, no white robe. When children's eyes are opened to possiblity...that there is a world to explore without all the barriers of others perceptions...tis amazing the discussion.

When I first saw a 'black' bible, with pictures of Jesus and Moses, and G-d as something other than white...it made sense to me.

lol, my daughter at 5 picked out a book that she wanted from the store...an illustrated bible...for African-Americans....with colored skin in every picture plate...I thought it interesting....At the playground, in the sandbox, in school...they grow up without colors...without colors defining thought.

We put the notions in their heads....we create the divides....like the ancients, we put heaven up there and G-d in the sky every time we point up or look up and say, Thank Heaven or Praise G-d.

Wil, I could not agree more with your statements.
My daughter, when she was 6 asked me a question that was very odd for
a child of her age. (I think her and her school mates may have been discussing it, wish I had a camera for that one )

Anyway, she asked me
" Daddy, who did GOD make first, White people or Black people or Spanish people or Asian people?"
Well that question struck me like a ton of bricks, because I did not want to "influence" her into believing GOD played favorites. So I simply told her that I did not know and to ask GOD. She said ok, and that was the end of that.
If I had told her that GOD made Black people first, I might have set in her mind that all other people were in some way inferior to black people.
With that being said, the images we present to children in religion can and do have a powerful effect on how they view GOD and other people for that matter.

So, To make a long "point" short I think that a "faceless" GOD is needed in some religions and that (as Wil put it) we do a genuine dis-service to our youth when-ever we present images in religion no matter how much it may help them grow in thier acts of "piety". I think children should be left to use their "imagination" when hearing of or learning religion.

[wil]

Drink responsibly...especially around our youth....speaking of which I've mentioned before...talk about indoctrinating our impressonable youth.

This month we'll be having some where between 60-80 middle school kids (6-8th graders) in for an overnight retreat. In a two hour round robin session they'll be meeting an Imam, a Rabbi, a Hindu Priest, a Buddhist Monk, and discussing traditions, beliefs, symbolism, methods of prayer, worship, ritual and meditation...after dinner Dances of Universal Peace in mulitple languages and traditions, and then later that evening the talk around the fire will be given by a Native American.

These are all children that attend Christian churches, I'm so looking forward to thier feedback.

[InLove]

Originally Posted by wil

Drink responsibly...especially around our youth....speaking of which I've mentioned before...talk about indoctrinating our impressonable youth.

This month we'll be having some where between 60-80 middle school kids (6-8th graders) in for an overnight retreat. In a two hour round robin session they'll be meeting an Imam, a Rabbi, a Hindu Priest, a Buddhist Monk, and discussing traditions, beliefs, symbolism, methods of prayer, worship, ritual and meditation...after dinner Dances of Universal Peace in mulitple languages and traditions, and then later that evening the talk around the fire will be given by a Native American.

These are all children that attend Christian churches, I'm so looking forward to thier feedback.

I can only wish to be a fly on the wall. Maybe you will come back and share with us what some of these people have to say--I would particularly be interested in some of the children's comments.

InPeace,
InLove

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

Originally Posted by wil

Drink responsibly...especially around our youth....speaking of which I've mentioned before...talk about indoctrinating our impressonable youth.

This month we'll be having some where between 60-80 middle school kids (6-8th graders) in for an overnight retreat. In a two hour round robin session they'll be meeting an Imam, a Rabbi, a Hindu Priest, a Buddhist Monk, and discussing traditions, beliefs, symbolism, methods of prayer, worship, ritual and meditation...after dinner Dances of Universal Peace in mulitple languages and traditions, and then later that evening the talk around the fire will be given by a Native American.

These are all children that attend Christian churches, I'm so looking forward to thier feedback.

I too would love to hear the feed back on that. I bet you could probably write a book with the feedback you get. By the way do you know if there will be any images of GOD there?

[InLove]

Originally Posted by YO-ELEVEN-11

By the way do you know if there will be any images of GOD there?

LOL! Once again, a good question.

[lunamoth]

Originally Posted by YO-ELEVEN-11

By the way do you know if there will be any images of GOD there?

There will as many images of God there are there are faces in the room. ~ luna

[wil]

Didn't I say 60-80 of them?

[lunamoth]

Originally Posted by wil

Didn't I say 60-80 of them?

Haha--great minds think alike.

[wil]

Namaste Luna, check out the posting times...tuned in are we.

We'll have flags of the symbols of many traditions...our church members will be walking into a slightly different sanctuary...then the children will come in and dance...and teach them some dances during service. And with any luck we'll have a couple of youth as speakers giving the congregation a feel of what they touched on in the past 24 hours...

I am blessed to be able to participate in these retreats and rallies with middle school and high school students 4-6 times a year. There hasn't been one weekend where the glory that they express has not brought me to tears...usually more than once....and with the knowledge that these kids are going to take part in the future is incredible.

Some of them will be speaking at the UN invited back as those students in the program who came before them worked with the UN to create the Season of Peace...

I'll be glad to report back...

[neosnoia]

Originally Posted by lunamoth

There will as many images of God there are there are faces in the room. ~ luna

“If you do not see God in the next person you see, you need look no further.” —Mahatma Gandhi

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

Originally Posted by wil

Namaste Luna, check out the posting times...tuned in are we.

We'll have flags of the symbols of many traditions...our church members will be walking into a slightly different sanctuary...then the children will come in and dance...and teach them some dances during service. And with any luck we'll have a couple of youth as speakers giving the congregation a feel of what they touched on in the past 24 hours...

I am blessed to be able to participate in these retreats and rallies with middle school and high school students 4-6 times a year. There hasn't been one weekend where the glory that they express has not brought me to tears...usually more than once....and with the knowledge that these kids are going to take part in the future is incredible.

Some of them will be speaking at the UN invited back as those students in the program who came before them worked with the UN to create the Season of Peace...

I'll be glad to report back...

wil, I eagerly await that report.

Wish I could be there though..