God is like a painting of the sky on a window
Moderator:Metacrock
- tinythinker
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"Your Idea of God is like a painting of the sky on a window. To actually see the sky you must wash off the painting. In the same way you must remove your own preconceived ideas of God to actually experience God."
Alan Watts
Alan Watts
Adrift in the endless river
- fleetmouse
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Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
It's a cute turn of phrase but if it doesn't match your preconceptions how do you know it's God? Maybe by doing away with your ideas about God you're experiencing freedom, nature, the universe. Atheism.
- tinythinker
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- Joined:Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:16 pm
Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
Atheism is just painting a wall on the window.fleetmouse wrote:It's a cute turn of phrase but if it doesn't match your preconceptions how do you know it's God? Maybe by doing away with your ideas about God you're experiencing freedom, nature, the universe. Atheism.
Adrift in the endless river
- fleetmouse
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Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
I think Atheism is a preconception.fleetmouse wrote:It's a cute turn of phrase but if it doesn't match your preconceptions how do you know it's God? Maybe by doing away with your ideas about God you're experiencing freedom, nature, the universe. Atheism.
- fleetmouse
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- Joined:Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:57 am
Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
Any idea or belief about the world is a preconception once it's held. That's why it's important to challenge ourselves.
Atheists like to challenge themselves. That's why we hang around with Christians.
Atheists like to challenge themselves. That's why we hang around with Christians.
Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
ROTFLOL :mrgreen:tinythinker wrote:Atheism is just painting a wall on the window.fleetmouse wrote:It's a cute turn of phrase but if it doesn't match your preconceptions how do you know it's God? Maybe by doing away with your ideas about God you're experiencing freedom, nature, the universe. Atheism.
that's Gold Dave, Gold!
Have Theology, Will argue: wire Metacrock
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief
Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
moksha wrote:I think Atheism is a preconception.fleetmouse wrote:It's a cute turn of phrase but if it doesn't match your preconceptions how do you know it's God? Maybe by doing away with your ideas about God you're experiencing freedom, nature, the universe. Atheism.
Yes that's true. Not to put down Fleet, but the idea expressed sort of based upon the atheist assumption (seems real prevalent) "If I can find a way to question X then X has to be untrue.
Have Theology, Will argue: wire Metacrock
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief
Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
He said you have to remove your preconceptions to see the truth, he didn't it correspond to some aspects that are logically and/or universally understood, only that you have to clear them out of the way first.fleetmouse wrote:It's a cute turn of phrase but if it doesn't match your preconceptions how do you know it's God? Maybe by doing away with your ideas about God you're experiencing freedom, nature, the universe. Atheism.
Have Theology, Will argue: wire Metacrock
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief
Buy My book: The Trace of God: Warrant for belief
- fleetmouse
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- Joined:Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:57 am
Re: God is like a painting of the sky on a window
Ah but the quote isn't about "the truth" in general - it's specifically about an entity referred to with the name God. And my question is, why does this thing we experience after we clear away our preconceptions correspond to the label "God" which we had previously been applying to our preconceptions? Why use that label at all unless some of our preconceptions were at least partially true?Metacrock wrote:He said you have to remove your preconceptions to see the truth
Why not call it Tao, or Nature, or arglebargle?