Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Is there a God? If so, what is She like?

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thedoc
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by thedoc »

WendyDarling wrote:I don't care for organized religions much. God and I have had our struggles, but the relationship He and I have is unbreakable. Christianity, Islam, Judaism, etc. as organized religions forget what is most important which is one's relationship with God. Forget all the hoopla, forget the herd, and just be self-aware if you're searching for that relationship. :roll: What's needed from God and what does God need from you? Whew! *stepping down from soapbox* :D
Sometimes just being in a group helps the relationship, you don't have to believe everything the rest of the group believes, especially if you keep your mouth shut.
WendyDarling
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by WendyDarling »

It's difficult being surrounded by the lost who do not even realize how lost they have become.

People gathering for comfort, nothing wrong with that. Sometimes God does do wake-up calls at church-like functions, I agree.

Since I consider myself an empath, suffering has a real effect on the disposition of my energy. Church services used to bring me to tears, desperation mixed with hope is very affecting. Hospitals and churches...very raw and draining.
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Arising_uk
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Arising_uk »

Walker wrote: - When a group of people gather to make the same sound vibrations, the sound vibrations cause all the individual bodies to align brain-wave frequencies to a commonly shared amplitude.
Any evidence for this?
Do you think this would work if they didn't use a 'dampening' or moving table. As if you watch the table appears to be moving so I presume this motion is in some way responsible for the effect?
thedoc
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by thedoc »

Arising_uk wrote:
Walker wrote: - When a group of people gather to make the same sound vibrations, the sound vibrations cause all the individual bodies to align brain-wave frequencies to a commonly shared amplitude.
Any evidence for this?
Do you think this would work if they didn't use a 'dampening' or moving table. As if you watch the table appears to be moving so I presume this motion is in some way responsible for the effect?
I'm sure the moving table enhanced the effect, I would be curious to see how long it took without the moving table.
thedoc
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by thedoc »

Arising_uk wrote:
Walker wrote: - When a group of people gather to make the same sound vibrations, the sound vibrations cause all the individual bodies to align brain-wave frequencies to a commonly shared amplitude.
Any evidence for this?
Have you ever been in a church where all the congregation was singing together, it is very moving
Walker
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Walker »

Arising_uk wrote:
Walker wrote: - When a group of people gather to make the same sound vibrations, the sound vibrations cause all the individual bodies to align brain-wave frequencies to a commonly shared amplitude.
Any evidence for this?
Do you think this would work if they didn't use a 'dampening' or moving table. As if you watch the table appears to be moving so I presume this motion is in some way responsible for the effect?
Let me ask you a thoughtful question.
What planet are you from?
(That’s not the question.)

- Have you ever seen pictures of women in the military abusing POW’s or corpses?
(Dang it, that’s not the question either. Don’t answer that. It’s rhetorical.)

You can make the inferential relevance between this and that yourself, and when the attachments to prejudicial conceptual judgments about religion clear off, you will see.

- Once you develop the principle through experience and rationality, then look to see the principle perpetually manifesting within the context of the situation where conditions of sustained group contact exist.

- This reminds of something I read not too long ago.

A woman. A nurse. She went to work at Planned Parenthood, the abortion clinic. She said that she noticed a caviler and callous attitude amongst all the staff, towards their actual work.
- At first she was shocked and judgmental of the staff, the human beings with whom she worked.
- It was not what one would call a positive judgment that she was making of them.
- She said that it took about a month until she realized that she had become like the people around her, making the same callous remarks when evaluating the reality that surrounded her in the present moment.

- And then, she was shocked to realize that this happened to her so quickly.

Now, Nobody told me this, you see, however:

- this happened non-conceptually.
- What this woman discovered … what this human being discovered within herself, was that she was acting in the same way that if viewed from within another context, such as the context of a new employee still living in memory of the way we were,
- or if viewed from within the context of a human being in the future looking backwards in time (which is what she was doing) and being judgmental of the human being who now existed in memory,
- then she would not be seen as the same person who deep inside, she knows herself to be.

The question:

Do you think that if each employee at the abortion clinic:
- did their work in solitude
- in separate buildings
sharing no mediums such as:
- atmosphere
- reflective qualities of light
- syncopated rhythms of physically moving amongst humans within the boundaries of walls (without crashing into one another and not even thinking about it)
- and if they never saw one another with their senses, with only a memory of who they were when moving amongst other folks out there in the world …

Do you think that these people would have developed the same cavalier and callous attitudes … or do you think that in isolation, they would not have even done the work?

- And in order to answer this question, is it necessary to ask more questions, have more information, analyze, dissect, or vivisect?

As an aside, Nobody also told me that it's rare in life that anyone has the luxury of having all the questions answered, before acting. :wink:
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Arising_uk
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Arising_uk »

thedoc wrote:I'm sure the moving table enhanced the effect, I would be curious to see how long it took without the moving table.
So would I as I think the sync may well not happen.
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Arising_uk
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Arising_uk »

thedoc wrote:Have you ever been in a church where all the congregation was singing together, it is very moving
I'm sure it is, as was singing with the odd 10,000 football fans back in the day.
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Immanuel Can
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Immanuel Can »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:What is congregation supposed to do?

PhilX
I really can't help but wonder why you pose so many questions about "religion", then don't seem to have much say much afterward. To put it bluntly, would you care if they were having congregational meetings or sacrificing chickens by moonlight?

What's it to you, if you don't believe in God anyway? Just curious.
Philosophy Explorer
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

Immanuel Can wrote:
Philosophy Explorer wrote:What is congregation supposed to do?

PhilX
I really can't help but wonder why you pose so many questions about "religion", then don't seem to have much say much afterward. To put it bluntly, would you care if they were having congregational meetings or sacrificing chickens by moonlight?

What's it to you, if you don't believe in God anyway? Just curious.
First I'm agnostic, not atheist. I pose questions on many subjects, not just religion. Being inquisitive is the mark of a scientist and if you don't ask questions, then you learn less. Keep in mind that religion is very prominent so it's natural to ask questions.

PhilX
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Immanuel Can
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Immanuel Can »

Philosophy Explorer wrote:First I'm agnostic, not atheist. I pose questions on many subjects, not just religion. Being inquisitive is the mark of a scientist and if you don't ask questions, then you learn less. Keep in mind that religion is very prominent so it's natural to ask questions.
Fair enough.

But you seem to ask then bail all the time. At least, you soon abandon contributing openly. I have to wonder where you go, and what you're getting out of it, no?
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Arising_uk
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Arising_uk »

Walker wrote:Let me ask you a thoughtful question.
What planet are you from? ...
Earth. You?
- Have you ever seen pictures of women in the military abusing POW’s or corpses?
(Dang it, that’s not the question either. Don’t answer that. It’s rhetorical.)
Don't use a question mark then. Very few recently but I see no reason why women wouldn't be as violent towards the defeated as men.
You can make the inferential relevance between this and that yourself, and when the attachments to prejudicial conceptual judgments about religion clear off, you will see.
Who's making judgments about religion?

You brought up the 'scientifiky' sounding statement that "the sound vibrations cause all the individual bodies to align brain-wave frequencies to a commonly shared amplitude." which I presume would be pretty easy to test so I wondered if you had any actual evidence for this?
- Once you develop the principle through experience and rationality, then look to see the principle perpetually manifesting within the context of the situation where conditions of sustained group contact exist.
That peer-pressure or reinforcement exists in a group is a given I'd have thought but it's this "... align brain-wave frequencies to a commonly shared amplitude." that I was interested in.
- This reminds of something I read not too long ago.

A woman. A nurse. She went to work at Planned Parenthood, the abortion clinic. ...
Funny how you chose this example, now what was that about "prejudicial conceptual judgments"?
She said that she noticed a caviler and callous attitude amongst all the staff, towards their actual work.
- At first she was shocked and judgmental of the staff, the human beings with whom she worked.
- It was not what one would call a positive judgment that she was making of them.
- She said that it took about a month until she realized that she had become like the people around her, making the same callous remarks when evaluating the reality that surrounded her in the present moment.

- And then, she was shocked to realize that this happened to her so quickly.

Now, Nobody told me this, you see, however:

- this happened non-conceptually.
- What this woman discovered … what this human being discovered within herself, was that she was acting in the same way that if viewed from within another context, such as the context of a new employee still living in memory of the way we were,
- or if viewed from within the context of a human being in the future looking backwards in time (which is what she was doing) and being judgmental of the human being who now existed in memory,
- then she would not be seen as the same person who deep inside, she knows herself to be. ...
And yet this deep person apparently didn't challenge the others from the start, continued to work in the place even tho' she was shocked and judgmental of her colleagues?
The question:

Do you think that if each employee at the abortion clinic:
- did their work in solitude
- in separate buildings
sharing no mediums such as:
- atmosphere
- reflective qualities of light
- syncopated rhythms of physically moving amongst humans within the boundaries of walls (without crashing into one another and not even thinking about it)
- and if they never saw one another with their senses, with only a memory of who they were when moving amongst other folks out there in the world …

Do you think that these people would have developed the same cavalier and callous attitudes … or do you think that in isolation, they would not have even done the work? ...
No idea as you've put no context at all to your story. So where were they being callous and cavalier, with the clients or amongst themselves? As the later is often an approach taken in groups that are involved in emotional and stressful situations. What exactly was the 'callous and cavalier' behaviour? What work was it that they were actually doing?
- And in order to answer this question, is it necessary to ask more questions, have more information, analyze, dissect, or vivisect?
Hopefully I've asked them then.
As an aside, Nobody also told me that it's rare in life that anyone has the luxury of having all the questions answered, before acting. :wink:
As an aside, I think your slips showing big-time.
Philosophy Explorer
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Philosophy Explorer »

Immanuel Can wrote:
Philosophy Explorer wrote:First I'm agnostic, not atheist. I pose questions on many subjects, not just religion. Being inquisitive is the mark of a scientist and if you don't ask questions, then you learn less. Keep in mind that religion is very prominent so it's natural to ask questions.
Fair enough.

But you seem to ask then bail all the time. At least, you soon abandon contributing openly. I have to wonder where you go, and what you're getting out of it, no?
Debating isn't my primary interest, especially with this website. I'm here to learn and I do keep up by reading the posts.

To broaden your question, what do the lurkers get out of it? (it's a fact that for every one of me, there are over 10 lurkers)

PhilX
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Immanuel Can
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by Immanuel Can »

Philosophy Explorer wrote: Debating isn't my primary interest, especially with this website. I'm here to learn and I do keep up by reading the posts.
A fair answer.

I just wondered.
thedoc
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Re: Since God is omnipresent, why congregate to pray?

Post by thedoc »

Walker wrote: - Have you ever seen pictures of women in the military abusing POW’s or corpses?
I would think that the lack of photos of women solders abusing POW or corpses might have something to do with the relative number of active women solders in the military.
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