God and Purpose

An examination of the possibilities of what God might be, and what these possibilities mean with regard to the meaning and purpose of our lives.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• God
• religion
• philosophy
• pantheism
• monism
• naturalism
• advaita
• atheism

[iZenBuddha]

God is in the rain.

[MenoftheInfinite]

God *is* the rain.

[NoAddedAnything]

Kevin may i ask, what is your view of Jesus? (if any). Do you think he spoke of the 'father' as meaning nature or the tao? but just using the religious language he knew at the time?

[MenoftheInfinite]

I think the content of the Gospel of Thomas answers this question. It's a great read.

[TheImmanent]

@cartoonhead5 That's an illogical assumption; the direct logic would suggest that to be unconscious of something there must be something else to be conscious of. This is also what makes us differ from the divine mind, since our ability to be unconscious of things makes us conceive of time, or change, while the infinite mind is conscious in timelessness, i.e., aware of its own pristine nature. You point to the problem of existence in relations or as an absolute, which I have discussed with Kevin.

[cartoonhead5]

@TheImmanent The all is not conscious because to be conscious you need something else to be conscious of.

[TheImmanent]

@Kevin To be self-defined is the same as not to be created at all, since cause and effect is merely the interaction between the array of mutually dependent things, i.e., things that do not exist out of their own essence (indeed the concept of creation, cause and effect etc, cannot be applied to the uttermost thing). Your chief error seems to be that you try to analyze the absolute by the standards of the finite, yet cause and effect, or time, is nothing but the observation of a finite mind.

[KevinSolway]

@TheImmanent Consciousness might be self-defined, yet it is not self-created. Consciousness is dependent on that which creates it. Consciousness can only define things once it is created/caused.

[tomek92pl]

@MenoftheInfinite God is *not* the rain. The rain is God, a part of it. by saying that God is rain, by some way, it states that every other thing is not. Every single thing/thought/action/ect is God, all at once. Every single object/thought/action/etc itself, is just an emanation of God. Am I right? Or did i got it wrong?

[TheImmanent]

Correction: [...] Since the essence of a thing does *not* specify an amount of said thing that which is self-defined is necessarily infinite [...]

[TheImmanent]

That consciousness is necessarily finite is a postulate which you establish because you approach it from the things you are consciouss of rather than itself. I on the other hand would claim that, since consciousness is only knowable through itself, i.e., only consciousness knows consiousness etc, it is an essence self-defined. Since the essence of a thing does specify an amount of said thing that which is self-defined is necessarily infinite, i.e., there is an aspect of consciousness to the All.

[ThomasDega]

An excellent video. While I have never been comfortable with the term GOD as it defined differently by every individual, I came to the conclusion that the universe itself in its entirety was the closest to being the ´all mighty' or all everything.

The universe itself is alive as we are all a infinitessimal part of it

[jamesmk2003]

You have a long beard. You just need a robe and you can be a guru. You know what guru is right? Guru is the parrot that talk a lot. All he talks is not of his knowledge but other people knowledge. Oh Guru bless me please.

[jamesmk2003]

The purpose of my life is happiness.