Why does God not show him/her/itself?

Originally Posted by Molearner

I concur with the clarity/briliance of Altair's contributiion.

Concur also.

It's also a Truth I've personally "experienced" although only in flashes/time periods.

[markings]

Originally Posted by Altair

God does not show himself/herself/itself because we have layers of impurity surrounding us. If we accept God is love and divine, and if we also accept we have freedom, then our focus on non-love and lower states of being blinds us to God. It is not to be blamed on God for it is our own doing and our own choice. It's not a matter of asking or begging God to make this reality go away, for it takes time to unpack the layers we have collected over time. We cannot return to God and become any wiser if our issues were fixed over night. God is not tyrannical.

A great way of blaming the 'victim'. We are impure, not worthy, not deserving to see or experience God until we have changed in a particular way.

A God that cannot, or does not show himself to us, AS WE ARE right now, with all our faults and error we may have, is in my opinion not deserving any respect.
He is the powerful one, the omnipotent, and it is a basic principle that to advance the whole the impetus must come from the strong, not the weak.

Originally Posted by markings

A great way of blaming the 'victim'. We are impure, not worthy, not deserving to see or experience God until we have changed in a particular way.

A God that cannot, or does not show himself to us, AS WE ARE right now, with all our faults and error we may have, is in my opinion not deserving any respect.
He is the powerful one, the omnipotent, and it is a basic principle that to advance the whole the impetus must come from the strong, not the weak.

markings,

Sorry.......but the impetus for help must come from those in need of help. I saw in the news this morning that the richest 26 people in the world have an equal wealth to the 3.8 billion poorest people on earth. It is hardly their priority to save the world. IMO, God is a neutral God until we approach HIM.

[Unseeking Seeker]

***

Just a thought ... what if it is the other way around, meaning, why do we not show ourselves to God?

***

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by markings

A great way of blaming the 'victim'. We are impure, not worthy, not deserving to see or experience God until we have changed in a particular way.

A God that cannot, or does not show himself to us, AS WE ARE right now, with all our faults and error we may have, is in my opinion not deserving any respect.
He is the powerful one, the omnipotent, and it is a basic principle that to advance the whole the impetus must come from the strong, not the weak.

What do you expect when you talk about "God showing himself"? Do you want fireworks, burning bushes, angels flying around, a thundering voice in the sky?

Surely the Divine is present all around us and within us, right now. We cannot blame the Divine for not showing Itself just because we lack the vision to perceive what is right in front of us. Perception of the Divine is a state of consciousness, a state of Being.

Peace.

Originally Posted by markings

A great way of blaming the 'victim'. We are impure, not worthy, not deserving to see or experience God until we have changed in a particular way.

A God that cannot, or does not show himself to us, AS WE ARE right now, with all our faults and error we may have, is in my opinion not deserving any respect.
He is the powerful one, the omnipotent, and it is a basic principle that to advance the whole the impetus must come from the strong, not the weak.

I think what some people are saying is it is up to us to be pure enough to live in God's House AS IT IS. The Awakened SEE God and this is the secret behind the peace in their hearts, smile on their faces.

"The meek shall inherit the Earth" and all.

Having said that, the INVITATION, the desire, the arousal to know Love/God is also God's instinct, is it not? God invites, we have to make the effort.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by markings

A great way of blaming the 'victim'. We are impure, not worthy, not deserving to see or experience God until we have changed in a particular way.

A God that cannot, or does not show himself to us, AS WE ARE right now, with all our faults and error we may have, is in my opinion not deserving any respect.
He is the powerful one, the omnipotent, and it is a basic principle that to advance the whole the impetus must come from the strong, not the weak.

Hi Markings,
In the long run nobody is a ''victim'', or part of ''the weak''. That comes across as a bit materialistic to me. A poor person living simply but meditating every day will probably have greater results and connection to the divine than a billionaire not knowing what to do with all the luxuries. See the Buddha's life or that of many other saints.

It is up to us.. through our actions.. to what extent we are able to connect to the divine. Asking for God to show he/she/it is near right now at command is a desperate cry. We all have layers of 'impurity' that needs to be shed. Impurity isn't just about murder or torture, it's also lying, feelings of sadness and anger and much more that hold us back. Nearly every spiritual path mentions how our spiritual journey requires chopping down those pieces, bit by bit. What will remain is something pure and simple.

I agree with Iamthat... ''We cannot blame the Divine for not showing Itself just because we lack the vision to perceive what is right in front of us. Perception of the Divine is a state of consciousness, a state of Being.''

Originally Posted by Busby

Just imagine how the world would change if God would speak quite clearly to all of the 8 billion Earth inhabitants at the same time and say something like this: On the 2nd of May this year the sun will appear in the sky as always but it will be green. It will stay green for one complete turn of the planet so that everyone can see it and so know, following my words to you all, that I am.

This would be no skin off God's nose and would allow us to get on with things. And as we also know changing the colour of the sun for a day would be easy, requiring only a miracle, of which there are many in the Bible, so having a decisive miracle 2000 years later could only be positive.

This would solve quite a number of obvious problems and we wouldn't be requested 'to believe', something which has caused and still causes friction and has no point anyway. Instead of believing (in whatever) we'd KNOW.

Then we could live our lives accordingly without fighting among ourselves as to who is right. Let's get rid of all 'beliefs', all superstitions, all religious traditions, all church buildings, all professional preachers, all funny clothes, hats, bishops and popes and their ilk - in fact let's rid ourselves of the whole pot and be able to look God directly in the eye.

Why should he/she/it want it to be otherwise.?????

“Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love a cow - for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage. ”

― Meister Eckhart

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by janielee

“Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love a cow - for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage. ”

― Meister Eckhart

Figures you would be aware of Meister Eckhart...

[Busby]

Originally Posted by janielee

“Some people want to see God with their eyes as they see a cow, and to love Him as they love a cow - for the milk and cheese and profit it brings them. This is how it is with people who love God for the sake of outward wealth or inward comfort. They do not rightly love God, when they love Him for their own advantage. ”

― Meister Eckhart

Just to recap, I didn't say I wanted to see God as I see a cow. I asked why he/she/it doesn't show itself. Suggesting that I should look at mountains, forests, flowers, crashing waves and all the rest isn't (once again) a response which I can accept. I know all that and I am just as impressed as everyone else here about our planet, solar system, galaxy and universe.

I'd go so far as to say that he/she/it cannot show itself in the sense I have suggested simply because the laws of the universe don't allow it.