the seven faces of God

[Masero]

Originally Posted by Rust

You think I'm a pain in the ass? Neat. Who gives a shit?

You did answer him... obviously you do.

[Rust]

Originally Posted by Masero

You did answer him... obviously you do.

Answering someone means you give a shit what they think of you? No, it does not.

It might mean I care enough about answering someone else's question (which is not the same as his opinion of me) to respond; which is to say not much at all since that reply took me less than 4 seconds to make.

[redzed]

Another great thread suffocating due to squabbling!

Arms the number seven is usually interpreted as representative of perfection. Obviously the universe is infinite and any description of divinity would also be infinite, why then does the human mind need to 'see' a face? What is it that drives one to know?

BP I was illustrating the point that the Greek could also be read as reason. Not suggesting the xian god is logic, rather that the precursors of xianity saw reason as the highest principle. Ignore the supernatural external for a moment and think of what is the highest or controlling principle of your mind, what is it?

[Hexadecimal]

Originally Posted by Rust

Answering someone means you give a shit what they think of you? No, it does not.

It might mean I care enough about answering someone else's question (which is not the same as his opinion of me) to respond; which is to say not much at all since that reply took me less than 4 seconds to make.

But now you're defending your self as if there is something wrong about caring what people think of you in the first place, and that's certainly not grounded in logic.

[Rust]

Except I wasn't defending myself because I think there is something wrong about caring what people think of me in the first place.

[jb_mcbean]

Originally Posted by ArmsMerchant

"if you don't make yourself equal to God, you can't perceive God." -- anonymous third-century Christian heretic

It has been noted here numerous times that we have different perceptions of God. We create our own reality--as the Veda puts it, "We are not in the world, the world is in us." Same thing with God.

Deepak Chopra posits that there are seven faces, or levels of God. If your God is first-level, you will not communicate well with someone whose God is seventh-level, for instance. Since God is infinite, he/she/it/them/whatever can manifest to us with equal validity at any level, depending on our own level of spiritual development--no one is any "better' than any other.

Level one -- God the protector --this is best recognized as the God of the Old Testament, the God which AF ( I think) and I both reject. This god is vengeful, capricious, quick to anger, jealous, judgemental, unfathomable and (sometimes) merciful.

Level two -- God the almighty --this is, I think, the God of Catholicism in general and the Jesuits in particular, being soverign, omnipotent, just, the answerer of prayers, impartial, rational, organized into rules.

Level three -- God of Peace -- This God is maybe a little more Hindu than Christian--as an Indian guru once said "You believe that you were created to serve God, but in the end you may discover tha God was created to serve you." This god is detached, calm, offering consolation, undemanding, conciliatory, silent, meditative.

Level four -- God the redeemer -- this God leans more toward the pagan conception of Goddess, having strong qualities we typically associate with the feminine. This God is understanding, tolerant, forgiving, nonjudgemental, inclusive and accepting.

Level five -- God the creator --One finds this god when intuition becomes so powerful that it must manifest physically. This is the level at which shamans and psychics typically work. This god is of unlimited creative potential, has control over space and time, abundant, open, generous, willing to be known, and
inspired.

Level six -- god of miracles -- This is the level of some saints, among the dozens of whom who could levitate, be in two places at once, emit light from their bodies at prayer, and do healings. This god is transformative, mystical, enlightened, beyond all causes, existing, magical, healing--an alchemist. Words can only convey a hint of this Being.

Level seven -- the god of pure being. This is the god who can only be experienced by going beyond experience. This God is unborn, undying, unchanging, umoving, unmanifest, immeasurable, invisible, intangible and infinite. This is the god spoken of by Sufi and Hindu sages. As Rumi wrote "There is someone who looks after us/ From behind the curtain./In truth we are not here/This is our shadow."

After knocking this thread off topic I've decided to do my duty and re-topicize it (that's right I just made that word up).
I suppose the ideas behind these beliefs show the link between the Dharmic and the Abrahamic religions, with the "level sevens" best described as the enlightened people and boddhisatvas and whatnot. That's my two pence.

[HatterMaxwell]

Originally Posted by Masero

Why couldn't your God be a collection of all seven, just at different times in your walk of faith?

I think we too often try to humanize God or put him in a box. I'm quite sure that God is above human logic and classification, and ultimately above our ability to understand him completely.

I disagree.
I don't feel like god would want to imperceptible.
Or create a being that can't understand its (god's) role in the creature's life.
No, god wants us to see it in everything we do, I enjoy a relationship with the god that I hope to meet in the afterlife.
The only thing that angers me is that it's a one way relationship.
I'm sure it has a reason, but I would really like to know why it won't speak to me.

[Masero]

Originally Posted by HatterMaxwell

I disagree.
I don't feel like god would want to imperceptible.
Or create a being that can't understand its (god's) role in the creature's life.
No, god wants us to see it in everything we do, I enjoy a relationship with the god that I hope to meet in the afterlife.
The only thing that angers me is that it's a one way relationship.
I'm sure it has a reason, but I would really like to know why it won't speak to me.

See that's not a relationship. I've heard God speak to me before, but not verbally.

I don't believe that God desires a personal relationship sometimes because it sometimes feels like he's only helping us b/c the nagging gets irritating. Others I know say they talk to God all the time and he listens.

I think when you pray, your subconscious is telling you what it wants you to hear, not God saying "go down this road" but your gut feeling either A. Putting Logic first or B. Putting Emotion first.

But then at other times it feels like God is there every step of the way... it's confusing. But it really all boils back to the tenant of faith.

If God really wanted us to rely on faith, then possibly he doesn't speak to us because he wants us to REALLY use faith to believe that the actions corresponding to your prayers are his way of saying yes or no or maybe later.

It sounds like a cop-out to some, but maybe they're just over-thinking the situation. Sometimes we let Logic rule our lives far too much and it ends up putting us in this wretched closed up box that really doesn't allow us any freedom of choice. Alternatively, some people over-use emotion too much to do the exact same thing. We need to find a happy balance.

[miner69ner]

Disclaimer: I don't look to Deepak Chopra for spiritual wisdom.

You say, "Level one -- God the protector --this is best recognized as the God of the Old Testament,". I don't deny that I consider Him to be a protector, but your statement tells me that you've never the book of Job.