Is there a God?
NeeSox
2009/08/18 02:39:20
seriously. i just saw an ad saying "click here to find 6 reasons why God exists". and then i just thought of asking this question. haha and i made it open answer because i feel multiple choice answer questions are too limited. now of course i know what i believe. what do you believe?
Top Opinion
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JohntheChristian 2009/08/18 13:53:50
Local hunter-gatherer nature spirit in individual trees, rocks, etc - dead hunter-gatherer ancestor spirit under the groun - generalised agricultural human nature god on the highest mountain top - generalised agricultural human dead ancestor god in the temple - pantheon of domesticated city-state cultural gods in the temples and mountain tops - single tribal god on the tribal mountain - single pan-national universal creator god in the clouds above earth - ethereal global creator god who doesn't really live anywhere - universal force that's the equivalent of nature, but still called "God" due to cultural heritage above - final realisation that no "gods" exist.
The above pretty much charts human intellectual development in regards to gods. Capitalising the word "god" just gets back to Yahweh the Jewish god of Mt Sinai, or Allah the Arab moon-god. If people are Christian or Muslim, this is what they are worshipping. If they are worshipping a formless, nameless thing, then they should admit they are deists, and stop calling themselves "Christian" or "Jewish" or "Muslim", because those religions don't revere a "universal spirit" or "the Force", they specifically insist that Yahweh, Allah, and Jesus are real. You can't have it both ways. "God" with a capital "G" is just what's left when Yahweh, Jesus, and Allah have outlasted and exterminated all the other gods.
Fortunately such reasoning hasn't stopped all the people who have actually discovered new knowledge over the past 100,000 years, or we'd still be living in trees.
It is up to those who make claims for their gods to prove their existence. This is called Onus of Proof. And that onus is on you. Not me.
The Yahweh character in the Torah is clearly fictional. The Jesus character is fictional. The Allah character is fictional, as is Zeus, Thor, Isis, Quetzalcoatl, and 10,000 other human-made deities. Until someone provides evidence for these imaginary creatures, then there is no way to "disprove" them, any more than the Sasquatch or Yeti. Nor is there any need to do so.
What we do know, however, is that the diseases, volcanoes, and crop failures that used to be blamed on gods all turned out to have natural explanations. What few gaps in our knowledge still remain get smaller every year, and into them your God Of The Gaps is forced to hide - conveniently where nobody sees him, and where he apparently does nothing. Some god.
Insert "god" for "unicorn", and re-read the paragraph. People I talk to on this site don't "believe" in evolution and global warming, but they exist nonetheless. 1 Billion people on this planet believe in Hindu gods, yet I'm sure you'll agree with me that that belief does not make those Hindu gods real. Even if all 6 Billion of us suddenly started worshipping Hindu gods, they would not become real.
Do you consider the Bible or Koran to be superior in any way to the stories about gods from Egypt or Greece? Do you consider them all culturally specific fables, or do you consider them to be life lessons? Do you think they are revelations from your god, or observations by humans? Which religion or culture's set of god-stories do you think is most useful? Most interesting?
If you value God more than any particular religion, are you motivated here to defend any particular religion more than others? Do you think that your god requires or needs any defence? Do you consider it important for others to also worship a god? If your god is an amalgam of all the gods that everyone writes about, do you do any rituals or rites to worship it? How do you decide which ones to pick?
What does your god want you to do? Do you think you have talked to your god?
Do you believe in an afterlife? Who will get to go there? How will that be decided?
Do you give money to a particular religious sect or congregation? If so, why?
I've noticed a correlation between fundamentalist religion, denial...
Do you consider the Bible or Koran to be superior in any way to the stories about gods from Egypt or Greece? Do you consider them all culturally specific fables, or do you consider them to be life lessons? Do you think they are revelations from your god, or observations by humans? Which religion or culture's set of god-stories do you think is most useful? Most interesting?
If you value God more than any particular religion, are you motivated here to defend any particular religion more than others? Do you think that your god requires or needs any defence? Do you consider it important for others to also worship a god? If your god is an amalgam of all the gods that everyone writes about, do you do any rituals or rites to worship it? How do you decide which ones to pick?
What does your god want you to do? Do you think you have talked to your god?
Do you believe in an afterlife? Who will get to go there? How will that be decided?
Do you give money to a particular religious sect or congregation? If so, why?
I've noticed a correlation between fundamentalist religion, denial of evolution, and denial of climate change. I don't use the word "fundamentalist" perjoratively, by the way. It appears you are not fundamentalist. I won't razz you (on this thread, at least) if you deny evolution or climate change - but do you?
I'm glad you took the time to clarify yourself, and look forward to your responses! Send them privately, if you want to. Cheers.
Well...not the ones most Christians try to get me to Believe anyway.
But I don't think so.
I see this question a lot and felt like approaching it from a different angle this time.
Thanks.
Which god? Zeus? Thor? "If there wasn't a Thor, nobody would be here to ask if there is a Thor?" Do I even have to point out how ridiculous that is? It's no less ridiculous with "Yahweh" or "Allah" substituted in. If you're Christian, be honest and write "Yahweh/Jesus", because that's your god's name(s).
Does every poll need to be an argument?
no need to attack me. k thanks.