Society/Culture Nobody has anything new to say about God.

[Snake_Baker]

Existence itself is unexplained by science. There is a hypothesis that existence is due to, or dependent upon, some higher being, or metaphysical energy or whatever. I don't believe such a theory, nor do I rule it out.

You can't rule out that a pink unicorn is going to mystically appear and take you off to Disneyland either, but it's a waste of time to entertain the idea.

 

[Boston tiger]

If somehow shicence had developed faster than superstition, there’d be no need or even invent a god, or even think about one.

No because we have always been aware that there is stuff and it is motion. Superstition has nothing to do with the God concept. It probably has more to do with evolution.Science is pointing toward brain function as to whether you are an atheist or spiritual. Higher along the autism spectrum the more likely to be atheist etc .


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[FireKrakouer]

Apart from a lack of any evidence that an immortal, supernatural being / deity that is the perfect, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient originator/creator and ruler of the universe actually exists is not a good reason?

When did I mention those characteristics? Perfect, omnipresent etc. Sounds like a scriptural god, which I acknowledged is very unlikely to exist.

You can't rule out that a pink unicorn is going to mystically appear and take you off to Disneyland either, but it's a waste of time to entertain the idea.

I thought about this point. The "Flying Spaghetti Monster" logic. I have no proof, but I enjoy speculating on the topic. A pink unicorn doesn't really solve any great problems or answer any epic questions. It's enjoyable to spitball on the important stuff.

Eg there is no real evidence for the "universe is a simulation" theory, but many take that concept seriously, including my boy Elon.

 

[Roylion]

When did I mention those characteristics? Perfect, omnipresent etc. Sounds like a scriptural god, which I acknowledged is very unlikely to exist. .

A scriptural god or gods is the concept of god imagined by billions. Nearly three in every four people on the planet. 2.4 billion Christians, 1.8 billion Muslims, 1.1 billion Hindus.

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

No because we have always been aware that there is stuff and it is motion. Superstition has nothing to do with the God concept. It probably has more to do with evolution.Science is pointing toward brain function as to whether you are an atheist or spiritual. Higher along the autism spectrum the more likely to be atheist etc .


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This post is absolutely all over the place. I can’t even begin to understand what you are trying to say?

What ‘stuff’ is ‘motion’?

Science points towards brain function?

Autism’s correlation to atheism.

You’re talking in riddles.

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

A scriptural god or gods is the concept of god imagined by billions. Nearly three in every four people on the planet. 2.4 billion Christians, 1.8 billion Muslims, 1.1 billion Hindus.

You’re completely misrepresenting his argument, here.

 

[Roylion]

You’re completely misrepresenting his argument, here.

I know what his argument is. I myself am agnostic.

We've seen in this thread alone that people "imagine" or define "God" to be a number of different things including human consciousness itself.

However billions of people define "god" as defined in various scriptures.

However they define 'god', it's often is as some sort of independent intelligent creator / orginator of the universe. While I'm not prepared to absolutely categorically rule out out some form of 'god', that largely depends on the definition of 'god'. Whatever the definition, I don't see there is any "good reason" yet to suggest that 'god' does in fact exist and that it intelligently created the universe.

 

[Mantis Toboggan]

I know what his argument is. I myself am agnostic.

We've seen in this thread alone that people "imagine" or define "God" to be a number of different things including human consciousness itself.

However billions of people define "god" as defined in various scriptures.

However they define 'god', it's often is as some sort of independent intelligent creator / orginator of the universe. While I'm not prepared to absolutely categorically rule out out some form of 'god', that largely depends on the definition of 'god'. Whatever the definition, I don't see there is any "good reason" yet to suggest that 'god' does in fact exist and that it intelligently created the universe.

For some reason you started attributing characteristics to his definition of a god. Characteristics that he’d already explained were unlikely.

 

[Roylion]

For some reason you started attributing characteristics to his definition of a god. Characteristics that he’d already explained were unlikely.

So it all comes down to how one defines 'god'.

I was pointing out that even though he doesn't imagine / define 'god' as having those characteristics, billions of people do exactly that. It appears that one can define god as they please and argue for such existance of said concept based on those imagined characteristics.

Is there an intelligent designer of some sort? I don't know there is any definitive evidence against, but I'm unaware that there is any evidence in support either.

 

[Pessimistic]

The claim that "we've seen 35 billion light years away but haven't found god" could only be interpreted as "well, we've basically seen it all". Far from true. Science is still in its infancy in many regards.

IMO atheism is unscientific. On the one hand, we know that creationism etc is bullshit. But on the other, we have no real idea yet of what reality is or of how many "realities" there are, so how can we rule out the metaphysical?

we can only be certain of one reality, although each mind seems to witness it differently. This ought to be enough alone to explain people hearing voices, being 'special' etc

 

[Pessimistic]

A scriptural god or gods is the concept of god imagined by billions. Nearly three in every four people on the planet. 2.4 billion Christians, 1.8 billion Muslims, 1.1 billion Hindus.

and almost all of them vehemently deny the other flavours, even if the concepts have more similarities than not.

I reckon their unwillingness to acknowledge the other flavours is probably the biggest argument against the whole lot of them

 

[M Malice]

I've posted over 500 times in this and other similar threads, I haven't heard anything new yet and don't expect to any time soon. As succinctly as possible my view is-

A) The institutionalized religious/scripture style participatory, judgmental creator is a load of codswallop.

B) There is the natural universe and any purpose/meaning/connection we discover/prove at a point in the future will be part of this natural universe.

C) No doubt that in 50-100-1000 years time those generations will look back on us as backward, uneducated and maybe even neanderthal like.

 

[Pessimistic]

I've posted over 500 times in this and other similar threads, I haven't heard anything new yet and don't expect to any time soon. As succinctly as possible my view is-

A) The institutionalized religious/scripture style participatory, judgmental creator is a load of codswallop.

B) There is the natural universe and any purpose/meaning/connection we discover/prove at a point in the future will be part of this natural universe.

C) No doubt that in 50-100-1000 years time those generations will look back on us as backward, uneducated and maybe even neanderthal like.

C1) and spending far too much time working

 

[Boston tiger]

This post is absolutely all over the place. I can’t even begin to understand what you are trying to say?

What ‘stuff’ is ‘motion’?

Science points towards brain function?

Autism’s correlation to atheism.

You’re talking in riddles.

Sorry I meant there is stuff and it’s in motion. Should have said matter and it’s in motion. Anyway for the other business if you’ve been round and round and a round this merry go round of a thread and the main it would make sense. Definite correlation with autism and atheism.Or analytical v intuitive.
Also those who need to visualise something for them to understand a concept have difficulty with the God concept because it is impossible to visualise God.
We have done it all in the God thread this isn’t even the main one.

 

[Fat Yak]

I'm an atheist but I put Christian on the last census, can I be an atheist and a Christian?
I don't believe in god or the spaghetti monsters but I believe in Christian values, fair suck of the sauce bottle and all that s**t.

 

[M Malice]

I'm an atheist but I put Christian on the last census, can I be an atheist and a Christian?
I don't believe in god or the spaghetti monsters but I believe in Christian values, fair suck of the sauce bottle and all that s**t.

"Christian values" are just human values, ie. empathy and compassion, you don't need a church to tell you right from wrong. If you need a higher authority to tell you right from wrong there is something amiss, empathy and compassion are innate IMO.

 

[HARKER]

"Christian values" are just human values, ie. empathy and compassion, you don't need a church to tell you right from wrong. If you need a higher authority to tell you right from wrong there is something amiss, empathy and compassion are innate IMO.

Why is this so hard to understand as if 'Christian Values' has the monopoly on moral values. It just doesn't.

What a s**t era it is that we're still discussing the need to believe in the impossible, in order to be perceived in simply being good.

 

[Snake_Baker]

Not a good day for the Catholics

 

[Total Power]

So it all comes down to how one defines 'god'.

the gnostic/mystic interpretations of "all religions" are interesting enough (even if some of them feel a little too convenient) but i think it is fair to say that the vast majority of religious followers, particularly of abrahamic religions and particularly of a western worldview is so far removed from any gnositic or mystic interpretation that they could be considered almost entirely unrecognisable. the violent crackpot religious types may not represent a significant portion of the islamic followers, but then neither does the sufi type interpretation. whilst i can see the value in this type of mystic interpretation of islam, it is not the norm and the norm involves a whole range of batshit insane beliefs. there was a pies man talking about djinns on this forum a few months back as if were a frecking uncharted 3 game.

so i think it is quite fair, in the here and now, to judge a religion on the actual beliefs of the followers, in the here and now, rather than bring up the antiquated mystic interpretation held by a very minor section of such followers. 99% of christians I've met do not believe god is an 'infinite field of awareness'. half of them still believe in bill hicks' "prankster god" and the other half believe in a god as a vast array of vague and ill-defined terms. christians like thomas merton are 1 in a million.

Both religion and scientific via can be easily swayed individually and collectively by beliefs, sometimes frightfully so! My occasional input here is simply to remind everyone that there are alternative viewpoints and to exercise a more open minded scepticism. Analysing belief is essentially a waste of time! Believe nothing!

 

[Snake_Baker]

He's converted to nihilism.

 

[Total Power]

The way forward is with atheists like Harris. Atleast they are open to the possibility and have discovered the fact that we are all sleep walkers. I wonder what someone in a state of deep meditation will say to that. Not much different to what Buddha said, we are all in a "dream state".




He says the west could learn a lot from the east – not Islam, but the traditions of meditation found in Hinduism and Buddhism.

We are sleepwalking, and when you learn how to meditate, you recognise that there is another possibility, which is to be vividly aware of your experience in each moment in a way that frees you from routine misery. Meditation is simply the practice of learning to break the spell and wake up.”​

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...r-horsemen-faith-science-religion-rationalism

 

[Snake_Baker]

 

[Milkshaker]

Man lands on Mars and finds a mobile phone that was not made on Earth.

Conclusion, primordial soup and billions of years of years of fire, solarstorms, ice, electrical interference made it.

 

[M Malice]

Man lands on Mars and finds a mobile phone that was not made on Earth.

Conclusion, primordial soup and billions of years of years of fire, solarstorms, ice, electrical interference made it.

 

[Milkshaker]

30,000 odd thousand plant species.
30,000 odd fish species.
500,000 odd insect species.
7.53 billion people on earth all uniquely individual.
Just a few amazing numbers.

Give me a logical explanation how an egg evolved. Mathematically impossible. Hysterical stuff.