i don't see gods

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
'Previously you implied that using the analogy 'torturing babies for fun' meant something was wrong with my 'noggin' until you realised the expression came exclusively from becker not me.'

We can therefore conclude you believe something is wrong with becker's noggin.

You think this is substantive?

What time is chow in the asylum?

Originally posted by @romans1009
You think this is substantive?

What time is chow in the asylum?

I'm glad you can joke about an asylum. Let's hope you never end up in one.

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
I'm glad you can joke about an asylum. Let's hope you never end up in one.

If I do, I hope I don’t have you as my bunk mate.

Originally posted by @romans1009
I’d hate to think the OP is that limited. What’s the point, then?

I started another thread at the same time as this one.

https://www.chessatwork.com/forum/spirituality/i-see-gods.175913

I told the truth, both times. I was hoping it would be fun to do that.

Originally posted by @romans1009
I’ve heard most mental health professionals get into the field because they’re nuts and trying to diagnose and cure themselves. ...

I've heard that too, but without the spin. People pursue what interests them, and introspective people are curious about how minds work. Especially when there is disconnect between what they understand and what is supposed to be considered normative.

Sometimes the person is nuts, lets say, and sometimes society is nuts. Sometimes both. But for every hannible lector there are ten thousand mental health professionals saner than you or me. This is because they educate themselves on the issue and so have knowledge of what they speak.

Originally posted by @ghost-of-a-duke
If a deity can not be seen and a given person has never 'felt' God's existence nor are they convinced by the 'evidence' available, is it not a reasonable position to disbelieve such a deity exists?

This is a great question and I am going to try to speak succinctly on it. Already, I wrote maybe 100 words that were all deleted because I do want to impress you with a decent answer. I have no delusion that you will be "blown away," lol, of course not, you are a very smart guy and I suspect that you have thought many deep things on the topic and have had this conversation with people smarter than me.

But still... Here is my proposal. I'll say it right away... I do expect it takes a lot of time. But it can happen. And yeah ,you need to do things, and it might not be fun always, but "seeking God" isn't just saying "Yeah, OK, I seek you," and do nothing for five years and then throw your hands up in despair. You are asking for a religious experience and a sign from God. You should be willing to do something, and to do something persistently, that puts you into the position of showing legitimate itnerest and desire beyond something casual.

Given an atheist, who does not believe in God, and is a materialist... I will freely admit that there is no way to prove logically the existence of God because logic is a set of parameters and reasonings that can reach different conclusions given different inclination, value systems, and epistemologies. So, let's completely abandon the notion of the argument that proves God.

And yes, you can never see God. Certainly.

And, we will also give that you have never felt God.

Yet, I want to prove to you that God exists. Because, surely, it would be unjust of God to withhold himself from people and then condemn them to hell. I understand.

The process I am telling you about takes time but it is worth doing because it is a giant question. Indeed, one could say that, in the context of its importance, it is the only question worth answering.

So we need to have a sequence upon which one can search for God and expect some kind of result. I am not totally qualified, and I am sure what I say will not be sufficient, but I have experienced God in my life, and this is what I would say.

Open your heart. You cannot do the following with a closed heart because it is essential and fundamental to feel God. Indeed, the nature of how to do the following depends on a proper mental state. The proper mental state is one that is open and receptive. Heed you, not receptive to suggestion, like being before a hypnotist or a preacher, but receptive to only the silence itself.

This means you should put away your atheism and every preconception about God that is negative or unbiblical, and whatever perception you might have of God should not be impugned with negativity that would be distracting.

Meditative prayer within a Christian tradition for fifteen minutes a day. This means that the goal should not be to seek emptiness as is often done in the east but it is to meditate on the word of God or God Himself. As you do not yet believe in God, it would be best to do so on Gospel texts.

Regular attendance of a solemn, traditional, introspective Christian service. I do not recommend Protestant ones, or ones that focus on some kind of modern music or feeling, because these do not give the same thing. Go to an Orthodox or Catholic or classic Anglican service that has some really quiet or repetitive aspects to it that put you into the mode of ceremony.

Of course, I recommend Orthodoxy.

Fast regularly. It is best to fast on Wednesdays & Fridays. Did you know that Christians have been fasting on Wednesdays & Fridays (no meat or dairy) since before there was a Bible?

You should also do a long, hard fast of maybe 30 to 60 days at some point. The Great Lent fasting is just beginning. It’s like 70 days.

The point of fasting is to purify yourself and to put your body into a non-indulgent position and to provide more discipline and clarity. OF course, during this time, you should never be drunk or smoke drugs.

Put yourself in this condition for six months or a year and I think you will have a moment where you will feel the presence of God and it will solve it all for you.

Originally posted by @philokalia
This is a great question and I am going to try to speak succinctly on it. Already, I wrote maybe 100 words that were all deleted because I do want to impress you with a decent answer. I have no delusion that you will be "blown away," lol, of course not, you are a very smart guy and I suspect that you have thought many deep things on the topic and have ha ...[text shortened]... you will have a moment where you will feel the presence of God and it will solve it all for you.

In order to maximize the possibility that Ghost of a Duke encounters the 'truth' about God, whatever that may be, and assuming there actually is a 'truth' about God that we humans can encounter and identify ~ and so that he does not simply go [perhaps without proper reflection] the same route as you have, as convinced as you may be about your own beliefs, specific denomination and all ~ do you recommend that Ghost of a Duke enter into a similar process for several other religions as well?

Originally posted by @philokalia
This is a great question and I am going to try to speak succinctly on it. Already, I wrote maybe 100 words that were all deleted because I do want to impress you with a decent answer. I have no delusion that you will be "blown away," lol, of course not, you are a very smart guy and I suspect that you have thought many deep things on the topic and have ha ...[text shortened]... you will have a moment where you will feel the presence of God and it will solve it all for you.

Mmm. No fasting for me, just simplicity.

Do you really think these gents will throw away a lifetime of knowledge ? C'mon, credit where credit is due ._.

Originally posted by @fmf
In order to maximize the possibility that Ghost of a Duke encounters the 'truth' about God, whatever that may be, and assuming there actually is a 'truth' about God that we humans can encounter and identify ~ and so that he does not simply go [perhaps without proper reflection] the same route as you have, as convinced as you may be about your own beliefs, speci ...[text shortened]... recommend that Ghost of a Duke enter into a similar process for several other religions as well?

Sure, that is completely fine and acceptable.

I was involved in some Eastern religious practicies for a decade. I did transcendental meditation and I even was into chanting Hare Krsna for a while. It's kind of embarrassing, really, but yeah, I did it.

I would say that the experiences I had in both of these, though, pushed me out of them fairly quickly, and I did not feel that their answers were adequate.

But, most certainly, people should pursue the answers that they want.

Originally posted by @philokalia
I was involved in some Eastern religious practicies for a decade. I did transcendental meditation and I even was into chanting Hare Krsna for a while. It's kind of embarrassing, really, but yeah, I did it.

It's kind of embarrassing, really, but yeah, I did it.

This is an interesting - and perhaps revealing - little quip. Ever so slightly gratuitous, I'd say. If there were any Hare Krsna adherents in this community, would you sneer at them in your posts?

As a matter of interest, what aspects of your Orthodoxy religionist stuff would you perhaps find "kind of embarrassing" if you were ever to leave it behind you and take up a different religion?

Originally posted by @fmf
[b]It's kind of embarrassing, really, but yeah, I did it.

This is an interesting - and perhaps revealing - little quip. Ever so slightly gratuitous, I'd say. If there were any Hare Krsna adherents in this community, would you sneer at them in your posts?

As a matter of interest, what aspects of your Orthodoxy religionist stuff would you perhaps find "kind of embarrassing" if you were ever to leave it behind you and take up a different religion?[/b]

I think that the Hare Krsna stuff is quite noble in many ways and I would not want to debase those folks but I would certainly say they are wrong. I find it embarrassing not because the content of this subsect of Hinduism is embarrassing but because it is so vastly distant from where I have ended up.

The Bhagavad-Gita is a beautiful book and I see why I got sucked into it.

... Of course, I don't think I'll eve rleave it and I am here to stay but I can answer that instantly...

The veneration and kissing of icons and the overly methodical & formulaic ceremonious-ness would definitely seem like an embarrassing thing and investment of time for anyone had they eventually turned apostate. Also, kissing the hands of Bishops & Priests would seem quite embarrassing too, I imagine.

That's kind of the thing about Orthodoxy, perhaps, and similar to Catholicism...

If you end up rejecting it, since the decorum, the ceremony, the veneration and genuflection to things is so grandiose I imagine it would immediately make you look back on that time like it was all a dream. You'd forever have those moements in your mind frozen where you were in full submission to a whole sort of Order & Superstructure and you'd feel like quite the "bootlicker" so to speak.

But yeah... There you go. That's me trying to answer and be objective for ya.

I cerrtainly don't think that'll happen but if I were to be on the otuside looking in again, that is what I would see and find most... compromising.

Originally posted by @philokalia
This is a great question and I am going to try to speak succinctly on it. Already, I wrote maybe 100 words that were all deleted because I do want to impress you with a decent answer. I have no delusion that you will be "blown away," lol, of course not, you are a very smart guy and I suspect that you have thought many deep things on the topic and have ha ...[text shortened]... you will have a moment where you will feel the presence of God and it will solve it all for you.

You are using the word “succinctly” incorrectly.

Originally posted by @philokalia
I find it embarrassing not because the content of this subsect of Hinduism is embarrassing but because it is so vastly distant from where I have ended up.

Why does something which you did not create, do not believe in and is “vastly different from yourself”, embarrass you?

Originally posted by @divegeester
You are using the word “succinctly” incorrectly.

Oh dear, my apologies. I have now looked up the word and I will try to be much more careful about this.

I am glad that you corrected me, brother, and may I not make the same mistake.

Blessings.

Originally posted by @philokalia
Oh dear, my apologies. I have now looked up the word and I will try to be much more careful about this.

I am glad that you corrected me, brother, and may I not make the same mistake.

Blessings.

Whoosh.