First of all, thanks for trying to answer my questions but unfortunately you've raised more than you've answered.
Of course this is to be expected, but as long as the questions come as part of an earnest effort to understand, I do not find them unfortunate.
You claim there is One god...would this be the same one for Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc?
Reason tells me they are all different gods. My God is three persons/one essence. The Jewish God is one person/one essence, as with the Muslim god. As I cannot perceive the latter two gods, but only the former One, the latter two do not exist as far as I am concerned-- just as the former God does not exist as far as you are concerned.
Is there a devil?
Indeed there is.
…is Christ a god[?]
No. He is God Himself, manifested in flesh. And it is by precisely the same power that now links me to the other world such that I can descry it enough to live for it, that God was linked to this world through Christ such that we can descry God.
…are there lesser gods such as angels, archangels.
No. There is but One God. Angels are created beings.
How did you reach the conclusion that there is one god?
I did not reach this conclusion. I tell you the thing reached me. I don’t believe it. Indeed I cannot believe it while trapped in flesh. But God within me believes.
[did you reach this conclusion from your] childhood upbringing or did you learn it from personal study from something like the bible or koran or did you spend a lot of time lying on a beautiful hillside staring out at the universe?
None of the above. I was raised a heathen. Both my parents were rather eloquent heathens. Upon my conversion they were converted, almost at the same time.
Many famous men and women who don't believe are still living…
Well, I guess this is quite a matter of perspective. Nevertheless you mentioned the great men and women of history.
…and though you "ain't God", you seem to know him or her (is there a gender in your mind?) I think you'll agree that virtually all believers refer to god in the masculine sense.
I can’t claim to know all about God. And I can’t claim to have daily conversations with Him. Indeed, I’ve never conversed with Him, at least not in the human sense. I am afraid I am at a loss to explain it better to you. But I will try further. Something within me does the conversing, and yet I am not a passive, “automatonic” third party in the dialog. This thing is meshed to me such that it says to heaven what I wish to say. Or perhaps it rather helps me wish to say the right things and then says them to God on my behalf. However it happens, I descry a conversation of sorts occurs between God and me. And I interpret the Force I encounter as a Masculine Force. It is no doubt neither. I do the best I can with It.
OK peace be with you if [your idea of God] is what you have concluded and if that's what gives you solace…
My conclusions don’t have much to do with it, I tell you. And a boundless God would be amongst the last things to give me solace. Dear me! I could not think of a more humanly incompatible thing than such a God. I am trying to look within me to detect the thing that links me to God and describe it to you. What I have said here is what I see.
…but your vision doesn't seem to come from any religious sources I am familiar with (and I am not familiar with many).
Well, maybe it is incompatible with your religious sources. No doubt many other religionists here would claim I have it all wrong. What of that? I cannot concern myself with them when I am staring right at the thing. It would be one thing were I making this stuff up, but I am telling you how it is.
I also noticed you referred to your utter boundless, like anything, including nothing god as he....
Yup. I refer to Him as “He” not merely because of human tradition, though tradition is no doubt an influence. I refer to Him as “He” also because He is a God of personality and His might and aloofness impress me as masculine. I am only trying to make some sense of a God I cannot yet know. But I certainly don’t think Him a man by any stretch of mind.
Sorry, but it's this sort of dogmatic speech that sounds so incredulous to me.....
I didn’t mean it to offend you. You asked questions, and I told you the truth as best I could under the circumstances.
and I don't mean to ridicule you, but thank you for trying.....
Anytime. |
