Sunday Stream (135) ~ The Great Dilemma

Poetic insight & philosophy by Cecil Lee.

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mtmynd
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Sunday Stream (135) ~ The Great Dilemma

Post by mtmynd » August 26th, 2007, 12:05 pm

The Great Dilemma
Gawd! This current splash of using the word 'god' to uphold anyone's behavior is becoming more and more ridiculous. "God told me...", "God said..." and I've even heard "God grabbed me by the ears and ....". But yet I've yet to hear anyone say what this God looks like. No description of this Being that is referred to as "He". How can that be?

Those that say "God told them" must hear a male voice, but yet if this God spoke to them, wouldn't it follow that the one being spoken to would see this God in some form or the other? Or do those that hear God only hear someone speaking between their ears? Do women that hear God telling them to behave in such and such a manner hear a feminine voice?

To further and to the ridiculousness of hearing God is the 'no questions asked' response from those that hear God speaking... those and the people that listen to those that claim this God has spoken to them. Unless, of course, one who claims that God has spoken to them do something harmful and unsociable. These people can easily be called 'crazy' for if God truly spoke to them, surely God would not tell them to murder someone. That would be ungodly, for god's sake.

So why do we, the collective us, stop in our tracks and pay attention to those that preach "God's words"? It's become so out of hand that anyone that reads a Bible or Koran or even the Torah daily is somehow infused with knowing what God demands of us. Preachers are a dime a dozen, but yet anyone that is called one of many names suggesting their importance with this God is listened to as if they themselves are the all-knowing, omniscient Beings that were personally selected by God himself to spread His words like seeds across the fields of the earth. No questions asked. If the listener dare question the preacher's word it would be an affront to God and that scares the bejesus out of the conditioned. Unless this preacher would suggest that God okayed something that was not written in the preacher's holy book. God wrote the words himself... you gotta believe that. Whether they were the Torah, the Holy Bible or the Koran... it was none other than God himself that wrote the words for all to obey. Believe it or go to Hell, bastards!

Nonsense! As our world grows smaller through technological advances (rapid travel, instant communications) the clash of these three major religions, Judaism, Christianity and Muslim-ism, grows even closer and closer. But this closeness does not bring comfort by any means. Quite the contrary. They repel each other. Put closer together through technology, the ability to observe their differences becomes magnified. They may appear slight to some and vastly different to others.. such is the nature of duality. But as long as there isn't a commonality amongst them, the issue becomes problematic. Hell, this is for God, for Allah, for chrissake! Make no mistake about it. To the devout of any of these three religions, the other two are wrong! When it comes to God there is only ONE, and to Hell with anyone that disagrees with the chosen path of 'their religion.' 'They' know! They have had communications with God and He told them that their religion is the only way.

Nonsense! Nobody questions. Millions of people frightened to near death because they were conditioned to believe that their religion, one of these three - Jewish, Christian or Muslim, have the only answers to live a righteous life. And to add to that, this righteous life of these faithful kill, murder and maim not only the non-believers of their religions, but kill, murder and maim those within their own religions because of interpretations... "God said this and it means ..." "No! God's words mean this, not that!" and so on....

And we have the opposite extreme - the people that refute anything that suggests a God. It's really no wonder. If anybody observes what these major religions have done, what they have created, it is easily understandable why there is this duality. There is no Oneness within religions despite their preachings and teachings of One, an Absolute... God. And so the agnostic has no proof of this god that they grew up hearing about and the atheist who simply believes there is no god whatsoever. Again, perfectly understandable that there are atheists - given the diversity of opinions amongst religions, who is right? Agnostics, atheists, theists... three belief systems, but which to believe? They each believe, but they're not in synch in believing in (a) god. They can all agree that the temperature is hot or cold. They can all agree that the sun rose today. But mention the G-word... sorry! no agreement on that.
[Note: Why do Muslim women cover their bodies but not their faces, unless they choose or are forced to wear the burka? It has been discovered thru a recent test:

Women and men were tested on visual response to erotic photographs that depicted sexual act to make clear the nature of sexual urges and its influence on health. The tests were made using eye-tracking technology that show the visual focus on various body parts. It was supposed that typical response to sexual stimuli would be women looking at faces and men looking at genitals. However, the results were unexpected and quite the opposite. Women were more attracted at sexual acts first and men would pay their attention at faces.

Sounds counter-productive to me.]
link: http://www.infoniac.com/science/men-loo ... there.html
The Word! But is it really..? In Spanish it is not 'The Word" but "La Palabra," in German it's not The Word, but "Wort" and so on. If 'The Word' is truly 'The Word' why all these other words. No consensus.

And 'no consensus' is all we really have when it comes to 'God'. Despite the qualities we (the collective 'we') have given to (our) God(s), the fact is : there is no consensus, no agreement, no harmony amongst the religions. They are all opinions. Opinions based upon other's words, other's meanings, other's ideas and interpretations. No consensus.

The great dilemma: how does the enlightened enlighten the unenlightened without igniting the flames confusion that cloud the inner light?


cecil
26 august 2007
no dilemma emma

Image
:wink:

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Arcadia
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Post by Arcadia » August 26th, 2007, 4:08 pm

is that art noveau? jaja!!!

relativism with "tolerance" or conscious or unconscious universalism with or without "tolerance"? are they the only paths that ideas have to us? (it reminded me Montaigne and Montesquieu´s texts seeing by Todorov...!)
God never talked to me, maybe because I always felt the image a bit bizarre.., who knows!
I think for most of the people here religion is not more "the" topic. Which are "the" nowadays topic/belief (singular or plural) is a little difficult to say
But sure I have beliefs, and I can be sometimes terribly dogmatic not needing to talk about god´s words.

thanks for the stream, Cecil!!!
saludos,

Arcadia

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Artguy
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Post by Artguy » August 26th, 2007, 7:41 pm

In the wise words of Flip Wilson..."The devil made me do it..."

I think in the west we are desperate for a spiritual identity, as we don't have one of our own....it's so much easier to borrow someone elses, ie Jesus...makes it easier to call out the name of God or Jesus to rely on for answers we don't have ourselves.....

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Post by mtmynd » August 26th, 2007, 10:31 pm

Hola. Arcadia y gracias. Yes, that picture is actually named "Nouveau Mona"! hah!

Hi, artguy. I watched a 3-part series on CNN by Christiane Anampour (sp!) that was called "God's Warriors." Christians, Jews and Muslims were explored in their own 2 hour segment. That was the basis for this Stream... I kept going thru different aspects and was/am puzzled how these 3 major religions can be so defensive about their beliefs to the point that each has their own 'warriors' to defend these beliefs. It's all pretty much nonsense but violent as to what has become of these religions and even more worrisome as to where their differences will take them. But as the more wise has said, all things are as they should be... life is perfect. :wink:

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Post by mnaz » September 15th, 2007, 3:34 pm

The religions are in large part (though not entirely) self-serving, top-heavy institutions built upon enlightened teaching, though too often untrue to that enlightenment.

A religion should be all about individual reckoning, and not based on conquering the collective, and its metaphors of battling sin's threat to "right living" should be understood inwardly and not prosecuted concretely and often violently.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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mnaz
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Post by mnaz » September 15th, 2007, 7:33 pm

By the way, they are not just opinions... The faithful know the truth. As for lack of consensus? That's just the devil deceiving others... ahh... God bless the almighty duality!...Good and Evil!... God and Evil!

mtmynd
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Post by mtmynd » September 15th, 2007, 7:56 pm

mnaz: "The religions are in large part (though not entirely) self-serving, top-heavy institutions built upon enlightened teaching, though too often untrue to that enlightenment."

I agree... 'tis the case with most major religions, institutions that use their priests as interpreters of their 'leader's words" (buddha, jesus, et al). Religions have become nice little packages of business built upon the fears of followers who shudder and stutter before the eyes of god in fear of offending this most benevolent and loving spirit that only wishes to give, seeking nothing in return. No wonder there is atheism versus theism - neither side really knows that which their 'originators' knew and tried so kindly to impart.

To again quote you, amigo: "That's my story and I'm sticking to it." ;-)

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