The Coherent Transcendental?

[CSAC]

Good Evening everyone.

I was brought up in one of the most liberal Protestant churches in North America and have an open mind with most things. I love reading Philosophy and some religious texts. I believe in the end enlightenment, love and compassion are the best notions to come from religion. I have found these notions to be most prevalent in Christianity and Buddhism.

I do however have a problem with submission, fire & brimstone and close minded people which I have found in some Christianity, Judaism and Islam (I won’t even get into the atrocities and wars that have been started over religion right now).

The close minded notion I keep coming across with some folks is the total conviction of the coherent transcendental, or put simply a clear and definitive image or definition of God. Many people claimed that they know exactly what God is, or point to a definition from some religious text.

By definition it is very difficult to transcend to the Metaphysical or even find an exact concept of the Metaphysical, namely God is not Coherent.

Someone please enlighten me and I am not trying to prove or disprove the existence of God.

Thanks!
COMMON SENSE AIN’T COMMON

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations, but after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

Siddharta Gotama (Buddha) (563 BC - 483 BC),
The Dharmapada

 

[Leela]

Hi CSAS,

I think the nearest aspect of Catholicism to your objection to the coherent transcendental is answered in the dogma of the Trinity. It is like a Zen koan. The Father is God, The Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. The Father is not the Son and neither is the Holy Spirit, yet there is but one God. The truth of this dogma is regarded as a mystery. If you say you undetsrand it, then you do not understand it.

Best,
Leela

 

[Areopagite]

I believe in the end enlightenment, love and compassion are the best notions to come from religion. I have found these notions to be most prevalent in Christianity and Buddhism.

I’m interested to hear why you think this … but it’s a little off topic perhaps …

…

Now, I’m a little unclear what some of your questions are asking in your thread … and I apologize if my questions are unclear as well …

I do however have a problem with submission …

What exactly about submission? Are you against all submission of any kind? Certain kinds of submission? Are you also against “authority”? All kinds of authority?

… fire & brimstone …

Once again, I’m a bit unclear to what you’re referring to. Are you talking about the concept of hell? The concept of divine wrath? Righteous anger? This could mean many things.

… and close minded people which I have found in some Christianity, Judaism and Islam

I can understand this. I almost left Christianity because of the hypocrites I encountered. The only thing that kept me going was the cold hard fact that … just because a person might be bad doesn’t mean his beliefs are bad. It is understandable, nonetheless, that one naturally judges the religion based on the behavior of the religious person. But at the end of the day, just because you met a bad Christian doesn’t mean Christianity is wrong. But once again, I understand your pain.

As for the beliefs of Judaism and Islam … they vary from believer to believer partially on account of the lack of a central dogmatic authority that interprets their doctrine. I, of course, believe the claims of Islam are untrue, and depending on what you mean by “Judaism” I consider it either false or merely incomplete compared to Christianity.

(I won’t even get into the atrocities and wars that have been started over religion right now).

Well, if you change your mind, I’d be eager to get into it.

The close minded notion I keep coming across with some folks is the total conviction of the coherent transcendental, or put simply a clear and definitive image or definition of God. Many people claimed that they know exactly what God is, or point to a definition from some religious text.

By definition it is very difficult to transcend to the Metaphysical or even find an exact concept of the Metaphysical, namely God is not Coherent.

As Leela says quite accurately, Christianity believes the nature of God is a mystery. We can, nonetheless, increase in the understanding of God’s nature (if God grants it … oftentimes in prayer), but it will always be a mystery.

With that said, what exactly do you mean by “coherent” … if you mean “contradictory” then I take issue with your claims. Also, if you mean “completely unknowable” then I object as well. I am also curious what you mean by “definition” too. And for that matter “concept of the Metaphysical” is a bit confusing too … because “metaphysical” can mean many things, such as “immaterial” or simply “being/existence.”