Originally Posted By: srinivasan
To anyone that has seriously studied the 'concept' of God, I think it is quite obvious that God is not a 'being'....

As to God being everything good, orderly and desirable, I think that's a great way of putting it.

I would also like to think of God as a state. A state of absolute knowledge and thereby absolute equilibrium, absolute tranquility, absolute detachment and total peace.

In such a state, nothing can be 'good' or 'bad' as you see everything for what it truly is (much like Neo in 'The Matrix'). You are completely free of your mental fixations and go beyond space and time ...

Also, I would like to believe that everything that happens (that we in our myopic vision would term as 'bad' or 'good') is just a struggle to attain the state of equilibrium just like science tells you that every particle is in a constant struggle to reach equilibrium.

Of course, in the state of absolute equilibrium, you see EVERYTHING for what it truly is and gain complete control over EVERYTHING since you no more have any mental blocks which gives the idea of God being all powerful (again, much like our Neo).

I'm a practicing Hindu ... Hinduism hints towards this idea though it is very surprising how few actually realize this.

... Of course, finally, everything Good, Orderly and Desirable would (according to me) tend towards this very idea as I'm pretty sure the 'Good' that you talk about is not the myopic idea of good that the world usually talks about but the ABSOLUTE Good.
Good stuff, Srinivasan! I was raised as a Christian, but in the broadest sense of the word.

Theologically speaking, like Warren Farr, I call myself a unitheist-- www.unitheist.org ... that is, a world view--even a cosmos view--which is a total and very life-affirming, inclusive and democratic approach to Life & GOD. Atheists and agnostics: Do you choose to be included? If so, welcome!

BTW, Google search on panentheism, and the work of Alfred North Whitehead, and let me know what you think. Or check out: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whitehead/


Now, let us explore: What are the practical implications of this kind of theology?