Is it really rational or truthful to contend "We should LOVE God" because God "LOVES" us more than all the other creatures He has created".
I do not know if the true name of our Creator who Abraham apparently fed with a lamb so that his Son did not have to die should really be called "Allah" or "Yahweh" or "Jesus Christ" or "Bhagavad Gitabrahma Vushnu" or "The true Guru" or whatever else, or are they all just different names for the same Creator that made us all?
That also confuses me especially as supporters of each of them fight and bicker and kill and their leaders also seem to have told us throughout history (from Pope Urban in 1095 to those supporting the Crusades against heretics and islamists to Joshua and Moses in ancient times ro Islamic Jihads scholars of today), to kill kill kill fellow human who have failed to agree their own particular nominated Supreme Being is the only true GOD and that is the only way to get into Heaven.
But no matter what is His real name, I just do not understand how "love" can ever be expressed to any creature if that same architect has also designed other creatures which appear to have absolutely no valid function or value in this universe other than to cause suffering of varying magnitudes to humans like you and me and to other nice creatures. I mean nasty creatures like the wasp, the bedbug, the sewage rat, the komodo dragon, the plasmodium (malaria producing bug that gets injected into our bloodstream to bring us misery) or the komodo dragon which has no valid purpose in this universe other than stalking and injecting a venom into us or some other creature to cause the most unbelievably intense agony imaginable while we very slowly die and will only then eat our dead body after the prolonged period of agony has finally been completed and we are dead. How can the creation of these various fellow creatures on OUR planet really be designated an expression of "LOVE" for us by our supposed Creator,and how can that be contended to be the vindication or substantiation of the request to "love" Him?
Or could it be that there is no supreme being that created us at all, and that we and the other creatures, both nice and nasty were not designed to do what they do to us but just happened by accident, and that the only way we can really get away from suffering is to abide by the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism the only religion for which a War has never been fought. Please I really want to know what others think. If I am writing rubbish please tell me my errors honestly!
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M$3 Answers
Put aside all that trinity crap and let's say if there is a God he doesn't have a name. I do not pray to any false Gods myself, so if I don't know if there is a God or which God is GOD, how can I truly pray? ( you're thinking just pray anyway, he will know I mean well?) I believe people need Gods in order to feel like they have answers. Many other reasons of course. I have one answer for you, my friend. I've never seen ANY God and if I do I will let everybody know. I can guarantee Christianity is false in many ways, I do however like some of the believers' morals, as they are close to my own. It's just too obscure and elusive of a religion, as are many. In one bible God is wrathful, in one he is merciful. WTF ever guys I think Jesus was truly convinced he was the only son of god, by what? by science saying virgin birth is impossible? Perhaps... Somebody told one big fat lie and boom 1500 years later the Earth isn't flat. Have a great day; You will not burn in HELL. Burn them bugs you speak of, lol. yikes.
Oh.... as for humans being greater than all... Weird how arrogant humans are, huh? Silly Earthlings.
My knowledge extends from many schools and LIFE
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M$You are right that many supporters of each religion and some religious leaders encourage killing in the name of the religion they belong to. The thing is that religion and the religious institution (for example the church) are not to be confused. The institution implies money, adepts and it needs a lot of influence and power to survive within societies and this leads to all sorts of methods to gain more followers. This is why there is a lot of killing involved.
You say that some creatures have no valid function or value in this universe other than to cause suffering. Here you are very wrong. These creatures do not generate more suffering to the world than any (except for the sages) human, they kill only in order to survive; the fact that they can harm human beings is because humans can no longer live in harmony with them. There are some tribes with a small number of people that live in the wild together with some of the most ferocious animals in the world and those tribes that use only bows and arrows to survive are not yet extinct. Paradoxically most of the tribes that are extinct were decimated by humans. That happens because throughout history man mostly tried to gain power (which he did) and not wisdom so generally the human race has to heart itself in order to gain the wisdom to work it's powers properly. It's just like when a kid discovers the existence of fire, he first gets a little burned before understanding it's power and how to control it. From another point of view , as long as a komodo dragon, a rat or a wasp has the Universe's reason to exist, just the same like we do that means that they have just the same right like us to be here. Anyway they can't do more harm than a human.
Now about love... imagine that water and flowers were covering the Sahara Dessert...would you then be calling a miracle the presence of water or plants in the middle of the desert?! The same thing is with true love, ti's a very rare thing that it can be considered a miracle and some of it's characteristics is that it's very rare and that it requires a high level of spiritual self realization.
If we would not be suffering how could we learn the greatness of spiritual development , forgiveness or love?! When in stillness we heal, in motion we consume energy and our articulations are being worn-out but there cannot be stillness without motion or motion without stillness. If you find out that opposites can be united and even that they emerge one from another you have a great key in answering your questions.
Hope that helped @Blackmist
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M$
First of all, the harmony I was talking about in my answer does not have a foundation in what you understood - and what pretty much resembles the principles of utalitarianism. Trying to answer both your questions, or one question and a misunderstanding...there is no specific reason understandable to those who search for an answer rooted in their own needs why beings, animals, insects live on this earth, cohabiting. But believing that their existence is haphazardous is trully incongruent with the reason why the world is functioning clockwise in its natural form. It is functioning so because everything has its part (not necessarily to serve human need) in the mechanism of life, of the cumulus of ecosystems in which we live. This is not an imperative...as you perceived it...it is moreover a state of mind, a consequence of your clear, true perception of the world, as a consequence of you achieving a high level of understanding and balance with what you are and where exactly you stand in connection with all the elements that surround you (with whitch you establish contact,voluntarily or not, during a lifespan). Consequently, it is not a question of YOU MUST LOVE....it is a question of DO I UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND ME AND WITH ME SO THAT I GRASP THE VALUE OF EVERYTHING AROUND ME?
Second of all...or instead of a conclusion, please think of the bedbugs that you talked about. Honestly, they made me think about the uselesness and lack of importance of the human body once it perishes and is eaten by worms. If those bedbugs can, for a secon make you reflect on the importance of life, the little importance we give to vital elements of our lives (such as the importance of all creations on earth even merely as a way to make us reflect on our own personal reason for existing)...their part is far greater than it cand be by serving one of our physical needs(for milk, cheese, wool, etc).
Hi blackmist.
Thanks for having a go at clearing up my confusion about loving creatures. What you say about learning to live in harmony with other creatures makes me think. We do live in harmony with cattle because we need their milk for ourselves and our babies and beef is a very enjoyable meal for a human and cattle need us to provide their food too. So do sheep and we need their wool for our clothes. A lot of people I know adore cats and are happy to allow their cat to lie on their bed and some even cuddle it as they enjoy the companionship but we do not enjoy eating them. I like cats too so could learn to live in harmony with a family of cats and kittens in my home, but cats need us to provide their food too.
But reading that the number of human beds having bedbugs breeding in them in my country has reportedly increased by 600% over past two years, if instead of a cat, a bedbug family makes its home in my bed and lays eggs in my mattress after feeding off me, should I try to live in harmony with them too. Bearing in mind bedbugs seem to fulfill no other function in this universe whatsoever apart from residing in human beds and they do not serve human needs in any way, but they must have a human host for their food and to breed.So even though they may make me itch and come out in red blisters, should I love them and try to live in harmony with them and their nymphs, whether God created them or whether they just evolved? If I did try to make them extinct, such as by using a heat gun on my mattress, would that take me away from ever becoming an enlightened being and put negative karma on me?
First of all, the harmony I was talking about in my answer does not have a foundation in what you understood - and what pretty much resembles the principles of utalitarianism. Trying to answer both your questions, or one question and a misunderstanding...there is no specific reason understandable to those who search for an answer rooted in their own needs why beings, animals, insects live on this earth, cohabiting. But believing that their existence is haphazardous is trully incongruent with the reason why the world is functioning clockwise in its natural form. It is functioning so because everything has its part (not necessarily to serve human need) in the mechanism of life, of the cumulus of ecosystems in which we live. This is not an imperative...as you perceived it...it is moreover a state of mind, a consequence of your clear, true perception of the world, as a consequence of you achieving a high level of understanding and balance with what you are and where exactly you stand in connection with all the elements that surround you (with whitch you establish contact,voluntarily or not, during a lifespan). Consequently, it is not a question of YOU MUST LOVE....it is a question of DO I UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING AROUND ME AND WITH ME SO THAT I GRASP THE VALUE OF EVERYTHING AROUND ME?
Second of all...or instead of a conclusion, please think of the bedbugs that you talked about. Honestly, they made me think about the uselesness and lack of importance of the human body once it perishes and is eaten by worms. If those bedbugs can, for a secon make you reflect on the importance of life, the little importance we give to vital elements of our lives (such as the importance of all creations on earth even merely as a way to make us reflect on our own personal reason for existing)...their part is far greater than it cand be by serving one of our physical needs(for milk, cheese, wool, etc).
So far only one answer and though somewhat helpful it does not really clear up my on going confusion about a justification for these oft uttered rants like "you should love God with all your heart" or "God is Great" or "God planned and made us and everything in the universe" or "God so loves the world..." the rationality of none of which I am able to understand? I would therefore prefer to keep question open a bit longer at present time and hope more enlightenment may be forthcoming before considering choosoing a best answer.
What is God?
If we start from Christianity, The Bible says that humans are created in God's image, but as I'ld like to say that this line has different meaning different people. Most of 'em think that our body is replica of God's itself. But this is not true because God has no form, We're created in God's image has a direct meaning that our minds are created on God's mind himself. We've many times seen that many humans do unbelievable and miraculous feats which are impossible to do! This is the proof that when we have entanglement of our soul (our mind) and our body in one, we are able to control our movements and thoughts in every possible way!
Sikhs Gurus say that we have to worship one God which is Akal Poorakh (AK-all POO-rukh)!
They've a talisman sayin'
1. Ik Onkar (IK on-CAR)
There is only one God!
2. Satnam (SUT-naam)
His name is true in all forms.
3. Kartapoorakh (cur-TA-poo-RUKH)
4. Nirbhao (NIR-bha-O)
He fears no-one.
5. Nirvair (NIR-vair)
He has no enemy.
6. Akalmurat (AK-all-MOO-rut)
He has no form.
7. Ajunisaibangh (AJ-ooni-SAY-bung)
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M$
Hi again blackmist thanks for again responding, but I remain a bit confused as surely my body is of use when I am dead too? You say I should "think about the bedbugs" that share my bed with me because the terrible itching I get after their meals teaches me that my body is of use only while I am a living creature. But is that really so? Among other creatures I initially mentioned which are apparently even less nice for us humans to meet, there are those too who need us to become dead before they can benefit from our having been born. For example I mentioned the komodo dragon lizard. As I understand it, if I happen to encounter one of these when out enjoying a happy peaceful country walk in Indonesia, it will be very interested in following me, but its only desire in doing that is to hope to catch me off guard for a few seconds in order to inject its venom quickly into my living body, which will then cause me to collapse and die very very slowly in the most intense agony imaginable while it watches and waits. But before the venom has done its job and made me totally dead, my body is of no use to that komodo dragon. So after inserting the venom, the komodo dragon just lies back watching me suffer the continuing intense extreme agony and only when I am at last well and truly dead will the komodo dragon then come over to me again to enjoy the fruits of its labor. So yes as you suggest, it seems my body is useful to some creatures (created by God) like bedbugs, mosquitoes or tsetse flies but only while I am living. But contrary to what you say I can also be of value to other creatures (like komodo dragon or worms) but only after I am dead. Just as it seems the loving Creator has given the bedbug the chemicals it needs to inject into me to make my blood come out slowly for its meals while I am fast asleep and the anaesthetic to numb all my feelings while it is feeding off me just so I do not wake up and try to squash it. So the Creator has designed me to try to make sure I only get the intense itching after the bedbug's injected anaesthetic into me has worn off. by when the bedbug will hopefully be safely out of harms way snugly inside my mattress filled with my life blood it needs. Similarly it seems the Creator has given the komodo dragon the stuff it needs to be able to inject into me to make the necessary preliminary arrangements so it can eventually have its meal off me. So OK I know there are reasons for me to have been created in serving their interests. But would be any harmful implication on the world's continuation if either bedbugs or komodo dragons did become totally extinct, or would an extreme multiplication of them benefit the future needs of this planet? I tend to think not?. That is why I question this premise that of there is indeed a God. in designing and creating such things as bedbugs, komodo dragons and human beings is that God really worthy of "all our love". Or have we all just evolved by mistake, unplanned and no God has created us all? That is why I am still confused.
Hi Tomas
Many thanks. I did ask Mahalo to keep this question going; that is why I gave "no best answer" when they started hassling me to award before I was ready. I liked your answer too and you know I think you are almost on same frequency as myself. Because I get the impression your view is also veering towards Buddhism. As you may know Buddhists do NOT believe in any God but they DO PRAY, and they do have a similar but I believe much more rational code of morality than Christianity, Islam, Judaism or Hinduism seem to. And much of what they maintain does seem provable, whereas much of what the god believing Faiths preach is not provable and as you say sometimes seems self contradictory and is in some places provably contrary to fact. I am trying to become more enlightened and apart from meditation, reading what others say on Mahalo really is helping me to try to progress to becoming more enlightened.
Best Wishes David.