(June 16, 2016 at 8:57 am)ChadWooters Wrote: Can someone love Truth? Can someone love Justice? Can someone love Beauty and Mercy? If so that it should not be inconceivable to love the source of those transpersonal values.

Do we mean that they literally love truth or justice, or is this not merely figurative language? That the person acts as if enamored with it?

Regardless of whether it's figurative or not, do you think loving such is a choice?

There you go again Chad.  The essential properties of human nature couldn't help but -be- descriptive.  They're the properties we must have to be human, rather than those properties we do have which are not required for humanity.  Like favoring chocolate ice cream over vanilla.  

Who cares about a natural law, in that sense, anyway?  Just because it's natural, doesn't mean it's right. If it turned out to be that an essential property of human nature was to be a rapist, I don't give a shit...rapes still gonna be illegal.

(June 12, 2016 at 4:52 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote:

Quote:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:34-40

Love... perhaps the greatest mystery of all.  Is it a feeling, or is it a choice?  The greatest commandment says to love God with all your heart.  This would seem to imply that love is a choice, that we can choose to love or not love God.  Those who advocate that love is a choice talk of choosing to commit to the one you love and engage in loving acts towards the loved one, but do these same choices apply to loving a disembodied spirit?  Loving somebody with all your heart and mind and soul seems to speak to love as a feeling.  Does the heart or soul choose?  Is it possible to choose to "love God with all your heart and soul and mind"?

You can take that dive, it's possible, but usually, first you should intellectually convince yourself that the Creator is being that is to be loved and valued specially in  a way that no one else should be. After that, it's all about pushing and disciplining your heart with continuous wisdom, repentance, and acts of devotion, till it loves God in a way that is thankful and appreciative of both God and the light of God in creation (ie. appreciating the good from people as well).  You have to teach to guard against the darkness.

To love God is to let his sword cut you, and that you become his sword. To love God is to submit to him and no longer struggle against his command which is a light that extends to you. It's a struggle only due the effects of dark magic from Satan and his forces on the heart. Where it not for him, I think it would be very improbable a human values anything on par with the Beautiful One who contains all praise

But one day you have to chose, do you want to stick to the false identity created by Satan or are you ready to become light and beauty from God, heighten yourself by the highness of God that Ali use to heighten himself by.

You have to make that choice, and it's spiritual choice.  We are constantly in war within ourselves, and will and who we become, there is responsibility in that.

Why should anyone do any of that Mystic?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:01 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Why should anyone do any of that Mystic?

Because it's accepting the best possible thing you can receive. To love God means to accept his favour and take it with gratitude.

And why should we accept his favor with gratitude?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:07 pm)Losty Wrote: And why should we accept his favor with gratitude?

Because it's the best thing we can receive, with the best possible intention.

I'd rather receive a postcard, and I -hate- postcards, frankly. You and I probably have a different idea of what the best things to receive in life are. What you're talking about is awfully low on my list, so again..why?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:00 pm)MysticKnight Wrote:

(June 12, 2016 at 4:52 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: Love... perhaps the greatest mystery of all.  Is it a feeling, or is it a choice?  The greatest commandment says to love God with all your heart.  This would seem to imply that love is a choice, that we can choose to love or not love God.  Those who advocate that love is a choice talk of choosing to commit to the one you love and engage in loving acts towards the loved one, but do these same choices apply to loving a disembodied spirit?  Loving somebody with all your heart and mind and soul seems to speak to love as a feeling.  Does the heart or soul choose?  Is it possible to choose to "love God with all your heart and soul and mind"?

You can take that dive, it's possible, but usually, first you should intellectually convince yourself that the Creator is being that is to be loved and valued specially in  a way that no one else should be. After that, it's all about pushing and disciplining your heart with continuous wisdom, repentance, and acts of devotion, till it loves God in a way that is thankful and appreciative of both God and the light of God in creation (ie. appreciating the good from people as well).  You have to teach to guard against the darkness.

So first you convince yourself that you should love, and then you brainwash yourself into actually feeling love. Is that it?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:00 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: To love God is to let his sword cut you, and that you become his sword.

Pretty words, but what do they mean?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:00 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: To love God is to submit to him and no longer struggle against his command which is a light that extends to you. It's a struggle only due the effects of dark magic from Satan and his forces on the heart. Where it not for him, I think it would be very improbable a human values anything on par with the Beautiful One who contains all praise

But one day you have to chose, do you want to stick to the false identity created by Satan or are you ready to become light and beauty from God, heighten yourself by the highness of God that Ali use to heighten himself by.

Yeah.... this never happened. Believe and if you don't believe it's because magic is causing you to be confused? Maybe magic is causing you to think things about God that are not true? How would you know? How do you tell the difference between dark magic and the light?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:00 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: You have to make that choice, and it's spiritual choice.  We are constantly in war within ourselves, and will and who we become, there is responsibility in that.

I thought you said that you begin by intellectually convincing oneself that loving God is the right choice. What do you make that choice, to convince oneself, based upon?

(June 16, 2016 at 2:11 pm)Rhythm Wrote: I'd rather receive a postcard, and I -hate- postcards, frankly.  You and I probably have a different idea of what the best things to receive in life are.  What you're talking about is awfully low on my list, so again..why?

God has everything we love for or value in anything. He has all that. And his favour of his divine name/face bestowed upon his sincere servants, contains all that.

Unfortunately, your decision has nothing to do with reason or your true preference, but everything to do with letting evil of yourself and the dark magic of Iblis blind you to the truth and turn away from what is otherwise obvious to your soul.

Hardly anyone thinks much of what they do of evil to be evil. Unfortunately for humanity, the greatest being that requires our time and devotion, is God, and it's unfortunate because it makes them result in the biggest sin and biggest injustice when they devote themselves and value others or things on par with God.