God's will, God's desire and free will

When people say "God's will" I think they generally mean God's desire. For example, humans are generally thought to have free will, in which case our life is lived according to our own will, not according to the will of a hypothesised supreme being. 

We may believe in a supreme being and we may also believe this being has a desire for us to live in harmony with love, for example. But the idea that a supreme being wills us to live a certain way makes no sense if we believe in free will. 

If we believe a creator made this reality then we could say that this reality is shaped according to the will of the creator. But we can't say that about our lives. We only will things that we can control. The things we cannot control we can only have a desire about. For example, we may desire another person to love us as we love them, but we can't will it. To repeat, we can only will things we control. And if we believe in free will then no creator controls us. That's the whole point of free will and it's something few people seem to understand.

God's will v free will

I don't believe the Creator dictates our life as many seem to believe. Instead, I believe we have free will. That free will can be used any way we please, but that doesn't mean our actions don't have consequences, it just means we are in control of our life and the consequences of our actions are our responsibility, not the God's.

That doesn't mean I don’t believe in a "righteous path", it just means that I don't think God or the Creator directs our lives, that's all.

The establishment and controlled assets

Everyone who works on behalf of the establishment is a "controlled asset", with clear boundaries they can't step beyond, without being damaged in some way.

For them free will is an illusion.

Their desire to keep the benefits of their allegiance to the establishment keeps them tethered, like a puppet on a string.

And for most the strings are invisible, for they have accepted the establishment's pronouncements as "truth".

But if they have seen through the lies of the establishment and remain quiet they get to keep the benefits of their obedience. 

However if they speak out their careers and reputations are ruined, because they are no longer controllable. And that makes them a threat to the dominance of the establishment, which must punish them to scare others out of following their example. 

Non-interference

People have the right to believe whatever they want, no matter how ludicrous it seems to us. The thing they don't have the right to do is interfere with the free will of another. That means not forcing anything on anyone who doesn't want it.

"The law of non-interference" is a simple law that is said to govern life in the higher spheres. No other law is needed. It covers all the sins we can commit against one another.

The moral person never interferes with the decision making process of another, forcing their hand. This is called "being respectful".

People go when they're ready to go. True or false?

And can we ever really know without getting inside someone's head?

And then there's self-deception and the subconscious mind...

Meaning peoples aren't aware of the totality of their thinking and feeling, and often intentionally or otherwise hide things from themselves.

Stop punishing other people for disagreeing with you.

It is allowed, you...

Free will and all that!

Free will, determinism and peace

The people who believe in determinism, or no free will, experience no mental anxiety because they realise the way things are is the only way they could be.

It's only those who believe in free will, i.e. those who believe they have decisions to make that could go either way, who experience stress.

The "no free will" crowd also do not worry about the future of the earth, for they realise that whatever is to happen is inevitable and cannot be changed.

The belief in determinism should therefore bring the ultimate peace that surpasses all understanding.

If we do not experience this peace then we are labouring under the belief in free will, which goes against the teachings of materialist science, the accepted belief system of the establishment.

Our root beliefs are indicated by our emotions, not by our thoughts.

The fact that most people do worry means they believe in dualism- a separation of body and mind. They believe they are free to make decisions, rather than just being an automaton  as materialistic science suggests, that acts as they are programmed to do.

So there is a disconnect between the academic world and its belief in materialism, and how most people view their lives, as we see very few people exhibiting the deep peace that a true belief in determinism would bring.

Bullying is of the devil

Any person or institution that tries to bully people and tell them how to live is of the devil.

The light doesn't work like that. Its agents may make suggestions, but they respect individual free will.

No one of the light will try to shame you for living your life by your own lights. Only agents of darkness will do that!

Personal authority and a non-interventionist God

Many individuals struggle to come to terms with the notion of a non-interventionist God. People, in their fear of individual responsibility, look to outside sources to make decisions for them. So they join a church or the military. To take full responsibility for one's own actions is too much to bear for many. As a result we have a political situation where a large portion of the population places their trust in individuals they have little true awareness of. As a result "the wool" is often pulled over the populations eyes.

The ultimate aim for all of us is to become our own authority and to make decisions for ourselves. This is the purpose of creation. We are created to freely decide our own life. There is no God telling us how to live.

There are approaches to life which have more favorable outcomes such as those given by Jesus in his sermon on the mount recorded in the Christian bible.

However, the creator, in its infinite generosity has given us each the greatest gift of all- FREE WILL.  And the whole point of free will is that it is ours to use and the responsibility for its use lies solely with us. No-one else can be held to blame. In this regard we are all students learning how to use our free will in a way that is most pleasing to ourselves

Is God in control of the world?

Clearly, if mankind has free will - which I believe* we do - then an external God is not in control of the world.  That means we can't thank or blame a God for the actions undertaken by man.

Does this mean anything goes?  Yes, I believe it does, as the bloody history of mankind shows.

There is no "problem of evil"

People talk about “the problem of evil”
but there is no problem of evil-
for evil is just the result of people making free will choices
and that is an essential part of the learning process
of being a human being!

Those free will choices we call "evil"
the person involved may call "good".
It's a matter of perspective.

But, truly, what we call "evil"
is not the working of some external God
but instead the poorly considered actions
of those who are out of touch with their soul
and the oneness of creation!

Sharka Todd

Between making things mandatory and outlawing them-

 there is freedom of choice!

Should God "fix everything"?

Some people want God to come in and “fix everything” but how can He do that without interfering with our individual free will choices- the very thing He created us to have?  For the way things are is a reflection of the free will choices of everyone involved and to come in and change things would mean overriding this free will.

If the way we learn is through experiencing the effects of our free will choices, and if the purpose of life is for us to learn to use our creative energies wisely, then what would be the point of a creator coming in and overriding these choices to meet some kind of abstract standard?   It would make no sense and what possibly could be gained from it?  People wouldn't learn and would still go on making the same mistakes and wouldn't become worthy caretakers of this beautiful planet or of any other realm we may one day inhabit.

Respecting human free will means that humans will create both positive and negative conditions on earth as a result of making wise and unwise choices.  This means people, animals and the earth will benefit from mankind's wise, life giving choices and suffer from man's destructive choices.  This is the only way it can be when beings are created with free will which is then honored.  To do otherwise would mean interfering with our growth process.

See also: Free will = God is not in control, God, free will and creating positive change, My response to Stephen Fry's criticism of God (and Russell Brand's response), Are things "the will of God"?, Why doesn't God end our suffering?, God, religion and freedom

Sharka Todd

Would a God of love pass judgement?

If we accept that human judgement of others comes from fear, as I do, then it follows that a being without fear would not judge.  He may discern but he will not judge.  The difference in these two terms being that discernment sees clearly what works and what doesn't in any given situation, but feels no compulsion to pass judgement about what is believed to be morally right or wrong.

If we believe God is love (1 John 4:8), then this means there is no fear in him, as love and fear are incompatible energies.  Therefore, without fear, God would not judge another.  Instead, he may discern that a given action or tendency in us is unhealthy or even dangerous, but he would not judge it as "wrong" and deemed worthy of punishment.  After all, we have free will to experience life in our own way and life, through its mirroring action returning to us what we have metered out, allows us to learn from our mistakes without the need for punishment from God.

Those who have experienced the after-death realm are united in saying that the only judgement that occurs after death is judgment of ourselves by ourselves, upon experiencing our past life review.  Beings who have advanced spiritually have no need of judging others as they realize we are all learning and that when we know better we will do better.  The important thing is that we self-correct when we discover that there are better ways to do things!  That is the purpose of seeing errors in ourselves: to self-correct.  It is of no use that someone else see our faults if we can't see them ourselves.  And, of course, a God of love would forgive us our sins and only hope that when we see the results of our errors we endeavor to d better next time!

Sharka Todd

Free will = God is not in control!

Many people who belong to the theistic religions say that God is in control of what happens on earth.  I disagree, but not because I don't believe in God, but rather, because I believe in free will!

Free will means the ability to do as we choose and to shape the world in our own way.  If free will truly exists then it means that conditions on earth will reflect the desires of the people that live on it, rather than the desires of a God (or gods) who may have created it.

Many people try to combine a belief in human free will with a belief in a God that is in control of our lives, but this makes no logical sense to me.  For example, if we allow someone to live their own life free of our input then we cannot be said to be in control of their life.  This is the same for the situation on earth.  God could only be in control of everything if he overrode our individual free will.  This would mean God had no respect for our free will and, if so, why would he create beings with free will in the first place?  It's all in or all out.  Free will cuts both ways and if we can't accept that a free will being may do harm and allow that to happen, then we shouldn't allow free will in the first place!

See also Should God fix everything?, God, free will and creating positive change

Sharka Todd

What is the will of Allah?

It is the will of Allah that everybody do their own thing!

Evidence?
Everybody CAN do their own thing!

Sharka Todd

Spiritual royalty and ego royalty

There is spiritual royalty and ego royalty.  One rules in heaven and the other in hell!  One respects the free will of their subjects and the other does not!  One leads by inspiration, the other controls by fear and by promoting distorted "truths"!

Sharka Todd

"Anarchists" and violence

Pic: Christopher Hurren

Why would anarchists, who want no laws, do something that would result in the tightening of laws? That is not anarchy, that is terrorism, and plays right into the hands of the police state. True anarchists cheerfully disregard the law (where possible), while leaving other people and their property alone. This results, in time, in the relaxing of laws. After all, laws only exist because of the fear people have that someone will come and interfere with their lives and well-being in some way.

As we each learn to respect one another and each other's possessions we will find that the creating and policing of laws will begin to decline, leaving us all free to live in peace!

Written in response to the following article: 
"Anarchists claim responsibility for embassy bombs"

Sharka Todd

Freedom and the "will of God"

When something happens some people call it “the will of God” while others say “God allowed it” and still others say “God had nothing to do with it”!  If we believe in God and in the gift of free will for mankind then we have to side with the 3rd claim!

Sharka Todd

What makes a cult?

A Scanner Darkly + Sharka Todd

Making people feel bad for the doing the "wrong" thing!

To me, a cult is a movement of people where pressure is exerted on individuals to remain within the group and thinking as the group thinks.  Individuals are usually welcomed into the cult with open arms but if they attempt to leave, emotional and even physical pressure is brought to bear to discourage them from doing so.

I don't think the beliefs of the group are what makes it a cult.  However, cults tend to have authoritarian power structures where members are strongly encouraged to follow the dictates of the leaders of the group and strongly discouraged from thinking and acting independently.

You cannot have a cult that respects the free will of the individual and where the free flow of ideas is allowed.  If it did so, it would be a healthy movement with free entry and exit, rather than being a controlling cult.

However, it may not be apparent to new members, or those considering joining, just how controlling the organisation is, and so they may be caught unaware when they realize how much pressure is brought to bear to keep them within the group and thinking as the group thinks.

Sharka Todd