Is God Narcissistic?

[Saquist]

I was riding the shuttle a few weeks ago and overheard a woman preaching about God and telling another person to praise him and bring him glory. The thought popped into my head that maybe God is the ultimate narcissist. Narcissist act much the same; wanting all of the praise and attention.

Those that read and understand the bible comprehend that God wants his creation to appreciate his efforts.

Society Celebrates birthdays
National Holidays
Create Statues to remember the patriots
Memorialize the dead
Idolize Sports heros in Hall of Fame.

Why not more For God?
Worship is about giving a portion...not all just a portion of your time to appriciate our lives because someone was thoughtful enought to set this all in motion. And while it does not yet measure up to the paradise that it will one day be it is an opportunity for us...for live is fully of possibilities.

 

[pharaohmoan]

Splendidly put. Do enlighten us further by telling us how you know all these wonderful things.

Well it's a combination of memory, observation, logic, lucid dreaming and instinct
.
My perspective on life is totally different to most due to the fact that I have some very vivid memories of other lifetimes going back a long way.

My observation of society is that it is inherantly built around need and greed and does not nurture the soul. For me the soul and spirit are paramount to the continuation of the individual throughout time imorial. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I can confidently say yes I remember death is not the end. IMO the spirit/soul works in conjunction with evolution, stiffle and subdue the soul and you halt the evolutionary process itself.

Logic for me points to the fact that we are not an accident or fluke of nature there is purpose behind creation and always has been. For me the act of movement in the universe had to have been a conscious effort. Once you make one suposition it leads onto others like what came before, was it a more perfect model? Also I have had insights into other languages that seems to stem from the act of movement, very hard to fully explain but a good example is music(movement of sound waves) body language and dance moves. All can convey a message. indeed if you listen to music carefully you will notice that different sounds resonate with different parts of the body and create different emotions. When we were once united as one I believe it quite possible that we utilatised this partly instinctive language of motion.

Finally dreams and lucid dreaming. Well I have lucid dreams most nights and I am starting to see patterns in the dream world that directly corrolate to a unified and sperate consciousness within those worlds. Energy and mind and how you use them seem to be key. Matter seems to take on a different property in the dream world and is more akin to how I think it should be that is it bends and shapes with the mind. Which logically speaking means matter and mind are one. The question is are dream worlds real or not? My gut instinct is that some dreams are literally projections from this realm into another while other dreams are just workings of the mind. It is mostly in my dreams that I have seen and been able to experience harmony and a sense of blissfulness, however there is still hostility which for me means the fight is not over yet.

i don't think that my view of life is warped necessarily, but you're right to ask this question, in that i think it's a matter of perspective. i don't know. i feel like my life and my body are a prison, and i was going to log on here today to tell heart that if god was really benevolent, i would have been dead long ago.

i've always felt this way, even when i was little. like i didn't belong, like "this is it?", regarding life. it's so cruel and empty and unfulfilling. nothing helps it seems except some of the things you mentioned...they're like my therapy. it is nature, and art, and other people expressions of the same kind of pain that make this barely tolerable for me. sometimes i write. just to purge. see, my life isn't messy. my life is a prison. it could be good, it could be bad, happy, sad, and it would still be a prison. nothing helps. nothing ever helps. things that you would think would...make you happy...happiness doesn't help. it's a function of my flesh and the sin in this world. it just won't go away it seems, but until it does, i'm not going to feel right, or free, or like i think i should feel.

see, i think i'm supposed to feel this way right now because of sin...because i am flawed. we all are, and it's the people that think we're not that scare me.

i also think we're here to learn that, and if given the chance to change it and to get out, we would never ever want to go back again. what's the word for that? "to turn from your sin"? that's what i would do if given the chance to.

I don't think you are alone with the thoughts Lori, the difference is most people choose not to confront what you are feeling and going through and choose to instead stay ignorant not only to what is pottentially possible to improve life in this reality but also in the next.

You've pointed out that something is wrong, I agree and i think others like you are starting to wake up to the fact that we are not realising our full potential. This realisation makes me feel sad also mainly because we seem to be at the whim of both society it laws and protocals and also that feeling of being disconnected from the source.

 

[Myles]

Those that read and understand the bible comprehend that God wants his creation to appreciate his efforts.

Society Celebrates birthdays
National Holidays
Create Statues to remember the patriots
Memorialize the dead
Idolize Sports heros in Hall of Fame.

Why not more For God?
Worship is about giving a portion...not all just a portion of your time to appriciate our lives because someone was thoughtful enought to set this all in motion. And while it does not yet measure up to the paradise that it will one day be it is an opportunity for us...for live is fully of possibilities.

What does God lack that he needs to be worshipped ?

God was thoughtful enough to allow thousands of innocent people to die in Burma. I'm sure it's all due to man's sinful nature. I don't think many Burmese have read the Bible.

 

[Myles]

Well it's a combination of memory, observation, logic, lucid dreaming and instinct
.
My perspective on life is totally different to most due to the fact that I have some very vivid memories of other lifetimes going back a long way.

My observation of society is that it is inherantly built around need and greed and does not nurture the soul. For me the soul and spirit are paramount to the continuation of the individual throughout time imorial. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I can confidently say yes I remember death is not the end. IMO the spirit/soul works in conjunction with evolution, stiffle and subdue the soul and you halt the evolutionary process itself.

Logic for me points to the fact that we are not an accident or fluke of nature there is purpose behind creation and always has been. For me the act of movement in the universe had to have been a conscious effort. Once you make one suposition it leads onto others like what came before, was it a more perfect model? Also I have had insights into other languages that seems to stem from the act of movement, very hard to fully explain but a good example is music(movement of sound waves) body language and dance moves. All can convey a message. indeed if you listen to music carefully you will notice that different sounds resonate with different parts of the body and create different emotions. When we were once united as one I believe it quite possible that we utilatised this partly instinctive language of motion.

Finally dreams and lucid dreaming. Well I have lucid dreams most nights and I am starting to see patterns in the dream world that directly corrolate to a unified and sperate consciousness within those worlds. Energy and mind and how you use them seem to be key. Matter seems to take on a different property in the dream world and is more akin to how I think it should be that is it bends and shapes with the mind. Which logically speaking means matter and mind are one. The question is are dream worlds real or not? My gut instinct is that some dreams are literally projections from this realm into another while other dreams are just workings of the mind. It is mostly in my dreams that I have seen and been able to experience harmony and a sense of blissfulness, however there is still hostility which for me means the fight is not over yet.




I don't think you are alone with the thoughts Lori, the difference is most people choose not to confront what you are feeling and going through and choose to instead stay ignorant not only to what is pottentially possible to improve life in this reality but also in the next.

You've pointed out that something is wrong, I agree and i think others like you are starting to wake up to the fact that we are not realising our full potential. This realisation makes me feel sad also mainly because we seem to be at the whim of both society it laws and protocals and also that feeling of being disconnected from the source.

I cannot claim to have become enlightened by your post but I see where you are coming from. Thanks

 

[pharaohmoan]

I cannot claim to have become enlightened by your post but I see where you are coming from. Thanks

Well enlightenment mostly comes from the journey within. The problem is it cannot be translated into words, all words can do is resonate and ring true or not. Trying to describe some of the experiences that come with enlightenment is like fumbling around with vocabulary that just doesn't even come close to describing the emotions and experience of the paranormal.

 

[Lori_7]

Well enlightenment mostly comes from the journey within. The problem is it cannot be translated into words, all words can do is resonate and ring true or not. Trying to describe some of the experiences that come with enlightenment is like fumbling around with vocabulary that just doesn't even come close to describing the emotions and experience of the paranormal.

you do a really good job finding the vocabulary to express yourself in a way i can relate to. some of the things you've said here in this thread have made me feel some sort of relief and that doesn't happen very often, so thank you.

 

[Saquist]

What does God lack that he needs to be worshipped ?

What do you mean by your assumptions?

God was thoughtful enough to allow thousands of innocent people to die in Burma. I'm sure it's all due to man's sinful nature. I don't think many Burmese have read the Bible.

"Time, and Unforeseen occurences befall us all."
The blame for the loss of life falls on he that rules the land on which they suffer. They're leaders oppress them. Refuse aid, and failed to warn the people of the approaching storm.

 

[joepistole]

When you are great, it is hard to be narcistic.

 

[Saquist]

But is that really the case here?
The bible shows God to be balanced in every way. Love yet capable of Anger. Just and yet merciful, Strong and yet kind.

God's balanced attributes prevent him from accepting human sacrifices even though at time in Hebrew history they would offer up their children to the fire as the pagan people did around them.
1. If his sense of self was truely as great as his greatness why not accepting the sacrifices?
2.Why not override his standards and accept Cains offering of work and harvest?
3. Why require the Hebrews to correct they're problems with their brother before making an offering before the temple.
4.Why not encourage only a tenth to give...why not half or all like some pastors might tell you today?
5. Why encourage us to love of neighbors as a command? Why not "love only God?"
6. God is only Jealous of other gods seeing as he's the only true God...why not be jealous of everything and everyone.


Perhaps his Greatness is ecliplsing the reasons behind those so uncommonly understood balances of character. Narcism is an overriding characteristic. It knows no balance.

 

[Lori_7]

What does God lack that he needs to be worshipped ?

God was thoughtful enough to allow thousands of innocent people to die in Burma. I'm sure it's all due to man's sinful nature. I don't think many Burmese have read the Bible.

buttin' in...

to me worship is just a realization of who or what he is. the more i learn from him, the more caught up i get, the more real he becomes to me, and so i give more of my life up to him and the realization. it's not just some exercise like i see people do in church, or some rhetoric which is meaningless ass kissing, or conformist, co-dependent type behavior. i worship by screaming my head off at him sometimes, and i think he likes it. he knows it really means something, and that i wouldn't bother doing it if i didn't know he was listening and is god.

and hey...everybody's gotta die somehow, and nobody is innocent, and there isn't a place on this earth that hasn't heard of jesus, and it's a personal thing anyway, and from what i've experienced, you don't need a bible to meet god.

 

[Myles]

What do you mean by your assumptions?



"Time, and Unforeseen occurences befall us all."
The blame for the loss of life falls on he that rules the land on which they suffer. They're leaders oppress them. Refuse aid, and failed to warn the people of the approaching storm.

What a load of cobblers ! At the latest estimate as many as 50, 0000 people may have died in Burma and you talk about time and unforseen circumstances.
So God allowed it to happen because of the leaders' behaviour. With your head-in-the- Bible attitude, it has not occured to you that if your monster of a god had not allowed it to happen, there would have been no need for a warning in the first place. It takes a bit of intelligence to work that one out, whereas rote learning sewems to be your forte.

As usual, you are dealing in the half truths typical of a Creationist site. Aid has not been refused but, as usual, the Burmese junta are slow to get organized because of their isolation from the rrst of the world.. But aid would not have been necessary, if the disaster had not happened. Equally, how do you know that the authorities could have forewarned people of the hurricane.

How about New Orleans ? How about all kinds of natural disaster ?

The thing that makes me puke is that God gets credit for what is considered good, without ever being blamed for what is bad. You are totally beyond reason.

 

[Myles]

But is that really the case here?
The bible shows God to be balanced in every way. Love yet capable of Anger. Just and yet merciful, Strong and yet kind.

God's balanced attributes prevent him from accepting human sacrifices even though at time in Hebrew history they would offer up their children to the fire as the pagan people did around them.
1. If his sense of self was truely as great as his greatness why not accepting the sacrifices?
2.Why not override his standards and accept Cains offering of work and harvest?
3. Why require the Hebrews to correct they're problems with their brother before making an offering before the temple.
4.Why not encourage only a tenth to give...why not half or all like some pastors might tell you today?
5. Why encourage us to love of neighbors as a command? Why not "love only God?"
6. God is only Jealous of other gods seeing as he's the only true God...why not be jealous of everything and everyone.


Perhaps his Greatness is ecliplsing the reasons behind those so uncommonly understood balances of character. Narcism is an overriding characteristic. It knows no balance.

Words and more words from an old book. Could you possibly put it aside and speak for yourself ? I guess not, otherwise you would not post such nonsense

 

[Saquist]

What a load of cobblers ! At the latest estimate as many as 50, 0000 people may have died in Burma and you talk about time and unforseen circumstances.
So God allowed it to happen because of the leaders' behaviour. With your head-in-the- Bible attitude, it has not occured to you that if your monster of a god had not allowed it to happen, there would have been no need for a warning in the first place. It takes a bit of intelligence to work that one out, whereas rote learning sewems to be your forte.

As usual, you are dealing in the half truths typical of a Creationist site. Aid has not been refused but, as usual, the Burmese junta are slow to get organized because of their isolation from the rrst of the world.. But aid would not have been necessary, if the disaster had not happened. Equally, how do you know that the authorities could have forewarned people of the hurricane.

How about New Orleans ? How about all kinds of natural disaster ?

The thing that makes me puke is that God gets credit for what is considered good, without ever being blamed for what is bad. You are totally beyond reason.

I'm not a creationist.

From Yahoo news.
For accuracy:
The appeal for outside assistance was unusual for Myanmar's ruling generals, who have long been suspicious of international organizations and closely controlled their activities. Several agencies, including the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, have limited their presence as a consequence

So it was a refusal intitialy but the article has shown as of tueday the government is only now allowing aid and it actually requiring visas. Surely people are dying in the red tape.

Not to be particular but the Death Toll Stands at 22,000 and 41,000 missing, just for accuracy.

No where do we find in statement or logic that God has any accounatability for people who don't recognize his sovereignty standards or existence. He is not the ruler of the nations on the Earth...

 

[Saquist]

Words and more words from an old book. Could you possibly put it aside and speak for yourself ? I guess not, otherwise you would not post such nonsense

So why have you engaged me in your particular style of ballistic nonsense, again?

 

[Myles]

I'm not a creationist.

From Yahoo news.
For accuracy:
The appeal for outside assistance was unusual for Myanmar's ruling generals, who have long been suspicious of international organizations and closely controlled their activities. Several agencies, including the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders, have limited their presence as a consequence

So it was a refusal intitialy but the article has shown as of tueday the government is only now allowing aid and it actually requiring visas. Surely people are dying in the red tape.

Not to be particular but the Death Toll Stands at 22,000 and 41,000 missing, just for accuracy.

No where do we find in statement or logic that God has any accounatability for people who don't recognize his sovereignty standards or existence. He is not the ruler of the nations on the Earth...

The death toll currently stands at 22,000 but may rise to about 50, 000 as more bodies are found. That is the official estimate as at 5pm this evening. It may be that the missing thousands are alive and well and rejoicing in the Lord, so that's all right then.

You will not find logical answers in anything to do with God. So, the Burmese don't recognize his sovereignty; we must give priority to shipping thousands of Bibles, food can follow. Could God arrange for Jesus to appear in Burma ? I'm told nothing is beyond him but I'm beginning to have my doubts when it comes to his inability or unwillingness to prevent natural disasters

I find it ridiculous that you talk of " his sovereignty" but absolve him from blame for natural disasters.

I did not say you are a Creationist; I likened your tactics to those one finds on Creationist sites

 

[Saquist]

At least you're admiting what you said was inaccurate. And I don't ever find myself on a creationist site like you do... That would be hypocritical as they are often in contrary to the Bible itself.

He didn't cause it and he's not the ruler of the government.
Hold those responsible for the disaster to those that have the authority to do so.
Do you think that if you were educated in the bible you would accept Gods authority?

I already know your answer... I merely multiply it by about 6 Billion.

 

[Myles]

At least you're admiting what you said was inaccurate. And I don't ever find myself on a creationist site like you do... That would be hypocritical as they are often in contrary to the Bible itself.

He didn't cause it and he's not the ruler of the government.
Hold those responsible for the disaster to those that have the authority to do so.
Do you think that if you were educated in the bible you would accept Gods authority?

I already know your answer... I merely multiply it by about 6 Billion.

You talk absolute tripe. How on earth can one hold people responsible for a natural disaster such asa a tsunami, an actice volcano, ann earthquake and so on ?

One is not educated in the Bible; rather it's a question of being indoctrinated because the Bible i not supported by any evidence acceptable to a rational mind.

What a good thing that poor sinners, those who do not accept your God's sovereignty, are prepared to help their fellow-humans when your Big Daddy alows such awful things to happen. How you can believe in such a monster is beyond me. It's a good thing he is a figment of your imagination.

 

[Saquist]

I'm sorry miles I assumed you knew we could prepare for natural disasters.
I thought it was common knowledge.

 

[Enmos]

I'm sorry miles I assumed you knew we could prepare for natural disasters.
I thought it was common knowledge.

It's Myles.

 

[Myles]

I'm sorry miles I assumed you knew we could prepare for natural disasters.
I thought it was common knowledge.

More nonsense. Next you'll be telling me that we can use Biblical technology to prepare for natural disasters.

If the world was left to you and other Bible-thumpers we woud not have the technology to forecast and prepare for natural disasters of any kind. It's not in Revelations, so it can't happen. You'd have us back in the Dark Ages where you appear to live.

Your offhand and callous attitude to human suffering says everything we need to know about your God. Next time you talk to him tell him I said he can get stuffed !