Why seek "God"?

[habibii zahra]

For myself, seeing God within others first had to happen before I was able to open my heart to God within my own heart. Being around the laughter of infants was particularity effective towards that end. Now, He is everywhere I turn.

see ...he is very kind and merciful..god is for all of us...ALLAH is for all of us..there is no one but him out there taking care of us

 

[habibii zahra]

Your gods made by human hands are not gods at all.


Leviticus 19:31

“‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.


Deuteronomy 4:29

But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.


1 Chronicles 28:9

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.


Psalm 4:2

How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?


Psalm 14:2

The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.


Deuteronomy 4:28

There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.


1 Chronicles 16:26

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

that is why we are inviting people to believe in god the one the unique god of Moses Jesus and Mohammad...he is the true god

 

[Khalliqa]

i'd love to share your experience can you narrate for me how did you find ALLAH?

I did not

 

[toLiJC]

Not really ... when I enter into higher states of jhana, I directly experience a magnification of my consciousness, a decrease in volition/action/motion, along with higher states of bliss.

then you have that bliss at the expense of responsibility for/toward your neighbor/townsman/cohabitant, because the lack of motion is inextricably linked with lack of responsibility in practice, and it doesn't pay to be irresponsible for/toward our neighbor/townsman/cohabitant, because there is an eternal circle of existence and positions of the souls, and whatever we do for/to others, the same will be done for/to us in next/future eternities, i.e. we kind of "film" the "movie" of our lives, because everything we "film" now will be "projected/screened" each of the next/future eternity, only the souls are (successively) alternated as to the(ir) (eternal) positions - of course i say all this without condemning/dooming anybody

If I'm a puppet, then why don't I see the puppet-master?

the true God is the system Administrator of life and cannot afford to be visible and perceptible at all, otherwise (if He was visible/perceptible to us) we would see and in general sense that we are puppets in the hands of one huge giant on an universal scale - He wants us to be free users of life, but He is still in struggle with the "darkness"(the other god)

as for the other god, it is not in his interest to be visible/perceptible to humans in his true colors, because he intends to mislead them

How does one "practice the faith right"?

by following the sound principles of faith, such as: the worshiper must not have any other god, lord(christ) of spirit besides the true One(Exodus 20:3 - this is the commandment against worship of/service to idols/devils), the worshiper must not create any spiritual/religious theory or (spiritual/religious) practice in connection/conjunction with any thing that is either in the "heaven", in the "earth", or in the "see/waters" (given that the true Lord God is the only one that is beyond these three), neither must they revere such things, nor serve them (even if not they but someone else created them) (Exodus 20:4-6 - this is the commandment against heresies), etc.

Blessings

 

[ananda]

I understood how much he is merciful..i spend many years searching for a beloved I didn't find anyone but he revealed himself to me ...I saw him I accepted him to be my beloved thus I love him..he was the one one who stand for me when I didn't have anyone beside me..he was there to take care of me

What did you do to cause him to reveal himself to you?

 

[CherubRam]

that is why we are inviting people to believe in god the one the unique god of Moses Jesus and Mohammad...he is the true god

I am glad that Muslims want to worship the God of Abraham. What bothers me is that (Allah) is not a god that Abraham worshiped. The Arabs knew the God of Abraham as Yahwah in the 9th century BC. The Arabs stopped speaking God's name when He would not curse the Jews for them. That is why Mohammad did not know the name of God. If Mohammad was truly a prophet of God, he would have known God's name.

 

[ananda]

then you have that bliss at the expense of responsibility for/toward your neighbor/townsman/cohabitant, because the lack of motion is inextricably linked with lack of responsibility in practice, and it doesn't pay to be irresponsible for/toward our neighbor/townsman/cohabitant,

What responsibilities are those?

because there is an eternal circle of existence and positions of the souls, and whatever we do for/to others, the same will be done for/to us in next/future eternities, i.e. we kind of "film" the "movie" of our lives, because everything we "film" now will be "projected/screened" each of the next/future eternity, only the souls are (successively) alternated as to the(ir) (eternal) positions - of course i say all this without condemning/dooming anybody

How do you know this?

the true God is the system Administrator of life and cannot afford to be visible and perceptible at all, otherwise (if He was visible/perceptible to us) we would see and in general sense that we are puppets in the hands of one huge giant on an universal scale - He wants us to be free users of life, but He is still in struggle with the "darkness"(the other god) ... as for the other god, it is not in his interest to be visible/perceptible to humans in his true colors, because he intends to mislead them

Then how do we know that "the true God's" claims are true, if nothing of him (or "the other god") is perceptible to us?

by following the sound principles of faith, such as: the worshiper must not have any other god, lord(christ) of spirit besides the true One(Exodus 20:3 - this is the commandment against worship of/service to idols/devils), the worshiper must not create any spiritual/religious theory or (spiritual/religious) practice in connection/conjunction with any thing that is either in the "heaven", in the "earth", or in the "see/waters" (given that the true Lord God is the only one that is beyond these three), neither must they revere such things, nor serve them (even if not they but someone else created them) (Exodus 20:4-6 - this is the commandment against heresies), etc.

Blessings

I did all that, for 30 years, without being directly contacted by "the true God".

 

[toLiJC]

What responsibilities are those?

of course responsibility for non-causation/non-infliction of evil to/on the neighbor/townsman/cohabitant as well as for overall/all-embracing salvation and provision of life in the true Lord God, what else?!

How do you know this?

through faith in Him, IOW, by practicing the faith in Him

Then how do we know that "the true God's" claims are true, if nothing of him (or "the other god") is perceptible to us?

that is why Jesus said "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."(John 20:29), because here is how for example you have asked so many questions waiting for comprehensive answers, while other people have just believed, including in incomprehension/misunderstanding...

I did all that, for 30 years, without being directly contacted by "the true God".

the contact with Him is possible in the faith, and the faith is, first of all, faithfulness to Him, even if a man doesn't know anything about Him and His things...

1 Corinthians 9:26 (NASB) "I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;"

Blessings

 

[ananda]

of course responsibility for non-causation/non-infliction of evil to/on the neighbor/townsman/cohabitant

In jhana, with the reduction/absence of volition, I engage in virtually complete non-causation/non-infliction. IMO that is the greatest responsibility one can perform towards others.

as well as for overall/all-embracing salvation and provision of life in the true Lord God, what else?!

I don't know who that is, I never met "the true Lord God".

through faith in Him, IOW, by practicing the faith in Him

the contact with Him is possible in the faith, and the faith is, first of all, faithfulness to Him, even if a man doesn't know anything about Him and His things...

1 Corinthians 9:26 (NASB) "I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air;"

Blessings

What do you suppose went wrong with my 30 years of faith?

that is why Jesus said "blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."(John 20:29), because here is how for example you have asked so many questions waiting for comprehensive answers, while other people have just believed, including in incomprehension/misunderstanding...

... and the Buddha supposedly stated "The man who is without blind faith, who knows the Uncreated, who has severed all links, destroyed all causes, and thrown out all desires — he, truly, is the most excellent of men." (Dhp 97).

 

[CherubRam]

I am glad that Muslims want to worship the God of Abraham. What bothers me is that (Allah) is not a god that Abraham worshiped. The Arabs knew the God of Abraham as Yahwah in the 9th century BC. The Arabs stopped speaking God's name when He would not curse the Jews for them. That is why Mohammad did not know the name of God. If Mohammad was truly a prophet of God, he would have known God's name.

Matthew 6:7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

 

[dlamberth]

What do you suppose went wrong with my 30 years of faith?

You grew?

 

[ananda]

You grew?

I suppose so, I grew out of faith.

 

[dlamberth]

I suppose so, I grew out of faith.

Oh...you have faith. Lots of it. You just grew in a different direction than from where you started.

 

[ananda]

Oh...you have faith. Lots of it. You just grew in a different direction than from where you started.

I prefer to see it as leaving faith for knowledge.

 

[toLiJC]

In jhana, with the reduction/absence of volition, I engage in virtually complete non-causation/non-infliction. IMO that is the greatest responsibility one can perform towards others.

"greatest" is far-fetched; jhana is entrammeling - it makes worshipers irresponsible and unable to help and save (the life of) their neighbor/townsman/cohabitant

Galatians 4:9 (NLT) "So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?"

for example, if, God forbid, some (young) person suffers from a deadly disease and buddhists cannot heal them of that disease, that person may die, or if they suffer not from a deadly disease but yet from a serious disease which prevents them from being able to have a normal life, they may suffer for the rest of their lives, so it doesn't pay to be buddhists

I don't know who that is, I never met "the true Lord God".

who created the world, life and humans, including you?!, the infants usually don't even have a mind to create themselves, let alone power/abilities for this?!, don't you think there must be someone or at least something very reasonable and powerful that created and still creates life/humans?!

Revelation 14:6-7 "I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."

What do you suppose went wrong with my 30 years of faith?

the system of human(666) spirituality/religiosity is the one that has unfortunately betrayed many people, including a considerable part of modern christianity, i also have not found true faith in many denominations/"churches", which is why i have never returned there (after about 3-4 years of attendance), neither as a religious seeker nor as an established worshiper, since i began to practice the faith in the true One quite seriously and Jesus Christ appeared to me (btw, without boasting about anything of myself, it even turned out that i was subsequently sent to witness to the true Word of God and Jesus there, IOW, i appeared there again but only as a witness of God)

... and the Buddha supposedly stated "The man who is without blind faith, who knows the Uncreated, who has severed all links, destroyed all causes, and thrown out all desires — he, truly, is the most excellent of men." (Dhp 97).

why blind?!, there is at least common sense/sanity in us given by the true One; buddha is misleading, albeit not as much as krishna and the rest of the so-called "avatars"/"acharyas" of yoga/hinduism, actually, his teaching is basically the same as the teaching of krishna, although he is most likely the best prophet of the indic spiritual/religious tradition, however, i don't think that the man who is perfect for himself is better than the man who saves all humans from evil and provides them with abundant and everlasting life in the true One - just see in the Gospels how Jesus as well as each of His true disciples saved many people by cleansing, healing, giving perfect health to and resurrecting them - buddha had not done this, so the teaching of buddha is weak

Blessings

 

[ananda]

"greatest" is far-fetched; jhana is entrammeling - it makes worshipers irresponsible and unable to help and save (the life of) their neighbor/townsman/cohabitant

Galatians 4:9 (NLT) "So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world?"

for example, if, God forbid, some (young) person suffers from a deadly disease and buddhists cannot heal them of that disease, that person may die, or if they suffer not from a deadly disease but yet from a serious disease which prevents them from being able to have a normal life, they may suffer for the rest of their lives, so it doesn't pay to be buddhists

I think you misunderstand me: Jhana does not preclude me from assisting others in compassionate ways. In fact, the practice of jhana allows us to see, with clearer vision and wisdom, how we might better help others than we could with muddled vision and lesser wisdom.

For example: Think about a child trying to help another child out of a bad situation. The child's vision and wisdom is generally less than an adult's. Although a child might possess great compassion to do what he can and what he knows to help the other child, the adult instead can (usually) help much more effectively, since the adult (hopefully) possesses greater vision and wisdom.

It is the same with the mind and consciousness further developed in training with jhana. In jhana, we transcend the comparatively lower states of mind possessed by an ordinary adult, and can gain higher states of vision and wisdom. Thus, we can help others in even more effective ways.

"When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself." - The Buddha (SN 47.19) ... "the one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others is to be criticized for that reason, the one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others is, for that reason, to be praised." (AN 7.64) ... the five faultless gifts one self-develops which also helps others: (AN 8.39)​

P.S. Also, we are less fearful of death, illness, and aging as a result. We see them as natural processes of life, and we (or at least I) would not bankrupt our families in an often futile attempt to extend our physical lifespan for a few months more (like those in Western society generally seems to value, and often do).

who created the world, life and humans, including you?!, the infants usually don't even have a mind to create themselves, let alone power/abilities for this?!, don't you think there must be someone or at least something very reasonable and powerful that created and still creates life/humans?!

Revelation 14:6-7 "I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."

I do not speculate on the idea of any alleged first creation, as it is a question that I cannot answer. What's most relevant in the here-and-now is dukkha, kamma, and rebirth - things out of the realm of speculation.

So, I can, however, definitively speak on the subject of ongoing creation (aka rebirth): I recreate myself every moment of every day. E.g. Through my kamma - actions which I previously chose to do - I can say that I have created the person I am today. I am no longer the same, nor completely different, than the person I used to be when I was a child.

the system of human(666) spirituality/religiosity is the one that has unfortunately betrayed many people, including a considerable part of modern christianity, i also have not found true faith in many denominations/"churches", which is why i have never returned there (after about 3-4 years of attendance), neither as a religious seeker nor as an established worshiper, since i began to practice the faith in the true One quite seriously and Jesus Christ appeared to me (btw, without boasting about anything of myself, it even turned out that i was subsequently sent to witness to the true Word of God and Jesus there, IOW, i appeared there again but only as a witness of God)

Are you claiming that you are one of the few who preserves the true faith ... like many, many others who also claim the same? Are you also claiming the office of prophet? Why did your deity limit that revelation to a few like yourself, instead of to all, throughout space and time - a concern which I expressed in greater detail earlier in this thread? How did you verify that what you saw was indeed Jesus, and verify that he is indeed Almighty/Eternal/Infinite, and not simply a lesser, limited, but (perhaps still a) powerful being?

why blind?!, there is at least common sense/sanity in us given by the true One; buddha is misleading, albeit not as much as krishna and the rest of the so-called "avatars"/"acharyas" of yoga/hinduism, actually, his teaching is basically the same as the teaching of krishna, although he is most likely the best prophet of the indic spiritual/religious tradition, however, i don't think that the man who is perfect for himself is better than the man who saves all humans from evil and provides them with abundant and everlasting life in the true One - just see in the Gospels how Jesus as well as each of His true disciples saved many people by cleansing, healing, giving perfect health to and resurrecting them - buddha had not done this, so the teaching of buddha is weak

Blessings

I see evil all around us in the world; I do not see anyone with everlasting life; neither have I seen anyone resurrected. I cannot verify those alleged claims about Jesus.

On the other hand, this short story about the Buddha and his approach to death, from the Buddhist canon (Thig 10.1), speaks more truly to my heart. Since I can verify and know its teaching for myself, these words prove far more powerful to me.

 

[toLiJC]

I think you misunderstand me: Jhana does not preclude me from assisting others in compassionate ways. In fact, the practice of jhana allows us to see, with clearer vision and wisdom, how we might better help others than we could with muddled vision and lesser wisdom.

For example: Think about a child trying to help another child out of a bad situation. The child's vision and wisdom is generally less than an adult's. Although a child might possess great compassion to do what he can and what he knows to help the other child, the adult instead can (usually) help much more effectively, since the adult (hopefully) possesses greater vision and wisdom.

It is the same with the mind and consciousness further developed in training with jhana. In jhana, we transcend the comparatively lower states of mind possessed by an ordinary adult, and can gain higher states of vision and wisdom. Thus, we can help others in even more effective ways.

"When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself." - The Buddha (SN 47.19) ... "the one who practices for his own benefit but not that of others is to be criticized for that reason, the one who practices for both his own benefit and that of others is, for that reason, to be praised." (AN 7.64) ... the five faultless gifts one self-develops which also helps others: (AN 8.39)​

P.S. Also, we are less fearful of death, illness, and aging as a result. We see them as natural processes of life, and we (or at least I) would not bankrupt our families in an often futile attempt to extend our physical lifespan for a few months more (like those in Western society generally seems to value, and often do).

yes, it seems wise, but is actually misleading and weak as to effective (and) eternal salvation, because it verges on the truth, but is based on egoism and unrighteousness, for example, buddhists profess/preach that buddhism profits only or principally those who practice it, which makes it clear that in buddhism there is some kind of ineffectiveness as to overall salvation, because a person must practice buddhism so as to profit from it, and this is a sign of presence of some egoism/unrighteousness at the base of buddhism, while the aim of the true Lord God is to provide all humans, as well as all souls in general, with abundant and everlasting life, because the purpose of faith is not that all humans be converted into religious worshipers/spiritual servants, but that humankind be saved unto eternal life, and for that purpose He doesn't (necessarily) need millions of spiritual servants in this world - in fact, He has always had a small number of (official) spiritual servants (as it is revealed in Romans 11:1-5)

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 (NIV) "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others... Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.",

Hebrews 13:9 (WYC) "Do not ye be led away with diverse and strange teachings. For it is best to stable the heart with grace, not with meats, which profited not to men wandering in them."

there are not-a-few souls that, albeit without jhana and any other suchlike method, are at a level much more righteous than the level of those who follow the ancient principles of the so-called "yoga" of krishna, patanjali, buddha, etc., and they know that if any spiritual servants/workers don't work for abundant (and) lasting life including in this world, those spiritual servants/workers don't thus prove that they are worthy of being admitted to the higher world, because what guarantee is there that they won't thus bring deterioration to the higher world if they are admitted there?!, and what if the lack of support for abundant (and) lasting life would also be a "security hole" for that world?!

Revelation 21:27 (NASB) "and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life."

I do not speculate on the idea of any alleged first creation, as it is a question that I cannot answer. What's most relevant in the here-and-now is dukkha, kamma, and rebirth - things out of the realm of speculation.

So, I can, however, definitively speak on the subject of ongoing creation (aka rebirth): I recreate myself every moment of every day. E.g. Through my kamma - actions which I previously chose to do - I can say that I have created the person I am today. I am no longer the same, nor completely different, than the person I used to be when I was a child.

you cannot answer that question, but if any spiritual servant/worker ignores/doesn't take into consideration the true answer of that question when they judge and witness to things critical in the faith, then there will be a risk of abomination (being) set up in the holy place by them that brings desolation/deterioration to the world, which is why there are Holy Commandments of faith such as "the worshiper must not create any spiritual/religious theory or (spiritual/religious) practice..."(Exodus 20:4-6)

Matthew 24:15-16 (NASB) "when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains."

the system of human spirituality/religiosity("judea") could (God forbid) easily turn out to be the spiritual/religious system of the "beast(666)", and the right practice of faith as well as the refusal to commit spiritual lawlessness leads to Sanctity("mountains")...

Are you claiming that you are one of the few who preserves the true faith ... like many, many others who also claim the same? Are you also claiming the office of prophet? Why did your deity limit that revelation to a few like yourself, instead of to all, throughout space and time - a concern which I expressed in greater detail earlier in this thread? How did you verify that what you saw was indeed Jesus, and verify that he is indeed Almighty/Eternal/Infinite, and not simply a lesser, limited, but (perhaps still a) powerful being?

each of many religions has been a betrayal, including buddhism and bad christianity, i don't claim i am the only one witnessing to the truth of the true God, but there has been a whole cloud of such witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) - it is harder/more difficult to be a true preacher of God, and much harder/more difficult to be His true prophet such as Elijah, Isaiah and Daniel, just as many people understand and it is easy for them to explain that 2+2=4, but not every person could solve math problems whose complexity and difficulty are increased the most, and, nevertheless, true witnesses of God couldn't be found everywhere

it was the true One, but it is after all a matter of seeking/invoking Him, because He can/may appear to one person or another, but there is usually a need for right practice of faith, and yes, His appearance was very powerful, i still remember that the whole system of the wicked/evil one was removed for less than a second as if it was a speck of dust to Him

either believe or doubt - in the religious faith there are two directions opposite to each other, and of course the religious worshipers have to follow/support only what is proven/certain to be true/righteous

I see evil all around us in the world; I do not see anyone with everlasting life; neither have I seen anyone resurrected. I cannot verify those alleged claims about Jesus.

On the other hand, this short story about the Buddha and his approach to death, from the Buddhist canon (Thig 10.1), speaks more truly to my heart. Since I can verify and know its teaching for myself, these words prove far more powerful to me.

how could and when did the removal of willingness and unwillingness resolve the problems?!, what if there is "darkness" whose manifestations are based on egoism and unrighteousness and can be very high/sublime and hard to discern - they can even bring great light, glory, grace, bliss, happiness, euphoria, etc., including to the extent of thousands of fallings in love, so what is really clean and what is not, especially if we don't work for removal of the manifestations of the "darkness" right enough?!, therefore there has been right practice of faith in the true God and exorcism - in fact, everything Jesus did 2 millennia ago was based on exorcism...

Blessings

 

[ananda]

yes, it seems wise, but is actually misleading and weak as to effective (and) eternal salvation, because it verges on the truth, but is based on egoism and unrighteousness, for example, buddhists profess/preach that buddhism profits only or principally those who practice it, which makes it clear that in buddhism there is some kind of ineffectiveness as to overall salvation, because a person must practice buddhism so as to profit from it, and this is a sign of presence of some egoism/unrighteousness at the base of buddhism,

Buddhism, as I understand it, does not teach that it only benefits those who practice it. Early Buddhism is not a religion which demands obedience to dogmatic assertions. Instead, it merely points to the Laws of Reality. Everyone is compelled to followed those Laws, whether we like it or not. Buddhism merely suggests precepts, which we voluntarily assume, through which we can ease our burdens, based on skillful understanding and use of those Laws. Those who deny Buddhism are free to do so - it doesn't change the Laws which govern us all.

while the aim of the true Lord God is to provide all humans, as well as all souls in general, with abundant and everlasting life, because the purpose of faith is not that all humans be converted into religious worshipers/spiritual servants, but that humankind be saved unto eternal life, and for that purpose He doesn't (necessarily) need millions of spiritual servants in this world - in fact, He has always had a small number of (official) spiritual servants (as it is revealed in Romans 11:1-5) 1 Corinthians 10:32-33 (NIV) "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others... Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.", Hebrews 13:9 (WYC) "Do not ye be led away with diverse and strange teachings. For it is best to stable the heart with grace, not with meats, which profited not to men wandering in them."

Unfortunately, I cannot verify any of this for myself.

there are not-a-few souls that, albeit without jhana and any other suchlike method, are at a level much more righteous than the level of those who follow the ancient principles of the so-called "yoga" of krishna, patanjali, buddha, etc., and they know that if any spiritual servants/workers don't work for abundant (and) lasting life including in this world, those spiritual servants/workers don't thus prove that they are worthy of being admitted to the higher world, because what guarantee is there that they won't thus bring deterioration to the higher world if they are admitted there?!, and what if the lack of support for abundant (and) lasting life would also be a "security hole" for that world?!

I have no knowledge of everlasting life. But, what is the purpose of everlasting life, except to placate the dukkha of those who are afraid of death?

Buddhism also suggests that those who dwell in the heavens are not always righteous. Even deities are said to often act unwisely, under delusion, attachment, or aversion. So yes, even the deities and the heavens deteriorate.

you cannot answer that question, but if any spiritual servant/worker ignores/doesn't take into consideration the true answer of that question when they judge and witness to things critical in the faith, then there will be a risk of abomination (being) set up in the holy place by them that brings desolation/deterioration to the world, which is why there are Holy Commandments of faith such as "the worshiper must not create any spiritual/religious theory or (spiritual/religious) practice..."(Exodus 20:4-6) Matthew 24:15-16 (NASB) "when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains." the system of human spirituality/religiosity("judea") could (God forbid) easily turn out to be the spiritual/religious system of the "beast(666)", and the right practice of faith as well as the refusal to commit spiritual lawlessness leads to Sanctity("mountains")...

I cannot answer that question, because I do see the answer, nor do I know of a way as to how that answer can be surely known.

each of many religions has been a betrayal, including buddhism and bad christianity, i don't claim i am the only one witnessing to the truth of the true God, but there has been a whole cloud of such witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) - it is harder/more difficult to be a true preacher of God, and much harder/more difficult to be His true prophet such as Elijah, Isaiah and Daniel, just as many people understand and it is easy for them to explain that 2+2=4, but not every person could solve math problems whose complexity and difficulty are increased the most, and, nevertheless, true witnesses of God couldn't be found everywhere it was the true One, but it is after all a matter of seeking/invoking Him, because He can/may appear to one person or another, but there is usually a need for right practice of faith, and yes, His appearance was very powerful, i still remember that the whole system of the wicked/evil one was removed for less than a second as if it was a speck of dust to Him .. either believe or doubt - in the religious faith there are two directions opposite to each other, and of course the religious worshipers have to follow/support only what is proven/certain to be true/righteous

Thanks for sharing, but I didn't ask if you verified that the entity you encountered was a powerful being; I asked if and how you verified that it was the "Almighty/Eternal/Infinite, and not simply a lesser, limited, but (perhaps still a) powerful being".

how could and when did the removal of willingness and unwillingness resolve the problems?!, what if there is "darkness" whose manifestations are based on egoism and unrighteousness and can be very high/sublime and hard to discern - they can even bring great light, glory, grace, bliss, happiness, euphoria, etc., including to the extent of thousands of fallings in love, so what is really clean and what is not, especially if we don't work for removal of the manifestations of the "darkness" right enough?!, therefore there has been right practice of faith in the true God and exorcism - in fact, everything Jesus did 2 millennia ago was based on exorcism...

Blessings

I try not to engage in "what if's" .... removal of attachments and aversions does resolve alot of dukkha, proven by my own practice. Even love is an attachment that is often filled with grief and other dukkha - love is not the end-all in Buddhism.

 

[habibii zahra]

What did you do to cause him to reveal himself to you?

I did nothing he loved me thus he revealed himself to me

 

[habibii zahra]

I am glad that Muslims want to worship the God of Abraham. What bothers me is that (Allah) is not a god that Abraham worshiped. The Arabs knew the God of Abraham as Yahwah in the 9th century BC. The Arabs stopped speaking God's name when He would not curse the Jews for them. That is why Mohammad did not know the name of God. If Mohammad was truly a prophet of God, he would have known God's name.

god's name is ALLAH so there is no confusion here
Allah is the god of Abraham there is no confusion here also