This is not all about you. This is about the greater reality of theism that you like to ignore. The fact is that
many religious people do it.
But what you do is essentially the same anyway. While you may think you're conceptualizing God in a manner that is consistent with
all scripture, your conception is in opposition to those who believe that there is only actually
one authoritative source of information on the topic. In fact simply by virtue of not being, say, a Christian fundamentalist yourself, you are discarding and/or ignoring details that many theists insist are essential to conceptualizing the nature of God and his relationship with creation correctly. For example, unless your faith is
exclusively Jesus-centric, you are not accessing God through the correct channel, and therefore not accessing God at all. Why? Because Jesus is the part of God that makes such access possible. You can't relegate him to a position that is anything less than the
only way to truly know God, and be saved, without rejecting the fundamentalist Christian conception.
Moreover, God, and the metaphysical mechanics of both the material and the spiritual world, are necessarily inextricably linked. For example, in the Christian fundamentalist universe (and by universe in this context I mean the
entire ballgame of existence) we have souls that are born into the material world, live once, and are then judged according to the specific standards set out in the single and only scriptural source revealed and endorsed by him. Fuck with
any aspect of this picture and you're well on your way to saying that God is not the God that the fundamentalists say he is. Fuck with
any aspect of this picture, and you've made my case for me.
And this is just
one example.
Not sure what you mean by ''spiritual duties''.
What do you mean you don't know what I mean by "spiritual duties"? What do you think being a
practicing theist entails then? Writing a specific word down on a census form?
Tha aim is to get rid of your own personal conception of God, so a personal relationship can take place. Hence the term ''surrender''.
If you want to be a Christian fundamentalist, for example, the aim is to develop a conception of God that is consistent with the fundamentalist interpretation of biblical scripture, and then begin a personal relationship that evolves according to the manner in which the spirit moves you through the practice of your faith.
You've given me nothing to deny.
You're in denial about being in denial then. No surprise though since that's exactly what being in denial entails.
Intellectualy we can come to any conclusion about scripture if we choose, but when we study the scripture we find that it is very straightforeward. For example in genesis it does not mention that Adam and Eve were the first ever human beings, yet we know (from the same source) that Cain found a wife, and builded a city.
I've seen some of your efforts to harmonize biblical scripture with the scriptural foundation of other faiths and to say that they typically strain credibility would be an understatement. In order to complete your task, you have to abandon the literal interpretation that other theists hold so dear, and even then you better have a well developed repertoire of intellectual gymnastics at your disposal.
In fact as a former devout Christian who buried myself in the study of biblical scripture for years, I invite you to begin a thread on the matter so we can explore your position in greater detail.
Or, it intervenes with humans who know how to make contact, and doesn't intervene with humans who want to have the illusion of living a life where God does not exist.
Heh. That's merely an
opinion. Deists have a
different opinion. Thus rather than advancing your argument, you're highlighting mine.
I'm not saying the Deists are wrong, only that there position is not a theistic one. They believe God exists, a transcendental creator, but they choose not to worship Him.
Deists
do worship god you nitwit. I've explained that several times now, and even pointed you in the direction of additional information should you wish to actually shock us all and
learn something.
In fact I strongly suspect that a great many of them are more spiritually engaged than you are.
Yes, we all know you are afflicted with selective blindness.
The point is simple. If you actually believe in an sort of objective reality (and since you believe in a creator you clearly do) then the nature of that reality simply is what it is. Your own personal opinion on the matter has no bearing on it, nor do the personal opinions of any number of other individuals.
The deists do not accept anything considered supernatural, so their idea of ''spiritual'' is material. They see themselves as purely material beings, and God as a creator (not supernatural), at least based on what i've read.
You didn't follow my advice did you? You didn't go and
learn about Deism. Thus, you continue to look like an ignorant moron.
It's as if you're confusing Deism with naturalistic pantheism or something (which is a mistake you've made before).
Soul - the principle of life, feeling, thought, and action in humans, regarded as a distinct entity separate from the body, and commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; the spiritual part of humans as distinct from the physical part.
Spirit - the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.
So while they are being ''spiritual'' in their way, it is inconsistent with the personality and nature of God, therefore it is there own concoction. That is not theistic.
You've got this completely backwards. Deists are
opposed to such concoctions. They are trying to
avoid making the same mistakes that are so common in the rest of the theistic world. Mistakes which have led to a plethora of inconsistent and contradictory theological and metaphysical views. In other words, they want to worship god in the purest way possible, free from any of those highly suspect anthropomorphic frameworks. And contrary to your ignorant assertions, this doesn't
preclude the possibility that god actually
is a personal entity.