Over the years, the various answers to this question have caused an untold amount of suffering. In days of old, when knights were bold, a bunch of English folks thought that God wanted them to go on a crusade and "liberate" the Holy Land from the infidels--in the process, they killed and raped a lot of people, robbed and pillaged to boot. A little later, the guys who wrote the Malleus Maleficarum thought that God wanted them to persecute women they called witches, and hang them or burn them--mostly, in reality, for the crime of being female.(By the way, this book was pretty much the law of the land--both among Protestants and Catholics--for two hundred years.) More recently, many Catholics thought that God wanted them to refrain from eating meat on Fridays, and He was so vehemant about this, that He would send you to Hell forever if you scarfed down a Big Mac on Friday and failed to 'fess up. (Apparently God changed his mind on this one.)

Today in the Middle East, a lot of people think that God wants them to strap on a belt of explosives and blow themselves and as many other people as possible to bits. Here in America, many people seem to think that God wants us to torture and kill people who think like that. Others in America think that God wants us to deny basic civil rights to gay people. Still other folks, of the Jewish persuasion, believe that their God wants them to sexually mutilate their infant sons. Just the other night at an NA meeting, a young woman who had relapsed was wallowing in guilt and shame, sobbing as if her heart would break because "God wants me to be clean and sober. . . .I let God down."

Clearly there is, and has been, a lot of confusion on the issue of what God wants.

Try this notion on for size--God wants nothing.

No matter what you do or fail to do, God will not punish you. No matter what sacrifices you may make, God will not single you out for some special reward. In other words, God is not Santa Claus. God does not make a list of who's naughty and who's nice.

God is love, unconditional and infinite. To want something means that you do not have it, that you lack it. God is everything, and therefore cannot lack anything.

You do not have to pray to God for anything because you have already have been given everything. All the wisdom and courage and strength and compassion you will ever need is within you right now--you need only to find it, own it, and use it.

This, in brief, is the message of the latest book from Neale Donald Walsh--"What God Wants". His name may ring a bell--he has already written five books which were New York Times best-sellers. (None of which the Times bothered to review, I might add.) He takes seventy-five pages to lead up to the Big Answer, however, but to me and many other people, he will be largely preaching to the choir. For me, the really good stuff--the stuff that changed my life, filled me with such a sense of empowerment that now, every day of my life is just exactly as good and rich and wonderful as I choose it to be--is roughly from page 182 to page 211.

It is not a big book. It is, however, a great enough book to change humanity, one life at a time. With all the earnestness at my command, I urge everyone to read this book. The publishers' price is $23; it is less expensive on Amazon. If you choose not to make that investment for any reason, go to your local library and read it for free. Just read it, think about it, and act on it.

And prepare to be amazed.

The title of the book? (sorry if I missed it).

God wants a Starship.

Don't ask him what he needs it for, though.

The title of the book? (sorry if I missed it).

http://tinyurl.com/2jmb6e


Personally if you haven't read any of neil donald walsch's books I recommend the "conversations with god" trilogy first.
They are astounding.

http://tinyurl.com/2jmb6e


Personally if you haven't read any of neil donald walsch's books I recommend the "conversations with god" trilogy first.
They are astounding.

Thank you.

The title of the book? (sorry if I missed it).

Oops--the title is "What God Wants"

God is love, unconditional and infinite. To want something means that you do not have it, that you lack it. God is everything, and therefore cannot lack anything.


I'll have to bring this up next time I'm discussing religion with a theist.

Pro bono bump.

Pro bono bump.

Again.

Good thread. :D

Well it has to be true if somebody wrote a book about it.

Over the years, the various answers to this question have caused an untold amount of suffering. In days of old, when knights were bold, a bunch of English folks thought that God wanted them to go on a crusade and "liberate" the Holy Land from the infidels--in the process, they killed and raped a lot of people, robbed and pillaged to boot. A little later, the guys who wrote the Malleus Maleficarum thought that God wanted them to persecute women they called witches, and hang them or burn them--mostly, in reality, for the crime of being female.(By the way, this book was pretty much the law of the land--both among Protestants and Catholics--for two hundred years.) More recently, many Catholics thought that God wanted them to refrain from eating meat on Fridays, and He was so vehemant about this, that He would send you to Hell forever if you scarfed down a Big Mac on Friday and failed to 'fess up. (Apparently God changed his mind on this one.)

Today in the Middle East, a lot of people think that God wants them to strap on a belt of explosives and blow themselves and as many other people as possible to bits. Here in America, many people seem to think that God wants us to torture and kill people who think like that. Others in America think that God wants us to deny basic civil rights to gay people. Still other folks, of the Jewish persuasion, believe that their God wants them to sexually mutilate their infant sons. Just the other night at an NA meeting, a young woman who had relapsed was wallowing in guilt and shame, sobbing as if her heart would break because "God wants me to be clean and sober. . . .I let God down."

Clearly there is, and has been, a lot of confusion on the issue of what God wants.

Try this notion on for size--God wants nothing.

No matter what you do or fail to do, God will not punish you. No matter what sacrifices you may make, God will not single you out for some special reward. In other words, God is not Santa Claus. God does not make a list of who's naughty and who's nice.

God is love, unconditional and infinite. To want something means that you do not have it, that you lack it. God is everything, and therefore cannot lack anything.

You do not have to pray to God for anything because you have already have been given everything. All the wisdom and courage and strength and compassion you will ever need is within you right now--you need only to find it, own it, and use it.

This, in brief, is the message of the latest book from Neale Donald Walsh--"What God Wants". His name may ring a bell--he has already written five books which were New York Times best-sellers. (None of which the Times bothered to review, I might add.) He takes seventy-five pages to lead up to the Big Answer, however, but to me and many other people, he will be largely preaching to the choir. For me, the really good stuff--the stuff that changed my life, filled me with such a sense of empowerment that now, every day of my life is just exactly as good and rich and wonderful as I choose it to be--is roughly from page 182 to page 211.

It is not a big book. It is, however, a great enough book to change humanity, one life at a time. With all the earnestness at my command, I urge everyone to read this book. The publishers' price is $23; it is less expensive on Amazon. If you choose not to make that investment for any reason, go to your local library and read it for free. Just read it, think about it, and act on it.

And prepare to be amazed.

There is no God you wanker and Deeprak Chopra is a fucking con-artist.

There is no God you wanker and Deeprak Chopra is a fucking con-artist.

Let's see...he found something that helps him, and is trying to share it. You're in here trying to destroy it.

In his defense, Deeprak Chopra is a fucking douche bag. Is he not supposed to express his opinion because it might conflict with something that helps somebody else?

Maybe it helps him to call other people wankers and con-artists... and you have attempted to destroy that!

In his defense, Deeprak Chopra is a fucking douche bag. Is he not supposed to express his opinion because it might conflict with something that helps somebody else?

Maybe it helps him to call other people wankers and con-artists... and you have attempted to destroy that!

He can express his opinion anywhere he likes, just as I can. That's a silly question.

Then why say he is trying to destroy it? And more importantly, why do you know?

That's a silly statement.

Then why say he is trying to destroy it? And more importantly, why do you know?

That's a silly statement.

Holy fuck man. Instead of hijacking every thread you see me post in to try and argue with me, just fucking e-mail me everything you see me post which you find argument with and I'll respond there:

atma.sephira@gmail.com

Huh? Me asking questions is "hijacking" a thread?

As for the e-mail conversation, I'd rather post here. It's easier for me, keeps the topics separate and easy to distinguish, and perhaps other people can gather some information from reading the discussion.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Huh? Me asking questions is "hijacking" a thread?

Answering them always was for me.

:(

Actually, AM is right God wants nothing, God is complete unto Godself, that is what we should try to become... Be who are content with life and do not get upset, seek to want or be jealous of those who have something. We should be full human beings and seek to become complete unto ourselves.

God has many fetishes, the universe is clearly just his way of playing 'em all out.

Can't stop the fappin', chaps.....

Hum hum.

It seems rather coincidentally, God wants what the faithful want.... :confused:

To me, the idea of "God" actually wanting anything seems totally absurd and contradictory to the very idea of "God", but hey, i'm weird.

[QUOTE=Rust;9715878]In his defense, Deeprak Chopra is a fucking douche bag. Is he not supposed to express his opinion because it might conflict with something that helps somebody else?

QUOTE]

I wonder how many of his thirty or so books of his you have read, or how many of his seminars you have attended or experienced on video or tape?

Perhaps someone should tell Rust that some "fucking moron" is posting under his user name.

When you can tell someone is full of shit based on just articles he has written and debates he has participated in (which I have read), that should clue you in on the immense level of bullshit we're working with here.

Chopra likes to abuse scientific theories for his gain; quantum mechanics being a good example. He uses the complexity of this issue - which the average reader probably doesn't understand - and then argues inane unsubstantiated things that have absolutely nothing to do with the theory itself. Either he misunderstands the theory, which is quite understandable and possible given how complex it is, which means he should educate himself before speaking, or he does it deliberately, which means he's an asshole.

God has many fetishes, the universe is clearly just his way of playing 'em all out.

Can't stop the fappin', chaps.....

Hum hum.

It seems rather coincidentally, God wants what the faithful want.... :confused:

To me, the idea of "God" actually wanting anything seems totally absurd and contradictory to the very idea of "God", but hey, i'm weird.

Yahweh plays off many sick things in his arrogance and ignorance for he lives not in the light but in the darkness... The world around you is but an illusion, systems set up to confine you and to keep you from reaching your potential.

Hold on a second, God loves us unconditionally and with infinite capacity, and wants nothing?

I love my parents and to say I want nothing for or from them is silly. I want my father to stop smoking, so he will live longer, because I love him.

This assertion of all loving and wanting nothing, is ridiculous.

This assertion of all loving and wanting nothing, is ridiculous.

Why would that which lacks nothing want anything?

Why would that which lacks nothing want anything?

This sounds meaningful, but ultimately does not touch on my post in the slightest.

If someone I loved had a gun to their head, I would do everything I could to keep them from blowing their brains out. I would want and desire, for them to be happy, healthy and alive. That would be my love for them.

In order for God to be loving of us, and wanting absolutely nothing of us, you have to fundamentally change what most every human knows to be love. THEN is it appropriate to call what an invisible being, which may or may not exist, feels for us love?

This sounds meaningful, but ultimately does not touch on my post in the slightest.

If someone I loved had a gun to their head, I would do everything I could to keep them from blowing their brains out. I would want and desire, for them to be happy, healthy and alive. That would be my love for them.

No, your love for them is a bond that you share. Your actions, wants and desires would all be out of the fear of losing that love.

In order for God to be loving of us, and wanting absolutely nothing of us, you have to fundamentally change what most every human knows to be love. THEN is it appropriate to call what an invisible being, which may or may not exist, feels for us love?

Why does what most every human being believes about love have anything do do with it?

To love is certainly not to want.

And this isn't about love from Gods perspective, love from our perspective, or what exactly love is either. Its about what God wants.

So ...

Why would that which lacks nothing want anything?

No, your love for them is a bond that you share. Your actions, wants and desires would all be out of the fear of losing that love.

My desire to see those I love happy is out of fear of losing that love?

FAIL.

Why does what most every human being believes about love have anything do do with it?

Because this is how we communicate. Humans establish meanings behind words. SO...if every human being believes love to be a certain thing, and God's "love" obviously differs, then (pay attention here) IS it appropraite to call what God feels for us (if anything) love?

Should we redefine what we know to be love, OR should we invent a new word with these seemingly new connotations behind it, to properly describe a God's love?

And this isn't about love from Gods perspective, love from our perspective, or what exactly love is either. Its about what God wants.

Why would that which lacks nothing want anything?

If God neither wants, nor requires anything from us, and is in every realistic sense of the word reality, absent from it; why even acknowledge a God?

My desire to see those I love happy is out of fear of losing that love?

Your desire to prevent the shooting is.

Should we redefine what we know to be love, OR should we invent a new word with these seemingly new connotations behind it, to properly describe a God's love?

No, because I do not think fear was ever a part of our definition of love. I think you're just confusing pure, unconditional love with the complex human emotion.

If God neither wants, nor requires anything from us, and is in every realistic sense of the word reality, absent from it; why even acknowledge a God?

Because one may want to?

Your desire to prevent the shooting is.

Yes, very good. I can see that. That is why in this last post I suggested something different and simple, which you ignored (hold that thought for a second).

Enjoying seeing those I love, happy, is not motivated by fear. Fear does not come into effect anywhere in that situation.

I can see why you chose to ignore how fear does not affect the new situation I presented you with because you needed to say this:

No, because I do not think fear was ever a part of our definition of love. I think you're just confusing pure, unconditional love with the complex human emotion.

You needed to ignore my new situation, in order to suggest I am confusing a complex human emotion (fear) with love. This enables you to ignore the second point I made.

Now, if you want, you can go back and respond properly to both points.

Because one may want to?

Yes you got it; for one's own ego. Congrats.

Self righteousness is the only fucking reason to believe in God IF you believe he desires NOTHING from us, AND is completely absent in any way shape or form from the world.

Enjoying seeing those I love, happy, is not motivated by fear. Fear does not come into effect anywhere in that situation.

This situation was not a part of your original post, and I did not notice you slipped 'seeing those I love' in.

Seeing those we love, and wishing them to be happy are human emotions. We wish to see them, because we are apart. We wish them to be happy, because we hate sadness.

Sadness is just a part of everything.

I am confusing a complex human emotion (fear) with love.

I'm not saying that the complex emotion is fear ... I'm saying that human emotions are complex.

When you long to see loved ones, you aren't feeling pure love ... you are feeling lonely and apart. While you love your dad, you still hate that he smokes.

Yes you got it; for one's own ego.

How about, because one may want to and sees reason to?

Thats still driven by the ego, but its not simply something someone decided to believe in.

This situation was not a part of your original post, and I did not notice you slipped 'seeing those I love' in.

Hey, if YOU made a mistake and missed what I wrote, fine. Don't try to paint me as trying to trick you. Reserve that for your devil.

Seeing those we love, and wishing them to be happy are human emotions. We wish to see them, because we are apart. We wish them to be happy, because we hate sadness.

Sadness is just a part of everything.

To say that we wish them to be happy because we don't wanna see em sad, SOLEY b/c we hate sadness, doesn't quite sum it all up there.

Why should we care if they are sad or happy?

I'm not saying that the complex emotion is fear ... I'm saying that human emotions are complex.

Are you suggesting that an all-knowing all-powerful beings are somewhat less complex than human emotions. That human emotions are too complex and to attribute them to a God, fuck's up the end result?

If God does NOTHING to show his love, how does anyone know he actually does love us?

Thats still driven by the ego, but its not simply something someone decided to believe in.

Yes, it is.

Reserve that for your devil.

Now who's painting pictures?

Why should we care if they are sad or happy?

I don't know, because if all you felt was pure unconditional love for all, I do not think you would.

Are you suggesting that an all-knowing all-powerful beings are somewhat less complex than human emotions. That human emotions are too complex and to attribute them to a God, fuck's up the end result?

Nope, I'm saying God is pure, unconditional love, not half-assed human love with some fear mixed in.

If God does NOTHING to show his love, how does anyone know he actually does love us?

Nobody does know.

Yes, it is.

If someone has a logical reason for their belief, how do you come to the conclusion that even if they didn't they would have simply decided to believe so anyways?

Now who's painting pictures??

I'm sorry, did I accuse you of painting pictures?

I don't know, because if all you felt was pure unconditional love for all, I do not think you would.

So God's love can be summed up if I describe it as complete inaction. Seemingly unconcerned about a person's emotional state. Seemingly unconcerned about life, death, misery, suffering, pain, etc.

Those may not fully or accurately describe God's love, but MUST be included in any attempt to describe such love.

Nope, I'm saying God is pure, unconditional love, not half-assed human love with some fear mixed in.

How can you say this, with such apparent conviction, and then (in the next sentence, no less) this......

Nobody does know.

???

If someone has a logical reason for their belief, how do you come to the conclusion that even if they didn't they would have simply decided to believe so anyways?

I am sorry, do you have a logical reason for your belief. If so, let's hear it. If not, then I can safely say you DECIDED to believe the particular fantasy you believe.

Those may not fully or accurately describe God's love, but MUST be included in any attempt to describe such love.

Yep, I believe God loves all, even the stuff we hate.

How can you say this, with such apparent conviction, and then (in the next sentence, no less) this......

My bad, I didn't state it was my belief.

No way you could have derived that on your own.

I am sorry, do you have a logical reason for your belief.

I think so.

If so, let's hear it.

I doubt you will find it logical.

I believe in all, because I know I am.

Thats quite the summary though. I could go into depth, but I know how you feel about 'my ramblings' and I have already done that in the 'arguments for god' thread, or whatever the title was.

Instead of attempting to derail this thread just for a discussion with me about my beliefs, I suggest you go read the other thread and ask your questions there.

My bad, I didn't state it was my belief.

No way you could have derived that on your own..

I derived it, because you said this.......

I'm saying God is pure, unconditional love, not half-assed human love with some fear mixed in..

Way to fail to address my point.

I doubt you will find it logical.

I believe in all, because I know I am.

I doubt a logician would find that logical. I believe this makes you delusional.

....I could go into depth....

Not without becoming even more non-sensical and less logical.

I derived it, because you said this.......

And my mistake was not saying it was my belief. I said that.

I doubt a logician would find that logical. I believe this makes you delusional.

I don't know everything exists.

I just believe it does.

I don't know everything exists.

I just believe it does.

WHY? Do you base that belief on any KNOWLEDGE whatsoever?

NO. You cannot. This is your philosophy Obbe, I feel I understand all the nuances better than you. A pity.

WHY? Do you base that belief on any KNOWLEDGE whatsoever?

Yes, on all my knowledge.

Go read the thread if you want an explanation.

Yes, on all my knowledge.

Go read the thread if you want an explanation.

There is no explanation. What you pass off for an explanation is nothing more than nonsensical abstract bullshit.

There is no explanation. What you pass off for an explanation is nothing more than nonsensical abstract bullshit.

You would be a fool for believing you know that.

You would be a fool for believing you know that.

I have read it. I know it is simple minded bullshit.

All exists because I AM and I exist in perfect balance, so I know oneness exists thus all exists.

Yeah, like I said, simple minded abstract nonsensical pretentious bullshit.

I have read it. I know it is simple minded bullshit.

All exists because I AM and I exist in perfect balance, so I know oneness exists thus all exists.

Yeah, like I said, simple minded abstract nonsensical pretentious bullshit.

I never said that, you are trolling.

Keep it up.

I never said that, you are trolling.

Keep it up.

You never said "The only thing I can KNOW is that I AM"?

You never said "You exists in perfect balance"?

You never said "That because you exist in perfect balance, you know that oneness exists"

You never said "That because oneness exists, all exists"?



You never said those things?

P.S. You don't get to accuse anyone of being a troll. You are an admitted, well known, and least repected troll on here.

All exists because I AM and I exist in perfect balance, so I know oneness exists thus all exists.

I never said that.

You don't get to accuse anyone of being a troll. You are an admitted, well known, and least repected troll on here.

Whats wrong with your memory? When did I ever say I was a troll?

And obviously I can make any accusation I like.

I never said that.

You have said all the things that exist in that sentence. You know you have. If you like I can show you where you said them. Most if not all exists in this thread.

All I did was put it into ONE sentence, but the fucking ideas ARE yours.

If you don't like how it sounds, Obbe, change your simplistic wasteful beliefs.

All I did was put it into ONE sentence

And fucked it all up be doing so.

I don't know anything, Brokeback. 'Cept my own existence.

I don't know anything.......

This is all you need ever say, little fella.

I have always said that.

I have always said that.

Then I will serve to remind you of that.

Then I will serve to remind you of that.

Why? Do you feel a need to? Feel a little hostile?

Why? Do you feel a need to? Feel a little hostile?

Think of it as a mop with which to clean Obbe shit off of threads.

Hostility it is.

Hostility it is.

Just practical. I am about to get off of work, so sow your seeds of you little philosophy as much as you can before I return, with the mop.

Whatever fulfills your life.

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/9114/notsmx6.jpg

It's obvious what God wants. He wants you to kill homosexuals and protest soldier's funerals.

-NS

Is it just my perception, or is BP a miserable prick?

Is it just my perception, or is BP a miserable prick?

Perception! BP's a human; and any judgement can only be subjective, however if you were to ask "is BP acting like a miserable prick?" ..............

cheers:)

Perception! BP's a human; and any judgement can only be subjective, however if you were to ask "is BP acting like a miserable prick?" ..............

cheers:)

That's more like it, I guess.

Everyone, could we PLEASE refrain from vulgarity and ad hominem insults?

By all means, argue and debate IDEAS--let us not get personal, okay?

Easier said than done both sides use polemics fuel by misunderstanding on steroids... *sigh*

God wants a pure heart's devotion to Him. God would never ask for more than He's willing to give, or do. "For God so loved the world that He GAVE His only begotten son that WHOSOEVER believes IN HIM would not perish, but have everlasting life."

Religion gives us a law to live by. Christ came to show the people that the law COULDN'T SAVE THEM, but sentences them to DAMNATION and the ONLY way that they could be saved is and was by the GRACE and MERCY of the Father. Innocent blood shed, which cries out for the REWARD/PEOPLE, that He died on behave of.

I truly detest religion, and I can't tolerate people who think they're righteous because they've physically kept the law. All the law they believe themselves to have kept, and the law which they cling to sentences them to damnation for the simple fact that, if they haven't acted it out, THEY'VE THOUGHT ABOUT IT, and pondered it in their hearts. Christ came and said, "Whosoever LOOKS at a woman and LUSTS after her, has commit adultery with her ALREADY in his heart." God said through the prophets, "There is NONE righteous, NO, NOT ONE, for all have gone astray each after their own way."

God seen all the ways of man were evil, but HE PROMISED, never to destroy the earth again by water. God's promise to the children of Abraham, was.. "I'll provide the sacrifice." Abraham was willing to lay down his son's life, the SON that God told Him would be the promised child of His and Sarah's. God sent an angel to stop him, and provided a sacrifice. That's a foreshadow. Over and over again, God spoke through his prophets assuring the coming of Yeshua/Joshua. The Messiah! When He came it was just as He has spoken through His prophets. He said, "I came to my OWN (the house of Israel) and they KNEW ME NOT!"

I believe that one of the main reasons people don't follow Yeshua, is because they can't fathom the marvelous wonder of how God sent his SON and was yet still God.
The fact of the matter is, Christ never did anything apart from the Father. He did the FATHER'S will. 100% man (tempted in all areas) and 100% God (yet without sin, and WITH POWER).. religion teaches us that we can't be like Christ. Why did Christ tell us to pick up our cross and follow Him? Humanity looks for things to be INSTANT, without having the disciplines it requires to be a disciple. PATIENCE, and yet to stand FIRM in FAITH in the ABILITY OF GOD, like Abraham who knew that Issac was the PROMISED CHILD, yet firgured God was able to raise Him from the dead to keep HIS WORD! THAT'S FAITH!! His devotion and dedication was to GOD above all else, for He knew GOD WOULD KEEP HIS WORD, no matter what! God wants to fulfill your every desire, but He wants to be at the forefront of your life. He wants you to depend on HIM. Not your money, not your spouse, not your car, etc. BUT HIM. It's a covenant. And as you follow Him and depend on HIM, HE adds unto you, those things that you can bear without them becoming more to you than HE IS. He's merciful. He is LOVE. What does God want? WHAT DO YOU WANT? He wants your love, but HE FIRST GAVE HIS LOVE to save you from damnation. Man can't save himself. All His good deeds and winning personality can only lead Him to hell, apart from Christ. God saves, CHRIST SAVES. It's by grace and through faith.

Grace is when you do get what you don't deserve.. something you can't earn..
Mercy is when you don't get what you do deserve!
Faith is complete trust no matter the appearance of things.

I love you all, and if you ever think of these words, pray for me.
My name is Shelly, and I've been going through alot of temptations, and struggling with alot of things.. and it's a NO-CONTEST decision. I want God! More than anything.. but i'm finding the weaknesses of my flesh! In my weaknesses HE IS STRONG, I cling to that promise, but I don't want to stay where I'm at, I want to move forward, in the things of The Lord.

read my saying previous to yours...

Shelley, are you REALLY a childcare provider, as it says in your public profile?

If so, I STRONGLY suggest you get professional help and/or another job.

Hold on a second, God loves us unconditionally and with infinite capacity, and wants nothing?

I love my parents and to say I want nothing for or from them is silly. I want my father to stop smoking, so he will live longer, because I love him.

This assertion of all loving and wanting nothing, is ridiculous.

There is a difference between wanting, and desiring. God wants nothing, but desires nothing but the best for us.

Abundant Life!

Cheers:)

Abundant Life!

Cheers:)

When you say abundance in life, how do you mean... their is spiritual abundance and material abundance... If you choose material you go down the puritanical ideology that "God sought favor in me because, I own a lot of stuff!" Whereas spiritual I could agree... I am not saying its bad to have things I am just saying that owning things can (usually does) make us forgetful and miss the point, even ungrateful.

When you say abundance in life, how do you mean... their is spiritual abundance and material abundance... If you choose material you go down the puritanical ideology that "God sought favor in me because, I own a lot of stuff!" Whereas spiritual I could agree... I am not saying its bad to have things I am just saying that owning things can (usually does) make us forgetful and miss the point, even ungrateful.

Errr .. speaking of missing the point!:D There's a vast difference between "Abundant Life" and "abundance in life".:)

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Cheers:)

Over the years, the various answers to this question have caused an untold amount of suffering. In days of old, when knights were bold, a bunch of English folks thought that God wanted them to go on a crusade and "liberate" the Holy Land from the infidels--in the process, they killed and raped a lot of people, robbed and pillaged to boot. A little later, the guys who wrote the Malleus Maleficarum thought that God wanted them to persecute women they called witches, and hang them or burn them--mostly, in reality, for the crime of being female.(By the way, this book was pretty much the law of the land--both among Protestants and Catholics--for two hundred years.) More recently, many Catholics thought that God wanted them to refrain from eating meat on Fridays, and He was so vehemant about this, that He would send you to Hell forever if you scarfed down a Big Mac on Friday and failed to 'fess up. (Apparently God changed his mind on this one.)

Today in the Middle East, a lot of people think that God wants them to strap on a belt of explosives and blow themselves and as many other people as possible to bits. Here in America, many people seem to think that God wants us to torture and kill people who think like that. Others in America think that God wants us to deny basic civil rights to gay people. Still other folks, of the Jewish persuasion, believe that their God wants them to sexually mutilate their infant sons. Just the other night at an NA meeting, a young woman who had relapsed was wallowing in guilt and shame, sobbing as if her heart would break because "God wants me to be clean and sober. . . .I let God down."

Clearly there is, and has been, a lot of confusion on the issue of what God wants.

Try this notion on for size--God wants nothing.

No matter what you do or fail to do, God will not punish you. No matter what sacrifices you may make, God will not single you out for some special reward. In other words, God is not Santa Claus. God does not make a list of who's naughty and who's nice.

God is love, unconditional and infinite. To want something means that you do not have it, that you lack it. God is everything, and therefore cannot lack anything.

You do not have to pray to God for anything because you have already have been given everything. All the wisdom and courage and strength and compassion you will ever need is within you right now--you need only to find it, own it, and use it.

This, in brief, is the message of the latest book from Neale Donald Walsh--"What God Wants". His name may ring a bell--he has already written five books which were New York Times best-sellers. (None of which the Times bothered to review, I might add.) He takes seventy-five pages to lead up to the Big Answer, however, but to me and many other people, he will be largely preaching to the choir. For me, the really good stuff--the stuff that changed my life, filled me with such a sense of empowerment that now, every day of my life is just exactly as good and rich and wonderful as I choose it to be--is roughly from page 182 to page 211.

It is not a big book. It is, however, a great enough book to change humanity, one life at a time. With all the earnestness at my command, I urge everyone to read this book. The publishers' price is $23; it is less expensive on Amazon. If you choose not to make that investment for any reason, go to your local library and read it for free. Just read it, think about it, and act on it.

And prepare to be amazed.

Just beacause you say all those people "thought god wanted them to do something" doesn't mean he did. So that doesn't prove or disprove anything.

And the book with all the answers in it is called the bible, not "what god wants" by Neale Donald Walsh...If you had read the entire bible, perhaps you would have some answers to stuff...

Just beacause you say all those people "thought god wanted them to do something" doesn't mean he did. So that doesn't prove or disprove anything.

And the book with all the answers in it is called the bible, not "what god wants" by Neale Donald Walsh...If you had read the entire bible, perhaps you would have some answers to stuff...

As I have stated before, the Bible is not completely without merit.

It is, however, rife with contradictions, myth, and metaphor and should not be considered an authoritative source.

Perception! BP's a human; and any judgement can only be subjective, however if you were to ask "is BP acting like a miserable prick?" ..............

.......................your judgement of my actions, would still be subjective.

So to prevent this, I will state for the record, that yes I was being a miserable prick...and I had my personal reasons for doing so.

There is a difference between wanting, and desiring. God wants nothing, but desires nothing but the best for us.

There is ZERO difference between wanting and desiring. They are completely synonymous with one another.

What makes you so optimistic about God's desires, anyhow?

Perhaps there is a God, and he wants us to be free from sin (or in your case enlightened) because he doesn't like the taste of sin, when he devours our souls after we die.

I don't believe this...it is a rather silly notion, as it involves both a spirit and a God.

I have never researched any religion whose God had instructions for me that did not benefit the ruling class of a particular society or culture here on Earth. Clearly, his best interest, isn't for me, but for my mortal masters.

"Religion is the reason the poor do not murder the rich"
-Napolean Bonaparte

There is ZERO difference between wanting and desiring. They are completely synonymous with one another.

"Religion is the reason the poor do not murder the rich"
-Napolean Bonaparte

Only in small, poorly-edited dictionaries--like the ones which state that "imply" means the same as "infer."

Only in small, poorly-edited dictionaries--like the ones which state that "imply" means the same as "infer."

Shit man, I am sorry, please use a big boy dictionary to explain the fundamental between the defintions of the two following words:

Want

Desire