I'd say the question of which god you worship isn't as important as how you treat other people.
I would argue that, since god is a figment of some people's imagination, that every individual worships a different god. No two people worship the same god, they all pick and choose what they want to believe god is.
Yes, I believe you are right, that you have presented one picture as we understand can be had from the story of the Blind men and the Elephant. But all these different interpretations exist including your own, I think, because there is something objective called an elephant for the folk who have eyes to see.
The world is filled with skeptics and believers and a few who for whom duality has collapsed and all that exists is being.
Funny, I was thinking of the elephant as I wrote that. However nobody has actually seen the elephant people call god, so there's no way to know if the trunk, tail, ear, and leg are actually the same deity or not.
My point is that your statement is exactly what one would say if what you have seen are the many opinions the blind have of what an elephant is. The logical conclusion is that people see what they want to see or interpret. But the whole point of this elephant analogy relies on the implication there is a real elephant.
Similarly, we know that Pastafarians ridicule the notion of God by implying that God is a noodle, but this notion has never sprung up independently over thousands of years as a transcendental experience that some people attain because there's no intuitive sense to it. It has no appeal or unconscious attraction to the mind other than satire.
The idea of God or of a transcendental state symbolized by that idea has and always will survive, I suggest, because such a thing like an elephant is real. People will always have the experience of waking up from a dream, of discovering a truth that is deeper, truer, and more profound than any other, one that in my opinion involves the collapse of duality and the death of the ego followed by the experience of the oneness of love. And I believe, also, as you might easily guess, that it is our self hate, the feeling that we don't deserve such a thing that creates the motivation to believe that it can't exist. We were separated from oneness of God by having been made to feel we are undeserving so we deny to avoid that feeling. But for some the will to know or the pain is too great to allow the person to hide.
We're dealing with a world full of blind men, none of whom have seen god in his entirety, therefore as far as we all know each one is in fact touching his own deity, and not a part of a greater deity.
You treat other people a certain way because of what you believe - you may be agnostic, and still treat people as you would have them treat you.
Many would argue that when you treat others as you would have them treat you, you are acknowledging that there are others in the universe that are like you and subject to a higher authority, and that there is good and evil.
That part does not follow.
I'm an agnostic and I do treat others kindly, but not because I think the FSM will scourge me with His Noodly Appendages if I don't.
Another question related to the OP - how they share the common practice of worshipping money.
Like DaveSimmons said, it seems unreasonable to suggest that one can derive "acknowledging ... a higher authority" from the golden rule -- although I can concede that it is something that "many would argue," as you said.Many would argue that when you treat others as you would have them treat you, you are acknowledging that there are others in the universe that are like you and subject to a higher authority, and that there is good and evil.
The blind men don't know they're touching an elephant, however the observer does, which is how we know it's an elephant to begin with.
We're dealing with a world full of blind men, none of whom have seen god in his entirety, therefore as far as we all know each one is in fact touching his own deity, and not a part of a greater deity.
I dont know what Muslims worship. All they seem to do is kill each other and use guns and bombs to control people. I think anyone that believes God tells them to kill people simply because they have a different religion has a mental problem. In fact, they even kill other Muslims. It is all about power and control.
I dont know what Muslims worship. All they seem to do is kill each other and use guns and bombs to control people. I think anyone that believes God tells them to kill people simply because they have a different religion has a mental problem. In fact, they even kill other Muslims. It is all about power and control.
So you admit there is more than one god.
No. There's only one God.
I worship the almighty living God who created the universe.
Those who worship other gods are worshiping false gods. I firmly believe that Muslims worship a false god.
How can you be sure?No. There's only one God.
I worship the almighty living God who created the universe.
You apparently don't understand much about the Abrahamic god, then.Those who worship other gods are worshiping false gods. I firmly believe that Muslims worship a false god.
How can you be sure?
You apparently don't understand much about the Abrahamic god, then.
Their views are irrelevant. You and I probably have very different views on President Obama, but we still have the same president.What the muslims worship is not the same. They have a totally different view.
No. There's only one God.
I worship the almighty living God who created the universe.
Those who worship other gods are worshiping false gods. I firmly believe that Muslims worship a false god.
What the muslims worship is not the same. They have a totally different view.