Philippians 4: 1-9: The God of Peace

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Mendalla said:
Let's not forget that there's been a major war happening for over a year in Ukraine. Between two nominally Christian states to boot.
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Christians have been known for a long time to represent something not quite the way it appears ... for questionable reason.

This is extensively expanded upon in eternal metaphysics ... an ongoing concept that those determined about mortal belief cannot accept!

As ein sof many cannot accept having to go that far for peace ... an ongoing process? It may appear mind boggling to the limited set ... then that opposing thing may evolve ...
 
jimkenney12 said:
The Russian patriarch wants access to the Cathedral in Ukraine and to be seen as the patriarch for all Orthodox people.
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This will ensure that turbulence in the greater sol will continue ... as put forth by Aggai, one mother of an expression ... nonetheless dark and mysterious because of Gnostic rational! Thus the question continues? What question? About the struggle between human crazy and insanity ... hard to escape if you watch how they idolize lack of intelligence! There are unspeakable words for that character ...
 
jimkenney12 said:
The Russian patriarch wants access to the Cathedral in Ukraine and to be seen as the patriarch for all Orthodox people.
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Yeah, though this is about more than the Ukraine-Russia split in the Orthdox Church, that is certainly a factor behind the patriarch's support of it. And reuniting them would play into Putin's rather obvious plan to get Ukraine back under Russia's thumb, whether as a client state like Belarus or occupied territory.
 
GRATITUDE AND ANSWERS TO PRAYER: 5 BIBLICAL TEXTS

(1) Prior to the Raising of Lazarus from the dead:
"Father, I thank you for having heard me (John 11:41)."

(2) Before the miraculous Feeding of the 4,000:
"... after giving thanks, He broke them (the loaves) and gave them to His disciples to distribute (Mark 8:6)."

(3) Before the miraculous Feeding of the 5,000:
"Then Jesus took the loaves and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to all who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted (John 6:11)."

(4) The experience of gratitude during petitionary prayer:
"Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God (Philippians 4:6)."

(5) The implicit gratitude of basking with delight in God's presence in the context of petitionary prayer:
"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart... But be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:4, 7)."

The NT teaches that the right kind of faith can bring answers to prayer, even healing. But you can't just TRY to believe. The feeling of inevitable failure or disappointment is built into the very concept of trying. When you try to believe, you look within and that very act of introspection just makes you discover your doubts. But when you actually experience gratitude or delight in God's presence, faith and expectation are automatically built into those elevated feelings. But it is not enough to express gratitude; the power lies in the actual experience of gratitude.
 
Mystic said:
GRATITUDE AND ANSWERS TO PRAYER: 5 BIBLICAL TEXTS

(1) Prior to the Raising of Lazarus from the dead:
"Father, I thank you for having heard me (John 11:41)."

(2) Before the miraculous Feeding of the 4,000:
"... after giving thanks, He broke them (the loaves) and gave them to His disciples to distribute (Mark 8:6)."

(3) Before the miraculous Feeding of the 5,000:
"Then Jesus took the loaves and when He had given thanks, He distributed them to all who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted (John 6:11)."

(4) The experience of gratitude during petitionary prayer:
"Do not be anxious for anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving make your requests known to God (Philippians 4:6)."

(5) The implicit gratitude of basking with delight in God's presence in the context of petitionary prayer:
"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart... But be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him (Psalm 37:4, 7)."

The NT teaches that the right kind of faith can bring answers to prayer, even healing. But you can't just TRY to believe. The feeling of inevitable failure or disappointment is built into the very concept of trying. When you try to believe, you look within and that very act of introspection just makes you discover your doubts. But when you actually experience gratitude or delight in God's presence, faith and expectation are automatically built into those elevated feelings. But it is not enough to express gratitude; the power lies in the actual experience of gratitude.
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Oo, I should have known you might have the answer.

Experiencing gratitude or delight in God's presence isn't something a non-believer is going to experience easily. Short of a full-blown conversion experience, trying to believe is all some can do. Or are you suggesting that a full-blown conversion experience is a necessity for faith?
 
Non believers can certainly experience gratitude but I often wonder where they direct it. To the universe? Maybe it doesn't matter.

Could some of the other advice Paul gives in this letter be useful to a non believer?

Rejoice in the Lord? Not so much but one could choose to rejoice in Life, no?

Show your gentleness? Sure.

Think about the things that are worthy of praise? Sure. Why not?
 
I suspect a non believer could develop a readiness to be aware of reasons for gratitude in daily living. " I got three green lights in a row. Thank you Universe.". " This meal is even better than I expected. Thank you Universe.". "Woe! What a beautiful sunrise. For this beauty, I am grateful."

I am more reasons for gratitude than I could list in a week. For example, I am thankful that when I slipped and fell down a set of stairs in Costa Rica, I only popped the T12 vertebrae a bit out of place leading to intense pain at the time and chronic pain since. A bit worse and I could have become paralysed from that part down. À
 
What about a believer who doesn't accept the concept of an interventionist God? Does such a person express gratitude to this God?

To answer my own question, yes, I think so. We can offer both gratitude and lamentations to God without holding God personally responsible.
 
paradox3 said:
What about a believer who doesn't accept the concept of an interventionist God? Does such a person express gratitude to this God?
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Even a deist at least believes God created the universe to start so can be grateful to God for their existence. That's probably the most extreme form of non-interventionist belief. Process does believe in an interventionist God, for instance, just one who intervenes through agents and influence rather than directly.

jimkenney12 said:
I suspect a non believer could develop a readiness to be aware of reasons for gratitude in daily living. " I got three green lights in a row. Thank you Universe.". " This meal is even better than I expected. Thank you Universe.". "Woe! What a beautiful sunrise. For this beauty, I am grateful."
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Yeah, expressing gratitude is very much a natural, human thing I think. I am not sure everyone would even consciously thank a specific something like God or the universe. They might just say "I am grateful that this happened", "I am thankful for this food", and whatever they are thanking/expressing gratitude to just remains in their heart/mind.

jimkenney12 said:
For example, I am thankful that when I slipped and fell down a set of stairs in Costa Rica, I only popped the T12 vertebrae a bit out of place leading to intense pain at the time and chronic pain since. A bit worse and I could have become paralysed from that part down. À
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Ouch. I would be grateful that it was not worse but might be cussing out those stairs now and then. :oops:
 
My young brother is a Family Practitioner in Colorado Springs. He once expressed a desire to explain how his patients can experience sustained gratitude, regardless of whether they are Christians. Research reported in his medical journals had found that sustained gratitude, whether religiously motivated or not,
often correlated well with surviving serious or terminal medical conditions.

It seems easier. though still difficult, to develop a mindset of sustained gratitude than it is to practice positive thinking or to take a sustained leap of faith that God can and will heal you. In my view, the right kind of daily meditation is key and I hope to research this topic to figure out which type of meditation is the best for this purpose.

The biblical words for "faith" suffer from the limitations of language for expressing the unique quality of consciousness that promotes healing. My cousin, a psychiatrist in Hamilton, once did a lot of research on the precise brew of positive emotions that facilitate dramatic healing. Unfortunately, I have lost touch with him and not discussed his conclusions with him.
 
Mystic said:
My young brother is a Family Practitioner in Colorado Springs. He once expressed a desire to explain how his patients can experience sustained gratitude, regardless of whether they are Christians. Research reported in his medical journals had found that sustained gratitude, whether religiously motivated or not,
often correlated well with surviving serious or terminal medical conditions.

It seems easier. though still difficult, to develop a mindset of sustained gratitude than it is to practice positive thinking or to take a sustained leap of faith that God can and will heal you. In my view, the right kind of daily meditation is key and I hope to research this topic to figure out which type of meditation is the best for this purpose.

The biblical words for "faith" suffer from the limitations of language for expressing the unique quality of consciousness that promotes healing. My cousin, a psychiatrist in Hamilton, once did a lot of research on the precise brew of positive emotions that facilitate dramatic healing. Unfortunately, I have lost touch with him and not discussed his conclusions with him.
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The deeper Hebrew calls this ein sof ... a term that is buried in the great want of mortals to control what they are not equipped for ... in some it is translated as a sole condition, or singular encompassment as if some were not better than the opposing ... getting very close to the line (of balanced singularity)!

This not well understood because many belief systems discourage understanding, knowledge and such schools of thought ... thought being just out there! Authorities tyrannically oppose teaching as it is costly ... not effective in the get rich quick scheme! (no work involved?)

As an exception to the rule; some go to school to learn to be greedy and hungry for the neighbor's ration ... that's their measure or so they believe ... even down to the stealing of thought! Leads to many hidden thoughts ... sort of Gnostical ... don't tell!
 
Amen

More Peace

What you feed, grows
What the Thinker Thinks, the Proover Prooves
Confirmation Bias confirms what we already believe

It is important to be aware of what thoughts we are thinking thoughts with
 
paradox3 said:
An interesting read on the subject of peace. Please take a look.
broadview.org

Jewish-led vigil in Toronto mourns deaths in both Israel and Gaza while calling for ceasefire | Broadview Magazine

"We don’t want to have any part in war crimes being done to the Palestinian people in our name," says vigil co-organizer
broadview.org broadview.org
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It sounds good and I hope to hear more thinking like this, but the fact is once the US gets involved it's game over. They're not there to stop or win the war, just to create discontent....Biden is just as corrupt as the last few presidents and Netenyahu led it's people to think they have the means to defend itself against Palestine. They're slow reaction to defend themselves should be suspect more than it is. Hamas military operations in plain site prior to the war and we are to believe Israel missed all this? Sorry, 2 weeks later I'm thinking we are all on queue for a well orchestrated war that includes all of us taking sides. The world is suffering from inflation and a war will afford the means to continue our prosperity when it's over. We will all hunker down in our allegiance to scrimp.
( Last time it was hidden weapons of mass destruction that weren't there)
Let's open our eyes and focus on our own governments accountability as we feed and speak up for the Palestinian and Israeli pawns (citizens)
 
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