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I know most people will reply that God's ulimate purpose and/or goal is 'unknowable' or a mystery to our feeble psyches....
But just as a discussion topic...what do you as and individual feel that God's original intention for us and the universe is or was? What is it that God intends to get out of creation?
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This is one of my favorite topics..God.
What do I feel God wants from us?
I believe God wants us to be good to each other. He wants us to do good things, not out of fear of being punished, but because it's good to help others. I believe we are all here for that reason.... To learn to live together in peace.
As a species, we have yet to get to that point... as individuals, we can help facilitate this by being kind to others..and hope that others will pay this forward.
I also feel God wants us to struggle to be more than we are. It is not important that we may never reach our ultimate goals...it is that struggle itself which is most important. That might be all God wants..is for us as individuals and as a species to make the effort to better ourselves.
I believe we have free will..it does not make sense to me that everything is always laid out before us on a path we cannot hope to deviate from....I don't feel the future is carved in stone...no...I think God wants us to make good choices, and to learn from our mistakes and grow.
Jesus had a choice..His life was pre- destined..but, he could have yielded to his human nature and not allowed himself to be killed..but he knew he had to die so man could be saved.
There are always options. Other choices. Sometimes we decide what to do by not deciding.
In the end, we have our humanity....and we must strive to hold on to that...and to our ideals..and to each other.
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok. 
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That's a great response, Beardguy....but I'm really not looking for 'what God wants of us'.
I was hoping to get people's take on what God wants in general. What do you feel are His motivations? His desires? What does He see when he reflects on His creation?
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Quote:
klinton said:
That's a great response, Beardguy....but I'm really not looking for 'what God wants of us'.
I was hoping to get people's take on what God wants in general. What do you feel are His motivations? His desires? What does He see when he reflects on His creation?
Maybe one of God's desires IS to see us grow and florish.
As for what else he might want? I think the UNIVERSE is his garden...and he wanted to create a SPECTACULAR one..not unlike how a gardener might feel about the bushes, trees, and flowers that he has planted...
I know you have seen Hubble Space Telescope images of our solar system, galaxy, and our universe..I think it is pretty frelling impressive!
Who knows..God might actually be a little kid God..and in School with all the other God kids..he just might have wanted to impress his school chums with what he can do, so he created this universe..which might just be in his pocket along with a candy bar, a toy car, and his lunch money.
This is all speculation. I still say he wants us to do well. Why else would he have created life? Unless life on our world was just an accident..and I do not believe it was.. there were too many things that had to happen in a certain order for life here to be a fluke. If we are the only ones, then it would be a huge waste of space.
What does God see when he looks at his work? What does he feel? I would hope he would feel the emotion of pride..and that of accomplishment.
What does God see when he looks at his work? He sees a part of himself, perhaps..just as any artist would see a part of himself when he stands back and gazes at a painting or a sculpture he has just created. He might also see all the errors he created along with his work.. and accept them as being part of the plan.
I believe God's desires may be :
For life he has created to do well and be successful.
For the universe to expand and reach it's own ultimate goal..which may be that of contracting back into a single ULTRA dense atom, and then EXPLODING again into another completely NEW universe...
Klinton...God may just be curious about how things would change and how they might remain the same after each successive Big Bang....Like a scientist.....
God just may be curious about the multitude of possibilities that each NEW universe might present.
Intriguing......
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok.
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And, since God MIGHT just be experimenting with possibilities for this universe....he might just be feeling amused with all the permutations he has created.
Who knows just HOW many times the universe might have expanded and contracted...this could be the first such universe..or the second..or the 50 th...or the one millionth!
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok.
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God's purpose is His glory... Think about it.
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I always thought he made us so he wouldn't be alone.
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Quote:
Matter-eater Man said:
I always thought he made us so he wouldn't be alone.
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok.
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Does God have a purpose? If God is indeed inexplicable to us, shouldn't an inexplicable being such as God be beyond "purposes"?
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Quote:
First Amongst Daves said:
Does God have a purpose? If God is indeed inexplicable to us, shouldn't an inexplicable being such as God be beyond "purposes"?
This is also a possibility. With God? ANYTHING is possible. Best to maintain an open mind. Great point, Dave. 
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok.
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Another good question: What does God need with a starship?
Knutreturns said: Spoken like the true Greatest RDCW Champ!
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Quote:
King Snarf said:
Another good question: What does God need with a starship?
"I offer you a Vulcan prayer, Mr Suder. May your death bring you the peace you never found in life." - Tuvok.
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Doesn't take much to entertain Beardguy does it?
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I'm guessing he prefers easily entertained to annoyingly bitter. Just a guess, though.
I, personally, don't think there is any purpose or intention behind the universe. Might be a little depressing, but I sleep at night.
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Only to the extent that I believe what I just wrote. Nihilism encompasses far more than that one basic belief.
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Quote:
Beardguy57 said:
Quote:
Matter-eater Man said:
I always thought he made us so he wouldn't be alone.
The Trinitarion view is that God has never been "alone".
Putting the "fun" back in Fundamentalist Christian Dogma.
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Quote:
First Amongst Daves said:
Does God have a purpose? If God is indeed inexplicable to us, shouldn't an inexplicable being such as God be beyond "purposes"?
In away that's what I was getting at by saying his perpose is his own Glory. He Is (eternaly and perfectly) therefore his perpose is Himself.
Putting the "fun" back in Fundamentalist Christian Dogma.
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I'm not sure what you are smurfing.....but you are still number one smurf to me.
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Quote:
wannabuyamonkey said:
Quote:
First Amongst Daves said:
Does God have a purpose? If God is indeed inexplicable to us, shouldn't an inexplicable being such as God be beyond "purposes"?
In away that's what I was getting at by saying his perpose is his own Glory. He Is (eternaly and perfectly) therefore his perpose is Himself.
As a perfect being, is God beyond the concept of glory?
Is "glory" the wrong word? It kind of sounds a bit too proud or self-congratulatory.
And if God does have a purpose, as an all-benevolent being, sure it is the spread of compassion, empathy and love, rather than a concentration on Self.
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Quote:
As a perfect being, is God beyond the concept of glory?
I think as a perfect being God is beond any concept we can develop, but we have to use the words we have to try to understand. That's why the only term repeated 3 times (wich in Hebrew meant a form of absoluteness) in reference to God in scripture is teh term "Holy Holy Holy" Holy meaning "other"
Quote:
Is "glory" the wrong word? It kind of sounds a bit too proud or self-congratulatory.
It is when refering to man, because for man to seek something that rightfully belongs to God is proud. Pride (I assume in the way you're using it) refers to an exalting of ones self above what they truly are. The Bible that refers to the Glory of God also cautions man not to be proud. God being perfect is not being pridefull when He seeks His own Glory He's simply being what he is.
Quote:
And if God does have a purpose, as an all-benevolent being, sure it is the spread of compassion, empathy and love, rather than a concentration on Self.
True (to a degree) but if God is all that is perfect and just then the only way to demonstrate all those things is to focus on Himslef as the author of true and perfect benevolence. It would sound haughty coming from any human, but all that God does is benevolence, even when it doesn;t apear that way in teh moment.
Putting the "fun" back in Fundamentalist Christian Dogma.
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Because of limited human perception, whereas He gets the Big Picture? Quote:
He's simply being what he is.
Yes, surely He is well beyond pride, of course. But aren't altruistic emotions also beyond God? Or is altruism a Godly characteristic we share with God?
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Quote:
wannabuyamonkey said:
I think as a perfect being God is beond any concept we can develop, but we have to use the words we have to try to understand.
While I'm never going to say 100% I believe there is a god (I think its a somewhat unprovable idea, I would agree that if there were a god he'd be so far above our way of thinking that we'd be unable to ever "understand" him or his wants.
Even saying god would be a HE or a SHE imposes human standards upon it.
It also offends me somewhat when people say this angers god or that angers god. You have priests and monks who are able to learn to not become angry, so therefore the assumption is that god is somehow more petty than an enlightened person.
Quote:
It is when refering to man, because for man to seek something that rightfully belongs to God is proud. Pride (I assume in the way you're using it) refers to an exalting of ones self above what they truly are. The Bible that refers to the Glory of God also cautions man not to be proud. God being perfect is not being pridefull when He seeks His own Glory He's simply being what he is.
I have no response to this statement other than to say its an interesting way of putting things.
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