A Jealous God

[The Cobbler's Apprentice]

Originally Posted by sky123

It's interesting how we all see it differently. As I said (Imo) i'm referring to my personal feelings that came when feeling jealousy, thankfully I grew up

Oh! I see exactly how you see it! I'm just trying to give Yahweh the benefit of the doubt.

[Dan_SF]

My best try to answer this: "For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God"

You have to know that God is and energy being. You can call it love.

For this explanation i'm going to use the concept of "Levels".

In this explanation, insects are on the lower levels, then there are animals and then (from lower to higher):

Human as animal
Human as what you would know as normal human being
Spiritual Human
Angels
God.

From the perspective of humans, you have 2 (two).
Male and Female.

Jealousity you have encountered here, on this level.

But when you go up, to the level of God, there is God only.
There is no God and the dev..., no two sides of a coin ... No two Gods.
God only.

The word jealous means: "feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages." (*from google search result)

Imagine God as a cake.
If you cut and take out a slice of the cake, you would have two pieces. The bigger and the smaller cake.

The smaller piece would always be in the need of something that the whole has. Always wanting, always needing.

Well, with the information above it is easy to get the next point:
if you now see "Love" as energy, then try to imagine as what you can get from it, if you cut out a piece of the love.

Basically the answer is that you can not divide love and have two love parts. When you divide love, then the one will be Love, the other will be Hate.

And what can this produce but negativity, need and jealosity ?

The saying is therefore a pointer to the Non-Duality.

[The Cobbler's Apprentice]

Hi Dan, I read your post with interest. The phrase that popped into my mind was The Tao can be shared but not divided.

[The Cobbler's Apprentice]

Originally Posted by The Cobbler's Apprentice

Hi Dan, I read your post with interest. The phrase that popped into my mind was The Tao can be shared but not divided.

Stepping out of the troubled waters elsewhere, the little phrase above has for me much to do with any "God", jealous or not.

"Truth is one, sages call it by various names."

As I see it confusion can arise between "sharing" and "dividing". The subtle difference can be obscured. It is not division to call Truth by various names....Logos, Tao, Christ, Allah/God, Word or whatever.

Getting back to my own Pure Land path, as I have posted before, within it is a wide spectrum of understanding. From Amida as him/her "up there" or "out to the West" who comes to us at death to carry us off to the Pure Land, to those who see Amida as a personification of Reality-as-is and the Pure Land as here, now when seen "in faith". And all points inbetween (where, I tend to think, I stumble along somewhere)

What matters is not our symbols but the authenticity of practice. An analogy would be of the theoretical physicist who cannot boil an egg. In the so called "spiritual" field some can have a very refined understanding yet in facing another human being they still see the "other", and sadly, still see others as those awaiting/in need of, the "refinements" of understanding that they have. For me, this is to divide and not to share.

When we share, our own darkness can be part of the "exchange", and therefore the possibility of learning from another. All part of the beauty of difference. As Pema Chodron has said:- "Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognise our shared humanity."

So, as I see it, authenticity is the key. Getting back to the Pure Land spectrum, if those who see Amida as "up there" etc insist that only such an understanding is the "way" then in effect they divide the Tao, they do not share it.

[Molearner]

Originally Posted by The Cobbler's Apprentice

What matters is not our symbols but the authenticity of practice. An analogy would be of the theoretical physicist who cannot boil an egg. In the so called "spiritual" field some can have a very refined understanding yet in facing another human being they still see the "other", and sadly, still see others as those awaiting/in need of, the "refinements" of understanding that they have. For me, this is to divide and not to share.

The Cobbler’s Apprentice,
This is such a good insight and is demonstratingly true. We see it often in these forums. It is a failure to recognize that there are different levels of understanding. If true knowledge is held by any individual then genuine humility should be evident.

[HITESH SHAH]

Originally Posted by The Cobbler's Apprentice

"For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God"
Context is everything. What "context" would you put such a claim by Yahweh into? What context do you think it is put into, given the history of religion?
(I'm interested in any form/claim of exclusiveness, irrespective of any particular religion. Hence, Inter-faith.)

According to me with this Yahweh is claiming unflinching unwavering faith/hope from seeker in God , His life, His ways and His redemption (ie 100% and even with 99% He may become jealous ) . So He may be jealous ( and as consequence angry also ) if we are agnostic,skeptical , doubtful , wavering ,superstitious (taking wrong superstition to be right belief in obstinate manner) and wander directionless wayward in this world .

Yahweh had stayed in Egypt and had seen foolish,fraudulent idol worshipers full of pretense . Even true idol worshipers mock and rejects such an idol worship. So Yahweh may definitely have rant against wrong aspects of idol worshipers in Egypt but may not have anything against true faith of a seeker in His own idol in Church cross and may not be jealous of such a seeker.

[Sir Neil]

I would guess that such thing is a possibility (God after all, is capable of anything and experiencing any emotion) but I don’t think God would choose to feel jealous. Jealousy, I think, is a human construct borne out of believing that there isn’t enough to go round. It comes from our fears whilst living in the lower dimension.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by Sir Neil

I would guess that such thing is a possibility (God after all, is capable of anything and experiencing any emotion) but I don’t think God would choose to feel jealous. Jealousy, I think, is a human construct borne out of believing that there isn’t enough to go round. It comes from our fears whilst living in the lower dimension.

Excellent points. Thank you.

[Busby]

Jealously is simply not loving a person so much that one doesn’t allow him or her his or her freedom, regardless of consequences.

Speaks worlds really on all levels.

Needing to punish someone for seeking or achieving freedom is a sign of an achilles heel in the own psyche.

[Jainarayan]

I wonder if this means protective, maybe overprotective, not wanting “his people” to stray and get themselves into trouble. I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt.