What is God?

[2020hindsight]

God!!??.... .... you're standing in it!!! .. on it?

walking / swimming / running through it ?
Lol - like it

what a pile of stabbing in the dark.........ponder these words.....when asked who he was and what his name was God said "I AM".........dont reply for 3 minutes just ponder the words.......

......
Actually I will leave the third .......Just answer my bang question.

so dumpty .. is that "I AM , THEREFORE I THINK"?
or is it "I AM , THEREFORE YOU CAN STOP THINKING / ASKING FOR DETAILS / CONFIRMATION etc "?

PS as for the big bang - there's a heap of science behind it , some of which has been touched on - most of it would go over the heads of most of us here - maybe refer to the thread on that topic.

But as Carl Sagan would say "where did god come from?"

"If we decide that this is unanswerable - or "god always existed" why not jump a step .... ( or two) and conclude that the universe always existed" etc

Then where did the big bang come from?

You can always ask "well then what happened before that?" The god hypothesis explains absolutely nothing; it gets us no closer to an answer. It's just a continuation of the same infinitely regressing line of questions

 

[2BAD4U]

For me God is just a "belief" that gives a sense of hope for people. I grew up a catholic, went to the catholic school, church on weekends, etc but ditched it all a long time ago for various reasons. I once read (possibly in the other thread) that if 999 people die in an earthquake and 1 lives then it must have been a miracle and god saved them (stuff the other 999). How do you explain this to your kids when they ask why God didn't save the rest?

But, each to their own and if it (God, Allah, etc) gives people hope and creates a better life for them, good luck to them, just don't push it on other people or take it to extremes. Achmed-the-terrorist

Me, I would rather rub Buddah's belly before each trade.

 

[MS+Tradesim]

But as Carl Sagan would say "where did god come from?"

"If we decide that this is unanswerable - or "god always existed" why not jump a step .... ( or two) and conclude that the universe always existed" etc

You can always ask "well then what happened before that?" The god hypothesis explains absolutely nothing; it gets us no closer to an answer. It's just a continuation of the same infinitely regressing line of questions

The problem with sound bites is they appeal in their simplicity but they generally assert, rather than investigate or explain. So for those who like to think a bit more deeply:

http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/morriston.html
http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/ultimatequestion.html
http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/theism-origin.html
http://www.christiancadre.org/member_contrib/God_as_Causal.html

Or for a materialistic perspective:

http://www.qsmithwmu.com/time_began_with_a_timeless_point.htm
http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/keith_parsons/varghese.html
http://stripe.colorado.edu/~morristo/infpast.html

 

[gimme some]

Personaly, I dont believe.
But I do believe this. Anyone who believes so strongly that it is right and just to murder innocent people in the name of your God, I guarantee you I will be admitted to heaven long before you will. In fact, you wont.


Here is a different perspective.
What have you got to lose by believing.
Whereas if you dont believe and you are wrong, well this is the ultimate mistake. Damned for eternity.
Is it really worth being so pigheaded about it?

 

[2020hindsight]

pffft

hey gimme, you covering all the bases m8 lol

PS certainly your "different perspective" would be how a lot of old folks near their deathbed would reason I guess )

 

[wayneL]

pffft

hey gimme, you covering all the bases m8 lol

Agree

It presumes God *needs* to be believed in and worshipped. He mightn't give a toss about that. Is He even a he? He could be a she, or neither, or both?

 

[moneymajix]

Heaven and hell. That's probably another topic.

I don't personally think there is a heaven or hell.

 

[mayk]

I am a believer, and I reckon that the concept of GOD is so huge and incomprehensible by humans that prophets among ( humans) were sent to let the masses know about GOD.


What, why, where are some of the questions I guess we will find out in heaven ( or worse in HELL!!). I guess no one, except texts of religion can answer these questions as they only concern believers..

So next question in succession will be What is GOD according to Christians, Jews and Muslims among othe minor religions(like Hinduism, budism etc. )

 

[Wysiwyg]

What is god?

God is whatever small mind can imagine.

The reference to a god is completely unnecessary and if we just stick to human characters then there would be less control and confusion of millions of humans (in the name of a god).I do respect those that believe willingly.

What most intrigues me is the forces of nature and particularly the ^programmed actions of animals.


^for want of a better word.

 

[refined silver]

"God, contracted to a span,
Incomprehensably, made man." John Wesley.

Merry Christmas all.

 

[treefrog]

god is what gets the thanks but not the blame
thank god for that marvellous result - common
thank god for that wonderful sunami/cyclone/bushfire/war that killed thousands etc etc - not common but should be if u truly believe
when younger it was mostly "act of god" when some bad event occured - today it is "act of nature" - a rose by any other name....

 

[treefrog]

for those who really want to know, do a search for "god spot" - recent research on why we believe - turns out we are born with a part in our brains very ready to be programmed by whatever nonsense it is fed for the first time - some have bigger god spots than others and therefore are more ardent believers
hey - don't believe me though - check out the research results

 

[2020hindsight]

for those who really want to know, do a search for "god spot" - recent research on why we believe - turns out we are born with a part in our brains very ready to be programmed by whatever nonsense it is fed for the first time - some have bigger god spots than others and therefore are more ardent believers
hey - don't believe me though - check out the research results

treefrog, do you know if people with bigger "god spots" (lol - as against G spots ok?) - if they are more easily hypnotised?

then there's the question ...
act of god , = act of nature, (yep - rose titles, agreed)
= act of human nature?

no reference to GW here, just a question thrown into the ether, since god allegedly "designed" humans in his image.

- or in his mirage perhaps?

 

[chops_a_must]

Personally I believe that God is a being that exists on a higher plane than human conscious can actually percieve.

Scientists know, and can prove mathematically, that more than just 3 dimensions exist, so i believe God exists in a greater dimension than we can see, touch, hear etc

They can't actually prove more than 2 dimensions exist. Husserl demonstrated this. Hence the cubist movement.

I think Epicurus gives the most effective description/ explanation of what God is (and one of my favourite quotes of all time):

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

 

[Sean K]

I think Epicurus gives the most effective description/ explanation of what God is (and one of my favourite quotes of all time):

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

I hadn't seen that quote before and it's gold! Cheers!!

I'm sure the God fearers will have a response along the lines of choice or something.....

 

[moneymajix]

TreeFrog

I am more inclined to go for there being a divinity in human DNA which recognises on some level, the existence of God.

 

[moneymajix]

From Kenny

Originally Posted by chops_a_must
I think Epicurus gives the most effective description/ explanation of what God is (and one of my favourite quotes of all time):

Quote:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

I hadn't seen that quote before and it's gold! Cheers!!

I'm sure the God fearers will have a response along the lines of choice or something.....

Maybe in some people's outlook there is no good or bad - only what is.
Good and bad are perceptions, after all.

God, the universe and humans are continually expanding. Various experiences contribute to that.

And to fear God would be like fearing your own caring and loving parents (use your imagination if you didn't have that experience).

Do loving parents control? Or do they provide you with opportunities to make your own choices, from which one learns and grows?

If you create something you do not like, do you blame your parents?


Those that limit themselves to a 3D reality will find it challenging to believe in other dimensions.


God bless.

 

[2020hindsight]

And to fear God would be like fearing your own caring and loving parents.
God bless.

mmx howdy

get's a bit tricky when you can't remember what "caring and loving parents" are ? ( were?)

There was a big poster at the end of the dining room and it used to be pointed out to us all the time when religious instruction was going on in the afternoon. They had these Aborigine people sitting at the end of this big wide road and they were playing cards, gambling and drinking. And it had this slogan which they used to read to us and point to us while they're saving us from ourselves and giving our souls to the Lord. It had, `Wide is the road that leads us into destruction', which lead up into hell. The other side they had these white people, all nicely dressed, leading on this narrow road, and `Narrow is the road that leads us into the kingdom of life or the Kingdom of God'............

Confidential evidence 613, New South Wales: woman removed to Bomaderry Children's Home as a baby in the 1940s; foster placement organised from Cootamundra broke down after 17 months and she was then placed in various work situations.

 

[ne0h]

If god is real he owes me a lot of cash.And im strapped

 

[moneymajix]

Does the Universe Exist if We're Not Looking?

Eminent physicist John Wheeler says he has only enough time left to work on one idea: that human consciousness shapes not only the present but the past as well.
by Tim Folger, Photography by Dan Winters



Our observations, he suggests, might actually contribute to the creation of physical reality. To Wheeler we are not simply bystanders on a cosmic stage; we are shapers and creators living in a participatory universe.


http://discovermagazine.com/2002/jun/featuniverse