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"God" is Love. If I simply accept love as the most important and powerful force for good in this life and I don't try to define "God" much beyond that, I'm usually good to go.
Sometimes, given the nature of love, it makes sense to me to think of God/Love as the all-encompassing Consciousness from Which all things have their existence and Which has an agenda and purpose for the Universe that will have an end result that is, well, Loving. Othertimes, it makes much less sense in my mind to think of it in such a "spiritual" way and my mind-set is more natural/materialist.
So, I'm a fence sitter, who is pretty content to simply stay focused on cooperating with Love in my life and let the chips fall where they may.
Coming from my background (christian) it is often helpful for me, personally, to think of God/Love interchangably since I am in a constant state of flux about my beliefs about the existence of a god. That's all I was sharing in my post ... my personal thoughts and understanding (or lack thereof). I'm not expecting that everyone has to, or will, agree with my definition of "God". It's just how I see things.
"God" is Love. If I simply accept love as the most important andpowerful force for good in this life and I don't try to define "God" much beyond that, I'm usually good to go.
Sometimes, given the nature of love, it makes sense to me to think of God/Love as the all-encompassing Consciousness from Which all things have their existence and Which has an agenda and purpose for the Universe that will have an end result that is, well, Loving. Othertimes, it makes much less sense in my mind to think of it in such a "spiritual" way and my mind-set is more natural/materialist.
So, I'm a fence sitter, who is pretty content to simply stay focused on cooperating with Love in my life and let the chips fall where they may.
Thanks for sharing this, Pleroo.
I believe similarly, except IMO, a major aspect of love (the most important & powerful force for good) is defining it in each circumstance.
IE: Parents want their child to be happy, but if they tried to make their child happy every moment, they'd both be miserable.
Love is wanting & striving for what is best, through trial & error.
Many times we don't know what is best, or we do know, but at the moment, we let our passions dictate.
Sometimes love means cooperating, sometimes it means fighting!
Intuition & logic, in harmony, help define how best to love in each circumstance.
Thanks for sharing this, Pleroo.
I believe similarly, except IMO, a major aspect of love (the most important & powerful force for good) is defining it in each circumstance.
IE: Parents want their child to be happy, but if they tried to make their child happy every moment, they'd both be miserable.
Love is wanting & striving for what is best, through trial & error.
Many times we don't know what is best, or we do know, but at the moment, we let our passions dictate.
Sometimes love means cooperating, sometimes it means fighting!
Intuition & logic, in harmony, help define how best to love in each circumstance.
God is the omnipotent/omniscient being that created the Universe and set its physical constants. This concept allows for an absolute Truth, gratitude for existence, and meaning. Although as there is no incontrovertible proof of God's existence some feel that there is no reason to believe in such a being. Going on something like the notion of "logical truths" where things are only believed to exist if they must exist or can't not exist. There are things about God I believe, that are more specific to my religion, but I'll get into them later.
Spirituality initially referred to the soul and spirits. I would guess in particular a feeling of connection or concern for one's soul, angels, spirits, and so forth. In a secular sense I suppose "spirituality" can mean a concern for the things of the "soul" if by "soul" we simply mean the emotional side in one's nature or the "core" of one's identity as an individual. So there have been metaphysical-naturalist who deem themselves "spiritual" because they are deeply reflective, desire strong emotional connection to others, and look for or desire profound emotional or artistic experiences.
Still this is perhaps a little too non-specific. As a Catholic I might say God can not entirely be understood, but that De Summa Theologica and the Nicene Creed may give you a start. That spirituality concerns the Holy Spirit and the Soul. I feel I should add that I see love of God and Neighbor as important to spirituality. Therefore, in my personal view, atheists can't really be spiritual in the most proper sense of the term. (Although an atheist who loves something greater than Humanity, like Nature, and loves/cares-for other people might be close) Bringing up specific Christian terms might imply non-Christians can't be spiritual either, but I think I feel that in a way non-Christians can love God and Neighbor. I fear I'm muddled on the more specifics as I was worried on even mentioning them.
Coming from my background (christian) it is often helpful for me, personally, to think of God/Love interchangably since I am in a constant state of flux about my beliefs about the existence of a god. That's all I was sharing in my post ... my personal thoughts and understanding (or lack thereof). I'm not expecting that everyone has to, or will, agree with my definition of "God". It's just how I see things.
Yes, I was absolutely asking you. Thanks for the clarification. I can understand why, given your background, that you have not completely walked away from the idea of a "god".
Thanks!
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...who or what is God... TO YOU?
