Before people can talk about God, they need to define what they mean by the word "God."
According to the Tao Te Ching, as soon as you define God, you're no longer defining all of what God is.
So, all we can do is question and riff. That's what we do in this episode.
Key topics:
- Can we know what God is?
- Can we separate God from religion?
- What is God without religion?
- What is religion without God?
- Experiencing God vs. Believing in God
More topics:
- The tolerance paradox (re: preaching tolerance while not tolerating intolerance)
- How our belief in God helps or hinders our ability to be our best selves
- Some people are their best selves when they believe in God
- Some people are their worst selves because of their belief in God
- The other beliefs we attach to God (afterlife, sin/ethics, our purpose)
- If you believe God is a male, you believe gender is a matter of identity and not biology
- If you believe in hell and love people, you'll evangelize to literally everyone
- The need for systemic reform
Ryan's favorite quote about God:
“As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clearheaded science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about the atoms this much: There is no matter as such! All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particles of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. . . . We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent Mind. This Mind is the matrix of all matter.”
-Max Planck
Quote about scripture vs. experience:
"When the bird and the book disagree, trust the bird."
-James Audubon
Abby & Ryan land on the idea that we are all different fingers on the same hand, and what we call "God" is the palm. Or, we are all different branches on the tree, and what we call "God" is the trunk.
GRATITUDES:
- Ryan is grateful that he's developed the tools to process the hard lessons he's learning right now.
- Abby is grateful for her Methodist upbringing.
MODEETS:
- Join our tribe at patreon.com/truenorth11
- Get life coaching from Abby at IndigoCoaching.net
- Catch Ryan on TikTok at @the_holistic_mystic
- Watch us at TinyURL.com/TrueNorth11YouTube
- Email us at hello@truenorth11.com
- Stalk us at truenorth11.com
👄🤦♂️👖😬🥔🎵🤷♀️
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
The Brothers Ortiz
The Brothers Ortiz is the story of two brothers–both successful, but in very different ways. Gabe Ortiz becomes a third-highest ranking officer in all of Texas while his younger brother Larry climbs the ranks in Puro Tango Blast, a notorious Texas Prison gang. Gabe doesn’t know all the details of his brother’s nefarious dealings, and he’s made a point not to ask, to protect their relationship. But when Larry is murdered during a home invasion in a rented beach house, Gabe has no choice but to look into what happened that night. To solve Larry’s murder, Gabe, and the whole Ortiz family, must ask each other tough questions.