let quote you a news item I saw in this morning's paper:
FAYETTEVILLE, NC—Parishioners at the First Presbyterian Church were left stunned and in awe of His glory Sunday, when the Lord God Almighty dropped by their 11 a.m. service unannounced.
Interrupting Pastor Terry Pridgen's sermon on His unending mercy, God appeared suddenly before His flock as an intense beam of white light, instantly dispersing the earthly forms of those seated in the first two pews. Sources said the remaining congregants had to avert their eyes from their Creator, whose booming celestial voice overwhelmed their worldly senses and humbled their hearts as He politely apologized for not calling first.
"I AM the God of Abraham, the LORD MOST HIGH, who brought you forth from the bondage of Egypt," God said unto church members, many of whom cowered in reverent fear of Him. "Thought I'd just pop in and see how things were going. Please, pretend like I'm not even here."
The Supreme Being then thanked the choir for its "lovely introduction" and took a seat to the right of the altar.
According to wholly repentant witnesses, who were scarcely able to look upon the Alpha and Omega, much less conceive of the enormity of His Might, God did not speak again for the entirety of the service, but was seen nodding approvingly during the Nicene Creed.
Attendees reportedly did not ask the One Who Made Them Flesh why He had chosen to visit their small parish, though some suspected the church's new electric organ might have had something to do with it.
"I don't think anyone knew He was coming," said churchgoer Ron Stiehl, adding that, for once, he was happy his wife dragged him to church. "At least it seemed that way when He started walking toward us and everyone was yelling their heads off like it was Judgment Day."
"Turns out the King of Kings was just making the rounds," Stiehl continued. "I thought He'd be taller."
While God did not reveal unto man a reason for His visit—nor did He, in His great wisdom, offer to pay for the six stained-glass windows that shattered from the awesome power of His presence—the Almighty sat among His followers for the last 35 minutes of the Sunday service, as well as the free coffee and pastries that followed.
Sources said that Our Father sat alone eating two cinnamon-sugar doughnuts, and was approached only once, when 5-year-old Jeremy Pacheco tried to hug the omnipotent deity. The boy's parents immediately yanked him away.
The other 112 church members avoided God entirely, and reacted to His continued stay with a mix of astonishment, confusion, fearful reverence, and the sublime inner peace that comes with the knowledge of a power greater than oneself.
"I wanted to ask the Lord what heaven is like, and if my mother is there, but I wasn't sure if it's still considered taking His name in vain when you address Him directly," Wendy Alston said. "And I didn't dare draw attention to myself with two teenagers wearing blue jeans to church. I could barely look at Him, I was so ashamed."
"Oh dear God," said 72-year-old church volunteer Michael Sharpe, completely enraptured by the materialization of the One True Creator before his very eyes. "Oh, dear God in heaven."
Since the Almighty's decision to stop by the First Presbyterian Church, the theological world has been thrown into chaos. Presbyterian leaders said God's appearance was indisputable proof that their denomination is the one true faith, but afternoon sightings of the Lord at two other Fayetteville churches, as well as one synagogue, have cast doubt on that theory.
"God said He just wanted to see what we were up to," Pastor Pridgen said. "This is His house, after all. He can drop in whenever He wants."
"Although, you'd think an all-knowing deity unbound by time and space would be able to give us some warning so we could at least put a bulletin in the church newsletter," the pastor added. "Not that I'm complaining or anything. All praise be to God. Is He still hanging around the parking lot?
Originally posted by Bosse de NageIt can be said that in the states of altered consciousness brought about by various spiritual practices including yoga, worship, and meditation (and occasionally by themselves!) the mind develops the capacity and power to see or experience the basic building blocks of the universe - the subatomic particles - without external aid of sophisticated gadgetry.
I enjoy the Hindu take on things, but it's a little complex to follow beyond the initial intuitive wow moment. I mean, to take a random example: http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/a89.html
It's no good just reading about it. Somehow this stuff has to be realised.
http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/a89.html
Ridiculous.
Originally posted by AThousandYounghey, give put a lid on it
It can be said that in the states of altered consciousness brought about by various spiritual practices including yoga, worship, and meditation (and occasionally by themselves!) the mind develops the capacity and power to see or experience the basic building blocks of the universe - the subatomic particles - without external aid of sophisticated gadgetry.
http://www.geocities.com/neovedanta/a89.html
Ridiculous.
some people clearly are more particular than others
Originally posted by buckkyIt may be of interests to the discussion that the Bible describes God as being abundant in dynamic energy
Have you ever thought about how everything is made up of Atoms, and in that way everything is alive in a sense? If atoms are the buiding blocks of the universe then maybe God is what atoms are ? Everything is God !! The Hundus already think this. Maybe they are right.
“Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power, not one of them is missing. - Isaiah 40:26
thus it leaves no great stretch of the imagination that the universe is but a manifestation of energy in the form of matter, it being formed through the power of the one who created these things. Perhaps those who are interested in science could confirm this scriptural truth!
Originally posted by robbie carrobieIf the Bible quoted 'protons, neutrons or electrons' then i'd get a bit more excited.
It may be of interests to the discussion that the Bible describes God as being abundant in dynamic energy
“Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of [b]dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in po ...[text shortened]... these things. Perhaps those who are interested in science could confirm this scriptural truth![/b]
My faeces has 'dynamic energy', doesn't mean it created the universe though.
It has been argued by the most prominent rationalist substance philosopher that god would be a being with infinitely many attributes, each of which would be itself infinite, and on which no limits of any kind could be imposed.
There could thus be only one such substance in which everything else is wholly contained. This is almost pure monism, where "whatever is, is in god." Consciousness or deliberation as we understand it would be both unnecessary and unknowable. Everything that occurs would be causally determined as following by logical necessity from immutable natural laws. Because there is no other substance, god's actions can never be influenced by anything else.
Thus, the universe is completely intelligible--everything can be rationally explained. This leads directly to a commitment to an ontological argument for the deity's existence, and to a denial of contingency in the world.
Originally posted by FabianFnasThe big bang is a theory.
If a rule has exceptions then it's not a really a rule, only a arbitrary statement meaning nothing.
The fact can as well be that the universe created itself at the moment of BigBang, therefore no god needed. Call it a rule, call it exception, call it whatever, but I don't call it religion because the theory of BigBang is science.
Originally posted by black beetleThe crystallization of Keter inside you. Martial Arts. Meditation. Satori. Awareness. Getting to know yourself. Sacrifice. Life. Death. The core of each bardo. A new born baby that just cried. Collapsing the wavefunction. Yin Yang. Triskelion. Every breath. Opposition. The sudden understanding that you are mortal but you act as immortal. The very first move of the White. All them there explosions are awaiting for you to spot the Harmony, for starters.
Orgasm😵
Explosion looks to me just another way that drives to harmony through dynamics and potential, leaving aside the fact that, even if Big Bang was indeed an explosion the way you perceive it, we are still swirling in the swirls that it caused. And swirling itself is harmony and harmony is the result of Love my trusty feer Rabbie😵
Originally posted by black beetleLol, ok point conceded, but its just so annoying to have persons smugly pontificate that because something is a 'scientific' theory, that it is both observable and factual, simply on the basis that its supposed to be 'scientific', when quite clearly we observe something quite contrary in nature, orgasms aside! thus if one is supposed to perceive that the creation of the universe was a cosmic 'explosion', then one must admit, that it was a controlled explosion, or at very least and extremely 'lucky', one.
Orgasm😵
Originally posted by robbie carrobieWhat do you mean by a lucky universe?
... if one is supposed to perceive that the creation of the universe was a cosmic 'explosion', then one must admit, that it was a controlled explosion, or at very least and extremely 'lucky', one.
Why do you mean by the 'explosion' must be controlled in any way?
If so, by whom?
Originally posted by robbie carrobieFirst of all the Big Bang theory is not about an explosion equivalent to say a bomb, but rather a rapid expansion of space itself, so drawing any parallel to say a bomb is not enough to make any hard and fast conclusions.
thus if one is supposed to perceive that the creation of the universe was a cosmic 'explosion', then one must admit, that it was a controlled explosion, or at very least and extremely 'lucky', one.
Secondly, all events of any kind are controlled by the laws of physics and I see no reason to believe that the Big Bang was an exception.
Why do you think it was 'lucky'?
And as for harmony, I see no signs of that in the universe except perhaps in the sound of the explosions going on inside the engine of a Ferrari.
Originally posted by robbie carrobieYou mean it's annoying to have people refute what you believe in the name of science. But this is what will happen when you believe in the stories from the Bible.
Lol, ok point conceded, but its just so annoying to have persons smugly pontificate that because something is a 'scientific' theory, that it is both observable and factual, simply on the basis that its supposed to be 'scientific', when quite clearly we observe something quite contrary in nature, orgasms aside! thus if one is supposed to perceive that ...[text shortened]... admit, that it was a controlled explosion, or at very least and extremely 'lucky', one.