Who is God to you?

[_solomarineris]

For those of you that believe there is a God (or God's), who is God to you personally and why? How has this perception affected your life?

I'm even asking you to be a little gutsy here and throw a few pearls before the swine.

Flying Spagetti Monster
See Wikipedia for His validity and above all, His Creed!

[_Inconceivable]

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject.

I admit that at this time, I am much too angry to sense much more than a god of chaos/confusion. I felt much different about 10 years ago. I swore I felt his/it's influence when I administered to others. It had everything to do with charity (love), peace and balance. I see little to no similarity between the god I thought I was connected to and the one that much of the scriptures speak of. The words purported to have been spoken by Jesus seems to fit what I used to see God as.

Oddly, ever since I began to study the real history from LDS sources, I have felt forsaken by whatever or whoever I was influenced by.

Anyone else?

[_Tarski]

For those of you that believe there is a God (or God's), who is God to you personally and why? How has this perception affected your life?

I'm even asking you to be a little gutsy here and throw a few pearls before the swine.

I'm going to be serious for a moment this morning. Too much fun this weekend makes me bubbly...

So, when I was a child was the only time I actually believed in a supernatural God. He didn't really do anything.... Yet, I felt him. He was more like a companion of sorts, I suppose. When I was in need or trouble I talked to him -- felt a presence. I knew He was listening to me and watching me as assured as I am right now that someone will read these words. I was having numinous experiences as I stumbled about the magnificent beauty of the Japanese hills and oceans. I lost my belief in Japan, as well.

Later, as an adult, I searched for God to attempt to understand why on and off my entire life I could have a sensation (if I allow myself to get into that state) of being enveloped or elevated in some odd sense -- calm, peaceful, on a higher plane almost. I was looking to understand how I could feel this way and yet not actually believe in God. It was rather maddening, for me. I felt quite conflicted and would attempt to quell the emotions or states that I can go to because I was, at times, afraid God truly did exist and I denied him.

So, this last year I found myself seeking comfort on my knees -- I hadn't done that since I was about 10 years old. The only assurance and comfort I received was from my fellow man. God, to me, is humanity and how we kill arbitrarily, how we prey upon each other, how we deny rights to others -- and sometimes, every so often when we recall that it's just us and we are here to uplift each other.

Sometimes what you write is so human and real that it's like someone opened the window and let air into a stuffy room that had been stuffy so long I stopped noticing until being surprised by the cool new air.
(For what its worth.)

[_Moniker]

Thank you.

:)

[_moksha]

The Universal Superbeing. The harbinger of life and hope. The Increate.
I really do not know much about the proposed Pantheon, but I do not
oppose it.

[_Tarski]

To me God is a presence of light and subtle intelligent complexity and beauty manifest in nature and all else that may be. He/she permeates everything and is yet there to comfort and give hope in a personal way if needed.
(of course, I didn't say he/she literally exists outside of the human heart and mind).

The Bible god is another thing altogether (but also not real).

[_Sam Harris]

Thanks for your thoughts on the subject.

I admit that at this time, I am much too angry to sense much more than a god of chaos/confusion. I felt much different about 10 years ago. I swore I felt his/it's influence when I administered to others. It had everything to do with charity (love), peace and balance. I see little to no similarity between the god I thought I was connected to and the one that much of the scriptures speak of. The words purported to have been spoken by Jesus seems to fit what I used to see God as.

Oddly, ever since I began to study the real history from LDS sources, I have felt forsaken by whatever or whoever I was influenced by.

Anyone else?

I think there is a good deal of credence to what you say and feel. Perhaps it's that you looked for God in ritutal and community, as you were trained to do, rather than within yourself. I don't think that there are many who are raised from infancy to seek out their own spiritual path, rather society is set up to teach us to follow in the paths of those who came before us, and a great deal of society these days takes comfort in and instruction from organized religion. I believe that if you really want to reach "God", you have to eventually follow your own path. For some the big questions are simply too big to ponder, and they are satisfied with the answers that a religious community gives them. Then there are others, like yourself, who wish to know more.

To me, the path to finding "God" is a very difficult one. The reason being is because no other individual has the complete answers for your situation, you can only piecemeal from the sources you find. So I guess the question is, what do you want God to be in your life, if you want "God" in your life at all? The choice is yours, and I do not think there is any "wrong" answer, except the conclusion which would influence you to disparage others.

I'm probably not really being very clear, but these are the thoughts running through my head at the moment. I remember feeling abandoned by God when I was questioning the church, I flat out said, "God is not my refuge". But when my perception of God changed, and left the realm of what everyone else had defined God to be, I found refuge again. To me spirituality is an ever-changing thing. I'm still in flux, and comfortable with changing my belief system as I gain new knowledge. The journey is for me and about my peace, not for anyone else or about their views.

[_Inconceivable]

The Bible god is another thing altogether (but also not real).

All my life I somehow overlooked the obvious that the kind and loving God I thought I felt could not posibly be the one spoken of and referred to as the God of particularly the Old Testament.

I have been unable to reconcile this. If what I felt was not the God of the Old Testament (or the sender of angels with flaming swords), that entity has not done a particularly good job at defending itself or its true nature.

That is why I asked.

We as humans may come to his defence, but what message has he sent to you personally that he is kind and loving and worth defending? What message has he given you that he isn't the God of man's scriptures?

Does this question make sense?

[_Inconceivable]

I remember feeling abandoned by God when I was questioning the church, I flat out said, "God is not my refuge". But when my perception of God changed, and left the realm of what everyone else had defined God to be, I found refuge again. To me spirituality is an ever-changing thing. I'm still in flux, and comfortable with changing my belief system as I gain new knowledge. The journey is for me and about my peace, not for anyone else or about their views.

That hits a note, Sam.

[_Sam Harris]

The God of the Bible is not necessarily my God. People keep overlooking the fact that MEN wrote the Bible, and in so doing placed upon the idea of God their own prejudices. When reading the Bible I happily cherry pick those things which to me constitute the highest good.

In dealing with questions about religious belief, I am often deeply puzzled by two things.

1. Why is it not really truly realized that men wrote the Bible? If this was consciously realized, then the subject of who the God of the Old Testament is would be moot, becuase it would be known that this representation was man-made.

2. Why is it that people tend to want to blame God based on what is in religious texts (that they're not supposed to believe in anyway) for what free-will possessing men and women do?