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I realize that religious people believe that they were created by God but what exactly is the purpose of this creation? That seems like such a basic question but I don't think the Bible really gives an answer, it just says that he created us. The skeptic in me looks at this question from another perspective. If a man was writing a book about the origins of humanity he wouldn't necessarily have to formulate a reason for why we needed to be created in the first place, he would instead just have to come up with an explanation about how it happened. Whether or not this explanation is accurate depends on your beliefs but I would think that anyone who is religious must have some thoughts about why our creation was necessary and what purpose it serves. Afterall, God is supposed to be perfect and we're supposed to be sinners, in fact the first batch was so bad he had to drown all of them so it seems like the creation of mankind wasn't such a great idea when you stop and think about it. Anyway, I was actually just reading Genesis, trying to find an explanation for our creation and I didn't see one. Why do you think God created us?
Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
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MontanaGuy
while focusing on some of the aspects of God trying to answer your question, I thought well, if Spirit is the original cause of everything, and in the beginning it was nothing but pure consciousness, existence and bliss, beyond duality, suffering, limitations such as space, time old age, jealousy, lust, greed, anger, and other traits commonly found in his creation, and he being the consciousness and energy beyond our lifes and own self awareness, I thought, that it must be difficult to remain in that state for eternity without anything to do, so God wanted to experience different states of consciousness as different, unique and individual beings, thus he created this universe in a way that all life and consciousness would slowly evolve back to the supreme Godhead state of consciousness, by slowly remembering it's divine origin, and working to awaken that image of God inside by the progressive cancellation of perturbations in our mind.
IMHO This creation is god's pastime, he is the producer, director and actors/actresses behind it.
I realize that religious people believe that they were created by God but what exactly is the purpose of this creation? That seems like such a basic question but I don't think the Bible really gives an answer, it just says that he created us. The skeptic in me looks at this question from another perspective. If a man was writing a book about the origins of humanity he wouldn't necessarily have to formulate a reason for why we needed to be created in the first place, he would instead just have to come up with an explanation about how it happened. Whether or not this explanation is accurate depends on your beliefs but I would think that anyone who is religious must have some thoughts about why our creation was necessary and what purpose it serves. Afterall, God is supposed to be perfect and we're supposed to be sinners, in fact the first batch was so bad he had to drown all of them so it seems like the creation of mankind wasn't such a great idea when you stop and think about it. Anyway, I was actually just reading Genesis, trying to find an explanation for our creation and I didn't see one. Why do you think God created us?
Sounds like "God" needed an appreciative audience to constantly applaud and compliment him. Anyone who doesn't play the "rabid fan" will be punished. "God" sounds like a bit of an egomaniac.
Well, I don't have THE ANSWER, but I do have my own perspective and understanding. I guess it comes from being a parent myself.
His desire and purpose of creating humans I relate to my own desire to have children. Why did I want to have children? Many reasons...to love, to be loved, to enjoy the process of watching them grow, and the list goes on and on.
I do expect my children to appreciate me, to show me respect, and to accept my guidance. I feel that God expects the same from all of us. That is what went wrong with Satan, and Adam and Eve- they didn't appreciate that God created them, they disrespected him, and showed that they refused his guidance by breaking his rule.
God is a loving creator who only wants what's best for us. It is humans who have turned their backs on God. God knows that there are faithful humans who do respect Him, and do welcome His guidance. That is why in history He has taken drastic measures to protect His children. That is why He'll do the same in the future. At the time of the flood he did preserve Noah and his family. Noah warned the others, but they chose not to heed the warning and yes, they drowned. Was God being cruel to those that drown, or loving towards the ones who were righteous?
The account of Noah actually provides a little insight on God's feelings at Genesis 6:5-8. The Earth was filled with badness, and God "had regrets that he had even made men in the earth, and he felt heart at his heart".
It hurt God to see men behaving so badly, but Noah found favor in the eyes of God. He could have destroyed ALL humans including Noah, but just that one man he saved (along with his family). Now that is loving.
As a parent I will protect my children. In the process of protecting my children, I may exhibit behaviors towards others that seem unloving and mean. For example, if you were to observe someone beating an animal, that person would appear to be cruel and inhumane. However, if you suddenly saw that the animal was biting a young child, you would have a different opinion of the person. You would understand that the person was in fact trying to protect that child. People seem to focus on God's actions when He was/is protecting His children and therefore say that God is mean and unloving. Instead I view it as just and loving.
So, *sigh*, I believe that God created us because he had the same desire we do as parents to have children.
Well, I don't have THE ANSWER, but I do have my own perspective and understanding. I guess it comes from being a parent myself.
His desire and purpose of creating humans I relate to my own desire to have children. Why did I want to have children? Many reasons...to love, to be loved, to enjoy the process of watching them grow, and the list goes on and on.
I do expect my children to appreciate me, to show me respect, and to accept my guidance. I feel that God expects the same from all of us. That is what went wrong with Satan, and Adam and Eve- they didn't appreciate that God created them, they disrespected him, and showed that they refused his guidance by breaking his rule.
God is a loving creator who only wants what's best for us. It is humans who have turned their backs on God. God knows that there are faithful humans who do respect Him, and do welcome His guidance. That is why in history He has taken drastic measures to protect His children. That is why He'll do the same in the future. At the time of the flood he did preserve Noah and his family. Noah warned the others, but they chose not to heed the warning and yes, they drowned. Was God being cruel to those that drown, or loving towards the ones who were righteous?
The account of Noah actually provides a little insight on God's feelings at Genesis 6:5-8. The Earth was filled with badness, and God "had regrets that he had even made men in the earth, and he felt heart at his heart".
It hurt God to see men behaving so badly, but Noah found favor in the eyes of God. He could have destroyed ALL humans including Noah, but just that one man he saved (along with his family). Now that is loving.
As a parent I will protect my children. In the process of protecting my children, I may exhibit behaviors towards others that seem unloving and mean. For example, if you were to observe someone beating an animal, that person would appear to be cruel and inhumane. However, if you suddenly saw that the animal was biting a young child, you would have a different opinion of the person. You would understand that the person was in fact trying to protect that child. People seem to focus on God's actions when He was/is protecting His children and therefore say that God is mean and unloving. Instead I view it as just and loving.
So, *sigh*, I believe that God created us because he had the same desire we do as parents to have children.
Maybe,God didn't realize that children grow up. That they form their own opinions and judgements and they may even decide their childhood was awful and that you sucked as a parent. They may decide everything you told them was wrong and a lie and never call or come see you. Children grow up and when they do, if they disagree with you and their upbringing you can't drown them or throw them into the fire.
Maybe,God didn't realize that children grow up. That they form their own opinions and judgements and they may even decide their childhood was awful and that you sucked as a parent. They may decide everything you told them was wrong and a lie and never call or come see you. Children grow up and when they do, if they disagree with you and their upbringing you can't drown them or throw them into the fire.
Why do you say that God sucked as a parent? That He lied?
It's not about just disagreeing. God created humans and knows what is best for us. He intended to govern us so that we would never suffer. Unfortunately, the first humans disagreed and thought they could do it better. He has given humans ample time to try to govern themselves. Do you think humans have done a good job?
I don't want to assume how you feel or what you have gone through personally, but it SOUNDS like you blame God for things that might have happened to you or that you just see around you in the world. The conditions we see today and the things we experience are not what God intended for us.
Some interesting responses. It still doesn't quite make sense to me why a God who is supposed to be all knowing would create human beings in the form of Adam and Eve if he knew beforehand they were going to screw up and cause this downfall of humanity. Why was this tree of knowledge put there in the Garden of Eden in the first place if the result was going to be so catastrophic? And if there was a serpent there to tempt Eve why did God create it or why didn't he kill the damn thing so that all of this turmoil could have been avoided? All of this doesn't seem believeable to me, not even close. I can see no reason why a God would create humanity if millions of people live lives of misery and despair. I also don't see the basic fairness of creating human beings, giving them the ability to be tempted and then having them suffer for eternity because they made the wrong choice. That seems sadistic and cruel. You always hear it said that the number of people who will go to heaven is just a small part of the population so these are the fortunate ones but what about the overwhelming majority who are supposed to suffer eternal damnation? Why would he have created them in the first place, to see them suffer?
Why do you say that God sucked as a parent? That He lied?
It's not about just disagreeing. God created humans and knows what is best for us. He intended to govern us so that we would never suffer. Unfortunately, the first humans disagreed and thought they could do it better. He has given humans ample time to try to govern themselves. Do you think humans have done a good job?
I don't want to assume how you feel or what you have gone through personally, but it SOUNDS like you blame God for things that might have happened to you or that you just see around you in the world. The conditions we see today and the things we experience are not what God intended for us.
You need to read from post #24 forward so you can understand the context of the discussion and what post I am answering. And to answer your question- I'm a grown women. I would rather govern myself badly and learn from my mistakes than be governed by anyone or anything else. Independent people with a mind and will of their own don't generally like to be governed or intimidated with threats or bribed with promises. Weak, dependent, frightened and spiritless people may be OK with that.
Some interesting responses. It still doesn't quite make sense to me why a God who is supposed to be all knowing would create human beings in the form of Adam and Eve if he knew beforehand they were going to screw up and cause this downfall of humanity. Why was this tree of knowledge put there in the Garden of Eden in the first place if the result was going to be so catastrophic? And if there was a serpent there to tempt Eve why did God create it or why didn't he kill the damn thing so that all of this turmoil could have been avoided? All of this doesn't seem believeable to me, not even close. I can see no reason why a God would create humanity if millions of people live lives of misery and despair. I also don't see the basic fairness of creating human beings, giving them the ability to be tempted and then having them suffer for eternity because they made the wrong choice. That seems sadistic and cruel. You always hear it said that the number of people who will go to heaven is just a small part of the population so these are the fortunate ones but what about the overwhelming majority who are supposed to suffer eternal damnation? Why would he have created them in the first place, to see them suffer?
It is all very fascinating to me. From what I understand in the Bible, it doesn't just end with misery and suffering for humans or eternal torment.
Have you ever endured some trial, and when you get through to the other side you realize that you HAD to go through the trial to get to the place you are now? Sometimes things don't get better until they get worse? Whether or not God knew what would happen in the Garden of Eden, I don't know...but if he knows what happens in the future then he sees that the future holds good things for the righteous.
As for the unrighteous, they have the freedom to choose...just like in Noah's day. Ultimately God can read people's hearts, so he knows who is truly righteous and unrighteous.
My other thought is this, isn't it nice to know that someone wants to be with you or be your friend because that is their choice? When you find a mate, it is a better relationship when they truly want to be in a relationship with you, as opposed to feeling pressured or obligated. Sure God could have created us as robots who mindessly follow the rules. Like living in black in white. God gives us free will as a gift and along with that comes the ability to choose whether or not we will respect his authority. Yes, there are consequences if we choose to not respect his authority. He wants us to choose to respect him.
I think the current state of the world just goes to show that humans need to submit to some sort of authority above human authority to have global peace and unity. So for the benefit of the greater good, I'm glad that God will step in and make this world a better place.
That's one reason I never thought the teachings that we go to heaven or hell when we die made a whole lot of sense. What happens to the earth? Crime just gets worse, the earth just gets more and more destroyed? The Bible clearly talks about the earth lasting forever, that God will restore the earth...like in the "Lord's prayer"- Matt 6:10 "...Let your will take place in heaven, also upon the earth."
You need to read from post #24 forward so you can understand the context of the discussion and what post I am answering. And to answer your question- I'm a grown women. I would rather govern myself badly and learn from my mistakes than be governed by anyone or anything else. Independent people with a mind and will of their own don't generally like to be governed or intimidated with threats or bribed with promises. Weak, dependent, frightened and spiritless people may be OK with that.
I don't think I misunderstood the context of the discussion. I'm also a grown woman, independent, with a mind and will of my own. I don't feel bribed or threatened. I simply respect that there is a God who created me and knows how to govern humans better than any human could.
Do you submit to the local and national authorities to maintain order and safety in our society? It's the same thing. I recognize that humans need to submit to God's authority to have order and safety.
What you are describing sounds more like a rebellious attitude.
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