List your miracles

reply to post by Klassified


I'll begin putting one together for the weekend!

Originally posted by BlueMule

Originally posted by jiggerj
reply to post by BlueMule

 

one has to presume that one has great understanding of God (and by extension miracles)

Who (or whom, I never get those words right) has even a little insight of god, never mind a great understanding? Ask ten believers and they'll all give you different (great) understandings of god. And, isn't this a problem in and of itself? If there is a god, wouldn't you think he'd want everyone to at least grasp what He's all about?

Hence the quote I provided earlier by Joseph Campbell. The way to gain an understanding of God is through comparative religion, comparative mythology, and comparative mysticism. That's the way to gain a panoramic cross-cultural view... a wide view that transcends the dogma of local, exoteric layers of religion.

Spend a decade studying the scholarly comparative fields and having mystical / paranormal experiences as I have, and yes you will get a little insight of God.

I spent 8 years in "scholarly" studies of comparison and analysis of world religions and their effect on the human psyche and societal structures of mankind, and that wasn't even my major.
Mystical and paranormal experiences are purely subjective to the participant(s) and cannot be used as a realistic standard of measurement for much of anything, faith based, or otherwise.
One thing I have learned is the humility to acknowledge the fact that no human being can even begin to know the mind of God, nor understand His ways.
God does want us to know Him, very much so. But first we must empty our cup of opinion and speculation before He can fill it with new wine. We must also come to terms with dying to ourselves and trusting the fact that the wine must be His and the cup must be filled His way. Ouch. That pride thing just won't go away.

Originally posted by BlueMule

Originally posted by jiggerj
reply to post by BlueMule

 

one has to presume that one has great understanding of God (and by extension miracles)

Who (or whom, I never get those words right) has even a little insight of god, never mind a great understanding? Ask ten believers and they'll all give you different (great) understandings of god. And, isn't this a problem in and of itself? If there is a god, wouldn't you think he'd want everyone to at least grasp what He's all about?

Hence the quote I provided earlier by Joseph Campbell. The way to gain an understanding of God is through comparative religion, comparative mythology, and comparative mysticism. That's the way to gain a panoramic cross-cultural view... a wide view that transcends the dogma of local, exoteric layers of religion.

Spend a decade studying the scholarly comparative fields and having mystical / paranormal experiences as I have, and yes you will get a little insight of God.

edit on 18-1-2013 by BlueMule because: (no reason given)

Why is it that studying comparative fields gives one an insight into god, but looking at the mess all over the world, and all through history doesn't?

Originally posted by stupid girl
One thing I have learned is the humility to acknowledge the fact that no human being can even begin to know the mind of God, nor understand His ways.
God does want us to know Him, very much so.

So I was reading your post when I got to this part. If no human can begin to know what god thinks then how are you claiming to know that god wants us to know him? You say it so confidently, almost like you KNOW that's what god's thinking. But.... no one can begin to know what he thinks, so what gives?

Originally posted by stupid girl

Originally posted by lonewolf19792000
My wife had kidney stones and passing blood in her urine, and a bad gallbladder and endomitriosis. She was told it'd be very difficult for her to have children due to the scarring on her uterus. Me a deacon and our preacher prayed over her in the preachers office and when she went to the doctors to take a look, all of it was gone. Where the doctor was ready to do emergency surgery to remove her gallbladder on friday, the following monday nothing showed on any of the tests. She is now pregnant with our first child too. Jesus didn't just take care of what i asked, he took care of everything she was having problems with. Even the kidney stones were gone. Her doctor was at a loss to explain it other than to say it was a miracle. Even doctors know miracles when they see them.

WHAT???!!? You little turd!
No email, no Facebook, just had to find this out on ATS, did I?
Seriously? I am so mad at you right now.....

I just found out myself this morning for sure. Wasn't going to make much of it until i had doctors proof. I got that this morning on the ultrasound. 7 weeks in and we can see the heartbeat. Little booger looks like a lima bean right now. Told my wife it will have a biblical name. Probably Sarah, Rachel or Leah if a girl and i'm leaning towards Zechariah for a boy and shes thinking Micah.

Originally posted by stupid girl

Originally posted by BlueMule

Originally posted by jiggerj
reply to post by BlueMule

 

one has to presume that one has great understanding of God (and by extension miracles)

Who (or whom, I never get those words right) has even a little insight of god, never mind a great understanding? Ask ten believers and they'll all give you different (great) understandings of god. And, isn't this a problem in and of itself? If there is a god, wouldn't you think he'd want everyone to at least grasp what He's all about?

Hence the quote I provided earlier by Joseph Campbell. The way to gain an understanding of God is through comparative religion, comparative mythology, and comparative mysticism. That's the way to gain a panoramic cross-cultural view... a wide view that transcends the dogma of local, exoteric layers of religion.

Spend a decade studying the scholarly comparative fields and having mystical / paranormal experiences as I have, and yes you will get a little insight of God.

I spent 8 years in "scholarly" studies of comparison and analysis of world religions and their effect on the human psyche and societal structures of mankind, and that wasn't even my major.

“Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.” -Meister Eckhart

Who teaches them that same language in age after age, culture after culture, religion after religion?

A ghostly spirit of... coincidence?

Have you learned how to speak that same language? Forgive me but it doesn't look like you have... yet.

Mystical and paranormal experiences are purely subjective to the participant(s) and cannot be used as a realistic standard of measurement for much of anything, faith based, or otherwise.

Realistic standard of measurement? What does that even mean?

One thing I have learned is the humility to acknowledge the fact that no human being can even begin to know the mind of God, nor understand His ways.

Speak for yourself.

God does want us to know Him, very much so. But first we must empty our cup of opinion and speculation before He can fill it with new wine. We must also come to terms with dying to ourselves and trusting the fact that the wine must be His and the cup must be filled His way. Ouch. That pride thing just won't go away.

But I have died (more than once). That's when I was united with the Godhead. My cup was emptied even of myself.

"In mysticism that love of truth which we saw as the beginning of all philosophy leaves the merely intellectual sphere, and takes on the assured aspect of a personal passion. Where the philosopher guesses and argues, the mystic lives and looks; and speaks, consequently, the disconcerting language of first-hand experience, not the neat dialectic of the schools. Hence whilst the Absolute of the metaphysicians remains a diagram —impersonal and unattainable—the Absolute of the mystics is lovable, attainable, alive." -Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism

Have you read that book by Evelyn?

Originally posted by jiggerj

Why is it that studying comparative fields gives one an insight into god, but looking at the mess all over the world, and all through history doesn't?

That looks like a rationalization used to avoid the effort of study. It would be interesting to see you come back here and answer your own question, yourself, after a bit of study.

Unless your days of study are over, of course.

“I have become so accustomed to think “scientifically” that I am afraid even to imagine that there may be something else beyond the outer covering of life. I feel like a man condemned to death, whose companions have been hanged and who has already become reconciled to the thought that the same fate awaits him.” -P.D. Ouspensky, A New Model of the Universe

Originally posted by 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Originally posted by stupid girl
One thing I have learned is the humility to acknowledge the fact that no human being can even begin to know the mind of God, nor understand His ways.
God does want us to know Him, very much so.

So I was reading your post when I got to this part. If no human can begin to know what god thinks then how are you claiming to know that god wants us to know him? You say it so confidently, almost like you KNOW that's what god's thinking. But.... no one can begin to know what he thinks, so what gives?

That is an insightful and clever question. I would like to answer it, but like my previous reply, I am a bit leery of further hijacking Jigg's thread and steering us into the abyss of personal faith and understanding and away from the simple relation of personal miracles.
However, since your question is brief and does not require such in-depth discussion as my reply to the previous posts, I will take the chance and share with you my understanding as succinctly as possible. I will U2U my additional comments and explanation of my answer
The short answer to your question is no, I have no idea what God is thinking, nor was it my intent to purport such a thing.
So, although I stand by my understanding that no human can begin to know the mind of God, we can know what He chooses to reveal to us according to our capabilities of comprehension as His creation. And since I consider myself a person of the Christian faith, I believe that God's revelation to us of Himself throughout Biblical scripture is trustworthy. Therefore, based on that faith, I feel confident in His desire to know us because He said so Himself.
God's will and desires are not mysteries we cannot understand because He seeks to reveal them to us. However, no man can know what I'm thinking unless I tell him, so much so are we unable to know what God is thinking unless He tells us.

Originally posted by BlueMule


Unless your days of study are over, of course.

Unfortunately, this is true. I no longer have the years necessary to absorb substantial material.

Originally posted by jiggerj

Originally posted by BlueMule


Unless your days of study are over, of course.

Unfortunately, this is true. I no longer have the years necessary to absorb substantial material.

edit on 1/19/2013 by jiggerj because: (no reason given)

I have picked up hints here and there from you that suggested as much to me. I wish I could crank out a few posts that could serve as a study substitute for you, but considering how vast the subjects are, I don't think it's do-able. So I'll leave you with a book recommendation, assuming you have time for a book, and with a promise to pray for you.

Pathways to Bliss: Mythology and Personal Transformation

Originally posted by BlueMule

“Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language.” -Meister Eckhart

Who teaches them that same language in age after age, culture after culture, religion after religion?

A ghostly spirit of... coincidence?

Have you learned how to speak that same language? Forgive me but it doesn't look like you have... yet.

It is apparent that we do not speak the same language, Sir. Therefore I see any further discussion on the language you are referring to as an unfruitful endeavor.

Realistic standard of measurement? What does that even mean?

A quantity or quality against which others are judged, measured or compared that can be reasonably universally accepted.

Speak for yourself.

I do my best to maintain such a standard.

But I have died (more than once). That's when I was united with the Godhead. My cup was emptied even of myself.
"In mysticism that love of truth which we saw as the beginning of all philosophy leaves the merely intellectual sphere, and takes on the assured aspect of a personal passion. Where the philosopher guesses and argues, the mystic lives and looks; and speaks, consequently, the disconcerting language of first-hand experience, not the neat dialectic of the schools. Hence whilst the Absolute of the metaphysicians remains a diagram —impersonal and unattainable—the Absolute of the mystics is lovable, attainable, alive." -Evelyn Underhill

I give no value to mysticism, mystics, nor their wordy yet vacuous quotes. I apologize if that seems offensive, but I have long since moved past the vanity of placing my faith in my education and making it my religion.

Have you read that book by Evelyn?

No, Sir, I have not. Thank you for asking, but in all honesty, it is more than likely not something that I would be interested in reading. However, I will take the time to briefly look over the context since you took the time to suggest it.

Originally posted by stupid girl

It is apparent that we do not speak the same language, Sir. Therefore I see any further discussion on the language you are referring to as an unfruitful endeavor.

Agreed. Since only the Holy Spirit can teach one the language of mystics, we aren't going to get far. So I'll just leave you with a gesture of goodwill.



"All mystics speak the same language, for they come from the same country."
-Martin, Louis Claude de St.

reply to post by Thought Provoker

That non-instinctive reaction [ducking] saved my life.

Why do you consider this reaction as non-instinctive? I've done it several times.

Originally posted by jiggerj

 

Why do you consider this reaction as non-instinctive? I've done it several times.

So you were going down the road, on a bicycle, heard a horn honk behind you, and did nothing but duck? Didn't turn to look and see what was going on, didn't assume you needed to move to one side to give some car enough room get by? Did it save your life?

Originally posted by Thought Provoker

Originally posted by jiggerj

 

Why do you consider this reaction as non-instinctive? I've done it several times.

So you were going down the road, on a bicycle, heard a horn honk behind you, and did nothing but duck? Didn't turn to look and see what was going on, didn't assume you needed to move to one side to give some car enough room get by? Did it save your life?

Why did you think of everything BUT my question? This is why I'm giving you space here, TP. Nothing good can come from communicating with each other. Or rather, not communicating with each other.
Peace.

This is my little boy. When I was only 7.5 months pregnant I got some horrible pains in my abdomen and started running a fever. I went to the hospital and the doctors were convinced that I had appendicitis. They told me that the risk to the baby would be smaller if they did an emergency C-section, removed my son and removed my appendix. Well, they did and I remember lying on the table when the doctor pulled out my appendix and said "Hey, this appendix is just fine!"

It was too late because my son was already born. He weighed 4.5 lbs. His little head was smaller than my fist, but he was beautiful. He had some really serious breathing issues so he was life flighted to a hospital in Dallas. I was recovering from surgery, and the doctors wouldn't let me go with him. I finally convinced them to let me go the next day.

My son and I bonded in the hospital for the first two weeks of his life. He got stronger and stronger....and look at him now! He's my miracle.

I realize it doesn't prove God, but I was agnostic before I met my son.



I'm loving this thread, btw.

reply to post by jiggerj

I thought it was self-evident. That isn't a reaction someone should have. Someone should move to the side, or at least take a look before doing anything. That would be "instinctive." What I did was not instinctive, and if I had reacted instinctively, I'd be dead now. Answered?

Originally posted by Thought Provoker
reply to post by jiggerj

 

I thought it was self-evident. That isn't a reaction someone should have. Someone should move to the side, or at least take a look before doing anything. That would be "instinctive." What I did was not instinctive, and if I had reacted instinctively, I'd be dead now. Answered?

Sorry, no. We hear a loud boom and we either completely duck or pull our head down

Originally posted by BlueMule


"All mystics speak the same language, for they come from the same country."
-Martin, Louis Claude de St.

On this we agree.

Since only the Holy Spirit can teach one the language of mystics,

On this we do not.

So I'll just leave you with a gesture of goodwill.

And I the same to you.
May you find genuine Truth in your endeavors, my brother.

al-furqan.5u.com... .. .
Do you think the lung issue is a good claim?.. .it seems quite impressive.. .