What would you ask god

there would be quite a few questions, and then again I'm more introverted than I am extroverted, so... oh well...

Edited by Cristi - September 07 2017 at 15:46

condor wrote: What would you ask god, if he existed?

Oh God.... Why did thou allow developing of dark feelings such as sadness and self-frustration on such a dangerous animal like the human being?? :p

ASL

Don't you think that you've taken this joke a little too far?

What was the point of poop?

Do coconuts migrate?

^I'm sure it would be Buddhism. The only religion I know of that does not entail a supreme being of any kind.

"Why does condor keep starting weird threads that he doesn't post in?"

^^ Well, there are many Buddhist scriptures, and different groups follow different ones. Not disagreeing with you here, by the way. While texts talk about celestial beings (which we can call fairy tales), Buddhism is not theistic. It is not so much theological as philosophical and psychological. I'm no expert myself, but like many non-theistic people, and some who are, I have been attracted to Buddhism.

Taken from here: http://www.buddhanet.net/ans73.htm

Do Buddhist believe in god? No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says: "Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains, sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines". Dp 188 Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding. The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming. The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

I would say that you can follow principles of Buddhism and believe in God, or not. I knew an Anglican Church Minister who also followed Buddhism and didn't find there to be too much conflict between both teachings to not bring both into his life.

Edited by Logan - September 08 2017 at 12:37