Prayer of Saint Francis

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If I was christian...er when I was
I thought God was a woman
I mean I couldn't wrap my head around a man creating life-I associated that with women, and thought God was a woman
still do
though I don't worship her (oe it-most likely it) in any way

God is not a man. God is not a woman, either. Do you think the Almighty is limited to things we can understand? Since God is spirit and not flesh, actual gender is a very human conceit. Then why is it God the Father and not God the Mother? you ask.

I am honestly not sure.

But to have an "It" as your God?

its the only thing the mind can comprehend
if its neither male or female its an it to us
were narrow

oh its god the father because back then everyone was sexist

Who? The founding fathers of the Old Testament? They were undeniably sexist.

God is obviously an extreme extension of a patrimonial leader, an ultimate invention to explain the universe. It is male because it evolved from male led societies. It is mysterious because it must continuously be modified as knowledge expands to indicate previous conceptions were inadequate and faulty and internal contradictions accumulate to confound logic and common sense.

If you try to understand God you'll go mad. The nature of God is not subject to human logic, and anyone who says he understands the mind of God is either a lunatic or a liar. I grant you it would seem the Judeo-Christian deity is patiarchal. Had the early societies been woman-centred instead of man-centred, God would surely have been given a female identity by humans.

The heavy bias in favour of men would have turned out to be the opposite, an extreme extension of a matriarchal leader. Human thinking tries unsuccesfully to trap God with words and ideas. God can't be experienced with the intellect, only with emotions and the spirit. No one can hand that experiece to you on a plate.

So true...

Good point. No sense in trying to make sense of God. Might as well try to teach a cockroach to play poker. So all this talk of conforming to God's will is totally useless. His will is incomprehensible. So let's continue playing with each other as we've always done and let God see to His own business.

The "non musical" version of the prayer of St. Francis (as prayed daily by the followers of Mother Teresa of Calcutta) is as follows:

Lord, make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatred I may show love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness, that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring words of truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand than to be understood; to love rather than to be loved; for it is by forgetting self that one finds; it is by dying that one awakens to eternal life. Amen
...........................................

That second paragraph is my "Aspie's prayer" It reminds me of what I need to do to get along with the people I care about.

I am struck by the statement "Where there is doubt give me faith". It is the cardinal difference between religious outlooks and the perceptive analytical mind which enjoys doubt as a doorway to new understandings as to what the universe may really be like. No question that doubt is an uncomfortable feeling but when assumed knowledge petrifies the universal paradigm then, in the long run, dangerous and perhaps fatal ignorance will prevail.

I perceive no tangible benefits to prayer. To me it is superstition, and it is not likely to shown as Scientifically valid anytime soon. Therefore I stated "Not my thing, but nicely written. I can see where a Christian would like that one."

I commented on what you wrote in a reasonably objective, non confrontational manner. You responded with the Bigoted Bull**it quoted above. Apparently because I do not share your religious views, my character should be questioned.

Between the above slur, and your post in the "Are Americans Ruder Than They Used To Be?" thread, I believe it's apparent who's pointing fingers here. How does you finger pointing make you a "channel of peace"?