My Beliefs

[BroArnold]

For thousands of years people have asked the question who or what is God? Many people believe God to be something different from one another depending on what their cultural and spiritual belief system is based upon. I, personally, think that God is a far more powerful being than any human could ever imagine. I think that God is an intelligent infinite emotional energy source that gives us all as individuals a way of expression and individualism, a way of living; the gift of life.

Unlike the Christian belief, I do not think of Jesus as being the one and only son of God. I do, however, think that Jesus had a vision and great hope for a falling and failing world and wanted to stop the destruction that humanity, at the time, was bringing upon itself. Jesus, to me, was a great teacher and influenced many with the gospel of love, life, freedom, and of course God. Jesus, like you and I, was a mortal being and this was proven during his crucifixion. Does this mean that he was not the son of God? No. This means, like all of us, he was in fact a child of God, but not the one and only.

You and I are all the children of God. Every man, woman, and child are straight descendants from this massive emotional energy known as God. In the realm within God, the spiritual realm, there is an infinite amount of emotional energy. What is emotional energy? Emotional energy is that energy in which it takes to express an emotion. Every emotion, every movement, and every thought that we have requires energy, this energy is what I will call the emotional energy.

Try to imagine this energy as being one complete infinite mass with a knowledge base of infinite information of the past, present, future, and anything and anyone in between. Now try to imagine this same energy as being able to think, feel, and make decisions. If that’s not enough for you then try this… image this same mass of energy being able to manipulate molecular structures or even create the particles and molecules in which matter is made of as well as energy! Imagine an energy mass that wasn’t created by anything, but simply has just always been. The complexity of God is far and above anything that we could truly ever understand as being mere humans, but I truly believe that this is the bare basics of God.

Now, let’s move on to the basic understanding of how we are all the children of God. Think of that same massive energy with the ability to create an infinite amount of itself in smaller portions and each portion being individualized by being given the gift of free thought and free will. Now imagine that those minuet beings are given the gift and ability to control flesh. Flesh being only a shell of what we truly are. Each spark of energy controlling the flesh is given the ability to learn and make individual decisions as they grow. After their time of flesh control has passed it’s time to shed that shell and become part of the infinite once again. These “sparks” of energy are what most people call our souls.

To be continued...

[JimM]

For thousands of years people have asked the question who or what is God? Many people believe God to be something different from one another depending on what their cultural and spiritual belief system is based upon. I, personally, think that God is a far more powerful being than any human could ever imagine. I think that God is an intelligent infinite emotional energy source that gives us all as individuals a way of expression and individualism, a way of living; the gift of life.

Unlike the Christian belief, I do not think of Jesus as being the one and only son of God. I do, however, think that Jesus had a vision and great hope for a falling and failing world and wanted to stop the destruction that humanity, at the time, was bringing upon itself. Jesus, to me, was a great teacher and influenced many with the gospel of love, life, freedom, and of course God. Jesus, like you and I, was a mortal being and this was proven during his crucifixion. Does this mean that he was not the son of God? No. This means, like all of us, he was in fact a child of God, but not the one and only.

You and I are all the children of God. Every man, woman, and child are straight descendants from this massive emotional energy known as God. In the realm within God, the spiritual realm, there is an infinite amount of emotional energy. What is emotional energy? Emotional energy is that energy in which it takes to express an emotion. Every emotion, every movement, and every thought that we have requires energy, this energy is what I will call the emotional energy.

Try to imagine this energy as being one complete infinite mass with a knowledge base of infinite information of the past, present, future, and anything and anyone in between. Now try to imagine this same energy as being able to think, feel, and make decisions. If that’s not enough for you then try this… image this same mass of energy being able to manipulate molecular structures or even create the particles and molecules in which matter is made of as well as energy! Imagine an energy mass that wasn’t created by anything, but simply has just always been. The complexity of God is far and above anything that we could truly ever understand as being mere humans, but I truly believe that this is the bare basics of God.

Now, let’s move on to the basic understanding of how we are all the children of God. Think of that same massive energy with the ability to create an infinite amount of itself in smaller portions and each portion being individualized by being given the gift of free thought and free will. Now imagine that those minuet beings are given the gift and ability to control flesh. Flesh being only a shell of what we truly are. Each spark of energy controlling the flesh is given the ability to learn and make individual decisions as they grow. After their time of flesh control has passed it’s time to shed that shell and become part of the infinite once again. These “sparks” of energy are what most people call our souls.

To be continued...

You Got it!

[kevinc]

This is very appealing Though it strikes me as the kind of thing that is vulnerable to "we cannot understand God so simply" arguments. Regardless, I think it is a fine spiritual foundation and I'd like to hear more!

[BroArnold]

This is very appealing Though it strikes me as the kind of thing that is vulnerable to "we cannot understand God so simply" arguments. Regardless, I think it is a fine spiritual foundation and I'd like to hear more!

In all actuality, for those who'd like to bring up that my view brings God into a simple form of understanding, I think that it actually extends the mystery even further especially when you bring in the individuality playbook and reasoning. I promise I will delve further into this when I have a little bit more time on my hands for it'll be an extended topic I'm sure. I think that if you are interested more in this spiritual unity you would rather enjoy our website at:

http://www.unionsanctuary.org

I hope to see you ALL there and a participating in our forums regardless of your beliefs.

Blessings,

Br. Arnold

Edited November 26, 2008 by BroArnold

[Jason Wilkins]

This is very appealing Though it strikes me as the kind of thing that is vulnerable to "we cannot understand God so simply" arguments. Regardless, I think it is a fine spiritual foundation and I'd like to hear more!

It is very vulnerable to the argument because God cannot be understood simply. In order to understand God, you must first understand yourself and your place in the universe. While knowing God and experiencing God can be quite simple, understanding completely the full extent of a universal consciousness that is both Creator and Creation is a bit much for our limited minds to fathom. As soon as you name and describe an aspect of the whole, you simultaneously create the opposite. That is why it is said;

The tao that can be told

is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named

is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.

Naming is the origin

of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.

Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations

arise from the same source.

This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.

The gateway to all understanding.

~Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching - Stanza 1

Peace, Love, and Good Journey, Brother,

Jason

[Cornelius]

It is very vulnerable to the argument because God cannot be understood simply. In order to understand God, you must first understand yourself and your place in the universe. While knowing God and experiencing God can be quite simple, understanding completely the full extent of a universal consciousness that is both Creator and Creation is a bit much for our limited minds to fathom. As soon as you name and describe an aspect of the whole, you simultaneously create the opposite. That is why it is said;

The tao that can be told

is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named

is not the eternal Name.

The unnamable is the eternally real.

Naming is the origin

of all particular things.

Free from desire, you realize the mystery.

Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.

Yet mystery and manifestations

arise from the same source.

This source is called darkness.

Darkness within darkness.

The gateway to all understanding.

~Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching - Stanza 1

Peace, Love, and Good Journey, Brother,

Jason

Very well put Brother.

[BroArnold]

That is a perfect example of why words are so misleading yet it's impossible to share thoughts from one human to another via a forum without the use of labels or words. I cannot implant my truth into another person; for their interpretation is of their own mindset and understanding. I am NOT here trying to simplify God in the least nor am I trying to push on to anyone my beliefs, but I am simply looking from within myself trying to interpret my feelings into words that can be seen and understood by others to the best of my abilities. I am not in any way trying to sum up God as a whole or name God as anything in particular other than that as being God (which can mean or be understood to be many things and/or ALL things) no one could ever do that.

I do have to say that I am extremely disappointed seeing my words or my beliefs becoming so jumbled up from what I have written. I wasn't trying to mislead or seemingly come off as someone who has all of the answers. I simply placed the bare basics of my own personal beliefs under the appropriate forum area and expected people to either agree or disagree, but I never expected to be labeled as someone who was trying to simplify God or in any means labeled as someone who was trying to sum God up as a whole in just a few paragraphs. I think, when I posted this, I was expecting people to take in the information that IS here, read between the lines, and search within themselves to find their own path within and maybe take SOME of the information I've placed here as some sort of guide, I guess, to see if this sounded anything like them or if it held into any relation to their beliefs. Unfortunately it is apparent that this has NOT been the case. Anyway, I hope I have cleared a few things up here and people can NOW understand why I placed the post up and understand where I'm coming from a little better now; for there was a reason for me to name the topic header as "My Beliefs". On top of everything else please stop accusing me of trying to simplify or sum God up as whole because it just isn't what I'm trying to do here.

Edited November 27, 2008 by BroArnold

[Pegasuss]

To be continued...

Is this Panatheism? or a def. of it?

Pegasuss

[BroArnold]

Is this Panatheism? or a def. of it?

Pegasuss

It is Pantheism in a way, but I'm more of a New Spiritualist based on the fact that I believe in a God that consists of free will and free thought and I believe in a "universal" religious unity. Individualized in a way being the greater part of everything else as a whole. The most common part in Pantheism and New Spirituality would be the belief that everything IS God (or, in actuality, smaller portions of the infinite source). Honestly if I had to label myself into a religious category it'd be MUT-ism (the mix of many religions -- I think I made that up, lol) .

Here are a few fundamentals that make up my belief system:

1. I truly believe in the unity of ALL religions: No matter your faith we are ALL still on the same path to which always leads back to the same place; that in which is the divine source (no matter what label you have for that source).

2. I believe in a God that does NOT judge: I believe that the only judgment that you will ever receive from God is that in which you judge yourself within yourself.

3. I believe in a truly unconditionally loving God: This goes back to my second belief on judgment; that in which God does not judge you for your mistakes, but with the gift of free will and free thought you judge yourself. God, however, gave you the gift of free will to do as you please and loves you unconditionally no matter your choices or mistakes.

4. I believe we are all one with God: I believe that God IS our source and by that I mean that we are all cut from the same cloth; that in which is God. We are all using that energy; that in which we call God. This makes us not only the children of God, but technically we ARE God.

* The use of the term "children of God" simply refers to us as being smaller portions of the whole.

5. I believe God is EVERYTHING: I believe that God is the source, the creator. We are all part of God's energy alongside everything else therefore God is EVERYTHING that is, is not, or will be.

These are but a few fundamentals that mark a basis for my beliefs, but all in all, I believe that our purpose is to simply experience God from within ourselves in our own way and in our own time.

Thank you so much for the question. Maybe this will help others also understand a bit more about my original post for it seems to have gathered a bit of confusion. I also hope this helped you understand a bit more as well and I especially hope it all made sense (it does to me, lol).

Blessings to All,

Br. Arnold

Edited November 28, 2008 by BroArnold

[Fawzo]

It is Pantheism in a way, but I'm more of a New Spiritualist based on the fact that I believe in a God that consists of free will and free thought and I believe in a "universal" religious unity. Individualized in a way being the greater part of everything else as a whole. The most common part in Pantheism and New Spirituality would be the belief that everything IS God (or, in actuality, smaller portions of the infinite source). Honestly if I had to label myself into a religious category it'd be MUT-ism (the mix of many religions -- I think I made that up, lol) .

Here are a few fundamentals that make up my belief system:

1. I truly believe in the unity of ALL religions: No matter your faith we are ALL still on the same path to which always leads back to the same place; that in which is the divine source (no matter what label you have for that source).

2. I believe in a God that does NOT judge: I believe that the only judgment that you will ever receive from God is that in which you judge yourself within yourself.

3. I believe in a truly unconditionally loving God: This goes back to my second belief on judgment; that in which God does not judge you for your mistakes, but with the gift of free will and free thought you judge yourself. God, however, gave you the gift of free will to do as you please and loves you unconditionally no matter your choices or mistakes.

4. I believe we are all one with God: I believe that God IS our source and by that I mean that we are all cut from the same cloth; that in which is God. We are all using that energy; that in which we call God. This makes us not only the children of God, but technically we ARE God.

* The use of the term "children of God" simply refers to us as being smaller portions of the whole.

5. I believe God is EVERYTHING: I believe that God is the source, the creator. We are all part of God's energy alongside everything else therefore God is EVERYTHING that is, is not, or will be.

These are but a few fundamentals that mark a basis for my beliefs, but all in all, I believe that our purpose is to simply experience God from within ourselves in our own way and in our own time.

Thank you so much for the question. Maybe this will help others also understand a bit more about my original post for it seems to have gathered a bit of confusion. I also hope this helped you understand a bit more as well and I especially hope it all made sense (it does to me, lol).

Blessings to All,

Br. Arnold

I believe as you Br. Arnold and have experienced God as such.

What would you say to those who argue that an agape loving God would need to correct those who do err in order to show his love?

[BroArnold]

I believe as you Br. Arnold and have experienced God as such.

What would you say to those who argue that an agape loving God would need to correct those who do err in order to show his love?

Well, I'd have to say to those people that we'd have to agree to disagree on that one, lol. God gave us the gift of free will for a reason. We are built to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes in hope of never repeating them. Do I believe that we are punished for our mistakes by God? No, we punish ourselves with our mistakes not by God. Why would God punish us, even out of love, for mistakes that we make out of free will and free thought as a learning and teaching tool that God gave us to begin with? God, in my eyes, does not judge. God may send messages in various ways to help steer clear or go onto one path or another and we may listen or ignore those messages as we deem fit by our gift of free will, but God to me, would NEVER punish us for not accepting a certain path or making a certain judgment. That's why, at least I believe, God gave us the gift and ability to do as we choose.

If there is any kind of correction then that means that the mistake maker has learned a valuable lesson; not to repeat that same mistake again. Like I said, I think God helps a bit but never chooses nor pushes us to a certain direction, that is our own judgment and choice.

- Br. Arnold

Edited November 28, 2008 by BroArnold