Identifying The One True God

[carrdero]

Thedude writes: My thoughts on the question (even if not addressed to me)...

Any thoughts/beliefs/opinions anyone has are more than welcome. This is an interfaith debate and I would certainly enjoy hearing them whether the question was addressed to you or not

Thedude writes: Because He came into the world as a human being, performing miracles and other signs (and continues to do so) that so convinced people that He was God that they became martyrs for that belief.

From what GOD has explained to me GOD has never incarnated into a physical existence.

Thedude writes: Is your god believable enough to die for?

I have heard that there are people who believe that their GOD is believable enough to die for but the people that I heard this about died in a plane crash.

Actually ALL entities are/should be believable enough to die for. One would still have to wonder; Why would a Supreme/Almighty/omnipotent/ALL K(NOW)ing BEing ask you to die for him?

Aloysius writes: who believed in a God who just chilled.....

I do not know where you have formed this impression of GOD but it was certainly not from my posts. I never said GOD “chilled” or sat down all day. In fact GOD is very busy and very responsible.

Aloysius writes: and let you do what you want not calling you to change but understanding that that's who you are and letting it go... that's not who God is, that will never be who God is.

Call yourself to change. You should K(NOW) what needs "changing in your life" better than GOD. This is called responsibility for your self BEing. What you are describing is a babysitter or a parent figure. GOD is neither.

Aloysius writes: there are so many other factors out there that we CANNOT simply try to ascertain who God is by 'experience' because our experience will always be clouded by our emotions, sometimes preconcieved ideas, our desires, our wants, our imagination, our experiences and personality. What happens when one tries to do this, is that they end up creating God in their image.

Though there is room for this to happen (and it has happened in the past). Anyone who has taken the time to K(NOW) me and the GOD that I have been speaking to has clearly stated that there are two separate entities being described. The fact that I mentioned on previous posts that GOD and I do not agree on some matters is another example that there are two separate entities being described here (Why would I disagree with myself? Why would I form an image of GOD in my likeness then disagree with that image?). Another thing I can assure you is that I do not enter into a conversation with GOD with preconceived perceptions or human expectations. It encumbers the understanding process.

Aloysius writes: God calls us to be Holy like Him, to deny ourselves and take up our crosses to follow Him.

GOD has never asked me to do this, other churches and religious institutions have, but GOD hasn’t.

Aloysius writes: we must rely on the REASON and LOGIC which God has GIVEN to us in order to prudently judge what the objective nature of God is in order to avoid inventing something that we want God to be (you can invent something in your mind and not be aware that you are its creator).\

We must rely on LOVE and understanding first, the reason and Logic will come later. How can you come to an accurate K(NOW)ledge of GOD if you have never bothered/desired to get to K(NOW) him (read: to KNOW GOD in the NOW)?

Aloysius writes: but you cannot show me a historical belief in a God who is not an all-Holy God infinitely greater than us who calls us to be better than we are and deny ourselves and sacrifice for love of Him.

Fact of the matter is I do not have to PROVE GOD to anyone? If you want to adore and worship “an ALL-HOLY GOD infinitely greater than us who calls us to do better and to deny ourselves and sacrifice for love of Him” there are many existing institutions who may oblige you in this. I prefer a different road to GOD.

Aloysius writes: This is just not the way God has been revealing Himself to humanity, until you came along and all the sudden God told you that you need to be true to yourself and all that really matters is happiness while sadness is bad. I'm sorry, it just doesn't add up.

You shouldn’t feel sorry.

Aloysius writes: God has been around since the begining of the universe, and He's revealed a belief in Him to man through organized religion. He never intended unorganized religion, it's not historical thus the Historical GOD must not have intended it.

GOD has made himself available to anyone who cares to get to K(NOW) him. You do not need to rely on any man-made publications or man-made institutions. GOD is not a mystery, GOD is not elusive, GOD is not exclusive.

[carrdero]

White Knight writes: Ive done research on other religions, and when they pray to their "gods" they never answer nor receive a response of anykind, they do nothing

That is because people do not listen or pay attention to GOD. If you are not looking for awareness or understanding you are surely not going to receive it. As far as prayers go, if you ask GOD about a question that you have, GOD has promised that an answer will ALL(WAYS) be forthcoming. If you are not looking for that answer or are not aware enough to recognize it, you most certainly can miss it.

Excerpt from HELLO IT’S ME: An Interview With GOD pg I

HOW TO TALK TO GOD

5. Pay attention to all forms of stimuli: dreams, meditations, and conversations with other people, music, movies, and books – any form of input that can be detected through ALL of your senses. This is GOD's way of paging you – of bringing something to the attention of your consciousness. There are no coincidences. If a message is meant to be received, it will get to you.

[Guest JeffCR07]

Carrdero, if you have time, I'd love a reply to my post.

[carrdero]

JeffCR07 writes: Carrdero, this is beginning to become somewhat ridiculous.

You are telling [b]me[/b] this?

JeffCR07 writes: Humans are rational beings, we use reason.

I would like this to be a fact Jeff, really I would. But if you care to look around you there are still many, many people that have not included reason or rationalism into their spirit/personality/soul/BEing. Instead what has been strengthened is pride/ego/stubbornness.

JeffCR07 writes: Certainly God is far beyond what our reason can handle

You cannot even begin to imagine how far.

JeffCR07 writes: we cannot reason our way to a total understanding of God - hence the need for Faith.

Why are you taking the long way around to GOD? Anyone who engages in a worthwhile sincere NATURAL relationship with GOD automatically cuts the middle man out-in this case that would be faith. This is not like when we were in High School and we wanted to get to know a female classmate and we had one of her friends talk to her for us. THIS IS GOD! I remember one religion that I was involved in that wanted me to go through Jesus Christ when I prayed because they told me this was the only way to get through to GOD. Can you imagine Jesus The Christ reduced to a messenger? (DISCLAIMER: Pat Carrdero has nothing against people who deliver the mail or operate internet message services.)
Faith is no way to conduct a REALationship. Why would GOD ask us to put faith into anything when as rational, reasoning human BEings we could just PROVE or DISPROVE it for ourselves (if we desired)? Faith is sort of like hope. If you have faith in something, somewhere in the back of your mind you are hoping for something. Why should you put faith in hope? Make it happen.

JeffCR07 writes: However, in the same way, you can't "converse" your way to total understanding of God.

But you can converse your way to what you need to understand. There are many questions that I haven’t asked GOD about himself either because it was none of my business or I didn’t have an interest in K(NOW)ing.

JeffCR07 writes: Is your God Eternal, or, for more clarity, is your God the unmade being, existing before all of the universe?

The GOD that I have spoken to is the first/oldest existing entity existing before the Universe. GOD has informed me that everything has a beginning and everything has an ending. Nobody made GOD.

JeffCR07 writes:Is your God Omnipotent, or, for more clarity, does your god have the power to do all things, and does his will dictate the universe?

Yes, but his will does not extend to dictating the will of other entities.

JeffCR07 writes: Is your God Omniscient, or, for more clarity, does your god contain within him all knowledge, that he is never in a position in which he "learns" for he has known everything since before time?

This was an interesting question because and I really never went into detail with GOD about this so I can only give you my understanding from what I have come to (KNOW) about GOD.
GOD has had many moments to develop and understand before other entities came into a spiritual or physical existence. So learning for GOD (the understanding that GOD desires) may be complete. GOD K(NOW)s what works and what doesn’t. GOD may be ALL(KNOWING) but I would say that if GOD wanted to, HE could “turn off the switch” (put himself in a position) of not K(NOW)ing something. I would say that it is safe to assume that GOD likes to observe and experience some moments without K(NOW)ing (knowing in the now).

JeffCR07 writes: Is your God Perfect, or, for more clarity, is he without flaws, and contain all that is good?

Who’’s perception of good are you defining? Who’s perception of flaws are you defining? GOD’s perspective of good and bad/evil and right and wrong is quite different from our perceptions. What some people have considered flaws in my GOD may not be considered flaws to GOD. GOD is perfect in the sense that GOD has fulfilled every desire/purpose/goal/agenda to become what HE wanted to BE. Can GOD desire to become something else? Yes.

JeffCR07 writes: Is your God the Eternal Constant, or, for more clarity, is he entirely unchanging and unaltering?

No, GOD can change his “mind” if he desired.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

[quote]Thedude writes: Is your god believable enough to die for?

I have heard that there are people who believe that their GOD is believable enough to die for but the people that I heard this about died in a plane crash.[/quote]
Christian martyrs don't die for God with the intent of violently killing others, who are considered unclean, in the process. The martyred Catholic Saints cannot be compared with terrorists.
[quote]Actually ALL entities are/should be believable enough to die for. One would still have to wonder; Why would a Supreme/Almighty/omnipotent/ALL K(NOW)ing BEing ask you to die for him?[/quote]
He doesn't want you to have to die for Him, but if faced with the choice of death or forced conversion, you should want to die for Him. That is if you truely believe in Him. God have me His life for mine, and if necessary, I will give my own life for Him.

[carrdero]

thedude: but if faced with the choice of death or forced conversion

What kind of forced conversion-clarify

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='carrdero' date='Aug 12 2004, 12:51 PM'] thedude: but if faced with the choice of death or forced conversion

What kind of forced conversion-clarify [/quote]
He means that if faced with the choices of:

1. Clinging to life, even though it would mean rejecting God in order to live, and

2. Choosing to stand up for God, even if it means being killed, then...

We should always choose number two. The point, however, isn't that we kill others for what we believe in (as the terrorists on 9/11 did) but that we will lay down our own lives for what we believe in, not other people's.

[EcceNovaFacioOmni]

Like in the days of the early Church when the Roman Empire persecuated Christianity. If you got caught, you had two choices, denouncing your faith or execution.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote]If you have faith in something, somewhere in the back of your mind you are hoping for something. Why should you put faith in hope? Make it happen.[/quote]

This sounds Pelagian to me. We cannot just make it happen. Even when we strike up a conversation with God, it is because He has initiated it by initiating our desire to pray. God makes things happen, not we. We just go along with it faithfully or reject it and stand in His way.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote]Who’’s perception of good are you defining? Who’s perception of flaws are you defining? GOD’s perspective of good and bad/evil and right and wrong is quite different from our perceptions. What some people have considered flaws in my GOD may not be considered flaws to GOD. GOD is perfect in the sense that GOD has fulfilled every desire/purpose/goal/agenda to become what HE wanted to BE. Can GOD desire to become something else? Yes.[/quote]

God cannot change. God, being outside of time, cannot change. We may perceive in Him what appears to be change to us, but it is really simply because we are from a perspective of a short period of time and don't understand the perspective of God's actions in other periods.

[God Conquers]

Carrdero,

What your posts seem to indicate is this:

God existed before everything, but everything has a beginning and an end, so God began. BUT God was not created.

God is all-powerful, but his power does not extend over us or other sentient beings.

God did not always know everything, but simply has had more time to understand things than us. He can also choose NOT to understand things.

God is not perfect.

God changes.


In conclusion: Your God is whatever YOU want Him to be. Not what He has revealed to you.

[amarkich]

This is completely directed at one person and is really off-topic, so if you are not Morph, it would be pointless to continue reading...

Morph, it seems to me that Catholicism truly interests you and that the only issue you have (at least as far as I can see) is that Modernists, posing as the infallible authority of the Church have scared you away from converting (I am not asserting Sedevacantism, I am merely stating that Modernists pretend that the Church has declared something [i]Ex Cathedra [/i]the minute a liberal word is uttered in the CCC or by a member of the hierarchy, which is, of course, false). Even if I am wrong on this assumption, I ask that you please email me so that we can have a personal discussion (I would just email you, but my privilege to personal dialouge through this website has been taken away). My email is amarkich@catholic.org. Please email me when you read this. I would love to discuss the issue of Modernism in the Church and the fact that you do not have to accept this (and, in fact, [i]cannot[/i] accept this) to remain (or become) a faithful Catholic.

[Aloysius]

Morph is Catholic. and that is exactly why those who have a don't rep the Church tag aren't allowed to use personal messanging, [color=red]Amarkich is right, i ask his forgiveness[/color]

[color=blue]the reason ppl with that tag aren't allowed to use personal messanging is so that they do not convince Catholics to follow doctrine that we believe to be contrary to Church Teaching.[/color]

P.S. you should check out this thing defending the CCC Morph posted in the Apologetics section about Islam, it's good. Edited August 12, 2004 by Aloysius

[cmotherofpirl]

Since Morph has reconciled with the Church, I think you are directing this to the wrong person.

Do you mean Carrdero?

Edited August 12, 2004 by cmotherofpirl

[amarkich]

Cmom,
No, I meant Morph. I know that he was previously not a member of the Church, but since I have not been on the message board in a long time, I did not know that he has reconciled with the Church (I simply thought that dUst had allowed him to be a normal member because his opinions had changed). In any event, one of his posts in this thread seemed to indicate that he did not agree with the "Church teaching" on something concerning whether or not nonCatholics can worship God properly or knowingly. Thank you for the clarifcation, though. God bless.

Aloysius, [color=blue]apology accepted (since this was a personal discussion, there is no reason to leave the response); no hard feelings; God bless.[/color]

Edited August 12, 2004 by amarkich