Who is God? | Robert Barron and Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Bishop Robert Barron: ...
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Robert Barron is a bishop and founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.
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[@youmole]

The collab I never thought would happen. Thanks for the diversity of guests, this is why you're a great podcaster

[@Seraphim190.]

it's not about diversity bud. wrong channel.

[@blackphillip564]

Lex is a pretty crappy interviewer. He's drunk, it seems like, most of the time. Rogan seems to have an enthusiastic interest in his guest. It boggles my mind how this guy is as big as he is. His clips keep popping up on my feed and his half closed eyes and slurred speech are annoying.

[@jerryamescua]

@Black Sheep I think that’s just how he talks. He doesn’t express an exuberant amount of emotion. Joe Rogan is a professional entertainer who does interviews. Maybe that’s why he engages you more.

[@vecumex9466]

He didn't say it was about diversity. Read it again!

[@vecumex9466]

@@blackphillip564 Don't torture yourself watching it.

[@byroncrowell1127]

This is so amazing. Bishop Barron is now so mainstream and Lex is so counter cultural that this podcast can exist. This is SUCH good news.

[@TrixzTide]

We need Bishop Barron on Rogan

[@Unxpekted]

Never thought counter culture would be holiness, family values, and believing in logic.

[@vecumex9466]

@@Unxpekted Whether it is or not is irrelevant but the fact remains that rational enlightened scientists could never come up with counter cultural arguments. They have to wait for others to do it and yes religious people are the ones especially to offer it often those from mainstream enduring religious institutions.

[@patricktalley4185]

Totally agree. Mainstream media cannot handle conversations like this. If it doesn’t fit the corporate-engineered narrative (whether CNN or Fox or whatever) it isn’t getting on the air in any objective open-minded context.

[@pdcdesign9632]

Religion indoctrination infects the whole world. Instead of promoting science and evidence based education after 2000 years we're still wasting time on this bronze age mythology. 😬

[@willgirvan2491]

I was a Christian years ago but I stopped believing. I still believe in something in ways but I have to say his description of god moved me like I never thought possible

[@ScottDCS]

Yeah, God is not a being, but definitely male 🤣

[@GrahamAstles]

@@ScottDCS In the Bible God reveals Godself to us by analogy as male, presumably for cultural reasons relevant for the time. The ideas of "Father" and "Son" meant so much more to the Hebrew and later Greek culture than the gender specific tropes our rather diminished language portrays in our age. However, God is spirit, and as such is both no gender and both genders - genderless, in other words. You need to read the metaphors in context to understand the meaning. Our modern obsession with gender is not a help here.

[@GrahamAstles]

Sadly the church has, in many ways, been very poor at conveying the wonder that is God. we have out him in a box and diminished him in the eyes of so many believers. As the bishop said - we have presented him as "being". We proudly proclaim ourselves as "Jesus centred", but we present Jesus as some form of "super-man". He is so much more. Please do not let the failings of the church keep you from a relationship with the creator.

[@thomasstuart6861]

@@ScottDCS The persona conundrum is an old adage where everything we love and care for, a special car for example is female. It's a child's way of seeing things in a world where mom stays home and dad is out working. It's past for now. But personifying God is a mistake in my opinion. The two sexes are not believed to exist until both were created. Sex did not exist before the concept of creation was realized. But imagine matter responds to human thought, entangled particles, spooky action at a distance, and waveform collapse. Perhaps we can call the universe God because every part of it is aware of us all of the time. What sex would you award to the universe? How do you envision the universe in long hair and a white beard?

[@TheNinjaStuff]

@@thomasstuart6861 Isn't that the problem, though..? *Why* assign sex/gender to the universe? It isn't at all necessary to have an understanding of it, and it adds nothing. A sense of appreciation and love for things that give us life can be had without anything resembling personification. (Heat, air, water, food; these are far more important, in the big picture sense, than even someone's most beloved car, or whatever). It never needed to be done in the first place, with the notion of God... Why would those trying to spread the word of God go about it in a way that is inconsistent with what God supposedly is? Unless, you know, they had an agenda. A very human one... Which is quite a recurring theme with religion, since the dawn of it.

[@ChildofGod98765]

Please pray for me I’m losing hope. But keeping faith in Jesus. Even though I’m struggling to provide for my children and myself since losing my job over declining the vaccine. I declined the vaccine because I have pre existing health condition lupus, and heart disease. I was denied my medical/religious exemption by Forsyth Hospital. My husband passed away three years ago so I’m alone. Ever month is struggle to not end up on the streets with my two boys. Both of my sons are autistic and non verbal so they require a lot from me. I’m overwhelmed. Especially because I am a single mother. Even though I continue to struggle, I keep faith in God, because he can change my situation. I’ve been put down and mocked for simply sharing my story, it hurts. But even as I face homelessness with two children. I will continue to have Faith in Jesus and our Heavenly Father.

[@williambaker1136]

I will pray for you and you family. About 20 years ago my neighbors moved from middle TN up to the twin cities area in Minnesota. Their twins were definitely on the spectrum and at the time, their research revealed some of the best help was available in that state. The boys are grown now and I think are living in an assisted living facility. Maybe, uprooting is a possibility in your situation too. God bless.

[@wildmansamurai3663]

You're delusional

[@pamkingsley1184]

Contact your statewide organization for Autism. Tell them your story and ask for help Identifying and/or navigating the many services and supports that exist to support children with Autism. There is help. I know our God will instill His strength in you so that you keep asking, seeking, knocking until you get what your children need. So... You will stand because God is able to make you stand! I'll back you up in prayer. I too, was a single mom of two adopted special needs sisters. They are in their 30s now. The road never gets smoother, but thanks to God we become Land Rovers!

[@Lottieloves287]

Hi there 🥰 first I want to say how much I admire your strength. Second-Don’t lose hope! God’s timing is perfect. He will provide for you and your boys because those are biblical promises (Matthew 6:25-34). Everything will be okay, you’ll see. 😇 I am praying for you. 🙏 sending you a huge hug and so much love. 💕

[@sidebar3970]

The expression “To be, to be” really unlocks a new understanding but also deepens the mystery of God. Truly Beautiful.

[@iamBlackGambit]

i am that i am! God is the creatror of al things..all this is quoted in scripture repeatedly

[@bluesky45299]

Quran (only scripture with 100% accuracy/preservation) says Allah is “Al-Ahad”(one/indivisible).Philosophically, It is impossible for 3 distinct perfections to exist simultaneously. Father (Perfection 1/distinct1) =Son (Perfection 2/distinct2)=idolatry.This is due to addition of two extra perfections that are Co-equal/Co-eternal&distinct with Allah(the most Exalted). Not just the Quran, but also the old/New Testament textually establish tauheed(monotheism). So, then why believe in trinity and associate two imaginary parts to Allah(one/indivisible/Self-Sufficient/All-Loving)? How could your love/worship be undivided/exclusive for Allah(the most Exalted) when there are two other equally unique/perfect entities to adore? The verses of bible used by trinitarians are extremely vague and require hard interpretation to extract the understanding that Father/Son/Holy Ghost are Co-equal/Co-Eternal&distinct.

[@euengelion]

I found that understanding what Transubstantiation mean helps me understand why Jesus is a person of God, and why He has to be God.

[@bluesky45299]

@@euengelion I would recommend studying chapter 112 of Quran(only 4 verses) to understand the essence of perfect/infinite entity. Remember the essence of Allah(perfection/infinity/self-sufficient/ being uncaused/indivisble) cannot be shared/experience by any creature and is exclusive to Allah(the most exalted) alone. Trinity seeks to attribute essence of Allah(one/indivisible perfection) to the Son(finite/imperfect).According to prophet muhammad(peace be upon him)The chapter 112 of Quran is considered to equate to 1/3 of Quran in its importance. 1.Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “He is Allah-One ˹and Indivisible˺; 2.Allah-the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺. 3.He has never had offspring, nor was He born. 4.And there is none comparable to Him The 2nd issue arises with the preservation of New Testament itself. How do I know new testment equates to gospels that were revealed to prophet jesus(peace be upon him).There is not a single manuscript(except p-52) that exists post 300 years prophet Jesus(peace be upon him). What happened in those 300 years? The manuscripts that are available are in Greek, the very language Jesus Christ did-not communicate to disciples in.

[@negativedawahilarious]

​@@bluesky45299 just to remind you that Muhammad unified all gods and goddesses into one , that's the context of Tawheed All the meccan idols were combined by pedohammad

[@myke23111]

Who is God? I was waiting for him to say, Jesus. Instead he just blew me away with his description of an immaterial existence. Great guest enjoyed this podcast a lot.

[@jackhhun2698]

Jesus was meant to be the representation of the purity of mankind that is within god.

[@pdcdesign9632]

Religion indoctrination infects the whole world. Instead of promoting science and evidence based education after 2000 years we're still wasting time on this bronze age mythology. 😬

[@lo5182]

Welcome to the intellectual side of Christianity.

[@lo5182]

@@charmed0009 According to whom and why?

[@TheProdigalMeowMeowMeowReturns]

@@lo5182what comment are you replying to?

[@emanuelcaparelli]

Not gonna lie, I thought this was too rational at first (like as in mistaking the map for the territory), but I was pleasantly proven wrong. This was a great talk, and gave me some fantastic insights!

[@anaMoc1038]

GOD IS A ROCK! Along the path of urgency are those stuck waist deep in destiny. Beyond the muck and mire, where men burn their desires a patient stone resides. There is a stone on top of the mountain that shapes the horizon, where the feathered eagle struggles to fly, this stone simply lies consistent in the heights. The pebble in your boot is greater than the mountains in your way.-DW

[@Unxpekted]

Syriac Orthodox chiming in (lineage of the disciples), a mass in Aramaic will change your life! :) Truly transcendent even if you're atheist.

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@ChristopherCopeland]

@@pdcdesign9632 In order to attempt to speak to things beyond a prior realm of comprehension, language will always become or border on abstract. Do you disagree that in order to provide coordinates to a point within many planes across many dimensions, you’ll have to use more numbers to be accurate (ie: X,Y,Z axes)? It goes to reason the more abstract/complex the concept, the more linguistic coordinates you’ll have to provide in order to generate an adequate level of specificity. 🙏🏻

[@ItachiUchiha-qx7xo]

@@pdcdesign9632 Bruh if you dont get it just say it lol. No need to pretend to be smarter than people you cant comprehend

[@carbon1442]

From the first watch of this video, from my interpretation of this video, I conclude that, to be god is to be the act of existence, and that being friends with god, is to accept the reality as it is and to be content with it.

[@anaMoc1038]

GOD IS A ROCK! Along the path of urgency are those stuck waist deep in destiny. Beyond the muck and mire, where men burn their desires a patient stone resides. There is a stone on top of the mountain that shapes the horizon, where the feathered eagle struggles to fly, this stone simply lies consistent in the heights. The pebble in your boot is greater than the mountains in your way.-DW

[@doseferatu]

Says the organization that has been trying to dominate reality for 1500 years 🙃

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@samembaye7077]

@@pdcdesign9632 RIGHT??? 👍

[@drewie2ie]

This honestly sounds like taking buddhist/eastern philosophy and putting a Christian spin on it. Which does not sound like how people in the actual Bible thought considering they killed Jesus for saying he was god. Tbh with that said it all sounds like rebranding for the Catholic Church. Because idk why a god who just is existence and wants us to accept that by “befriending” him would need an institution that seeks power and money from people.

[@octuple505]

Bishop Barron has such structural clarity, putting together and finding the essential common thread from so many whose lives were separated by centuries is nothing short of amazing.

[@GrahamAstles]

As a trained theologian, I found this description wonderful. Bishop Barron's grasp of the "mystical other" that is the nature of God is profound. So succinctly put when he describes God as "not an entity" - entities are created things, existing in the story that is the space-time we exist in. God is the "great Author" existing outside space and time, and yet somehow present within it by his "fingerprints". The art we see in many of the great basilicas stretches to attempt to convey these mystical concepts. It seems to me that there is a lofty majesty here that our post-enlightenment minds have lost, which diminishes us as humans.

[@Seraphim190.]

Not only is God an entity , God is every entity at once.

[@lutherandross3165]

I would argue against the notion that the enlightenment brought about the end of that lofty majesty, or somehow erased our memory of it. After all, it’s written into the “rights of man”, clear as day. I would posit that industrialization in the earth 20th century, technological advancements, and post-modern secularism have erased that majesty.

[@GrahamAstles]

@@lutherandross3165 I would not disagree with you there, but I would assert that it began in the enlightenment - gradually of course, but quickly gaining momentum as the hegemony of the church declined.

[@lutherandross3165]

@@GrahamAstles perhaps the enlightenment was more a missed opportunity to create a balance between the divine self and the fallible corruption of human built power structures (the church itself in many instances). Or maybe it’s just a required sway of the perpetual Newtons cradle. I guess we shall see.

[@regis_red]

@@Seraphim190. An entity would be something. God is not something. He just is.

[@MarkMark0000]

"He is closer to me than I am to myself, and He's higher than anything i can possibly imagine at the same time."

[@gingrai00]

This was good… made me want to read Augustine.

[@carefulcarpenter]

"God found me". I worked in the residence of two professionals in their 70s. One was a psychologist and the other a retired prrofessor. One day I experienced a monumental synchronicity while working on the balcony. I asked the professor how often the Ravens form a large group and circle above the house? He replied that this was the first time. When his wife came home I asked her what she knew about synchronicity? She replied that she knew nothing. The next day she said "Wasn't that amazing yesterday--- the universe opened up for you and revealed a secret?" "YES! I replied as I went back out on the balcony to work. A couple weeks later I was finished and leaving for the last time. She gave me a box of chocolates, and I gave her a hug. As I walked up the driveway she asked, "Did you find God?". "NO", I replied. As I started my truck to head home I said to myself, "NO! God found me." 👀🐡🌿🌾🌼 cc

[@pdcdesign9632]

Religion indoctrination infects the whole world. Instead of promoting science and evidence based education after 2000 years we're still wasting time on this bronze age mythology. 😬

[@carefulcarpenter]

@@pdcdesign9632 Mythology has an important place in our development and communication. My beef is not with religion, science, mythlogy, or philosophy--- it lies with a lack of sincere curiosity and development of meaningful lives.

[@joebriggs5781]

So why wouldn't this God find everyone? Especially children and innocent people that are being trafficked that cry out for him every single day?

[@carefulcarpenter]

@@joebriggs5781 He has His eye out, but depends on your eyes, hands, and will to do His work. I fed the homeless for three years in the park, once a week, homemade soup. No one in town ever even offered a chicken, or to assist in the serving and cleanup. Locals did not like that I was "attracting more homeless to the town". 😁 Maybe the community itself was creating more homeless people?

[@carefulcarpenter]

@@joebriggs5781 "This God" is Spirit. As a young boy I was excited about simple experiences. I did not know then that this was what it meant to " be found". It was as an adult that it became more obvious. I was not a mean-spirited kid, nor a mean-spirited adult. I am no better than anyone else--- just aware of the simple blessings in life.

[@jeremyham764]

Perfect line from Lex, “I’d like to limit it to human interpretable words”

[@Imfromtheyear3452]

But that in and of itself is a mistake, because it misses the full reality of things, essentially only recognizing a sliver of the fullness of truth. Science is of God-mathematics, quantum mechanics, geology, etc… all of it work and exist because of God. We are all perpetually suspended in existence-every quark, atom, cell of us-by a Creator so loving that He thought us into existence, and holds you in the palm of His hand literally and figuratively, as He never takes His mind, so to speak, off of you. These truths are hard to comprehend, but to discount it is to discount the nature of our existence. And so some words that might not be human interpretable might be useful and necessary when trying to describe something and someone outside our perceptible range.

[@swapnilchand338]

As a Hindu, I'm amazed to see how this sound exactly like what's mentioned in Ashtavakra Gita and also the words of Jiddu Krishnamurti. Next stop Bible.

[@warrengoon7165]

I practiced Shambhavi Mahamudra via Sadhguru with discipline and it took me directly to the Bible and Jesus the messiah. I was surprised how one led to the other. Given your perspective can you give me any insight to how that could be? I also stopped the practice because I felt it was against the Christian teaching, but the effects were undeniable. One of the single most powerful things I have ever done. Any insight would be appreciated.🙏

[@scally9341]

Yep Reading Exodus 3:14 made me think of all the eastern conceptions of the universe and ontological categories in eastern philosophy. Immediately is recognizable as a common pattern across religions. In the Eastern Orthodox Study Bible, God is asked what he should be called, and in this english translation he answers “I AM the existing one”, which like… yeah that’s pretty much what a lot of our Hindu, Buddhist, and many eastern philosophies seem to point to as well.

[@emman71]

Absolute delight. Thank you for this. As a person who is only beginning to understand the fullness of Catholic theology, these conversations sure pique my interest further. Recommend reading St Augustine's Confessions.

[@MrSpacepauls]

I never thought of god being the author of our story before.

[@Seraphim190.]

row row row your boat, gently down th..... you get it.

[@scurtei]

I'm feeling compassion for you, Paul. Keep praying and thinking 🤔...and you'll find ,,ok, God, I don't understand you, be my everything! I totally surrounder to you.". This doesn't mean stupidity, that we are not thinking anymore. No. It means ,,hey, you know much better then, God [what's good for me, for others that I should, or not do; etc]". Was this helpful for you ☺️🤔😅 ?

[@MikePasqqsaPekiM]

I believe it was Saint Peter, one of the men who walked with Jesus for years, who referred to Jesus (God) as the “author of life”. It’s a beautiful concept that was part of church teaching from the beginning. :-)

[@erickmoney2691]

I love the diversity of guests. Once again thank you Lex!

[@Seraphim190.]

it's not about diversity mate. durp

[@mitchelltj1]

Great guest Lex! Robert Barron conveys such complex and extraordinary ideas in a manner that shows he is not only knowledgeable, but has thought through many worldviews, displaying his affinity to both God and mankind.

[@rchrdhzl]

That Author/Book analogy for God/Universe is elegant. Just perfectly elegant.

[@libertybelllocks7476]

Ya that was good. I always say God is the best computer programmer out there.

[@javiersoto5223]

Wow. I loved his explanation of faith. In metaphysics, there are things that are beyond knowing but we can still have an idea of what the transcendental could be like.

[@Seraphim190.]

beyond knowing huh? "mushrooms" have fun.

[@TheProdigalMeowMeowMeowReturns]

Why think that psychedelic experiences *don’t* include veridical experiences/apprehension of realms that really exist “out there?”

[@vaibhavsati538]

we have no idea, we cannot have any idea

[@TheProdigalMeowMeowMeowReturns]

@@vaibhavsati538 how do you *know* that “we cannot know?”

[@vaibhavsati538]

@@TheProdigalMeowMeowMeowReturns you cannot prove something that is not from this physical world. We are blocked from there.

[@emmanuelweinman9673]

I feel like we have twisted ourselves up in our language so much that we forgot why we speak and what we are speaking about. Love how poets like this guy can organize words in such a way that we can see behind the words to the essence ❤️

[@waldwassermann]

Yes.

[@MrStaano]

How does this bishop knows these things about a "god"? Isnt he just guessing and engaging in poetic jui jitsu; wordsalad?

[@waldwassermann]

@@MrStaano Just like there's studies in physics; there's also studies in theology. Interestingly enough... if you are really good in either one you will find that we have more in common than we think.

[@MrStaano]

@@waldwassermann Physics is real. Religions are man made narratives. Until evidence says otherwise. Thor, Mars, Jeezus, Muhammad, Buddha, egyptian gods, south american gods, african gods. All the same.

[@waldwassermann]

@@MrStaano Perhaps it could as such be said that there is only the real?

[@pdxholmes]

While I am not a man of faith, I have no place for religion in my life, I love listening to Robert Barron talk. He's a brilliant man who I'd love to have a coffee and chat with.

[@lproof8472]

Sounds like you may have a small place; very small, but a place nonetheless. That’s more than enough for God.

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@ItachiUchiha-qx7xo]

@@pdcdesign9632 you going to hell bro.

[@modernexistence4206]

You have no place for morality? How do you determine right and wrong?

[@deathbydeviceable]

If you have no room, do you harm your fellow man and burn things down? Having room for god in your life is being peaceful, bliss, all that is good. The antichrist is the evil you release into the world. Are you not peaceful?

[@saturn724]

In Shia Islam we say God is close to all things without touching them, and far without being separate. Stillness and motion do not occur in Him. He does not change or vanish. He is One but not by counting. He has no contrary or opposite. He is self sufficient without acquisition. He wills without compulsion, and does without the need for instruments or thinking.

[@noboru7347]

True. Fundamenta Buddhism-and Taoist at its core are saying the same things.

[@pdcdesign9632]

In reality we say that's WORD SALD, MUMBO JUMBO.

[@noboru7347]

@@pdcdesign9632 lol! Words in describing that which it cannot describe = MUMBO JUMBO

[@clemonsx90]

@@noboru7347 Check out Christ the Eternal Tao by an Orthodox monk. Many Eastern Orthodox think of Taoism and Buddhism as pre-revelation (but largely true) natural religions similar to pre-Christ Judaism. Compare Christ in the Gospels with the Master in the Tao Te Ching. Catholics do not deny the Logos = Tao link, but it is less popular in the West.

[@tekannon7803]

For the first time I see Lex Fridman's purpose in life: to create a new relgion. Lex, call it FRIDMANITY! JUST KIDDING! What a fascinating vocast. For the first time I see why people turn to the priesthood as a vocation. Father Barron makes it clear that devoting oneself to the church must be an exhilerating feeling of searching for the meaning of God, of life, of existence etc., on a permanent basis. Living each day reciting prayers must be like cleansing one's soul over and over again and never forgetting that perhaps life is really just a mystery that we're never meant to solve.

[@pdcdesign9632]

Religion indoctrination infects the whole world. Instead of promoting science and evidence based education after 2000 years we're still wasting time on this bronze age mythology. 😬

[@tekannon7803]

@@pdcdesign9632 GGGGGGGGGGreat to hear from you. You speak for the majority of people in probably every country on Earth. The thing we are up against is the human mind and we're never going to figure that one out. Religion gets a lot of people through the day, the impenetrable logic is appealing because a religious leader has rock-solid evidence he is right in quoting his holy texts---because religious doctrine cannot be modified in any way. Most people live in a 3 piece appartment in their head: work, getting to work, coming home from work. Religion greases the wheels of the peace train these people think they are on because they get a 'green card' by joining the sect and a free ride to heaven when it's check-out time.

[@AJ-sq8xh]

Shakespeare: "To be or not to be?" Bishop Barron: "To be to be." Shakespeare: "That wasn't the question.."

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@deathbydeviceable]

To be individual, or back to all

[@user-vh3sb4mg3s]

​@@pdcdesign9632thank you, holy cow, what the hell is he even talking about, he sounds ridiculous

[@user-vh3sb4mg3s]

​@@pdcdesign9632I'm not a theologian, but let's start with, God is the Creator of everything, but for him, we don't exist

[@alvarocastroregueiro]

the last sentence Robert Barron said was so meaningful for me, have a friendship with God, fall in love with God. Blessings. Thank you

[@Keithsings4food]

Great Podcast. I've been an atheist for about 10 years, grew up christian. I really enjoyed this full conversation and am now a fan of Bishop Barron's. Most concise, useful interpretations to some of my oldest questions regarding theology. Thanks Lex!

[@margaretferrara1008]

Very thoughtful intellectual down to earth tells the Truth..blessings

[@zenpig6605]

"You don't find God. God finds you" very Zen. great interview

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@eviljohnnybravo7575]

@@pdcdesign9632 so true. He spent the whole video basically trying to own the god of the gaps argument and somehow flip it to make it sound like a good and wise position to take.

[@steinbeck1805]

This is difficult to reconcile with the Christian faith. There is an ultimate price to pay for not “finding” god, which is impossible to justify if man has no agency in it.

[@TrixzTide]

Now we need Bishop Barron on Rogan

[@focusedfowl8981]

Never thought this interview would happen, what an amazing exposition of the God of Jew and Gentile; and how Catholics endeavor to relate their existence to the great “I Am.”

[@schroedergustav5754]

Lex, thank you for sharing these amazing conversations with us. God bless

[@bestshortclips18]

@@thatguyoverthere8355 cringe atheist

[@sentientmlem727]

@@thatguyoverthere8355 yikes. I hate that 14 year old atheists are allowed on KZbin. 😬

[@jayehm]

I respect Lex’s effort at understanding and thinking through the ideas while in the middle of the interview. Barron has thought and meditated on these ideas for a long time to have some level of comprehension. Strive for comprehension.

[@imacmill]

My christian wife would tell you meditation is of the devil.

[@jayehm]

@@imacmillHa, yeah context is good. I’m thinking of Biblical meditation which isn’t clearing one’s mind but thinking deeply about something. “I will mediate on Your precepts, and contemplate You ways.” Tell her to read Psalm 119. Think deeply about the things of YHWH. Meditating is like chewing food. You chew on it long enough to help break it down, then it becomes a part of you.

[@stevenuk]

a meaning of life explained that uses this explanation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJWpn5KOirBkbrs

[@blackphillip564]

Baron has spent his life memorizing dogma and creed. He's a priest not Nietzsche. He's a middle aged virgin (?) because he thinks some ancient Judean allowed himself to be executed to cleanse him of sins .... but he's got to abstain from sex because it's sinful?!? I thought you were already saved, buddy.

[@imacmill]

@@blackphillip564 LOL! Thanks for the great laugh...

[@borzydar1196]

This man can only move diagonally

[@coloradowebnerd]

Well done.

[@pdcdesign9632]

Is that a complement?

[@coloradowebnerd]

@@pdcdesign9632 LOL, yes. I laughed. Such a simple, witty remark.

[@etcetera3282]

I got to say this is the most intriguing explanation about God I ever heard. It's the most graspable ungraspable(if I can create my own expression of the Bishop's language).

[@libertybelllocks7476]

Just think of God as the ultimate paradox. Paradox to our world because he exists outside of our world and anything that comes into our world from a completely different existence will be observed as a paradox.

[@JosipKladaric]

Never knew how to imagine God or how to understand all-knowing but not present. Imagining him as the author of this book we are in, solves all those questions.

[@jojitsu5620]

"I am the Alpha and the Omega" Also in the bible there is a more elemental description. God is Love. We can know God by the act of loving.

[@davidsmith-pz3qg]

The only correct response to this question is "I have no fucking clue"

[@birdsongs482]

I am a Muslim, and these explanations of who/what God is, are correct from an Islamic perspective, and this is what Muslims believe. Although, in Islam it is discouraged to try to figure out the nature/essence of God (because it is not possible), however, God gives a definition for Himself in a chapter that is the second shortest chapter of the Quran, in which He says, "Say, HE is God, the One. God is Absolute. HE has no off-spring, nor is HE born from anything. And there is Nothing like HIM." I appreciate this Video! Gives me this sense of awe listening to a human being trying to explain God.

[@eps3943]

As a Catholic I questioned my religion and God when some priests were found to be pedophiles. I grew up with admiration and love until this happened. I was torn until I came across The Seth Material and Seth Speaks from Jane Roberts. These books saved me and made me see God as even greater than my religion ever did. After these books, it all made sense. We are spiritual being in a physical body and physical world. This life is like kindergarten for our souls and such the process repeats until we are ready for the next journey of our souls. Some people question why bad things happen to them or others, but like a child who drops their ice cream on the ground and cries like it's the end of the world (and we laugh because we know it's not the end and there will be more ice cream), so are all our tragedies in this lifetime as they pale in comparison to the journey of our soul.

[@mogrowneyiv7306]

But have you read the Bible??

[@rgaud8]

Pretty much what the Buddhists are saying.

[@kevinknight777]

Wow what a great, well spoken and articulate guest and outside of what I would have expected to hear. Hats off to Lex and this gentlemen- off to look more into the guest.

[@jetspalt9550]

"you take your shoes off you're much more vulnerable and that's appropriate when you're talking about God" It's not so much what he said but the way he said it, he rushed the end of that sentence as if he was embarrassed by the implied threat. The objectionable thing to some people is the implication of a threat from this not person God if you don't behave. I get it, it has utility but it's ugly

[@phlippbergamot5723]

For a guy trying to define god as a non-entity, he sure does talk about it like it is an entity. Sounds to me like this god thing can be whatever we want to imagine it as being.

[@tok1879]

Like pretty much. That's what i got.

[@jwilsonhandmadeknives2760]

welcome to the constraints of language. How to define a thing that defies definition. That’s what transcendence challenges us to do.

[@bigdofba]

Agreed. This guy’s definition of god is just that. It’s “his” definition. Ask other religious people and they will have a different description. No one can prove god so they just make stuff up. At least religion attempts to somewhat evolve so it can maintain some of its members. For example, Christians don’t really preach about killing people that work on Sundays or stoning women that are virgins anymore. They kind of just ignore all of those parts of the Bible now. I have no problem hearing differing viewpoints though so I’m all for letting people speak.

[@VantaBlackSheep]

@@bigdofba some religions still do unfortunately.

[@Eserr7856]

Bishop states St Thomas Aquinas definition, that God is not another "being" among many beings/entities, but God is the act of being itself , to be God is to exist. Whatever that existence means, is beyond our capacity to understand.

[@Mutual_Information]

If you listen carefully, you can hear nothing.

[@TheProdigalMeowMeowMeowReturns]

Then you're not listening, nor are the ten people who liked your comment. See DBH (2014), etc

[@knotlock]

Mutual Info - Don’t listen to that prodigal pu$$y… you have the best comment here.

[@scyther666]

if i had made something up, i would also try to defend its existence by saying it cannot be defined by any law or idea in our universe

[@na_haynes]

Does it need to be defended? It's literally 'faith'. Faith in a Good reason for complexity.

[@mightyninja7915]

One problem with your reasoning though: To be able to even think that you have to exist. Did you create yourself? Assuming the answer is no, and you exist, therefore god exists. If you were to exist independently from god meaning you created yourself with your own power, your idea would make sense. The very fact that you exist proves god is not a made up idea.

[@Sanatos98]

You mean like Plato did?

[@uncommonsensewithpastormar2913]

Excellent video. Thomas Aquinas’ understanding of God exactly corresponds to what the 3rd century philosopher, Plotinus calls “the One”. I would be very surprised if Aquinas, like St. Augustine, had not been greatly influenced by Plotinus.

[@gingrai00]

There seems also to be a strong Stoic influence in the Apostle Paul also.

[@uncommonsensewithpastormar2913]

@@gingrai00 Stocism was such a powerful influence over the Hellenistic World at that time and place it would have been surprising if Paul had not been influenced by it.

[@superroydude]

In case you didn't know, St Thomas Aquinas is revered as the one who synthesised Plato and Aristotle's opposing philosophies into the Christian vision. His famous theological tome "Summa Theologica" made him doctor of the church par excellence. Plotoinus was an early neo-platonist. So yes he would have been an influence - maybe even directly since Plato's original texts were hard to find.

[@liamaykelly7986]

Thanks Lex, two of my favourite people in one talk, I didn't want it to end

[@adri.o_0]

What Robert Barron is trying to say is: I don't know who God is, but I want to be like Him.

[@dragonlips2005]

I found this convo with Bishop Barron to be fascinating. While I personally don't subscribe to the notion of a diety, I loved hearing him speak on this. Frankly, he said things I've never heard before in the context of religion. God is not a being - that's a first for me. So what of the countless adaptations and followers who assign pronouns and physical form to this diety? Are they all wrong in the eyes of Bishop Barron? What are people praying to? I mean, this opens a whole host of questions. For another day, perhaps.

[@ThiccBoi23]

He tries to be too smart to confuse people when his book says other than what he says

[@sentientmlem727]

@@ThiccBoi23 some of the words you just said made sense. If you can't keep up, hit the gym (books) and come back later.

[@gofish7388]

Those are useful symbols for people. Metaphores.

[@condelevante4]

How does one describe the indescribable?

[@gre8]

The idea that God is not a being is not a new idea in religion. You can trace it all the way to classical antiquity. It is not even exclusive to Christianity and the west as other religious traditions often express a similar idea albeit with different concepts and wording. The thing, though, is that this is understandably a hard and very abstract concept to grasp and quite far from the ordinary experience of the average believer in history. So you'll often see folk religion developing more intuitive forms to relate to the divine and they'll often contradict strict dogmatic formulations. It is indeed a tension. If I were to answer for Bishop Barron, I think he would agree that they have an imperfect philosophical understanding of God, but that their sincere heart is in the right place and they are still grasping essential realities about this God. At least in a Christian understanding, we are all more or less wrong about God, so what is essential is for everyone to keep trying to better understand.

[@nimsZoc]

His views of atheists, is that they just try to debunk god and always make "mistakes" :) yet "faith" is somewhat metaphysical while still quoting "famous" quotes from a beletristic book.

[@hasan6678]

atheists will do anything to defend their lack of faith its hilarious lol

[@theblazedbro]

Would of never thought I’d listen to a religious pod with a bishop

[@DukeLetoIII]

I used to play guitar on a church worship team, and I was always bothered by the fact that everyone up to the pastor was convinced that God was some being/person similar to how we exist (just in a different plane of existence/Heaven). I very rarely spoke about my own feelings about it to anyone there for fear of being kicked off the team (I just loved playing guitar on stage). There were a few times I made the mistake of telling someone I wasn't at all religious, and even further going on to say that I don't believe in a god the way modern churches would have you believe (some dude in the sky who just hands out blessings if you're nice). I did go through an atheist phase when I was younger, and then that slowly morphed into being agnostic - there's something here; some cause for this and a reasoning behind everything. BUT, god was never a person (except if Jesus is taken into account...that's a different story). Even the Bible states that God is basically beyond reasoning. To me, the more I read about God (got super curious for a few years and began studying the Bible), the more I realized God could, and more likely, is something so profound and beyond our understanding that we often can't comprehend the concept of Godhood unless we anthropomorphize "him" to make the concept make sense. Every time that happens, whomever is doing so is just incorrect. I'm still agnostic in that I don't know enough about the Universe and reality in general to be able to say with any certainty that some force exists that is responsible for the mathematics/science of existence and how we perceive it, but I'm open enough to be comfortable with there being someTHING or things and not necessarily someONE that's intertwined in all that is. Edit: I should clarify that the more I studied the Bible, the more I also accepted that it is 99.999% made up stories from ignorant people from the bronze age and forward who had no concept of science, mathematics and all that comes with those keys to the universe. The stories are just that...stories. However, buried in those pages are perhaps some insight into what may be happening behind and beyond the curtain of existence. Maybe our consciousness joins the great consciousness of the universe when we die? I think Kabbalah goes into that a bit in that our souls are just pieces of a greater whole, with that whole being God. Doesn't mean it's right...or wrong. There's something there. We're just dumb primates who are barely realizing there's a whole universe out there that doesn't revolve around us.

[@TACTICALwaffle2]

I’ve noticed that those early insights by religion into what may be happening have helped form our modern scientific theories. The Big Bang theory is similar to the pastors description about god being the creator of the universe but completely outside of our understanding since we have no idea what’s before the Big Bang. Simulation theory is also a modern version of the belief that there is a single entity that created the universe and controls it. The big bounce is similar to Mayan beliefs that the universe was created and destroyed multiple times

[@eviljohnnybravo7575]

@@TACTICALwaffle2 all those discoveries may have been in the same vein as the various cosmological insights that a book like Genesis has with all it's symbolic language, (if you take it literally I feel sorry for you, it has much deeper meaning than a literal interpretation provides). But as far as the religion itself goes, after Judaism and then later Islam and Christianity became mainstream, you really can't give the religions credit for scientific discoveries when the religious mob and the religious leaders alike burn the likes of those who prove the earth to be round/not at the center of the universe alive for committing heresy. The job of religion is to control hearts and minds. That is their entire lifeblood. Without it they lose relevancy fast.

[@damianperez7736]

@@eviljohnnybravo7575 What is your stance on the person of Jesus?

[@eviljohnnybravo7575]

@@damianperez7736 he may or may not have been a real person, he may or may not have even been able to do miracles including resurrection. I really wouldn't know, but those things don't imply you are connected to an omnipotent god through blood relation (how an infinite being can even interact with a finite reality without destroying it instantly upon contact also seems suspect to me). But maybe it was aliens or interdimensional aliens or something and that's where biblical stories as well as religious mythology from other parts of the world all originate from. I try not to completely rule things out if they have even a shred of plausibility to them. That being said if I had a gun to my head I'd bet that the stories were mostly embellished, he could have prepped the tomb like Chris angel after he signed a deal with Pontius Pilate to help quell rebellion or something and faked his death. I don't assume things from books are true or historically accurate when the gospels all conflict on the state of the tomb when the disciples arrived. Also these were oral traditions passed down for 100 years after his death like a game of telephone before they were transcribed into the documents we use today, so again I take them with a grain of salt as historical documents go. Also there were many cult leaders at that time who got stories told about them and their "miracles." The only reason Jesus is relevant today is because Constantine made him the center of the state religion. I doubt Christianity would have gained relevancy the way it has today otherwise. So in a way imo it doesn't matter if he existed or didn't or had special abilities or didn't. Constantine was the source of Christianity in the end.

[@BenjaminPlaysRust]

I can't believe how good someone can be with words while simultaneously saying nothing material whatsoever.

[@lhurst9550]

Professional bullshit artist.

[@Scynthescizor]

I think if you truly want to gain understanding on this topic, especially when someone is using Thomistic language, you need to study it for a while. Even if you disagree, you will at least come to see that there is a meaningful argument being put forth. If you think Bishop Barron is saying nothing material, I have to assume you don't understand what he is saying.

[@user-wc3fq2nt1y]

That's because God isn't material, like the laws of logic and mathematics.

[@UnknownUnknown-kz9nt]

If only he put all this intelligence into something that will help him in the real world 😂😂 all this effort gone to waste😂😂😂

[@UnknownUnknown-kz9nt]

@@Scynthescizor its called indoctrination...Its brainwashing to Its fullest the Bibles are story books to fool people like you...

[@Villista619]

Bishop Barron is inspiring. I think it's in the Church's interest that this video reaches young people who are trying to build a relationship with God.

[@pdcdesign9632]

Religion indoctrination infects the whole world. Instead of promoting science and evidence based education after 2000 years we're still wasting time on this bronze age mythology. 😬

[@joebriggs5781]

I don't agree because with this you have to take his stances on limiting human rights that are different from him, like him opposing gay marriage, abortion rights for rape victims, and assisted death for people who are greatly suffering including many of my fellow military comrades. He might have a nice description of God, but his ideals on real life issues are scary.

[@Villista619]

@@pdcdesign9632 I think religion needs to evolve if it wants to stay relevant.

[@Villista619]

@@joebriggs5781 have you seen videos of him talking about those issues?

[@abdosoliman]

the Tolkien metaphor is the best analogy I have ever heard describing god, a great guest.

[@playboyfan001]

Right. if only lord of the rings had to mention Tolkien in the 3rd person for creative decisions lol. "then Tolkien created Sauron, for the story needed a villain". bishop whats his face goes on to yet again mention how atheist are too silly for attempting to "look for god as a character" when he's the "Author"... except he is in fact the most important individual within said "story". Constantly referenced (by those who _supposedly_ ACTUALLY wrote the many books) and responsible for every single thing imaginable according to this very popular work of fiction. Me personally, I liked Lord of the Rings much more.

[@abdosoliman]

@@playboyfan001 you see I'm not even Christian but I could listen to a bishop and think about his idea and find it interesting or admirable. the world will not agree with you people will always have their ideological differences, that is how life works. This man didn't attack atheists in any way all he said is that atheists say God doesn't exist because we can't find physical evidence of him but the God he is describing is not an entity in this Universe so it boils down to your belief that is it. the path to extremism starts from fundamentalism (what I call the I'm right because of course I'm Ideology) so you have to be careful because no matter what you believe in once you start refusing different ideologies, ridicule them or prosecute them then extremism is the next step, and all extremists are the same.

[@goldenmagnolia5424]

@@abdosoliman Well said, my friend. Ridicule is the cheapest form of interaction.

[@pdcdesign9632]

@@goldenmagnolia5424 that's what religion deserves otherwise every other form of MYTHOLOGY can be considered real. Why don't you believe in Zeus or Apollo?

[@abdosoliman]

@@pdcdesign9632 you are missing the point. nobody is saying you should believe in anything, but you certainly can't go after people because they believe something different. If you don't believe in religion by all means but it's not Ok to insult or ridicule religious people no matter what their religion is. people always believe in something and they always disagree the fact that I like Bishop Barron's analogy doesn't mean I totally agree with him on everything. mainly because I'm not Christian but I can listen to him and respect his point of view even though I probably disagree with him more than I agree. the idea that religion is not cool anymore it's just a *Myth* is quite narcissistic because religions didn't just pop out of nowhere 10 years ago. you are talking about thousands of years of human experience. the fact that you disagree with it doesn't mean it's wrong or any less valuable than whatever you believe in.

[@lolizorz]

I'm not even going to try and understand what this guy is saying.

[@jr8260]

Good because it'll cost you 10 percent of everything you acquire

[@Wade_Adakai]

The burning bush and God being non-competitively transcendent straight up blew my mind 🤯🔥

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@lukacasey9087]

​@@pdcdesign9632 Bro your so wise 😩😩😩

[@AWOL401]

@@pdcdesign9632 you just don’t understand his vocabulary because you didn’t go to college

[@GASmotorsports]

This guy is a hell of a speaker

[@xiez9875]

It seems that the bishop is very difficult to explain who god is and the concept of god. No straight answer. Because there is no clear description of God in the Bible. In fact, they still dispute the father's real name. And do not know the name of the holy spirit.

[@marcusaurelius5742]

I still think this all word-salad nonsense, but I’m glad you’re having these conversations.

[@Hybe123]

It is. It's a logical fallacy in my opinion. In essence, what he is saying is that god can't be explained and therefore that's the proof of god.

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@briansanchez6699]

You can’t just call everything you don’t understand word salad.

[@briansanchez6699]

You missed it. But yours much closer than Marcus lol

[@Phantus00]

@@briansanchez6699 Lol, the irony of this statement is priceless.

[@user-fp4dr1ne7z]

Wow beautiful language to describe God. Makes you humble to know how majestic and wonderful he is!

[@jacobgrosz9493]

The bishop is obviously highly intelligent and I found a lot of his ideas compelling. However, I can't help but feel that a lot of religious philosophy confuses poetry with knowledge. The catechisms sound beautiful on the surface, but don't stand up to any empirical scrutiny. As a former Catholic, I know what it's like to "feel" God. It's a wonderful feeling, but now I don't need religion to explain it.

[@damianperez7736]

How do you cope with life?

[@jacobgrosz9493]

@@damianperez7736 Very well, thanks for asking.

[@jaykay6387]

Most fairly intelligent people understand the desire for "transcendence", but for me that is not enough to convince me of an all powerful "creator" that must be embraced and shown fealty. The whole idea that a "deity" would inform you that you are standing on "holy ground" and command you to take your shoes off is preposterous claptrap on every conceivable level.

[@sstrick47]

I mean, most Christians believe God is a being in reality, not just atheists. They think of God as a being that hears their prayers and knows everything.

[@roddyezell8754]

That's exactly right. This guy seemed to completely gloss over that little detail...

[@sstrick47]

@@dabidibup the god lex's guest describes is not an entity that interacts with humans through revelation, which the Bible clearly shows shows a god that does. The god of the Bible speaks to humans and physically interacts with reality. This guy is spouting some different definition that redefines god in a way that the Bible clearly doesn't and not in a way that most Christians believe God to be.

[@sstrick47]

@@dabidibup sure, it is all those things but it's also an entity that interacts with humanity through direct revelation, and is the definition of god that most Christians believe God to be. A thing of reality that interacts with reality, hence revelation. Thats not what lex's guest said. He redefines god to something that most Christians wouldn't define it as and it's disingenuous imo. That's what God is to his understanding, not to all of Christianity.

[@sstrick47]

@@dabidibup well catholicism is a distinct branch of Christianity already. There are many distinct branches of Christianity that all interpret things differently. He stated "who god is" as a fact of Christianity, almost speaking for it in it's entirety, like all of Christianity agrees with what he is saying. The reason there are so many different sects of Christianity is precisely because nobody agrees in one set interpretations. He stated St. Thomas Aquinus's explanation of god like it's the defacto belief of all of Christianity.

[@sstrick47]

@@dabidibup well he actually says "I'll give you st. Thomas Aquinas's definition", so idk if he even specifically states what his belief is, but it felt like it's safe to assume he just agrees with Aquinas. My problem is he starts his statement like that but doesn't give any nuance later on about how this is just Aquinas's definition and how it's not the "defacto" only Christian definition of god. He kinda just continues on like Aquinas's definition is the only definition in Christianity. And he does the same for many other of lex's questions.

[@fritchben]

Thinking in terms of God as the author of the story in which we reside, what is the point in trying to love God or study God? Isn't God also pointless if God is unknowable?

[@aleast6885]

Since this is in a question format and no one has responded... the point of knowing God is within Jesus Christ ministry. God came down and walked the earth to show us how to obtain eternity with him. Paul's 13 letters elaborates exactly how we do that in this period of "grace" the world is in now. If this doesn't help, I hope God blesses you with the answers you are looking for.

[@nicholascarter9158]

The first reply actually answered your question by accident: the human understanding of God is canonically a literal miracle in the sense that it's supernatural. Knowledge is teleported into your head.

[@mynameismynameyourname6197]

I disagree with Catholics on most everything, but I wish I could talk to more. Its fascinating to learn more about other dogmas other than my own.

[@_Eamon]

Hey Im a bit of a Catholic, shall we try to do the impossible and have a friendly dialogue in the comments haha, lets start with one thing you disagreed with in the video, explain your disagreement and I'll try to offer a rebuttal. Could be fun!

[@integrallens6045]

@8:07 this is essentially the same as what the Tao is, in Taoism. The Tao is all encompassing and at the same time nothing at all. Here is a good way to conceptualize it. Our minds and body exist on the dualistic plane, this means everything has its pair of opposites. Hot and cold, bright and dark, tall and short, have and have not, like and dislike, repel and attract, beautiful and ugly. The Tao points out that all of these are not separate or different things, each pair is just 2 sides of the same thing. Hot and cold are just varying degrees of the same thing. You can't point to a thermometer and point to where heat ends and cold begins. It's all relative. We know these are just 2 sides or ends of the same thing because we only know one in contrast to the other. So the moment hot came into existence, say at the big bang, cold also had to come into existence. Beauty can't enter existence without ugliness because we only know one in contrast to the other. Same with skills, the moment a new skill is discovered now people either have it or they don't. So these dualities all enter existence pinned together. They split into the 2 sides or 2 poles when they enter existence, but the Tao is the essence or substance that these poles were before becoming differentiated on the dualistic plane. This is why they say that the Tao is the ancestor of all things, and also why they say the Tao comes even before "God." This is because God is often categorized as absolute Good and Satan absolute evil. Again 2 sides of the same thing, split into the dualistic good and evil. The Tao is absolute good and evil before differentiating into these 2 distinctions. The Tao exists on the non dualistic reality that comes prior to our dualistic realm. This is essentially what Robert is getting at.

[@RobertRodriguez850]

You should read Christ the Eternal Tao!

[@integrallens6045]

@@RobertRodriguez850 I feel like I've heard of that book before. I will have to take a look. Thanks!

[@charlessimons1692]

I'm an atheist and I know as much about God as this guy does.

[@cloudevops]

:)

[@UnknownUnknown-kz9nt]

That's clever!

[@Mads-hl8xj]

Yeah, Atheist actually study the subject... that's why we're Atheists.

[@booAHHHH]

I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist

[@Mads-hl8xj]

@Joaquin Pampliega The burden of proof is on the one whom claims existence of a god.

[@Shadefecator]

In the Tolkien metaphor: the god in Arda or Eä (I dont remember the distinction between them) is Illuvatar, which is “the god in the book”, but the “true God” of Arda/Eä is Tolkien. I think this is analogous to who/what humans in our world are looking for. A lot of people are looking for “the god in the book” and can’t even fathom the concept of the “true God”

[@Cousinsjay]

I have a college degree in postgraduate studies in finance and economics, spent thousands of hours researching the history of religion and didn't understand anything he said for the first 10 minutes and had to turn it off.

[@lhurst9550]

That is because all they have is made up BS. They have to talk in circles of nothing.

[@javiersoto5223]

You better ask that college for a refund because it doesn't take much to understand what he said lol. If you've spend thousands of hours researching religion and have never heard of Thomas Aquinas, your are either lying or dumb as a rock.

[@_masterofnone_]

Well I’d imagine finance and economics studies are rather concrete, quantitative disciplines, and this is more of a philosophical discussion about the futility of language in providing an adequate description of what God “is.” And this conversation/argument has a few paradoxes in it, namely if God transcends this concept of being then “He” generally can not act or interact with anyone or anything. In my opinion, the capacity of acting or interacting is exclusive to beings even if that being is a creator. But I digress. I think this man would be an interesting person to talk with.

[@nicholascarter9158]

@@_masterofnone_ Both disciples are less concrete than you might expect, but what can you say about a concept with the only describable trait of being indescribable?

[@simonedefilippo6389]

Try some Aquinas

[@RJ73]

If mental gymnastics were an Olympic decipline, this guy would be the GOAT

[@DAGOBJJ]

HAHA!

[@BishopBarron]

That's a useless ad hominem attack. Give me a real argument, demonstrating precisely where you think I got something wrong.

[@philippeichert]

It's not an ad hominem. It's just not a very precise critique. Let me add to his point. What you said here sounds like it's profound, maybe it is. I can't know that cause the words you use are inherently limited and dualistic and are therefore not adequate tools to convey the reality of God. What I am wondering is if you have verified the claims you made about God yourself in your direct experience?

[@atheisth5066]

​@@BishopBarron"where i got something wrong" What does it mean to say existence itself created the universe. How does that make sense?

[@smokey90]

He says so much, when all he had to say was God is just a theoretical abstract concept that describes things we don't understand. 🤔

[@javiersoto5223]

You obviously missed the whole point. He refers to deep ontological facts that have nothing to do with abstraction or ineffability.

[@handsofstone1887]

Exactly! It's the ultimate shell game with nothing tangible under any shell. The only thing that consistently disappears is the idiot's money hoping they have found the "right shell"

[@eviljohnnybravo7575]

Or when he's on all that "he's to be, itself." Stuff, that's just des carte's I think therefore I am. Aka conciousness. Catholics reeling rn in a modern world where a solid 10% of the population understands complex philosophy without getting yanked around by charlatans.

[@smokey90]

@@eviljohnnybravo7575 it's the paradoxical Causa sui.

[@drewie2ie]

@@javiersoto5223 you either must be a troll. Or smooth brained because you literally just said deep abstraction in different words. Ontological comes from ontology which is trying to describe the world of being and metaphysics which is literally just abstract thought in a particular mode of thinking. Or you are sarcastic and I’m the smooth brained ape for not being able to understand that through text. I must question all my decisions now.

[@aneyeforcapitalism6531]

Probably the most important aspect of God’s identity is found in the gospel of John. “Before Abraham [was], [I AM].”

[@javiersoto5223]

The most important aspect is revealed in the " I am the I am" and even then, it is a bad translation.

[@christopherliguori8719]

This guy is like a walking bibliography. Good stuff

[@joedoe783]

I think we lost our bearings in the west when we lost our connection to Christianity.

[@orangemanfascist]

Maybe start up the Crusades again? LOL.

[@joedoe783]

@@orangemanfascist That's like someone saying the west lost its way when it lost its connection with democracy and you saying "maybe have another Gulf War in the middle east again? LOL" .

[@quentins8165]

When we stop believing pretty lies, the ugly truth is all that remains..

[@xanfortunato]

Utterly beautiful description of faith and the concept of God.

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@xanfortunato]

@@pdcdesign9632 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@The5thKind]

The Bible is not about God. Its about the "powerful ones" - "Elohim". "YHWY" is one of the Elohim. One of powerful ones. The translation work done by Paul Wallis & Vatican translator Mauro Biglino blows the real story wide open...

[@mrnobody7036]

Catholic man : speaks about his idea what God is Atheists in the comments: triggered beyond belief

[@mrnobody7036]

@@cryptoesquire3168 What?? 🤣🤣🤣

[@mrnobody7036]

@@cryptoesquire3168 I’m extremely confused. Most people who celebrate Christmas aren’t even Christian. It’s simply seen as a holiday in the winter where you exchange gifts. How does one get triggered by someone not celebrating Christmas…

[@sterlingarcher5698]

That initial quote in Latin sounded more panscychist than Christian. An example. Light, Prism, Refracted Spectrum. In this analogy, Soul is the Light, Physical form is the Prism, Spectrum is the Mind. The more complex the physical form and therefore experience, the more complex the refraction (Mind). "God" is just source of light. I wouldn't say its an individual ("He"), its existence is refracted through and between everything in existence. The cumulative whole of everything. Yet, your individual subjective experience is "God's" experience, in part. So treat everyone as you want to be treated, as they're you...in part.

[@andyzar1177]

The Neverending Story sums up this beautiful conversation perfectly! The Great Author hidden in plain sight.

[@monkkeygawd]

Bishop Barron is obviously an articulate, highly educated and intelligent, clever man in approaching the Bible/Biblical God... this is refreshing, while also frustrating in a way... if all Christians (and all Abrahamic religions) interpreted and extrapolated/distilled Chrisianity in this way, the world world be MUCH better, from a Christian/religious stance... the problem is, though, that Bishop Barron uses the Bible in a metaphorical, responsible, rational way, whereas MANY Christians do NOT. He hinted at mystical beliefs, which leads closer to my own beliefs of Idealism/nondualism... I'm not Christian, but follow closely in-line with the nondualistic Hindu philosophy of Advaita Vedanta (based upon the principle Upanishads). I hope the Bishop is successful in opening Christians' eyes to the possibility that the Bible is not fact after fact, but, instead, is metaphor after metaphor to be used like training wheels to pedal one's understanding to higher spiritual ground. Because, unfortunately, the Bible left in unintelligent hands can be a devilish tool beyond belief. Kudos to the Bishop for cracking open the window of critical thinking to a mass audience. 👏

[@tinychapter.]

Check out Richard Rohr's work if you haven't already. Talks at length at how Christian theology has been distorted for hundreds of years - how Christ itself was a word to symbolise 'the amalgam of matter and spirit'. He'd be a great guest for this show, actually.

[@mariog1490]

This isn’t fair because all the Christians you know are post-Descartes Protestants.

[@Xarkom89]

Why even follow a singular faith if everything is just open to conceptualizations of metaphors and word salad? I'm agnostic myself but I always thought it made more sense that if you're going to believe, just believe but without the umbrella of any given religion and pre-scripted designs and ideas of what god may or may not be.

[@RobertRodriguez850]

Christianity is of no importance if the events did not actually happen Anyways, related to the Hindu and Christian intersection subject, you should read “Vedanta in Light of Christian Wisdom” by Wolfgang smith. Also you should just look up who Wolfgang Smith is in general on KZbin! He has some videos on the intersection between Hinduism and Christianity and has many personal stories with the Vedas and Christianity (he has even met a Saint!) to go along with it!

[@monkkeygawd]

@RobertRodriguez850 a majority of new testament "events" did not happen. This matters GREATLY to the validity of Christianity, obviously. However, to Advaita Vedanta (nondual idealism) it matters precisely zero if Krishna or Brahma, etc, exist historically. It is the philosophy that matters. And, Christianity and Hinduism have nothing vitally relatable in their philosophy. Christianity believes in actual matter and souls, while Hinduism (Advaita Vedantin thought) believes all is Consciousness. Only mystical interpretations of Christianity could share some common ground.

[@NazDayTrader]

Where can I verify this information

[@danielcetina5790]

Everywhere

[@rod6189]

Go outside and take a walk. You'll see it.

[@NazDayTrader]

As a matter of fact I did a good hike today in the forest. Would have been a great time to see god or gods. Since this entity or entities have this power to create all I could think was really…..this is the best you can do?

[@ceojas]

Former Catholic here, glad to know that the church is still heavily into psycho-babble

[@brianlittle9202]

I LOVE this conversation

[@suchen6845]

Even human can not agree on 'who is human?', but jumping to question 'who is god?' 😂😂

[@MarcioSouza1]

It’s fascinating how he has such an elaborate, complex and poetic description for something that is completely made up. It would be remarkable that he knows all of this, if not for the fact that he has absolutely no evidence for any it.

[@briansanchez6699]

You missed the entire point

[@ItachiUchiha-qx7xo]

Damn bro thankyou for enlightening me. I have given up all faith in God. can you teach me your ways sempai :(

[@hardcoresb3]

God aside i don't trust this bishop. There leadership is all corrupt.

[@adamoxen]

And where's your evidence to disprove any of it?......😁😁

[@Celtic_Iron]

Whatever your resentment is against the idea of God you should try and drop it. Stay atheistic if you wish but that resentment will only lead you to pain.

[@Coco-qz7fn]

Lex, that was an amazing Talk, really appreciate your diversity of guests and inquires on the deeper meanings of God and Existence. would love to see you Interview Scott Hahn as well.

[@trevor_osborn]

Amazing conversation 👌 Cheers Lex

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@integrallens6045]

@10:43 Exactly, this is directly out of the Hermetic philosophy book The Kybalion. They use the example of Shakespear and Charles Dickens I think. It's a great analogy because we can understand how Tolkien is within every character in his stories but at the same time not any of those characters or beings are interchangeable with Tolkien himself. This is exactly what Christians meant when they would say that we are all of God or we all have god within us but at the same time we are not God. This is why in the Kybalion, the hermetic belief is that everything is mental and reality itself is all happening within the mind of The All, or God, and that is why the world as we know it is logical and intelligible.

[@libertybelllocks7476]

You know whats funny? God could be any one of the things described - author of a book, creator of a computer program, just living in his imagination but with real consequences. He could be all those ---------- and none of those at the same time. God is the ultimate walking paradox for our world because he exists outside of it. So of course whatever he does we would believe is a paradox. This is why all the sayings "he can be nowhere and everywhere" and all the other ones through this video - ALL of them are paradoxical.

[@integrallens6045]

@@libertybelllocks7476 Yes exactly, these are metaphors and they aren't saying that he is literally an author and we are the book or computer program, its more like these are combinations of words that point towards what god is but are in no way trying to make literal claims because of course God is not reducible to physical or non-physical.

[@ThinkTwice2222]

Neti Neti... "Not it, Not it".. - Alan Watts

[@mnptm]

mr Barron says, god cannot be found in the world, but mysteriously enough, he knows everything about it

[@pdcdesign9632]

What this preacher guy is doing is his best JORDAN PETERSON impersonation. Word salad , mumbo jumbo, blah, blah and in the end he says nothing. How can he live with himself? 🙄😬

[@KelkohTV]

The mental gymnastics required to still have a belief in God is impressive.

[@Angelthedog]

Twisted nonsense. Such smart people have got their minds so down the random rabbit hole. Imagine if this guy put his mind to something real.

[@jD-je3ry]

Except that this definition dates back to medieval times.... ugh you hear him mentioning aquinas and are still not aware hes not using a 'novel definition'

[@sc3639]

God did make it simple but like most things, humans try and make it harder then it needs to be. They always overthink things and pat themselves in the back for being so smart lol.

[@samgravell3180]

Wow, the author book analogy… so obvious yet it never occurred to me

[@FourEyedFrenchman]

"I Am Who I Am."

[@buddhstyle]

Beautiful conversation

[@straunwagner6322]

Ill sum this up for you. God is a thing that no one could ever have a good reason for believing in.

[@mrnobody7036]

Interesting. Let’s apply Pascal’s wager to your logic. Let’s say the Christian God is real and is without a doubt exactly who He says he is. You would be better off believing in him than to not believe in him. - This also depends on your definition of who or what God is but by your comment it seems as if you are accepting that God is real.

[@Mint-kj9kw]

God is not a thing....He's a Person. God is your Father....

[@bitofwizdomb7266]

I traced back 1000s of years of my family history and found that my great great great great great great great great great great grandfather was a caveman named Arty and apparently he introduced the concept of morality way back at the dawn of humanity ! Another caveman was beating Arty over the head with a club but Arty, being the enlightened caveman he was , grunted out some sounds which in caveman language meant “hey stop hitting me over the head ! That hurts ! How about instead , I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine !” And walla ! The basic concept of morality was laid down thanks to my great caveman grandfather. No need for religion .

[@kerangg6934]

Good for you! To each his/her own.

[@_Eamon]

God Bless You!

[@arielwertlen6709]

It's "et voila" not "walla". Goodness gracious.

[@bitofwizdomb7266]

@@arielwertlen6709 Oui je sais . je l’ai écris ainsi pcq les anglophones ne connaissent pas le français . Imagine comment un anglophone type essaierait de prononcer « voila » 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@DrRussPhd]

"I named the constellations, Taught myself to swim created my Creator and made me look like him." From the song "Caveman" by The Bears check it out.

[@bluewhistleschannel6058]

Hey Lex, I haven’t listened yet but thank you. You are so influential and you have opened the court. Hey, tell Rogan, to get a Christian on. Maybe with Peterson and you and John Lennox or William Lane Craig.

[@obscureesoteric7213]

"be still and know that i am god"

[@pdcdesign9632]

Translation: shut up and don't ask question. How's is that religious '"freedom"?

[@obscureesoteric7213]

@@pdcdesign9632 thats not what that means at all, "be still and know that I AM GOD". Say it and you might understand.

[@L4b3n]

Discribing god in a way that there is almost nothing left to discuss for an atheist -> mission accomplished

[@Theactivepsychos]

Redefining terms to combat and try to win argument is so intellectually lame. Like Jordan Peterson does.

[@jD-je3ry]

@@Theactivepsychos but this 'redefining ' dates from medieval times and goes back 1500 bc. So its a pointless criticism

[@Theactivepsychos]

@@jD-je3ry yeah but that’s the point. It goes back to 1,500BC and the god it redefined goes back to…. Let me check… 6500BC, or thereabouts. Not quite the zinger you thought, is it?

[@Theactivepsychos]

@@jD-je3ry do you realise that even within the Bible you can see that god changes from one of many gods to the one of many you should worship then magically to the only one to ever exist.

[@BishopBarron]

Fair enough...for atheism is a supremely irrational position to hold.