Suffering By The Will Of God? Posted in: Aggressor-Victim, Suffering and an all-powerful benevolent God

That God is benevolent and completely in control, yet at the same time bad things happen in this world is a problem for logical and rational thinkers. I think. If we embrace any idea that artificially distances God from something he/she is absolutely in control of, i.e. to explain the suffering of this world without implicating God … as most religions tend to do in one form or another (law of karma, natural law, punishment for sin, our fault, the devil) … even though at the same time believing not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God aren’t we deceiving ourselves and turning our backs on logical and rational thinking? …

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Forgiver In The Rough Posted in: Aggressor-Victim

Notwithstanding the pain / horror of the experience, existence of a victim for me is a major philosophical problem.

My song Forgiver In The Rough lays bare my struggle with this.

My problem begins with my conviction that not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God. The all powerful and benevolent God

If this is true then the idea that the victim is purely a random recipient of adversity, with no cause beyond their being at the wrong place at the wrong time, is obviously unacceptable.

You Can’t Say No To God Posted in: Aggressor-Victim

You can’t say no to God. At least not if you subscribe to the traditional notion of God. You cannot say that God can’t have something God wants. After all, what sort of God would God be if some things are out of bounds? Forbidden. Where would be the divinity in that?

But what about us? What if our not being God does not mean we have lost our divinity? …

The Self-Divinity Challenge Posted in: Aggressor-Victim, The Self Divine

A note of caution: It is fine to say of oneself ‘I am not a victim’, but to say of another, that is another thing altogether. I know if someone had suggested I was not a victim during a difficult earlier chapter of my life I would not have appreciated … nor could I have imagined a time when I might see things differently *. …

I’m The Victim – An Interesting Mindset Posted in: Aggressor-Victim

… a very interesting mindset for one who is control of everything. Yes, it facilitates the both the forgiveness and revenge adventures for sure … but are those adventures really attractive enough to explain the widespread permeation of victim/blame culture on this planet at this time? …

Against My Will / Self-divinity Posted in: Aggressor-Victim, The Self Divine

For me, against-my-will seems incompatible with self-divinity. So when something seems indisputably against my will, or against the will of any other, it can be difficult to maintain faith in self-divinity. It seems that the fundamental is disproved.

In my endeavour to preserve the possibility of self-divinity in my mind, I have often found it helpful to stand back from an immediate adverse situation, and consider it more in the category of scene setting* rather than grand finalé. …

Why Do We Suffer? Posted in: Aggressor-Victim, Divine Expression, God On Our Side, Suffering and an all-powerful benevolent God

While sitting in the comfort of ones’ armchair it’s easy to philosophise that whatever comes to us we desire on some level or another. Indeed many ‘new-age’ programmes of self-empowerment revolve around this idea, and certainly it seems to sit very well with the notion of our divinity.

However, when faced with suffering, the idea that it is coming to us only because we want is less appealing. …

Against My Will or Role Play? Posted in: Aggressor-Victim, The Self Divine

If we are divine beings/of-god, engineering situations in this world that enable us to experience the tastes we are after, for me that status would seem at odds with anything ever happening against our will. After all, the very notion of expression of divinity, be it collectively or individually, suggests that we are always willing and eager participants.

Yet what about the aggressor/victim scenario? …