God is a Spirit

[Dicky Underpants]

If I say that 'you are human', Nick, I am saying something different to if I said 'You are a human'.   There is no indefinite article present in the Greek.

No indefinite article in koine Greek at all. It can be supplied in translation as deemed appropriate - streuth! Sparky could be right for once!

[Khatru]

I can only describe it in the way I understand it and this is yielded from the Holy Bible.

It is the part of us that, though invisible, is a product of the spiritual nature of the universe. I would go as far as to say that every expression is fired by our nervous/spiritual nature and so...as hysterical behaviour proves...we can waste it wildly.

Our inner nervous/spiritual nature must come from somewhere. Some is delivered by chemical interactions but Jesus, who speaks on behalf of Almighty God, tells us that we can earn it by righteous good behaviour.

If we say that it is part of the nervous/electric behaviour of the replicating living cell then we can see that it is a spiritual representation of our own being and...it seems...if we talk to Jesus Christ's word...it can be the force behind resurrection, behind everlasting life...and the force behind genetic repair in this life. We just have to believe those who love us.

Time for this again................

To me, "God" or indeed, gods, are religious concepts used to try and explain or account for imagined qualities and substances that cannot be identified in our world any more than leprechauns.

I see it as a category where the whole idea of the supernatural belongs. 

Contrast that with the natural, which I see as covering everything that exists, including what we have yet to discover.

The term "supernatural" gives people a green light to not only make up whatever beings they want but also to endow these beings with self-contradictory and magical abilities.  I see it all the time with believers when they refer to their particular choice of deity as being uncreated and somehow living outside of and unaffected by the passage of time.  Yet their god still thinks and acts inside and outside of our natural realm. 

It's funny but it's often the case that once believers have given their construct a free pass by placing it in the envisioned supernatural realm, they then become quite rigorous about what must be true in the natural world - the only world we know.

From a point of reason, the whole thing comes over to me as a logical nightmare, excused by the one word - "supernatural".  It's a fallacy of special pleading whereby whatever the believer places in this supernatural realm gets excused from the scepticism and scrutiny.

[NicholasMarks]

Time for this again................

To me, "God" or indeed, gods, are religious concepts used to try and explain or account for imagined qualities and substances that cannot be identified in our world any more than leprechauns.

I see it as a category where the whole idea of the supernatural belongs. 

Contrast that with the natural, which I see as covering everything that exists, including what we have yet to discover.

The term "supernatural" gives people a green light to not only make up whatever beings they want but also to endow these beings with self-contradictory and magical abilities.  I see it all the time with believers when they refer to their particular choice of deity as being uncreated and somehow living outside of and unaffected by the passage of time.  Yet their god still thinks and acts inside and outside of our natural realm. 

It's funny but it's often the case that once believers have given their construct a free pass by placing it in the envisioned supernatural realm, they then become quite rigorous about what must be true in the natural world - the only world we know.

From a point of reason, the whole thing comes over to me as a logical nightmare, excused by the one word - "supernatural".  It's a fallacy of special pleading whereby whatever the believer places in this supernatural realm gets excused from the scepticism and scrutiny.

Religion to me Khatru is a general term to describe the antics of pagan priests who saw the benifit of harnessing the minds of many people and without offering them anything at all would utilise the masses by their best endevours and labour to build a utopia for their rulers...who themselves were false but separate part of that Pagan hierarchy.

The same pattern has existed ever since...but I'm afraid we are getting wise to it. It is all done by brain-washing so it is quite refreshing to come up with a teaching that lifts us out of brain-washing and this just happens to be the accurate teaching of Jesus Christ who put a halt to all the savagery of all the others by becoming the last human sacrifice which had been the main feature of many of the other iniquitous religions.

 

[Khatru]

Religion to me Khatru is a general term to describe the antics of pagan priests who saw the benifit of harnessing the minds of many people and without offering them anything at all would utilise the masses by their best endevours and labour to build a utopia for their rulers...who themselves were false but separate part of that Pagan hierarchy.

The same pattern has existed ever since...but I'm afraid we are getting wise to it. It is all done by brain-washing so it is quite refreshing to come up with a teaching that lifts us out of brain-washing and this just happens to be the accurate teaching of Jesus Christ who put a halt to all the savagery of all the others by becoming the last human sacrifice which had been the main feature of many of the other iniquitous religions.

 

Except that we're not talking about religion.

We're talking about how you place your god construct outside of our reality and give it free pass that exempts it from the laws of nature while at the same time you are exactingly rigorous about what must be true in our reality.

[NicholasMarks]

Except that we're not talking about religion.

We're talking about how you place your god construct outside of our reality and give it free pass that exempts it from the laws of nature while at the same time you are exactingly rigorous about what must be true in our reality.

I'm under the impression that you brought in all these other religions to support your views, Khatru. I simply pointed out that from the year dot people have worked the scam that getting the multitude to come together and work for nothing requires a little deviousness by getting them to support a god...a religion. I then tried to show you that the Holy Bible is a little different from all the others. Jesus Christ taught something quite special...it certainly appealed to those living under oppression around him...this is because it lifts us out of oppression even when we are living in the midst of it.

I have gone to  great lengths here to show there s a science behind his  teaching all hinging on the fact that God is a Spirit the owner and chief scientist over all the dynamic energy that created the universe and all ts scientific laws.

I've brought it to atheists first because they need it most.

[Gordon]

I've brought it to atheists first because they need it most.

What if we don't want it and don't think we need it?

[NicholasMarks]

What if we don't want it and don't think we need it?

That's ok...your future is recorded in the Holy Bible...I wont spell it out again other than to say that it all revolves around
Wormwood which appears to be looming large as we speak.

Why you should prefer to reject a Biblical science is beyond me. Jesus Christ lived according to that righteous science and rejecting his teaching is not going to help anyone...not before Wormwood and certainly not afterwards.

[Gordon]

Why you should prefer to reject a Biblical science is beyond me.

I don't see the Bible as science, Nick - just as a collection of ancient middle-eastern religious superstitions with a smattering of folk tales mixed in with some possibly imprecise history. Its significance relates mainly to its socio-political associations over the centuries in the West, though this is declining of late.

I don't even see it as significant in moral terms, since its simplistic homilies are lightweight compared with the work of various moral philosophers, some of whom predate Christianity by centuries. 

[BashfulAnthony]

I don't see the Bible as science, Nick - just as a collection of ancient middle-eastern religious superstitions with a smattering of folk tales mixed in with some possibly imprecise history. Its significance relates mainly to its socio-political associations over the centuries in the West, though this is declining of late.

I don't even see it as significant in moral terms, since its simplistic homilies are lightweight compared with the work of various moral philosophers, some of whom predate Christianity by centuries.

Well, Gordon, that settles it.  2,000 years of study and analysis; billions of people adhering to it;  the most amazing story in history, all dismissed in a paragraph!

[Gordon]

Well, Gordon, that settles it.  2,000 years of study and analysis; billions of people adhering to it;  the most amazing story in history, all dismissed in a paragraph!

Yep - Christianity is over-rated, and only 'amazing' to its fans (btw your argument involves an ad populum).

[NicholasMarks]

I don't see the Bible as science, Nick - just as a collection of ancient middle-eastern religious superstitions with a smattering of folk tales mixed in with some possibly imprecise history. Its significance relates mainly to its socio-political associations over the centuries in the West, though this is declining of late.

I don't even see it as significant in moral terms, since its simplistic homilies are lightweight compared with the work of various moral philosophers, some of whom predate Christianity by centuries.

That's because you don't read the Holy Bible and certainly don't try to follow its teaching, Gordon...if you did you would wonder what keeps bolstering your strength, what keeps making you look and think outside of the box...why can you see problems looming that others are oblivious to until they happen...then it occurs to you that righteousness is a repairing science. Then you begin to realise that Jesus is teaching us something that is profound and defys or rather, passes all understanding. On analysis you find that God's electric force is all around us all the time and that we are invited to be partakers of that force...but only if we follow Jesus. As we get better at it more and more knowledge is added until we catch up with modern science and then begin to overtake it...all because we believe implicitly in Jesus Christ. It's sad that others can't find faith in his teaching, but we can only tell them...and let Wormwood do the rest.

 

[Gordon]

That's because you don't read the Holy Bible and certainly don't try to follow its teaching, Gordon

I don't read it much: just for reference purposes in relation to what people say here, and I don't think it 'teaches' anything notable since; a) the divine stuff is indistinguishable from fiction and, b) in terms of moral philosophy there are better options.

...if you did you would wonder what keeps bolstering your strength, what keeps making you look and think outside of the box...why can you see problems looming that others are oblivious to until they happen

I'm getting older, Nick, so strength is slowly ebbing, my ability to think (such as it is) is just my biology doing what is does and beyond lucky guesses or logical conclusions I'm just as surprised by events as anyone else.
 

then it occurs to you that righteousness is a repairing science.

It doesn't.

Then you begin to realise that Jesus is teaching us something that is profound and defys or rather, passes all understanding. On analysis you find that God's electric force is all around us all the time and that we are invited to be partakers of that force...but only if we follow Jesus. As we get better at it more and more knowledge is added until we catch up with modern science and then begin to overtake it...all because we believe implicitly in Jesus Christ.

I don't see this, Nick: not at all - I suspect you are reading more into Christianity than is there.
 

It's sad that others can't find faith in his teaching, but we can only tell them...and let Wormwood do the rest.

You can try, Nick - and I know you mean well. 

[NicholasMarks]

I don't read it much: just for reference purposes in relation to what people say here, and I don't think it 'teaches' anything notable since; a) the divine stuff is indistinguishable from fiction and, b) in terms of moral philosophy there are better options.

I'm getting older, Nick, so strength is slowly ebbing, my ability to think (such as it is) is just my biology doing what is does and beyond lucky guesses or logical conclusions I'm just as surprised by events as anyone else.
 
It doesn't.

I don't see this, Nick: not at all - I suspect you are reading more into Christianity than is there.
 
You can try, Nick - and I know you mean well.

Your first paragraph lets you down Gordon...you don't see anything distinguishable from fiction!!

Many people of the highest integrity tell you a man was crucified then resurrected and you can dismiss ths as indistinguishable from fiction??

I could go into many lines of truth here but I fear they would just be dismissed...so why bother?

I would like to say though that while science is struggling to answer fundamental questions about the universe the clock is ticking. Already we are seeing the strangest things in our skies and there are recurring messsages and reports about ET presence worldwide..This should all tell you that something big is going down soon...but I only have one preparation technique for whatever it is...follow Jesus Christ accurately.

[jeremyp]

I'm not even sure what a 'spirit' is

Class of alcoholic beverage.

[Sebastian Toe]

and reports about ET presence worldwide..

And do you believe that there is actual ET presence on this planet?

[NicholasMarks]

And do you believe that there is actual ET presence on this planet?

Like the approach of Wormwood and like the mass of evidence in the Holy Bible about Jesus Christ...plus the unification of the fundamental  universal field forces outlined on here in my thread about the electric/spiritual universe of Jesus Christ..not forgetting actual witness reports...I think there is a strong possibility that there is something in it.

[BashfulAnthony]

Yep - Christianity is over-rated, and only 'amazing' to its fans (btw your argument involves an ad populum).

In what sense is it over-rated?   

[NicholasMarks]

All...

God is a Spirit and if we read all the clues about his omnipotent nature we find out so much about the universe.

First clue...he sent Jesus Christ to explain the fundamentals about his 'living water' and this is an amazing proof of how this force can be invited into our own being which can offer us what it offered him...resurrection.

Second clue...That 'God's living water' is all around us all the time. We can't see it or without special consideration even know it's there but it is...and the clues say it it is the only true repairing force in existence.

Clue three...God is made from it, and thereby reaches into every scientific behaviour pattern because this material is at the route of all scientific behaviour.

Clue four...Only a select few even bother with his teaching so that only a select few can benefit from that teaching...unless we seriously take on board the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ...but with all this persuasion don't expect to be a leader in this truth...we will be lucky to hang on by our finger-tips.

[Gordon]

In what sense is it over-rated?

In several senses: that its claims of supernatural divinity are in any sense superior to other religious claims of supernatural divinity, that what it is claimed the Bible 'teaches' regarding morality is superior to other approaches to moral philosophy, and that to date I've yet to see any arguments in support of the divine claims of Christianity that aren't either incoherent or in some way fallacious.

I accept that many Christians regard their religion as personally significant and respect their right to do so provided that they remember that many of the rest of us (including theists of a different stripe) live our lives without involving Christianity, and some of us without reference to any form of theism.

[NicholasMarks]

In several senses: that its claims of supernatural divinity are in any sense superior to other religious claims of supernatural divinity, that what it is claimed the Bible 'teaches' regarding morality is superior to other approaches to moral philosophy, and that to date I've yet to see any arguments in support of the divine claims of Christianity that aren't either incoherent or in some way fallacious.

I accept that many Christians regard their religion as personally significant and respect their right to do so provided that they remember that many of the rest of us (including theists of a different stripe) live our lives without involving Christianity, and some of us without reference to any form of theism.

I think I am getting your message Gordon...You mean like Jesus saying take all your problems to Almighty God and discuss them with him in prayer...can be likened to the false indoctrination by the Catholics in confession which...it seems...is at the root of modern day psycho-analysis...hmmmm...give me Jesus' way...any day...and the scientific evidence shows...it works...especially as there is a wonderful book of righteous knowledge to bounce God's principles off.



 

[torridon]

I think I am getting your message Gordon...You mean like Jesus saying take all your problems to Almighty God and discuss them with him in prayer...can be likened to the false indoctrination by the Catholics in confession which...it seems...is at the root of modern day psycho-analysis...hmmmm...give me Jesus' way...any day...and the scientific evidence shows...it works...especially as there is a wonderful book of righteous knowledge to bounce God's principles off.

IIRC the scientific evidence gathered to date does not support the notion of efficacy of prayer, at least not beyond that which would be expected through a placebo effect.  This is using the term scientific evidence in the proper, truthful sense.

[Gordon]

I think I am getting your message Gordon...You mean like Jesus saying take all your problems to Almighty God and discuss them with him in prayer...can be likened to the false indoctrination by the Catholics in confession which...it seems...is at the root of modern day psycho-analysis...hmmmm...give me Jesus' way...any day...and the scientific evidence shows...it works...especially as there is a wonderful book of righteous knowledge to bounce God's principles off.

er no: I'm simply saying it is over-rated by its followers, and that as things stand the arguments in support of Christianity to date are either incoherent or fallacious.

[NicholasMarks]

er no: I'm simply saying it is over-rated by its followers, and that as things stand the arguments in support of Christianity to date are either incoherent or fallacious.

I will have to look up 'fallacious' Gordon...but the evidence is overwhelming...through Jesus Christ millions have had access to Almighty God's method of psycho-analysis, for 2000 years plus...this is perhaps why they are prepared to die for him. We get a full, if simple working knowledge of the mechanics of the universe which say resurrection is possible...and of course we are forewarned of God's Judgment and given...just...adequate time to prepare, as long as we can grasp the rudiments of Jesus Christ's teaching.

No contest between Jesus Christ and all the other combined teachings which really amount to atheism...another religious tentacle of the unbelievers...who apparently can't even understand their own science never mind the simplicity of Jesus Christ's wonderful teaching.

We all have an instinct for spiritual knowledge...that is why  there are so many spiritual scammers...but Jesus Christ is not one of them.

[BashfulAnthony]

In several senses: that its claims of supernatural divinity are in any sense superior to other religious claims of supernatural divinity, that what it is claimed the Bible 'teaches' regarding morality is superior to other approaches to moral philosophy, and that to date I've yet to see any arguments in support of the divine claims of Christianity that aren't either incoherent or in some way fallacious.

I accept that many Christians regard their religion as personally significant and respect their right to do so provided that they remember that many of the rest of us (including theists of a different stripe) live our lives without involving Christianity, and some of us without reference to any form of theism.

Just one comment, Gordon: you say, "many of the rest of us live our lives without involving Christianity."  An odd comment, since you involve Christianity in your life every day of your life, as exemplified by your daily input here!

[torridon]

I will have to look up 'fallacious' Gordon...but the evidence is overwhelming...through Jesus Christ millions have had access to Almighty God's method of psycho-analysis, for 2000 years plus...this is perhaps why they are prepared to die for him. We get a full, if simple working knowledge of the mechanics of the universe which say resurrection is possible...and of course we are forewarned of God's Judgment and given...just...adequate time to prepare, as long as we can grasp the rudiments of Jesus Christ's teaching.

I don't know about 'overwhelming'.  If there was overwhelming evidence in favour then we would already be teaching it as fact in schools for instance. Religions by and large aren't based on evidence at all - that would be science. Religions are more based on faith, a different matter altogether.