God and Religious Toleration/The basics about God

God in Religions

God is a mystery

Wikipedia: In monotheism and henotheism, God is conceived as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith.[1] The concept of God as described by theologians commonly includes the attributes of omniscience (infinite knowledge), omnipotence (unlimited power), omnipresence (present everywhere), omnibenevolence (perfect goodness), divine simplicity, and eternal and necessary existence. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, but not the sustainer, of the universe. Monotheism is the belief in the existence of one God or in the oneness of God. In pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is purported not to exist, while deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism. God has also been conceived as being incorporeal (immaterial), a personal being, the source of all moral obligation, and the "greatest conceivable existent".[1] Many notable medieval philosophers and modern philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God.

In each of the major religions, there are varied definitions of God. In the religions we also find the personal and abstract term of God. Many enlightened mystics think of God as a person and some others as a higher dimension in the cosmos. In Buddhism and in Hinduism the abstract term of God dominates. In Buddhism, the highest principle is called Nirvana and in Hinduism it's called Brahman.

Jesus referred to God as father. Moses referred to God more in an abstract fashion. His central definition of God was described with the words “I am.” These words refer to God as a happy state of being where one experiences enlightenment.

Ways to God

Moses threw his stave to the ground, which transformed itself into a snake. This is a symbol for the exercises to awaken the kundalini energy (which is typically portrayed as a snake). The stave is the spine of the person who is activating his or her kundalini energy. Inner happiness and enlightenment can then appear in the person, and he or she gets special spiritual abilities like healing, the transfer of energy, the fruit of the Holy Ghost.

Moses was an Egyptian prince. He received knowledge for taking the path of enlightenment during his education from the Egyptian priests. To simplify things, we can say that the way of Moses consists of contemplation and meditation, prayer (or visualizing God or paradise and connecting to them with a mantra).

A complete ego sacrifice cannot take place if you only take people to be as important as yourself. The Bible says: “love your neighbor as yourself.” The Bible assumes that everyone loves him or herself. You need to love yourself before you can love others. That is a difficult thing for some people as a lot of people are so broken on the inside. The idea isn't wrong. I need to be happy and at peace before I can bring happiness and peace into the world. Otherwise helping people can start to become neurotic and forced. If that becomes the case, it becomes impossible to sacrifice the ego. Giving and all-encompassing love is more of a natural expression of one's own happiness.

Suffering

Wikipedia: Suffering, or pain in a broad sense,[1] may be an experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual.[2] Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of affective phenomena. The opposite of suffering is pleasure, or happiness. The religions deal with the questions ”why does suffering exist?” ”What purpose does suffering serve?” and ”How can we overcome suffering?” The Abrahamic religions mostly consider suffering to be a punishment for not following the will of God. The suffering of Christ, and the dying of Jesus are considered salvation for Christianity. Master Eckhart said “the fastest animal that can carry you to perfection is suffering, no one can understand blessedness as deeply as those who stand with Christ in the deepest bitternes. “

The Desert Fathers

Wikipedia: The Desert Fathers (there were also Desert Mothers) were male Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who lived mainly in the Scetes desert of Egypt beginning around the third century AD. The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the writings of some of the early desert monks and nuns, representing the Divine Wisdom they received, still in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in 270–271 and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism.

The desert monastic communities that grew out of the informal gathering of hermit monks became the model for Christian monasticism. The eastern monastic tradition at Mt. Athos and the western Rule of St. Benedict both were strongly influenced by the traditions that began in the desert. All of the monastic revivals of the Middle Ages looked to the desert for inspiration and guidance. Much of Eastern Christian spirituality, including the Hesychast movement, had its roots in the practices of the Desert Fathers. Even religious renewals such as the German evangelicals and Pietists in Pennsylvania, the Devotio Moderna movement, and the Methodist Revival in England are seen by modern scholars as being influenced by the Desert Fathers.

A Desert Father has the conviction that a relationship takes a lot of work. Life as a hermit is calmer and more pleasant. Another Desert Father tries to see women just as people and not as sexual beings. A third has a girlfriend in a nearby place. As his fellow monks came to visit, he hid her in a woven basket. A holy father found her, but didn't mention it to the other monks. He simply took him aside after the visit and told him to pay better attention.