God's Will for me? Does God cause suffering? God as feminine?
Below are comments on the following 3 questions, feel free to continue comments:)
1. How do I know God's will for me?
2. Is there a God and a Satan? Or a distinct good and evil presence in the world? Does God cause suffering (cancer, 911's,
Tsunami's,etc.)?
3. How do you see or experience the reality of God as feminine? (several comments begin here and continue on the above
post)
posted by Pia's Pals @ 10:32 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Thanks, amy! Email with your question:) sws
Thanks Snick for helping out!!! :) sws
Maybe God gave us free will to show the love and respect he has for each one of us. He gives us the ability to choose our own path - for better or worse.
Perhaps we can compare it to what one has to do sometimes when we are a parent. Sometimes you cannot protect your child no matter how hard you try. There are times that you have to give him or her the free will to make their own choices - and possibly their own mistakes - in order for them to grow and develop.
Until the moment occurs and it becomes obvious to us I don't think any one knows really what God's will is. What we do know is His Commandments. What we do know is what He has said and done as told to us in the Bible and in other writings over the last two thousand years.
I think what we as Christians need to remember is that God has told us and shown us how He would like us to live our lives and treat each other. He has provided us with "free will" so that we can choose our path. As a loving and caring parent He would like to see us act in a particular way but He is going to let us find our way.
He talks to us. It is not always in words but in events in our lives or in things we see. The challenge for us is to be able to interpret what is going on around us or hear the voice inside of us and know that God is sending us a message. We must then make our choice.
I have a child. Occassionly that child needs to make a decision that involves how to act toward others or how to respond to something done to them. In many cases my child will come to me for advice and support. I give them my opinion but also remind them that there is one very important thing they should consider. It is "What would God want you do to here?".
We take what we have read and what we have been taught. We try to see His message and possibly hear His voice and then exercise our "free will".
If we make a mistake, God will forgive us. Like a good and kind parent He loves us.
Thanks for setting this up!
I actually prefer to think of God as unknowing, rather than all knowing - for a number of theological reasons (but that's another post all togehter). Perhaps I like the title of "All Preparer" better still. Also, though I like the term "Devine Plan", I don't know that it's really what I believe in.
From the beginning of "life" there are "choices." Bacteria "choose" to go this way or that, process now or later; biological functionality guiding their existance. In turn, higher animals decide to attack or relax, eat or save, etc.
Certainly, human decision making is often more complicated, but non-the-less deciding to turn right or left at a precise moment can change our lives and the lives of a miriad of other beings.
I like to believe that we have free will because each decision that each life makes changes the universe eventually. A decision that I make today may seem like a huge mistake, but may prepare me for more challenging decisions that lies ahead. My bad decision may also prepare another person for their challenges.
Day by day, we try to become better people. If we did not have free will, then surely the road would be laid out before us, requiring no thought at all.
By giving us free will to decide our own fate, God allows us to become more god-like, more enlightened, and more prepared for the road ahead.
Note to SWS: You should probably move new questions into new posts so that the threads are seperated. If not, it will get quite confusing! :)
Question for discussion...
Do you believe that there is a God (source of goodness in the world) and a devil (the source of evil in the world)? Or that there is a God and no devil, and that God is also responsible for evil in the world? Or that there is a God who is good and when humans defy God, bad things happen?
This may be a simplistic thought but I'll put it out there anyway.
If there is not an afterlife then what is the meaning of all of this?
BTW - I believe there is an afterlife. I have faith.
Dear Iona:ac, I resonate with your words of wonder and discovery. Every time I hear God as male in any prayer or liturgical service, I feel the lack and fullness of God present. I know it is our human attempts to name God, but they definately need a little "filling out" if half the population of humanity is missing at each mention of God! I hear people say what's the big deal we know God is neither man or woman, now, I am being respectful when I think...I wonder if God, from the beginning, as you say was feminine, would we say, oh now you know "she" includes both! I, too, believe that some of the lack of dignity women have been afforded can be traced to the God image of male exclusively, leaving misguided thought that male is given mastrey in some way. It is all interesting to think about. Where do we go from here as male and female...together on one foot, as we need to find unity whenever our journey is to a fuller understanding of God. Thank you, iona:ac, for your courage to listen to the feminine God within!
Post a Comment
<< Home