Idolatry - what is it ultimately?

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by _Z_

Smkolins: hi.

[font=Times New Roman][size=3]Is it wisdom to give unto a man the word of god, or better to give guidance unto mankind?

I would say He chooses to do both.

Originally Posted by _Z_

Yet still god remains silent!

Or are we just hard of hearing? How often has He in fact answered our prayers before we knew enough to ask?

"The accumulations of vain fancy have obstructed men’s ears and stopped them from hearing the Voice of God, and the veils of human learning and false imaginings have prevented their eyes from beholding the splendour of the light of His countenance."

Originally Posted by _Z_

Personally I believe in a universal approach, I’ll listen to any man/woman but no one is always right thus should we not question them? It is humility and wisdom to admit that we are all sometimes wrong – even if we were the Son of god! Even Jesus cannot speak gods truth in absolutes, even if he could then he would by necessity speak in the terms of the day! Thus new prophets and men of wisdom shall always be needed & always are, that is to say that one every 500/1000 years is not enough, it is better [if I may] to always have sons of man in the world!?

Perhaps a day that shall not be followed by night?

Originally Posted by _Z_

thank you for reply!

:-)

"Gird up the loins of your endeavor, O people of Bahá, that haply the tumult of religious dissension and strife that agitateth the peoples of the earth may be stilled, that every trace of it may be completely obliterated. For the love of God, and them that serve Him, arise to aid this most sublime and momentous Revelation. Religious fanaticism and hatred are a world-devouring fire, whose violence none can quench. The Hand of Divine power can, alone, deliver mankind from this desolating affliction….
The utterance of God is a lamp, whose light is these words: Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. He Who is the Day Star of Truth beareth Me witness! So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth. The one true God, He Who knoweth all things, Himself testifieth to the truth of these words...."

"...the principles of the Divine religions can hardly be evaluated by the acts of those who only claim to follow them. For every excellent thing, peerless though it may be, can still be diverted to the wrong ends. A lighted lamp in the hands of an ignorant child or of the blind will not dispel the surrounding darkness nor light up the house--it will set both the bearer and the house on fire. Can we, in such an instance, blame the lamp? No, by the Lord God! To the seeing, a lamp is a guide and will show him his path; but it is a disaster to the blind."

[_Z_]

Smkolins:

“I would say He chooses to do both” & “Or are we just hard of hearing?”

I don’t think I am hard or hearing, nor many of us. Yes he does answer our prayers and is with is in our meditations, but not linguistically! What do we mean exactly by ‘word of god’? I would say, he does not speak yet delivers wisdoms to our mind directly; in my experience the spirit world is like this generally. Souls have the capacity of ‘direct perception’ which is not really a perception at all, it is a oneness – where minds link directly, thus our thoughts [as directed towards another, similarly to speech] are understood immediately & with no confusion of meaning, we understand by the way another understands his words! On this earth and whilst in human form, one has to understand through the ‘filter’ of the mind [brain], thus we may not receive or transmit directly, thence gods word would immediately loose its meaning hence he would enter meanings for guidance and interpretation that we may debate and advance via his and each others guidance as a father would to a child.



Of course I am a philosopher seer [druid] so this is how I see things, perhaps I am wrong, but I like to believe that understanding remains always open & I hope there will never be a ‘truth exact’ if indeed this is possible even for god – such is the wonder of the world that it cannot be put in a box. One can be right & wrong at the same time in the multiple contexts of the paradox, and beyond this [parody in the dualistic mind] there is no right & wrong just transparency – in meaning and actuality/reality.



Ps. From what I have read so far, the Baha’i religion sounds very interesting, the way it is written [kind of biblical] is however somewhat inaccessible to the modern thinker, it would be nice if someone could translate the translation , but I am sure I’ll get an understanding of it through the people here.

thanx

Z

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by _Z_

Smkolins:



I don’t think I am hard or hearing, nor many of us.

Then see through a glass darkly?

Originally Posted by _Z_

Ps. From what I have read so far, the Baha’i religion sounds very interesting, the way it is written [kind of biblical] is however somewhat inaccessible to the modern thinker, it would be nice if someone could translate the translation , but I am sure I’ll get an understanding of it through the people here.

It can indeed be dwelt on and cross referenced among the sources I spoke of earlier and sometimes while one avenue seems closed, the others can lead the way.

However I would encourage you to not give up, but seek to perceive what is meant. Nothing is better put than the original, if the hearer/seer can get there. Translations can loose something of the original - we have limits in light of this. We are ussually carefull about what is authorized translation/application and what is our best faith effort to understand and do.