It is OK to say: "I am one with, and live in, GOD, not a god, or God.", After all, it IS the message of Christmas. Options

[Lindsay]

Max, your questions

I am asking for the thought process behind the belief and the reason why you have chosen this set of beliefs.

Because I have come to the conclusion that it is OK for anyone to say: "I am GOD, not a god, or God. That is, I am GOD-like, at one with GOD, in which I live, move and have my being. After all, it is the message of Christmas.

How did you arrive at these conclusions?

When I accepted that the message of Christmas is for everyone, not just for Christians, or for Messianic Christian Jews--and that Jesus was a Reform-minded Jew who decided to be a servant-like messiah, not a king-like one. By the way, there were no Christians until later (See Acts 11:26).

I realize you are a thinker, this however does not answer why you chose to believe the things you do. Being a thinker could result in a person believing many different things. Not asking for whats right or wrong, just simply the reason why you believe what you believe."

Looking back, I now realize that I began to think this way when I decided to take Jesus at his word, when he said: "Follow me..."

Was it always this way?

The thought was there from childhood. But, of course, the development of it came gradually.

Where it did begin?

From childhood, as I said. But perhaps it was during the months I spent picking black rocks and white quartz out of iron ore, ten hours a day, on Bell Island, (1946/47) that I got a call--a strong feeling--to do ministry.

Did you ever believe something different?

I have l always left room for agnosticism, my options open, about some things--I still do, but I was strongly so during my last two years of high school, when I was drawn to the sciences for a time. I still take the scientific approach, seriously.

What set of sub-beliefs are there that bring this set of ideas into existence?

Sub-beliefs? I have no idea what this means.

[Lindsay]

"Yea, but, where would GOD fit in that scenario?" Code asks.

Code: Any scenario that IS fits in to GOD, not the other way round.

If you, or anyone, find that it is impossible to understand this concept--Do you?--perhaps it is impossible for unitheists--those of us who see GOD as all that IS--to communicate any meaning to you. Without being judgmental, in any way, shape or form, perhaps the best we can do is leave it there until after we have taken a look at the following:

PROGRAMMING THE UNIVERSE--A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes on the Cosmos (2006)--a book by Seth Lloyd, Professor of mechanical engineering, MIT.

BTW, knowing my interest in understanding quantum physics, my beautiful grandchildren gave me this book as one of my Christmas gifts.

Lloyd begins:
This book is the story of the universe and the bit. The universe is the biggest thing there is and the bit is the smallest possible chunk of information. The universe is made of bits. Every molecule, atom, and elementary particle registers bits of information. Every interaction between those pieces of the universe processes that information by altering those bits. That is, the universe computes, and because the universe is governed by the laws of quantum mechanics, it computes in an intrinsically quantum-mechanical fashion; its bits are quantum bits. The history of the universe is, in effect, a huge and ongoing computation. The universe is a quantum computer.

What does the universe compute? It computes itself. The universe computes its own behavior. As soon as the universe began, it began computing. ...

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Now I know why I was attracted to physics, chemistry and the like, when I became a serious student--I think I was 14 at the time.

If anyone has already read this book, let me know what it said to you. Meanwhile, as I read it, I will do my best to communicate what it means to me. So far, I am amazed.