If anyone is interested in some of my other posts on LOP, you can read the following:
Religious Posts:
"Your Church, Come in and Say a Prayer"
(p12)(The original prayers from earlier and explanation of some of the radical seeming concepts )
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-YOUR-CHU...ER?page=12
(p8)(Islamic, Hindu, African, and Hebrew names, as well as info on the name Amun)
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-YOUR-CHU...YER?page=8
(p9)(Here are some suggestions as well as Biblical confirmation of the radical ideas presented)
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-YOUR-CHU...YER?page=9
(p10)(Information on the term "image" of God)
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-YOUR-CHU...ER?page=10
(p11)(Information on the possible proto-germanic understanding, such as Thor, Odin, and Frigg)
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-YOUR-CHU...-A-PRAYER?
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Creatures:
"Sylphs live in the clouds"
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-Sylphs-l...#pid563734
Faked Deaths:
http://lunaticoutpost.com/Topic-Did-Kurt...#pid659674
-This thread is called "Easy Religion in a Nutshell" The easy religion in a nutshell is: There is only one God, this God controls everything, worship this God. Then I try to show scriptures that say this. I explain the major qualities of God, and why it may be beneficial to worship God.
-(Shema Yisrael) Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. (Shahada)"Lā 'ilāha 'illā Allāh" There is no god except The God (Greek Translation/Hypsistarians) Ouk esti[n theos ei mē ho theos monos; "There is no god except for the God alone (Brahma Sutra) "Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan" "There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit." ʾašhadu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾilla (A)llāh: I testify that there is no god but The God
"Say: Invoke The God, or invoke the Most Gracious:by whichever name you invoke The God,
The God is always the One -- for to The God are all the attributes of perfection."(Al Isra 17:110)
-"And to The God alone are the attributes of perfection; invoke God, then, by these, and stand apart from all who distort the meaning of God's attributes."(Al A'Raf 7:180)
-Mark 12:28: One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" Mark 12:29: "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: (Deuteronomy 6:4) 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." Mark 12:30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" Mark 12:31: The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." 1 John 5:3: "To love God means that we obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments isn't difficult" Matthew 4:10: Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Luke 4:8: And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
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Contrary to popular belief, the One Religion has been practiced since ancient times throughout the world, from Egypt to Ancient Han China and Northern India. "There is a religion, a system of beliefs, and a way of life and it is the most simple religion and religious system. It is the easiest to understand and believe. It can be simply stated as the following:
-"There is only one God who has all power absolutely. This God alone can harm or benefit anyone. The harm is to be avoided, the benefit is to be sought. This can be done through goodness (charity) and worship of the One God."
If one asks what the qualities of the One God are, they are as follows:
-"God is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient. This means that God has all power and control over everything absolutely, is absolutely everywhere surrounding/encompassing everything inside and out and is infinite in size, and knows/hears/sees/remembers everything everywhere in everyway."
-Further qualities are that "This God is free from limitations, is infinite, unlike anything, and can not be contained. This God is in the image of nothing, everything is immersed in this God entirely.
-This God animates everything in existence and all events, and all actions are powered and sustained by this God."
Once again: There is only one God who has all the power, is everywhere, knows/hears/sees/remembers everything everywhere in everyway, and all prayer and worship is directed only to this God directly.
This God has all the power to harm and benefit, and nothing has any power besides this God, so it is this God that all help is asked for from and worshipped devoutly.
There is no God besides the one God, nor are there any intercessors or intercessory powers (middlemen). The communication is direct and instant.
For further elaboration:
-First, there is only one God. There was nothing before this God, and this God was not created but always existed, even before time.
This God never "came into being" or "became God", but was always existing, while this God created everything else. This creation we are existing in now is probably not the first, nor is it the last. God is limitless in power and can create infinitely. God is the only one that can create anything.
-(If there was no God, and only nothing, nothing would have happened, and nothing would exist, because nothing can't do anything. But there was only God in the image of nothing, and God has the power to create and set creation in motion. It is God who animates everything absolutely and always. Nothing can't create, produce, maintain, or sustain anything. Nothing is just nothing, and there would still be nothing.)
-This God is not like anything, and is not like a creation, but is infinite in size, without limits (form), and is imageless. This God is not male or female, but is not like anything. God alone is God and God alone is like God.
-This God is alone and one, there are no other Gods or powers besides God, and there are no divisions to God. God is one, absolute, having absolutely all power and force.
-This God created absolutely everything from nothing, and needs nothing to create. This means that God is entirely self sufficient, having absolutely no needs or requirements for creating or executing an event. Nothing can exist without God, and if there was no God there would be nothing at all. This God sustains everything it creates (allows it to exist), and everything is encompassed within it. This God is the base and basis of all existence and reality. This God is
-All Powerful (omnipotent), meaning having absolutely all power. Nothing besides this God has any real power to do anything, and God ultimately controls everything everywhere. Nothing can happen without God. This God is All Present (omnipresent), meaning that this God is absolutely present everywhere, surrounding everything, inside and out. You are currently entirely immersed and surrounded by this God, who is right infront of you and all around you like the air, while reaching as far as the sun and beyond infinitely without limits. If you were in an ocean, the ocean would be both near you and far away, everywhere above and below.
-Nothing can encompass or contain God, but God encompasses and contains absolutely everything. This includes this universe and whatever is beyond it. There is no place or space where God is not.
-(The the example of air and ocean was used, God is far beyond both these things, because both the air and ocean are limited despite their immense size, and they are made of matter and particles where God is free of these things).
-(God is supporting the existence of everything everywhere, and is literally present everywhere. It is God who is the base of all reality, underneath all existence. It is God who encompasses all universes, while nothing encompasses God who is infinite and borderless)
-This God is All Knowing (omniscient), meaning that this God knows absolutely everything, the things we can see and hear, and the things we can't. This God knows what exists and doesn't exist, and this God knows all secrets, all the thoughts a person has, every detail of everything everywhere. Not only is this God present absolutely everywhere, but is absolutely aware of everything. Nothing can be hidden from this God.
-It is this God that enables any action to be taken or any event to occur.
-This God pure, without division, limitations, created container, crude form or matter. This God created all matter, forms, images, and supporting systems (scientific laws) from nothing, and supports the existence of these things, and is what powers these things, nothing can operate, move, or function without God.
-It is through God that anything operates, functions, moves, exists.
-This God, having all the power, has the power to judge, discern, and decide anything and everything. This God can choose to bring harmful events to a person, or pleasant experiences. Nothing besides this God has the power to bring wellbeing or harm upon anyone.
-Because this God alone has any and all power to bring harm or benefit to us, it is this God that we pray to, ask for help and protection from, and worship with the highest respect and dignity.
-It is this God that designed our forms, gave us life and all our experiences, and allowed us to have the opportunity to know and acknowledge and worship this God.
-All requests, all prayers, all worship is directed only to the One God.
-Worship is in the form of prayers, praise, and devotional gestures such as bowing in deep respect while praising, kneeling, and prostrating with the forehead to the ground. These have been the ways of worshipping God since the earliest times by people around the world from Africa to India and China.
-This form of worship is done throughout the day at general times of the day: before sunrise, noon, afternoon, after sunset, and night.
-Before the prayer, one cleans or washes their arms up to their elbows, lightly rubs their head with water and usually the face as well, and feet up to the ankles. This again is a sign of respect, that one approaches God with purity of body and intent.
-If the body is unclean, one should wash themselves entirely, and if anyone goes to the bathroom they should wash themselves as well. This is called ablution, and was always a part of religious practices around the world.
-God is the most bountiful and provides everything to everyone, and all creatures.
-God is the most merciful, and it is God who can forgive anything in an instant.
-There is no system or set of laws controlling God or beyond God, it is God alone who is the ultimate controller of everything. It is God who can choose to punish people for their conduct, and it is God who can choose to forgive them despite anything they do. God alone has absolutely all power and control over every aspect of existence. It is God who creates Laws and is free from these Laws. Nothing at all can restrict or restrain God.
-Charity is the most highly reccomended good deed, to help the poor, the needy, the injured, or anyone with finances or other forms of help. This counts towards a persons benefit and helps another, ultimately improving life as a whole. Nothing is to be asked in return, it is God alone who rewards people for what they do. -Fasting is prescribed for learning self restraint and patience. -Pilgrimage is prescribed for devotion if anyone is able. -Worship is prescribed for steadfastness, regularity, and regular rememberance and relaxation. -Pork is prohibited because it is bad for the body. -Alcohol is prohibited because it is harmful and makes people less sensible. -Gambling is prohibited because it is harmful, risky, and can create conflict. -Interest (on loans) is prohibited because it is unfair. -Lying is prohibited because it misleads. -Killing is prohibited because it disables people. -Killing and fighting is allowed only in cases of direct self defense to protect yourself and your families. -Stealing is prohibited because it hurts people. -Pre marital sex is prohibited because it is dangerous and there are responsibilities between couples that shouldn't be avoided and mutual rights that shouldn't be discarded. -Adultry is prohibited because it hurts people. -Swear words and mean nicknames are prohibited because they hurt people. -Hitting people is prohibited because it hurts people. -Shouting is prohibited unless in need because it frightens people and creates anxiety and can prompt conflict. -Certain unclean foods are prohibited such as roadkill or things left rotting. -All these things are obvious if one thinks. -Men and women are equal but are slightly different with different recommended responsibilities at different times such as childbirth, but are otherwise equal. -It is recommended to men and women to dress in ways that protect their private parts and the individual from harassment. -Everyone is judged based on their conduct and intentions. -Those who do harmful things to themselves and others may be judged according to what they did. -Those who do beneficial things for themselves and others may be judged according to what they did.
-Only God knows what these things are and only God has the power to execute any judgment.
-When one dies, they don't experience anything, but they are ressurected. This is a very ancient belief that existed even in ancient Egypt and prior to Egypt among some hunter gatherers such as the Khoisan who may be one of the most ancient groups of people in the world today.
-At the resurrection, a person is shown a record of everything they did with nothing missing, and is given either paradise or punishment. It is only in God's power to decide and there can be no intercessor that can overide what God decides.
-God does not require sacrifices of any kind, but sacrifices are for feeding the poor and ones own family and kin as an act of charity. -God does not require anything, nor does God need food.
-God does not require blood sacrifices or the sacrifices of people or the drawing of blood to be satisfied or in order to forgive people. -Nobody can bear the burden of another, nor can any carry the misdeeds of another, nor will anyone receive punishment for anothers misconduct. No death or sacrifice is needed or required to forgive people of their misconduct, but God can be asked directly, and God can forgive directly.
-There is no original sin, nor is any child born with any misconduct. Children and animals are entirely innocent and free from blame. They are to be protected and treated well. This applies to those with mental problems and severely disabled people as well.
-Nobody has to die to forgive sins, nor can anyone carry the bad deeds or cleanse the bad deeds of another, God alone can do these things, and for God it is easy.
-It is God who can blame people for their misconduct, and there is no system of laws besides what God decides, nor does any system bind God or force God to do anything.
-God invented and designed everything that exists, even things invented by humans such as ships on the sea, were created by God.
-This is because nothing can exist if God has not made it exist. Absolutely everything that can possibly exist, everything one can possibly think, has already been created by God as a possibility. All credit goes to God ultimately and always.
-This religion has a name. The name of this religion in its full meaning may be "Finding Peace/Ease/Safety/Security/Joy through Surrendering/Acknowledging/Obeying/Worshipping/Devoting/Submitting/ to the Reality/Truth/Existence of the One and Only God"
-The follower of this religion is a devotee of God, and the meaning of what they are called may be "One who finds peace through surrendering to God"
-God is not a creature with a body or form, God has no children, no spouse/partner/co-creator, and God has no equal. Nothing is like God in any way, God alone is God, and God alone is like God. Nothing but God has any power. God does not sleep, nor does God die.
-There is no subordinate power that helps God, nor does God need any help.
-Worship of God is for the individuals benefit, to receive benefit from God. God receives no benefit or sustenance from anything, nor does God require any benefit or sustenance from anything.
-God provided the same message to people throughout the world, repeatedly. You can find this religion in the most ancient religious texts from around the world, and it is still being practiced by a large multitude. Mastering this belief system has truly brought peace and joy to some. To acknowledge the immediate presence of God can bring a feeling of security.
-God is not a bearded man sitting in a body at some great distance, nor is God the son or child of anyone or anything. God is not a human, nor an alien, nor a creature of any kind. God is right with you, infront of you, behind you, above you, below you, surrounding you inside and out entirely. You can communicate to God immediately and there is no delay.
-The message of this one God was brought to people throughout history, through messengers, and books dictated or written by them recording their inspiration. It was the religion of the earliest people, and this included these advanced beliefs in the omnipresence of God as well as the form of purification (ablution/washing) and worship through bowing, prostrating, and praising.
-The religion has not changed in all this time. People would confuse the qualities of God by personifying them in symbolic imagery which would confuse and mislead latter generations, there is only One God without image, and this is said in the most ancient religious scriptures as well.
-There is no further need for any messengers, as the message is widely available today, nor is it corrupted.
-This God has been called by many names throughout history, but you can know when it is the One God based on the qualities of the God. The names were always merely attributes or honorific titles, and often were just words for the qualities of God.
-Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. -The Shahada, also spelled Šehadet (Arabic: الشهادة aš-šahādah) (from the verb شهدšahida, "he witnessed"), means "to know and believe without suspicion, as if witnessed"/testification; it is the name of the Islamic creed. -"Lā 'ilāha 'illā Allāh" There is no god except The God Another of the earliest surviving translations of the Shahadah into a foreign language is in Greek -Ouk esti[n theos ei mē ho theos monos;"There is no god except for the God alone. -"Allah", the Arabic word for "the God", is translated as "ὁ Θεός" (sorry if non roman text doesn't appear here) -ašhadu an lā ilāha illa (A)llāh: I testify that there is no god but The God
-The Brahma Sutra of Hinduism is: "Ekam Brahm, dvitiya naste neh na naste kinchan""There is only one God, not the second; not at all, not at all, not in the least bit."
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Here are some quotes from the Vedas (These are the Hindu scriptures of knowledge):
-Verily God is one Single, indivisible, supreme reality. - Atharva Veda 13/4/20
-God is the sole sovereign Of the universe. - Rig Veda 6/36/4
-God is one, unparalleled Through God's wondrous, mighty And formidable laws and deeds. - Rig Veda 8/1/27
There is only One Who ought to be adored By the people. - Atharva Veda 2/2/1
-O comrades, Adore none else but God Who is supreme bestower of bliss And thus thou wilt not suffer; Eulogise God in congregation And recite praise of God's glory repeatedly - Sam Veda 242
-He is One Brahma The Creator of the cosmos Who pervades and protects And enlightens aft beings God is One Supreme Entity Whom sages call by various names Such as Indra, the glorious Mitra, the good friend
Varuna, the greatest, the noblest Agni, the resplendent, the bright Yama, the dispenser of justice Matarishwa, the almighty. - Rig Veda 1/164/46
-God, the all-pervasive Pervades all beings Within and without. - Yajur Veda 32/8
-God has no image. - Yajur Veda 32/3
-[Bhagavad Gita 7:20] The Gita states that people who are materialistic worship demigods i.e. `gods' besides the True God.
-"Ekam evadvitiyam""He is One only without a second."[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
-"Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.""Of Him there are neither parents nor lord."[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
-"Na tasya pratima asti""There is no likeness of Him."[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
-Na samdrse tisthati rupam asya, na caksusa pasyati kas canainam.""His form is not to be seen; no one sees Him with the eye."[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:20]4
-Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures." [Bhagavad Gita 7:20]
-"na tasya pratima asti"There is no image of Him."[Yajurveda 32:3]5
-"shudhama poapvidham""He is bodyless and pure."[Yajurveda 40:8]6
-"Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste""They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). "They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti."
[Yajurveda 40:9]7
-"Sages (learned Priests) call one God by many names."[Rigveda 1:164:46] Book 1, hymn 164 and verse 46:
-The Rigveda gives several different attributes to Almighty God. Many of these are mentioned in Rigveda Book 2 hymn 1.
-As mentioned earlier this also goes against Svetasvatara Upanishad Chapter 4 verse 19.
-"Na tasya pratima asti" "There is no likeness of Him"
-The following verse from the Rigveda Book 8, hymn 1, verse 1 refer to the Unity and Glory of the Supreme Being:
-"Ma cid anyad vi sansata sakhayo ma rishanyata" "O friends, do not worship anybody but God, the Divine One. Praise God alone."[Rigveda 8:1:1]10
-"Devasya samituk parishtutih""Verily, great is the glory of the Divine Creator."[Rigveda 5:1:81]11
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Some statements from the New Testament associated with Jesus in the language of aramaic, which was the language spoken in the region:
-This is what was said in the New Testament in Aramaic:
-(Luke 6:40)
"Ein talmeed na'leh 'al rabbo; shekken kal adam she'mushlam yihyeh k'rabbo."
-The word "Mushlam" comes from the root "S L M" the same as Shalom for example.
-In the Aramaic language, the person who was mushlam was called mishalmana. This is the applied version of the word mushlam which was translated as "perfect" but also means "complete" (Mishlam), one who is completely in accord with God and perfect in religion. It is also the same word as muslim.
-Genesis 1:1 in Aramaic is "brasheet bara Allaha eet shmaya wa eet ar'a" Meaning "In the beginning (brasheet), Allaha (The God), created shmaya (sky/heavens) and Earth (ar'a).
-Here is Isaiah 46:9 in Aramaic:
-Ethidkru qadmayta d'min 'alma d'ana na Allaha, wa layt too ilah wa layt akwatee
-Which means "Remember the former things of old, for I am Allaha, and there is no other god (ilah), and (wa) there (layt) is none like me.
-Now here is Mark 12:29 in Aramaic:
"Amar leh Yashu', madmay min kullhoon puqdane, shma' Israyel Marya Allahan, Marya Had hu" which is "Jesus answered him, the first of all commandments is Hear, O Israel, The Lord (Marya) Allaha, The Lord is One (Had).
-When people tried to show Jesus gestures of worshipful respect in Matthew 19:17 he said in Aramaic:
-Mana qara anta lee Taba? Layt Taba illa en Had Allaha.
meaning "Why do you call me Good? There is none Good except One (Had) Allaha.
Genesis 20:17: "Wa salee Abraham qadam Allaha" which means "and (wa) Abraham worshipped (salee) Allaha"
-The word salee is the same as the arabic salah, which also means worship.
-This worship was done in the ancient way, bowing and prostrating, just like modern salah, and it wasn't exclusive to one region but was worldwide in scope.
-In Matthew 4:10 Jesus said in Aramaic:
"Kateeb geir dal'Marya Allahak tasjood, wa leh balhoodawhee tiflooh."
which means "For it is written, worship the Lord (Marya) Allaha, and to him only is service is due."
-In this case the word for worship used was tasjood, which has the root S J D, which means bowing and prostration. The word in aramaic in simplified form is sejed, and the word in arabic is sajada.
In John 4:24 it says:"Rooha haw geir Allaha, waylein d'sajdeen leh, brooha wa bashrara wa le d'nesjadoon" meaning: "For Allaha is a (rooha), and they that prostrate/bow down to him, must prostrate/bow down to him in truth(bashrara) and spirit (brooha)."
-The arabic word for soul, spirit, life force, energy, is rooh often spelled ruh.
-I believe this verse means that Allaha is rooha and so we must worship Allaha sincerely with our souls/spirits/lifeforce/energy.
-A rooh is the animating force within something. The animation of the Had Marya Allaha pervades all realities and experience.
-I used the aramaic words because I thought it was neat!
"God is The God, other than Whom there is no other god; The God knows both what is hidden and what can be witnessed; The God is the Most Compassionate and Merciful. God is The God, other than Whom there is no other god; the Sovereign, the One, the Source of Peace,
the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver of Security, the Exalted, the Compelling, the Supreme.
Glory be to The God, beyond any (crude) associations. God is The God, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Form. To The God belong the Most Beautiful Titles: Whatever exists in heaven (universe) and earth declares The God's Praise and Glory. And The God is Exalted in Power, the Wise."(Al Hashr 59:22)
-I've included religions commonly thought of as polytheistic, such as Hinduism and even Egyptian religion, to show that people may have drastically misinterpreted them in their rediscovery. The Vedas of Hinduism are very clear about the One God, and this idea exists throughout Aryan religion. Aryan religion are all those religions of Europe that are considered "pagan".
-I believe that the Vedas, among other things, show clearly the sophisticated nature of the beliefs involved. I've included Roman religion as well, in mentioning the numen and diu pater. People for whatever strange reason interpret the term Jupiter to mean "sky father", when it means "God the Master".
-The term diu is related to the sanskrit deva, and daeus was the word for God. Pater is often translated to Father, but it didn't really mean that, since it was used in many other senses, as compared to the latin word abbas which was father. Pater was the term for Master, Master of the household, and in the case of Jupiter, Master of Everything.
-Before Jupiter, there was the belief in the Numen, the all pervading God that animates all reality. Even the cult of Dionysus and Adonis indicated monotheism. Dionysus was the cult of Shiva in the region. People imagine that Shiva is how the statues appear, but those are entirely symbolic, full of details which indicate different things. The reason idol worship has been spoken against in many religions across the world is likely due to the confusion it causes later, when people forget the symbolism and begin imagining that the One God is really like the statue.
-The Vedas clearly talk against idol worship, yet many Hindus still focus on idols. The people who practices the more strict monotheistic forms of Hinduism, and the regions which followed the Vedas and developed them were some of the first to convert to the religion of Islam. This is because they easily identified the One God they had been worshipping all along being presented by that religion. The Persian people also converted, since they were monotheists worshipping the One God as Ahura Mazda.
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Most of the various "names" of the One God are titles indicating attributes of the God.
Amun means Hidden. Ra means Manifest. Daeus means God or "Shining One" Ahura Mazda means Wise Lord. Allah means The God. Shiva means Auspicious One. Vishnu means Pervading.
Poseidon means Master of the Waters. Zeus Hypsistos means God the Highest or God the Greatest, the Ultimate. Odin means Inspiration/Fury. Freya means Calm. Shangdi means Above Sovereign or Ultimate God. -These were all just words describing the qualities of The One God. They even acknowledged there was only One. The stories led to confusion, and those that didn't have a deep respect for the past may have interpreted them in such a way as to make them seem silly and without wisdom. This especially became the case when they were being rediscovered in the Christian era by those who may have wanted to make Christianity seem particularly unique in its monotheism.
-Monotheism was the world religion, and those who were sophisticated in theology, or even philosophy, the priesthoods and the practitioners were likely largely aware that there is only One to whom all attributes belong. This is why the Oracles of Apollo announced the same:
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"A notable group of oracular pronouncements from Didyma and Clarus were the so-called "theological oracles. In these, Apollo proclaims that there is only one highest god, of whom the gods of polytheistic religions are mere manifestations or servants."
-Contrary to popular belief, monotheism predates polytheism.
-This is because, people believed in one God (in Africa, the majority of religions before Christianity and Islam were monotheistic as well), the all pervading animating power.
-This God was the God of the rivers. The God of the sky. The God of the forest. The God of pottery and crafts. The God of hunting and animals, The God of every aspect of life.
-Whenever the God was symbolically or poetically personified, in time people became confused and especially when later generations (of Christian missionaries perhaps) came along and tried to understand these beliefs, they took them as literal, and believed them to be polytheistic religions.
-Each of the attributes of God were turned into their own individual Gods. I'm not saying that polytheistic ideas didn't exist in ancient times, they likely did, but even those societies which may have believed in other forces besides God still held the existence of the One Supreme and Ultimate God that controls everything. It is that, the Highest and Greatest, of which there can be no greater, having all the attributes and control, that was worshipped by those who considered their religions, and believed deeply in the One God. The priesthoods around the world acknowledged One God, and the strict devotees as well.
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So I feel confident in saying that I am a devotee of the One God.
The One called Shangdi by the Han Chinese, free from idols, worshipped through cleansing, bowing, and prostration.
The One called Tien by the latter Han, the one that gives prosperity, or harm, the true Judge, ruler of the Universes.
The One called Tao by the Taoists, who is the Ultimate Reality, the Way, the true Will.
The One called Tengri by the Turkic people, the Controller of all weather, and even the "weather" of our lives.
The One called Kami by the Japanese and Kamui by the Ainu, the animator of everything.
The One called Futsu by the Japanese, who was the only one worshipped, the Highest and Greatest, for whom all cleansed themselves, and bowed and prostrated at the Jingu (shrines)
-"Futsu-nushi-no-kami or Iwai-nushi-no-kami (経津主尊, 斎主尊) reportedly called "Futsu". Almost all the oldest Shinto shrines such as "Isonokami Jingu" (the only "Jingu", the shrine only for the highest deity, in Japan before the sixth century), Oomiwa shrine and already existed long before the conquest war of Emperor Jinmu who is the founder of the current Japanese Dynasty. Almost all the oldest Shinto shrines' deities are the same as "Futsu", "Futsushi" and "Furu"."
-The One called Wakan Tanka by the Sioux, The Sacred, the Divine One.
The One called Gitche Manitou in many Algonquian languages. The Great Spirit who created all things and brought them to life.
-"Other Ojibwa names for God incorporated through the process of syncretism are Gizhe-manidoo ("venerable Manidoo"), Wenizhishid-manidoo ("Fair Manidoo") and Gichi-ojichaag ("Great Spirit")."
-The One called Ababinili by the Chickasaw, the Creator of All who instructs of the right way.
The One called Ahone or Rawottonemd, the Supreme God who requires nothing, but provides all.
The One called Viracocha by the Inca people, the Creator and Controller of the Universe.
The One called Tezcatlipoca by the Aztec people, who had many epiteths, Ruler of everything, omniscient One, sustaining all life.
-"He had many epithets which alluded to different aspects of his deity: Titlacauan ("We are his Slaves"), Ipalnemoani ("He by whom we live"), Necoc Yaotl ("Enemy of Both Sides"), Tloque Nahuaque ("Lord of the Near and the Nigh") and Ilhuicahua Tlalticpaque ("Possessor of the Heavens and Earth")."
-The One called Io Matua Kore by many Polynesian tribes. Io the Parentless who was always Existent without beginning or end.
The One called Shiva by the Shaivites, the Auspicious One, known also as The Destroyer.
The One called Vishnu by the Vishnaivites, the Pervading One, known also as The Maintainer
The One called Brahman by the Smarti and Brahmins, the Expander of the Universe, known also as The Creator, the Highest and most Eminent.
The One called Indra, King and Ruler of all, Master of All Attributes.
The One called Dharmakāya by the Buddhists, The Ultimate Reality, the Truth by which all things exist.
The One called Ahura Mazda by the Zoroastrians, the Wisest Lord, Guide of Mankind, The Pure One.
The One called Hypsistos by the Hypsistarians, the Ultimate and Highest, of which there is no Greater nor any comparison.
The One called Khaos by the Greeks, from which all things came, in the image of nothing.
The One called Zeus Basileus by the Greeks, The One King, The True Ruler, The Supreme Chief, the Owner of many epithets.
http://www.theoi.com/Cult/ZeusTitles.html
The One called Poseidon, Lord of the Earth, Master of the Sea, Bringer of Earthquakes, Controller of all life.
The One called Hades or Pluto, Master of all the Secrets of the Earth, Controller of Death, Bringing of Life. Zeus Kthonios, God who rules the depths of the Earth, taker of life.
-"Orphic Hymn 18 to Pluton (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"To Plouton [Haides]. Plouton, magnanimous, whose realms profound are fixed beneath the firm and solid ground, in the Tartarean plains remote from sight, and wrapt for ever in the depths of night. Zeus Khthonios (of the Underworld), thy sacred ear incline, and pleased accept these sacred rites divine. Earth’s keys to thee, illustrious king, belong, its secret gates unlocking, deep and strong. ‘Tis thine abundant annual fruits to bear, for needy mortals are thy constant care. To thee, great king, all sovereign earth assigned, the seat of spirits and basis of mankind."
-The One called Dionysos by some of Greece, The God of Nysos. Dionysos Saôtês, the One Savior.
The One called Voltumna or Veltha by the Etruscans, the God who changes things, bringer of seasons, shifter of events. The one who provides guidance by signs, the guide.
The One called Numen by the Romans, the all pervading animating power which controls all life, fortune, and misfortune.
The One called Jupiter by the Romans, God the Master, The Illuminating One, The Highest and Greatest, Shaper of all things.
The One called Dispater by the Romans, The Owner of All Bounty, Master of All Sustenance, The Wealthiest, Ruler of the Earth, Knower of All Secrets.
The One called Dievs by the Latvian people, the master of all aspects and attributes, the supreme and Only God.
-"Dievs – (God) was the supreme god. In ancient Latvian mythology, Dievs was not just the father of the gods, he was the essence of them all. Every other deity was a different aspect or manifestation of Dievs; this is most true with Māra and Laima. He is historically associated with the God of other Indo-European religions such as Tyr, Zeus, Jupiter and Dyaus Pita."
-The One called Ylijumala and Jumala by the Finnish people, The Supreme and All Mighty God. The God Over All.
The One called Iso, and Äijö by the Finnish people, Master of All Weather, The Great (Iso) One, the Controller of Misfortune.
The One called Perkele by the Finnish people, God of all Strength, the Protector, the Helper.
-"Related gods from other areas are Perkūnas (Lithuania), Pērkons (Latvia), Percunis (Prussia), Piarun (Belarus), Peko or Pekolasõ (Estonia) and Perun (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech republic, Poland, -Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia)."
The One called Perun by the Slavic people, the Highest God, The one who causes Thunder, Controller of All Weather.
The One called Thor by the Nordic people, the One who Thunder praises, the receiver of communication, the responder.
-"The name of the Gaulish god of thunder, Toran or Taran and the Irish god Tuireann are also related."
-The One called Odin or Wōden, the Owner, the one who can bring furious weather in all forms, Supreme God, the Rewarder.
The One called Dagda by the Celtic people, the Most Skilled, All Powerful, Good at everything.
The One called Sucellus by the Gauls, the Kind One, the Giver of All Bounty Freely.
-The One called Allah by many throughout the world today, and even in ancient times, from the Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, Syrians, and Arabians. The God, the Greatest, The One, The Ultimate. The True King, The True Judge, The Beneficient, the Merciful. The Teacher, The Guide, The Savior, The Truth, The Reality.
-The One called El Shaddai by the Hebrew people, The Great Destroyer.
The One called Marya Allaha in Aramaic the language of Jesus, The Great Lord Allah.
-The One called Amun by the Egyptians and many throughout North Africa, The Hidden One, the One God, The helper of the poor and needy, the most excellent and just, creator and controller of Ma'at, the system of justice and truth, and Master of all the Netjer, the Attributes of the One God. Amun who is surrounding everything, within and without, invisible, sustaining all reality, controlling all elements of life. Amun to whom the Egyptians prostrated to and praised. The Ultimate King, Ruler of all Universes.
-The One called by many names by many people throughout Africa, but always known as One. Monotheism was always strong in Africa, which is considered by many the ancestral home of humanity.
-The One called Tsui Goab by the Khoisan, The Supreme God. Called Gangwan!an!a by the Khoisan, the greatest, the largest, the infinite. Kagn or Cagn, the Ressurector.
-The One called Thixo by the Xhosa, the All Mighty God and the Only God.
The One called Olorun by the Yoruba, whose name has even reached the Carribean, the Supreme Creator.
-"Olòrún is the Yorùbá name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions (and other belief systems), Who is either the sole entity in monotheism, or a single entity in polytheism. Eitherway, It is regarded as a Self-Existing Being. Commonly addressed as Olódùmarè, It is often regarded as the infinite ruler of the heavens; all-encompassing, and said to be the owner of all heads. No gender is typically assigned. Hence, It is commomnly referred to as "It"
-The divine creator and source of all energy, It is often thought to be the conduit through which the thoughts and actions of each person in "Ayé" (the world) interact with those of all other living things, including the universe itself. Olòrún has also been variously conceived as being incorporeal, a personal being, the source of all moral obligation and the "greatest conceivable existent".
-
These are all various titles for the One God, The One God who is the Only God, the One God who is the Greatest and Ultimate, to which nothing compares. The One God who is not matched in any aspect, The One God which is like nothing else existing, the Only, The Singular, The Supreme.
-It is this God that all devotion has been generally directed to throughout the ages, with some diversions at times, followed by strict revivals of the worship of the Supreme and Magnificient Ruler of all experience and reality.
-It is this God that we exist within, the Panentheos. Everything we experience is through this God, everything that happens to us is by this God, nothing can happen to us without this God. This is the One, the Only, the True, The Greatest, The Most Excellent, The One To Whom All Praise Belongs, The One That Generations Have Prostrated Before, The One That Can Not Be Defeated, The One That All Surrender To, Willingly or Unwillingly. To Surrender Willingly Is An Honor, an Honor that can only be bestowed by the One God.
-Wash your body like the ancients, as a sign of respect and purity of intent. Clean your arms up to your elbows, your face and head, your feet up to your ankles. If you are otherwise unclean or smelling, bathe yourself or shower. Approach God with the most dignity and respect. Praise the All Mighty Master of All Reality who has Supported you your whole life with the highest and greatest praise.
-Bow to the supreme and Ultimate Master who is right infront of you, behind you and around you at all times, encompassing all existence, all universes, pervading through every atom, sustaining reality itself.
-Kneel before the King, the thrilling honor to communicate your respect to the Master is an unparelleled sensation.
-Prostrate before the Lord of the Worlds, The Master of the Universes, The King of Existence, The Creator of All Experience, The Controller of All Fortune, and Finally, Surrender and find Peace within The One God.
-Acknowledge the Reality, The One Truth, There is Only One God, There is Only One God who has no Partners, There is Only One God who has given you everything in your life. Praise be to the One God,
-The One God to whom all praise is directed, The only one who deserves all Praise, The One who Created you, the One who invented you from nothing, the One who designed you exactly how you are.
-What an honor, that you have been given a life to acknowledge the One God, an honor that uncreated things may not have.
-What a blessing, that the One Master thought of you, invented you, gave you life, set your limit, and gave you knowledge and senses, to be able to appreciate and akcnowledge the existence of the Greatest, the Only One. God!
-Thanks for your question on "how I know what I believe is right". My God can be understood through reasoning, and it is impossible for my God not to exist.
-This thread is mostly about how various unrelated cultures throughout the word had similar beliefs and practices which may have differed in some respects over time.
-If anything doesn't make sense in what I say, bring it up to me so I can clarify, because the real God should be impossible to deny if one uses proper reasoning and logic:
-That which is behind the animation, that which sustains reality, that which the universe exists within and is supported by (pan
entheos), that which is greatest (hypsistos), is the only thing I consider worthy of being called "God".
-I believe God should be undeniable to reason, and that there is no better way or else I would follow it. -If I missed the explanation of God, and you have difficulty understanding what I wrote, feel free to ask me any more specific questions. Often it can simply be understood by the easiest concepts such as "nothing can't do anything or support/sustain anything" and "whatever is greatest and most ultimate with absolutely nothing greater is what I call God". I explain what that is, what qualities it may have, and why it is a useful strategy to invoke it and revere it.
-You can read about my beliefs if you're interested in the following posts:
ATHEIST TOWARDS SOME THINGS:
-I visited a thread about people calling on Angels and treating them like how maybe some people in the past called on various Gods and things and I thought that maybe the reason my message doesn't fly with people comes down to something much deeper. I don't know if it is the way people are raised, or what exactly it is, but I joyfully reject all formed beings which people seem to be more drawn to and prone to call "Gods". In that sense the idea of "aliens" or whatever makes more sense to people but to me is pretty "alien" because I define God almost entirely differently from everyone else I guess.
-When I was compiling that huge list above and reading some of the sections, it was very clear that the things being spoken about in many mythologies were not beings at all, but just words for things we know in nature even now.
-They were talking about nature and science in a poetic fashion basically, though just about all cultures still believed in an Ultimate Power that is underlying and managing everything.
-If there are aliens or whatever, even they are ultimately depending on the same power that powers all experience, animation, and existence.
-So in one sense, I guess I'm an "atheist" towards people who believe in literal mangods or formed gods or alien gods and all that stuff. On the other hand, I could be considered a "supertheist" because I believe in the God described by all cultures around the world, and surprisingly they almost all described the same thing as best they could while making poetic personifications for all other natural things which were created by the Ultimate Source of all things.
-To say "there is no God" or "we don't know if there is a God" is absurd seeming to me because of the way I define God. That is like saying "there is nothing" and that seems to me the most clear lie, even for an agnostic who might claim to "know nothing". They certainly "know" there is no such thing as "nothing" if "nothing" is defined as absolutely nothing at all.
-So we do know some things for certain, though very few things, and my God is so obvious to me that is confuses me as to how nobody can understand or see it.
-What is God? Not a bearded man in the sky or an alien floating in a space ship. God is what reality sits in, is powered by, is manifested through, is dependent on entirely.
-People are so obsessed with thinking of formed beings, or even invisible limited beings. I don't believe those things qualify as ever being called "God".
-Whatever is the greatest, ultimate, underlying base which supports the animation and structure of all reality, whatever that there is nothing greater, that alone is God to me.
-Now that certainly exists, no matter what you call it, "the greatest" does exist.
-See what I mean? There is definitely something greater, and greater, and greater, and whatever is the "Ultimate" as in "Greatest" which everything depends on, that is what I call God.
-It is logically obvious, it is clearly manifest, it is present, there is no doubt, it isn't a matter of faith at all, just understanding. I wish someone understood :( moreover, agreed!
THE UNDENIABLE GOD
-I believe God is whatever is the greatest thing that was never created or manifested by anything but ultimately supports all existence, reality, and animation. So it isn't really a specific name or whatever, it is just that thing which is the Ultimate and what everything exists within, what the Universe is within and supported by and animated by, and pervaded by and stuff like that. Everything is part of it and made of it and by it and supported by it in order to exist and cant do anything without it, but none of those things are God nor is the whole of things God because if all those things were gone away there would still be God. If there was ever "nothing" there would still be "nothing" because nothing can't do anything at all, nor can it support any structures, it is just pure nothing.
-God is what can do things, and does do things. The word God is said to come from the word ghutt or something meaning that which is invoked.
-To me, God is undeniable, because clearly there is stuff and there is animation and the Universe and all its structures and whatever are Ultimately supported by a system and all that. So to me, to say there is no God is like to say there is nothing at all which isn't even true. I can't even comprehend no God, because to me God is the very thing being used every moment, being interacted with constantly with every moment and thought because it is ultimately what is sustaining all that.
-That is also why I find it strange if anyone says "God is coming" because God is never far away, God is closer to us than our own blood and veins, we are completely immersed in God constantly, there is nothing but God on an ultimate level. It is infinite and borderless while all things with forms are within it, everything is within it, nothing can exist without out or outside of it. These aren't really statements that are guesses, what I'm saying is "Whatever everything Ultimately exists within and is sustained by, depending on, animated by is the only thing I believe qualifies to be called God."
-That is the Hypsistos, the Highest. The Optimus Maximus, the Best and Greatest. These things were believed throughout the world by a variety of cultures. Just because some people made personified statues of various attributes of God which may have misled people didn't mean that no one at those times had these advanced theological conceptions of God, the evidence is all there in what remains of things from the past.
-Many of the other things called "Gods" or considered such by later people were literally just words and anthropomorphic poetic personifications of completely natural things like grain, the ocean, the moon, the sun, the air. Mythology is surprisingly scientific when one doesn't leave the "names" untranslated and just translates them for what they mean and also pays attention to the epithets connected with the terms.
-So I don't believe "grain" or "moon" or "sun" are "Gods" or that there is any such thing as "Gods" but only the thing which sustains and supports all of these things, which ultimately manifested them and the systems that support them, that is an imageless (images are limits too) and formless One, the Panentheos, meaning the God (theos) which All(Pan) is within (en). So I believe my God is undeniable.
-Certainly everyone will agree hopefully, using their minds, that there is a "Greatest" whatever it might be, and whatever is "Greatest" is what I say should be called "God".
I don't believe religion requires any faith at all, just understanding and reasoning ability. To think. The faith might come into play in the form of Hope.
-My Hope is that the good will be rewarded and the evil will get what they earned as well.
-What would be better to Judge if there will be a Judge besides that which is completely aware of every interaction existing everywhere because it is what animates every detail of every event and experience, is present, surrounding everything inside and out. There is nothing like God, and God is certainly not a man in the sky or any bearded person from a distant planet. Those things would never qualify as God for me.
25 WORDS OR MORE
1 God 2 Is 3 Whatever 4 Be 5 The 6 Greatest 7 And 8
Ultimate. 9 Animating, 10 Supporting, 11 Sustaining, 12 Creating, 13 And 14 Controlling 15 Everything 16 Ultimately; 17 Having 18 Omnipotence, 19 Omniscience, 20 Being 21 Omnipresent, 22 Infinite, 23 Unlimited, 24 Without 25 Boundaries.
-
God Is Whatever Be The Greatest And Ultimate. Animating, Supporting, Sustaining, Creating, And Controlling Everything Ultimately; Having Omnipotence, Omniscience, Being Omnipresent, Infinite, Unlimited, Without Boundaries.
-Does that read as gibberish to you? Does it seem like "gobbledygook"? I wanted to make it that I didn't repeat any words. So what is the problem?
-
God is whatever be the Greatest and Ultimate.
-(This means God is whatever is the Greatest and Ultimate with nothing Greater, if anything is Greater, that is the Greatest, the Greatest and Ultimate is God and nothing else.)
-(I can reduce the words to God is the Greatest and Ultimate, but I wanted people to understand that it works in reverse, not that I'm claiming some specific entity is the Greatest and Ultimate, but that the Greatest and Ultimate, whatever it may be, is the only thing worthy of being considered God.)
-(God is)
Animating, Supporting, Sustaining, Creating, and Controlling Everything; (or Everything Ultimately)
-(This means that God is the power behind the animation in the Universe, it is undeniable that things are animated, they appear to be moving. Whatever is Ultimately behind the animation is what I call God.
-It is the Greatest because it is what is supporting and sustaining everything Ultimately. If there was "nothing" there still wouldn't be anything, because nothing can't do anything, nor can it support or sustain the existence of anything. Whatever is created, it is created Ultimately by what I call God, that which is Ultimately the Greatest and First.
-God was always existing because things can't come into being from nothing, so God always was, and nothing never was, and all is within God. In this way God Ultimately controls every detail of everything, because even the animation is done through God and by God, and the events, experiences, and structures involved all rely Ultimately on God which is the Greatest and Ultimate, relying on nothing.)
-
Having omnipotence, omniscience, being omnipresent, infinite, unlimited, without boundaries.
-(The qualities of the Greatest and Ultimate include omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Omnipotence means All Power, and this means that God has absolute power, and all powers, basically that God can do anything and nothing can stop God. The power and energy is without any limitations or weaknesses.
-Omniscience means All Knowledge. God has all the information, and this works both in a literal way and a figurative way. This is because all knowledge and information exists within God and entirely depends on God, having first been created by God, being currently supported and sustained by God. This also means that whatever information exists, is known to God, that God is aware of everything. This total awareness would also be included in category of "powers" of which God has all.
-Omnipresence means All Present. This means that God is absolutely everywhere, there is no place that God is not. This works in a literal way as well as figuratively. Everything is ultimately made by God, and of God, and in that sense there is nothing but God on the Ultimate level.
-Even though God is everything there is, everything or any specific thing is not God, since if all things were made into nothing, God would still exist, and if God ever did not exist, there would never be anything ever again. This is because true "nothing" can not do anything, nor can anything exist within nothing, it can't support or create anything, it is just nothing and remains nothing forever.
-God is unique, in that God is the only thing which creates from nothing and supports everything by itself, being entirely self sufficent and relying on nothing else. You may say "how do you know God doesn't rely on something else?" and the answer is "Because I have defined God as whatever is the absolute Greatest." meaning that if anything was Greater, then it would be the God and not the lesser thing.
-The omnipresence can also be interpreted in the way that we are immersed in God, surrounded by God, inside and out. That God is not only within everything, but surrounding everything, right before us, despite anything made of matter. Nothing blocks God, because everything itself depends on God. There is no place where God is not, because a place can not exist without God and everything relies on God in every way in order to exist.
-God is infinite, meaning that God has no limitations, no boundaries, therefor no form, no image constraining God. Everything is within God, and nothing is without God. There is no end to God in any direction, even if the Universe is limited in size, because God is not the Universe but that which the Universe is existing within and supported by.
-If God was not infinite, then God would be limited in form, meaning that something greater is on the outside creating the borders. We've already defined God as that which is the Greatest, and so God is whatever is the Greatest, it is not confined in any way, nothing can limit it by the definition we have provided it. If it is limited, it is not God, but that which is Ultimate, Unlimited, and Limits things Ultimately fits the definition of God.
-The unlimited nature of God also means that God is not confined by anything like time, but is ever existing, eternal, there was no time "before God" because nothing can't do anything, and anything "before" would have to be responsible for what comes after, and then that thing "before" would be God. So there is no time really, only God, and God creates the things by which we measure time.)
-I hope the above exegesis has helped you to understand my 25 word sentence. Does it still seem like gibberish and gobbledygook to you?
-That was explaining my belief in God in 25 words. Now for explaining Easy Religion in 25 words:
1 God 2 Controls 3 Everything 4 And 5 Is 6 Your 7 Only 8 Chance 9 At 10 Survival. 11 Worship 12 The 13 Greatest, 14 Omniscient, 15 Omnipotent, 16 Omnipresent 17 God 18 Through 19 Reverent 20 Gestures 21 Like 22 Cleanliness, 23 Prostration, 24 And 25 Praise.
-So the 25 word "Easy Religion in a Nutshell" would be:
God Controls Everything And Is Your Only Chance At Survival.
-Worship The Greatest, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent God Through Reverent Gestures Like Cleanliness, Prostration, And Praise.
-But is it really nuts? I mean, people are guaranteed to die in this day and age. Death is scary. It is possible that nobody will ever live again. So people hope that whatever created them will give them life again just as they had been given life in the first place. They give it a shot. What does not giving it a shot accomplish?
-
God Controls Everything And Is Your Only Chance At Survival.
-(The meaning of this is "That which controls everything is God, and because it controls everything is what brought you into life, and is your only chance at surviving in life and after death". So the hope is that we can benefit from God by surviving comfortably and living on, and there is nothing that can help us do this besides God alone, that is why the Greatest and Ultimate is invoked and worshipped, besides our total awe and admiration.)
-
Worship The Greatest Omniscient Omnipotent Omnipresent God Through Reverent Gestures Like Cleanliness, Prostration, And Praise.
-(This means that worship, just as the ancients did throughout the ages, is the only activity that seems to offer any hope for humans showing their respect for God. Nothing is guaranteed here other than that we all know we are going to die inevitably, and even if we don't die, something could kill us. We have defined God as that which controls everything ultimately and is the total Greatest with nothing greater.
-In other words, we're communicating straight with the Ultimate Boss that is always around us being Omnipresent, fully aware being omniscient, and having absolutely all power being omnipotent. The reverent gestures were pretty much the same around the world and they included being clean, standing before God who is everywhere, but usually facing a certain direction, bowing, and prostrating all the while praising God with the best praises.
-The intent was to show respect, as well as to gain favor. The omniscient God, having full knowledge, would know what the humans intent was, and having all power, would be able to reward and benefit the supplicant.
-Some say, "God is so Great that worship is useless, since God doesn't care". God indeed requires no worship, and requires nothing, but this is not about what God needs so much as what we need from God.
-This is the way that people worshipped God throughout the ages, all with the same intention, and an omniscient God fully comprehends what the human is doing and why. We are showing respect, appreciation, acknowledgment, awareness, that God is the Greatest, that God alone can give us anything, and that God alone can give us good things. We seek the benefit, the reward, the goodness of God, and we also seek the protection from all harm from God.
-The purpose of cleanliness is to show respect, it is for ourselves mainly, and it is about the intent you are approaching God with, you are coming with the utmost respect before the Ultimate and Greatest. The gestures of worship are precise ways for humans to show their respect to God and their awareness that God is the greatest, that God can not be outdone, that we are surrendered to God willingly or unwillingly, but that we know how powerful God is and we willingly surrender to that power, as there is no way to resist it anyway.)
-The earliest Church Fathers had beliefs identical to mine:
-"
Our God has no introduction in time. He alone is without beginning, and is himself the beginning of all things. God is animation, not attending upon matter (not made of matter), but the maker of material animation and of the appearances which are in matter. He is invisible, being himself the Master of both sensible and invisible things" (Address to the Greeks 4 [A.D. 170]). - Tatian the Syrian
-"I have sufficiently demonstrated that we are not atheists, since
we acknowledge one God, unbegotten, eternal, invisible, incapable of being acted upon, incomprehensible, unbounded, who is known only by understanding and reason, who is encompassed by light (knowledge) and beauty and animation and indescribable power, by whom all things, through his command ("Be"), have been produced and set in order and are kept in existence" (Plea for the Christians 10 [A.D. 177]). - Athenagoras
-"Far removed is the Master of all from those things which operate among men, the affections and passions.
He is simple, not composed of parts, without structure, altogether like and equal to himself alone.
He is all mind, all animation, all thought, all intelligence, all reason . . . all light (knowledge), all fountain of every good,
and this is the manner in which the religious and the pious are accustomed to speak of God" (Against Heresies 2:13:3 [A.D. 189]). - Irenaeus
-"Being is
in God (panentheism).
God is divine being, eternal and without beginning, incorporeal and illimitable, and the cause of what exists. Being is that which wholly subsists. Nature is the truth of things, or the inner reality of them. According to others, it is the production of what has come to existence; and according to others, again, it is the providence of God, causing the being, and the manner of being, in the things which are produced" (ibid.). - Clement of Alexandria
-"What is God? ‘God,’ as the Lord says, ‘is a spirit (animation).’ Now spirit is properly substance, incorporeal, and uncircumscribed. And that is incorporeal which does not consist of a body, or
whose existence is not according to breadth, length, and depth. And that is uncircumscribed which has no place,
which is wholly in all, and in each entire, and the same in itself" (ibid.). - Clement of Alexandria
-"No one can rightly express God wholly. For on account of his greatness he is ranked as the All, and is the Master of the Universe. Nor are any parts to be predicated of him. For the
One is indivisible; wherefore also it is
infinite, not considered with reference to inscrutability, but with reference to its being without dimensions, and not having a limit.
And therefore it is without form" (Miscellanies 5:12 [A.D. 208]). - Clement of Alexandria
-"Since our mind is in itself unable to behold God as he is, it knows the Master of the Universe from the beauty of his works and from the elegance of his creatures. God, therefore, is
not to be thought of as being either a body or as existing in a body, but as a simple intellectual being, admitting within himself no addition of any kind" (Fundamental Doctrines 1:1:6 [A.D. 225]). - Origen
-"John says in the gospel, ‘No one has at any time seen God,’ clearly declaring to all who are able to understand,
that there is no nature to which God is visible, not as if he were indeed visible by nature, and merely escaped or baffled the view of a frailer creature, but because he is by nature impossible to be seen" (ibid. 1:1:8). - Origen
-"God is simple and of an incomposite and spiritual nature, having neither ears nor organs of speech.
A solitary essence and illimitable, he is composed of no numbers and parts" (The Holy Spirit 35 [A.D. 362]). - Didymus the Blind
-"First i
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