What makes you think God cares?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don’t have to believe in God, and it very isn’t a requirement to lead a life of meaning or love. But I find life so much richer because I do.

Serious question, and I respect your answer in advance regardless of its content.

Does it matter if it is true or not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It becomes a little easier to understand if you accept that you agreed to this life before you incarnated. You knew the things that you needed to work on. You knew the lives you were meant to touch. You knew the healing that you needed to do. Of course, you always have free will. And you probably have no memory of your soul contract. But, you did choose this.

I had cancer. It sucked. But, it changed me. It made me a more compassionate person. It made me appreciate every moment more. When my best friend died, I had another shift. I was really angry at God/Goddess, Source, Spirit, …whatever name you choose. As I began to process her death, I began to accept that dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen. Her death led me to Hospice Chaplaincy. I’m a better minister because I’ve experienced loss and suffering.

We are only on this earth planet for a minuscule amount of time during each lifetime. Our purpose is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more like the Source from which we come.

Just my thoughts.

Ignoring the evangelical vs atheist debate in the thread for a moment, I think this is beautiful PP. I think of God as universal, source, creation. I see God in dew drops on leaves and in sunsets and in the way the wind brushes my cheeks. God, for me, isn’t a person with marionette strings, causing a war in one country while across the ocean free people spend hundreds at Target and then go home to warm cozy beds. That’s the unfair circumstances of where we live and were born, and the choices of people around us. God is the love from which everything was created. We were created to love, but often fail at doing so. That’s not God’s fault. We have free will.

You don’t have to believe in God, and it very isn’t a requirement to lead a life of meaning or love. But I find life so much richer because I do.

Just as many find life more fulfilling because they do not believe in God. For some, it was very oppressive, believing that a God was controlling their life and so often finding it wanting. They feel great relief having shed that belief.

For others, what they had been taught about God just didn't make any sense and they were relieved to learn that many others felt the same way

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

So what? Ukranians should forgive Russia? Be more loving compassionate and forgiving? How about they also see the evil as well as do these things?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

So what? Ukranians should forgive Russia? Be more loving compassionate and forgiving? How about they also see the evil as well as do these things?

I presume the "God" that pp was talking about isn't the God of the old testament. The God mentioned (source, creator, nature, spirit) belongs more to philosophy than religion. Of course so many people are "spiritual" these days. Thse admitting to being "religious" are dwindling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

So what? Ukranians should forgive Russia? Be more loving compassionate and forgiving? How about they also see the evil as well as do these things?

And how would the pp above know that God's heart "hurts" for Ukraine or that God even has a heart? God, assuming he exists, could stop the war in Ukraine at any time --- and I bet when the war ends, God will get all the credit from people who believe in him.

[Anonymous]

Lately I am just really torn up by this question of 'why do the wicked prosper?' It just seems like so many of our elected leaders are truly bad people -- corrupt, selfish, egotistical, stupid.

At work, I have a terrible boss. We have seven people in our department and five of them have quit rather than work for him, but he keeps getting bonuses and praise.

I used to believe that 'the arc of the universe bends towards justice' and all that but these days it feels more like the arc of the universe bends towards patriarchy and inequality. It just feels like everywhere I look I see horrible people being rewarded with big salaries and perks and huge houses and the like. And us regular people are just getting slammed and shut out of things like affordable houses, college.
The world seems to be getting meaner and crueler. If God's so powerful why hasn't He done anything yet about Putin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It becomes a little easier to understand if you accept that you agreed to this life before you incarnated. You knew the things that you needed to work on. You knew the lives you were meant to touch. You knew the healing that you needed to do. Of course, you always have free will. And you probably have no memory of your soul contract. But, you did choose this.

I had cancer. It sucked. But, it changed me. It made me a more compassionate person. It made me appreciate every moment more. When my best friend died, I had another shift. I was really angry at God/Goddess, Source, Spirit, …whatever name you choose. As I began to process her death, I began to accept that dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen. Her death led me to Hospice Chaplaincy. I’m a better minister because I’ve experienced loss and suffering.

We are only on this earth planet for a minuscule amount of time during each lifetime. Our purpose is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more like the Source from which we come.

Just my thoughts.

Ignoring the evangelical vs atheist debate in the thread for a moment, I think this is beautiful PP. I think of God as universal, source, creation. I see God in dew drops on leaves and in sunsets and in the way the wind brushes my cheeks. God, for me, isn’t a person with marionette strings, causing a war in one country while across the ocean free people spend hundreds at Target and then go home to warm cozy beds. That’s the unfair circumstances of where we live and were born, and the choices of people around us. God is the love from which everything was created. We were created to love, but often fail at doing so. That’s not God’s fault. We have free will.

You don’t have to believe in God, and it very isn’t a requirement to lead a life of meaning or love. But I find life so much richer because I do.

Just as many find life more fulfilling because they do not believe in God. For some, it was very oppressive, believing that a God was controlling their life and so often finding it wanting. They feel great relief having shed that belief.

For others, what they had been taught about God just didn't make any sense and they were relieved to learn that many others felt the same way

Then I am happy for those people. I wasn’t putting value on either side of the fence. My wish for everyone is they find that greater meaning. That could be god, love, community, learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t have to believe in God, and it very isn’t a requirement to lead a life of meaning or love. But I find life so much richer because I do.

Serious question, and I respect your answer in advance regardless of its content.

Does it matter if it is true or not?

PP here. I don’t think it matters. I don’t have religious dogma tied to my beliefs though, so perhaps it would differ if I felt belief was a requirement for something greater. Instead, my faith manifests in how I live my life. Prayer, meditation, thoughtfulness, service. Those acts add so much to my life. If the purpose of life is to love and learn and have meaning, and you can do that without a belief in god, then I think that’s wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

So what? Ukranians should forgive Russia? Be more loving compassionate and forgiving? How about they also see the evil as well as do these things?

I presume the "God" that pp was talking about isn't the God of the old testament. The God mentioned (source, creator, nature, spirit) belongs more to philosophy than religion. Of course so many people are "spiritual" these days. Thse admitting to being "religious" are dwindling.

This is a very Western/Judeo-Christian centric answer. Look to Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. and you’ll find a conception of the divine that is much closer to what PP is describing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

So what? Ukranians should forgive Russia? Be more loving compassionate and forgiving? How about they also see the evil as well as do these things?

I presume the "God" that pp was talking about isn't the God of the old testament. The God mentioned (source, creator, nature, spirit) belongs more to philosophy than religion. Of course so many people are "spiritual" these days. Thse admitting to being "religious" are dwindling.

This is a very Western/Judeo-Christian centric answer. Look to Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. and you’ll find a conception of the divine that is much closer to what PP is describing.

^ True.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are a part of God (source, creator, nature, spirit…..). Just like the waves cannot be separated from the ocean, you can’t be separate from God. You are the hands, heart, and voice of your creator. You are an eternal spiritual being having a temporary physical experience on this earth. We are here to learn and to grow. We always have free will. Your creator cares about you just like you care for your own children and for others. Your heart hurts for the people of Ukraine just as God’s does. Our job is to learn to be more loving, more compassionate, more forgiving. The only way we can do that is through difficulty. Nothing grows on top of the mountain. It’s deep in the valleys where real growth occurs.

Your higher self exists separately. You dispatched this part of yourself to earth for the purpose of your soul growth.

Just my thoughts 💫

I love this. Brought tears to my eyes.

So what? Ukranians should forgive Russia? Be more loving compassionate and forgiving? How about they also see the evil as well as do these things?

I presume the "God" that pp was talking about isn't the God of the old testament. The God mentioned (source, creator, nature, spirit) belongs more to philosophy than religion. Of course so many people are "spiritual" these days. Thse admitting to being "religious" are dwindling.

This is a very Western/Judeo-Christian centric answer. [b]Look to Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. and you’ll find a conception of the divine that is much closer to what PP is describing. [/b]

^ True.

Buddhism doesn't have a god though. Buddha was atheist, and some would argue Buddhism isn't a religion but a philosophy. Hinduism is another matter of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t have to believe in God, and it very isn’t a requirement to lead a life of meaning or love. But I find life so much richer because I do.

Serious question, and I respect your answer in advance regardless of its content.

Does it matter if it is true or not?

PP here. I don’t think it matters. I don’t have religious dogma tied to my beliefs though, so perhaps it would differ if I felt belief was a requirement for something greater. Instead, my faith manifests in how I live my life. Prayer, meditation, thoughtfulness, service. Those acts add so much to my life. If the purpose of life is to love and learn and have meaning, and you can do that without a belief in god, then I think that’s wonderful.

As I promised, I genuinely respect your honest answer. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

I don't know the answer to your question, but you might find the information at this link on scientific research on near-death experiences eye opening:

https://www.brucegreyson.com/

The academic research on this subject is mind-blowing to me. The research seems to suggest that we will have to feel and experience whatever we said and did to other people from their perspectives--and feel the love or the pain we caused others. However, we are the ones who judge ourselves, not an Old Testament God. To me, that is the ultimate justice. And, maybe, confirmation that the arc of the moral universe is long but it indeed bends toward justice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know the answer to your question, but you might find the information at this link on scientific research on near-death experiences eye opening:

https://www.brucegreyson.com/

The academic research on this subject is mind-blowing to me. The research seems to suggest that we will have to feel and experience whatever we said and did to other people from their perspectives--and feel the love or the pain we caused others. However, we are the ones who judge ourselves, not an Old Testament God. To me, that is the ultimate justice. And, maybe, confirmation that the arc of the moral universe is long but it indeed bends toward justice.

So god does or doesn't care? I have no idea what this has to do with the topic.

Also, for the millionth time, "near-death" isn't the same as "death." You think god is so dumb not to know the difference?