Potential Evidence for the Possibility of God

[muhammad_isa]

Well, presumably, from the context of what was said above, from evil and suffering, of course.

If nobody cares about G-d, there is going to be more evil.
If everybody cares about G-d, there will be less evil.

..so does praying to G-d help? Yes.
It's not just about what an individual wants or experiences..
..it is also about the whole community.

 

[Thomas]

From the all powerful all good (hurricanes, flood, war, famine, genocide)

Natural phenomena are just that, they're not inflicted on us by an angry God, nor are they things that happen to us because God is powerless to prevent them – They are all part and parcel of a finite world. Along with all the lovely stuff, like kittens & puppies, sunsets and sprint breezes, etc.

War and genocide are man-made events ... they're our responsibility.

So to be clear...since G!d can't stop any of these....zero reason to pray and ask for that right?

Well of course God can ... but then, to repeat Schuon again: "One cannot ask of God to will the world and at the same time to will that it be not a world."

Of course there may be worlds that are a lot nicer than this one, and worlds a lot worse – who's to say – but either way, this is the world we got.

What you're asking for is a 'perfect world' – in which case you're asking God to replicate God.

 

[Thomas]

How would clarity remove freedom? I am not convinced of or don't understand the logic behind that.

If God reveals Himself indisputably, then we would have no choice but to obey him – we'd be idiots not to. But in that revelation is stripped away our nobility in finding God, in making peace with the world, in doing what we are supposed to do, care for each other ...

... and then five minutes in, human nature being what it currently is, we'd be finding fault with God for this or that ... things being not quite as perfect as we'd like them to be.

 

[Thomas]

It's not just about what an individual wants or experiences..
..it is also about the whole community.

Oh well said!!

Of course, unpopular, because the subjective narrative is the Holy Grail of contemporary culture, 'my truth' and all that ... it's all part of The Grand Illusion, the Kali Yuga.

I'm unaware of the Islamic term for it, in the Christian sense 'veil' has something to say, but more precise is the Hindu/Buddhist term 'maya' ('illusion' or 'magic'). Māyā is "constantly changing and thus is spiritually unreal." (quotes from the wiki page)

'Personal Religion' risks the danger of the deification of everything the Divine is not.

In the Advaita Vedanta Tradition, māyā – appearance – is "the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the phenomenal world is real" and therefore that my subjective narrative is real.

Māyā in this sense is the lack of knowledge (avidyā) of the real Self, Atman-Brahman.

Māyā is twofold – also an epithet for the goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of "wealth, prosperity and love". In Buddhism māyā is one of twenty subsidiary unwholesome mental factors, responsible for deceit or concealment about the nature of things.. but also the name of Gautama Buddha's mother.

(The parallels with Mary are there if you look for them.)

 

[RJM]

Some people are so angry at this God they don't believe in, for not performing a dance for them, on their demand:

" But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented."
(Matt 11:16-17)

 

[muhammad_isa]

Some people are so angry at this God they don't believe in, for not performing a dance for them, on their demand:

..as if we are the only one that G-d cares about..
The problem with us humans, is that we often lack patience in adversity.
G-d is beyond need .. it is we that are in need.

 

[RJM]

..as if we are the only one that G-d cares about..
The problem with us humans, is that we often lack patience in adversity.
G-d is beyond need .. it is we that are in need.

I believe God sees only the soul. There's more than just this world. If it could be made into a perfect world, we'd have no need to be here -- it would be Eden. Sometimes prayer may be answered by having things we cling to stripped away. I don't remember where I read it: "From those whom the Gods love, they take away much. From those whom they love most, they take away everything."

Logging off now ...

 

[juantoo3]

... and then five minutes in, human nature being what it currently is, we'd be finding fault with God for this or that ... things being not quite as perfect as we'd like them to be.

LOL...and how often is "perfection" a moving target?

What if this world is perfect as it is? Things are as they should be, things are as they were intended.

I think about the wasp that paralyzes the spider and lays an egg, and the spider still alive waits to eventually become a meal for the larvae. Or the scorpion that digests its food outside of its mouth before consuming it. Or the Komodo Dragon that breaks the legs of the baby deer one at a time before finishing it off to enjoy the meal...any one of its bites poisonous enough to kill in due time.

Who are we to say what exactly "perfection" is? Who are we to dare to tell G!d that He screwed up?

 

[Faithfulservant]

People are not going to understand what I'm about to say unless they have a close personal relationship with God as I know it. My daughter has had two miscarriages the second happened recently and it was identical twins.

Needless to say I was very upset and I was throwing a bit of an emotional tantrum asking God why?? Out loud.

He very deliberately calmly and sternly told me "it is not for you to question me" I stopped dead in my tracks because it could only be explained as IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO QUESTION ME.

Ok Daddy I'm sorry. So yeah I learned a very important reminder that His ways are higher than mine and no sirree I won't question the whys anymore.

 

[juantoo3]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. That is very sad.

 

[TheLightWithin]

People are not going to understand what I'm about to say unless they have a close personal relationship with God as I know it. My daughter has had two miscarriages the second happened recently and it was identical twins.

Needless to say I was very upset and I was throwing a bit of an emotional tantrum asking God why?? Out loud.

He very deliberately calmly and sternly told me "it is not for you to question me" I stopped dead in my tracks because it could only be explained as IT IS NOT FOR YOU TO QUESTION ME.

Ok Daddy I'm sorry. So yeah I learned a very important reminder that His ways are higher than mine and no sirree I won't question the whys anymore.

Condolences to your family for the loss.