Post by Worldquest on Dec 19, 2011 0:16:37 GMT
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panentheism
Panentheism (not to be confused with pantheism) is the view that the creator of the universe exists inside and outside the universe simultaneously.
Pantheism is the view that the creator exists only in the universe, or more precisely, the universe is a manifestation of the creator. I certainly agree with that. I think that anyone who believes in god but believes that god is separate from its creation should consider this :
Imagine that you're god, and you are about to create the universe (by universe, that can include a multiverse, I mean everything). Where would you go to get what you would need to create it? There would be nowhere to go because without you, nothing exists, so you're the only thing that exists. So you would create from yourself. This is why I agree with pantheists in that the universe is god. It is made of god, as a house is made of bricks.
But I take the idea of god's omnipotence very seriously, which is why in my view god can and does exists inside and outside the universe simultaneously, hence panentheism. The universe is constructed of god / consists of god, but god is also beyond the creation.
I don't actually believe that god is a creator. I think that god is what you could call infinite potential, and that "creations" are actually manifestations, ie potential made actual. So to me god is a manifestor, not a creator. However for convenience I'm happy to use the terms "create" and "creator".
It is also my view that all belief systems, including atheism, come primarily from how you feel about something. People feel strongly about their worldviews, and there's the clue. They rationalize. They use "evidence" (the word "evidence" incidentally is closely linked to the word "conviction" and for very good reason) to rationalize their views, which are based on their feelings.
When an atheist says, for example, that they base their views on evidence and evidence alone, I don't think they are quite being honest with themselves, any more honest than I would be if I said the same thing. We should all be humble enough to acknowledge that what we accept as evidence is coloured strongly by our already existing gut feelings. The old saying that seeing is believing is in fact the reverse. It is : Believing is seeing. You believe, and then you see (rationalize).
Just as it is very true that we don't have all the answers nor should we pretend to have them, it is also true that we don't have 100% objectivity, nor should we pretend that we do.
Panentheism (not to be confused with pantheism) is the view that the creator of the universe exists inside and outside the universe simultaneously.
Pantheism is the view that the creator exists only in the universe, or more precisely, the universe is a manifestation of the creator. I certainly agree with that. I think that anyone who believes in god but believes that god is separate from its creation should consider this :
Imagine that you're god, and you are about to create the universe (by universe, that can include a multiverse, I mean everything). Where would you go to get what you would need to create it? There would be nowhere to go because without you, nothing exists, so you're the only thing that exists. So you would create from yourself. This is why I agree with pantheists in that the universe is god. It is made of god, as a house is made of bricks.
But I take the idea of god's omnipotence very seriously, which is why in my view god can and does exists inside and outside the universe simultaneously, hence panentheism. The universe is constructed of god / consists of god, but god is also beyond the creation.
I don't actually believe that god is a creator. I think that god is what you could call infinite potential, and that "creations" are actually manifestations, ie potential made actual. So to me god is a manifestor, not a creator. However for convenience I'm happy to use the terms "create" and "creator".
It is also my view that all belief systems, including atheism, come primarily from how you feel about something. People feel strongly about their worldviews, and there's the clue. They rationalize. They use "evidence" (the word "evidence" incidentally is closely linked to the word "conviction" and for very good reason) to rationalize their views, which are based on their feelings.
When an atheist says, for example, that they base their views on evidence and evidence alone, I don't think they are quite being honest with themselves, any more honest than I would be if I said the same thing. We should all be humble enough to acknowledge that what we accept as evidence is coloured strongly by our already existing gut feelings. The old saying that seeing is believing is in fact the reverse. It is : Believing is seeing. You believe, and then you see (rationalize).
Just as it is very true that we don't have all the answers nor should we pretend to have them, it is also true that we don't have 100% objectivity, nor should we pretend that we do.