Is believing in God more important than having belief in the goodness of man?

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   Ratihegdeposted 12 years ago

   Is believing in God more important than having belief in the goodness of man?
   
   Invariably one sees a lot of arguments on whether God exists or not ... and those who believe in God seem to be arguing on which God is greater. Do you feel that God is more important than the goodness that a Human being is capable of? Should we believe in God more or in the human self more?

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   lone77starposted 12 years ago

   Language is such a clumsy tool for answering such a powerful question.
   
   An approximate answer might be like,
   
   "Believing in God is far more important than believing in the goodness of man."
   
   But there are several things imperfect with this answer. "Belief" is a relative and imperfect term. "Faith" is better, but even this word has too many different meanings. "Faith" as "perfect confidence" would be better -- the kind of confidence to walk on water.
   
   "Importance" is an imperfect term, because it is selfish and thus evil. Ego judges things to be "important." The more divine viewpoint would merely be one of responsibility. We are responsible to know, to love, to have faith in, to be humble to God.
   
   The goodness of man is "important," but not if it is for man's own sake (ego).
   
   It all has to do with motivation.
   
   The best kinds of goodness are the anonymous kind. But Christ did many miracles in broad public view. These were hardly anonymous in the physical sense, but they were anonymous in spirit. There was nothing for the "self."

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      Ratihegdeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      "The goodness of man is "important," but not if it is for man's own sake (ego)." ... i loved this part because i too feel that only God can work with total lack of expectation, only because He loves His children.

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   anjalichughposted 12 years ago

   I learned from a renowned spiritualist that the key to finding answers to your questions is ''asking the right questions' in the first place.
   
   That being said, I don't find the comparison appropriate. Believing in God and believing in the 'power of self' are both on the same footing. They co-exist. You cannot replace one with the other, for a simple reason that both are connected and are inseparable. Human beings are a part of 'God energy' which is why it becomes possible to connect with this powerful energy (we evolve from) during deep meditation.
   The power that vests in human beings comes from the Universal / cosmic energy (call it God if you like) which means when we believe in God, we believe in ourselves; the converse holds true as well. Therefore, for the wise, there is no scope of argument here. Both are equally important.
   'Power of self' no doubt gives you the courage to move forward in life but 'God' ....IS that courage.

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      Ratihegdeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      wonderful ... thx

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   cam8510posted 12 years ago

   It depends on whether belief in "God"  includes a religion.  For example, Evangelical Christianity has historically believed in the inherent sinfulness of man, not his goodness.  They believe this because it puts man in need of salvation by God.  If Christians believed in the goodness of man, there would be no need for the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. 
   
   So, in Christianity, the two are mutually exclusive.  That is not the case with some of the eastern religions and new age type beliefs.

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      Ratihegdeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      unfortunately we see that religion is given more important than humanity ... that's why i asked this question But i'm sure that goodness in man is his true nature ... hope you agree with me

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      cam8510posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I do agree with you because my experience with religion has shown me that religion does not make people morally better.  The same shortcomings, to the same degree are in the religious and non religious.  I believe man can do good to his fellow man.

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   saurabhtambeposted 12 years ago

   hmmm..... you have raised an important point but one has to understand what is goodness. Currently most of human race is unconscious. goodness that is born out of unconsciousness is useless because it can turn into badness anytime. So if goodness belongs to enlightened man then it is really good. And as long as human self is concerned there is no such thing as human self, which we know as human self is conditioning of the people which has happened over time.
   So until you go beyond mind it is better to believe in God rather than human self.

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      Ratihegdeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Conditioning makes man colour any incident as per how he perceives it .. true ... Nice reason to believe in God more than in man

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   Sinbadsailormanposted 12 years ago

   The trinket is not greater than the mold that made it nor the mold greater than the maker of.
   Human Kind (man) will be replaced for he is the substance of a redesigned Model. Man is, but a reflection of God, Not GOD and whether one believes in GOD or Not is of No Matter. He Is! But Man shall pass away as will the age of Judgment. To be or Not to be is the Answer; and not the question. We choose our own Destiny. We will choose One to follow! It is preordain to be so. And Nothing Can or Will change the Out Come of our Choosing for we all must choose. But the one who is doing the choosing will also do the deciding. I choose to Be! With the Creator, The Father My GOD.

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      Ratihegdeposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes Sinbadsailorman, we choose our own destiny ...

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