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I suspect Gldn's semantic terpsichore with the Title God is more aimed at antagonizing than edifying, but God as the source of our reality is legitimate. It IS responsible for everything that exists because it exists. That is pretty undeniable and pretty Godlike with respect to us. To blame our very human propensities to ascribe myriad additional BELIEFS ABOUT God to that reality is a poor argument to deny the Title.
Meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Why is the very source of your existence and the existence of everything else NOT God? What could be more of a God than that?
Technically one can define a word however one pleases and IF they can get others to agree on that definition at least for the sake of argument, then discussion can proceed. The problem I have with it is that this is almost always a Trojan Horse argument: the universe is god, therefore god exists, therefore my personal concept of god exists and/or you are wrong to think there's no basis to believe that god exists. It is a sort of Cheshire Cat gaslighting ... when I use a word it means what I say it means, no more and no less ... not just for me, mind you, but I feel free to impose that on YOU too.
God, even as normally posited (supernatural authority figure), is a surprisingly empty concept with no real utility; it has no expressive power and is not essential to either explain or predict experienced reality. To abstract it away even further, to make it equivalent to things we already have perfectly serviceable and agreed labels for, with all the attendant potential for confusion, strikes me as just digging an already beleaguered concept into a deeper hole.
lmao, spoken like a master priest preaching a statement of belief to his followers. this is joel olsteen level statement of belief about god deciding a worldview.
Meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Why is the very source of your existence and the existence of everything else NOT God? What could be more of a God than that?
It's your claim that a God made everything to exist and your evidence is that things exist. That's a nonsensical statement in that just because I exist does not make you correct about who or what God is.
Unless you can provide some evidence that someone made everything I have no need to call nature or the universe God.
What complete rubbish! He needs 2 min. to prove there is a God and then draws a circle and uses the fallacious argument from ignorance as his proof.
He does not understand that you can be an agnostic atheist since atheism in this case is just a belief that God does not exist based upon lack of convincing evidence - not that we know with certainty that God does not exist. The only thing he would be defeating are those atheists who say they know God does not exist and who also say that they only know a small amount of that which can be known - which is a very small % of atheists. But even this assumes that God can be known and that the God in question is some generalized entity and not some specific God like the Christian God whom some atheist say they know does not exist for logical reasons.
It in no way proves God's existence nor defeats atheism. So he failed miserably on both fronts. Complete moron! In fact I do not know any atheists who say that they know that God in general does not exist.
Then there is this possibility that I have not vetted:
Turns out this whole story is a lie. People researched it. There is only one college in Cambridge and one Atheist group at the college and neither had ever heard of him or held a debate. the Church YouTube channel quickly took this video down but not before people copied it to share his shame forever.
That's a very good point, I always say maybe it's possible there's some sort of powerful "god-like" being that we don't know about, depending on how you define "god," but what I reject is the Christian or Islamic or whatever conception of god that's spelled out in some ancient religious text. I find that highly unlikely to the point of absurdity. The idea that we "know" about god because of some writings in an ancient book is so ridiculous as to be completely laughable. It's a psychological illness in some people too, and it's both embarrassing and if you're in the right mood hilarious. My GF shows me posts that are cringe-worthy from a few people she knows, like, "Today I was just overcome by how great God is and how amazing His live is for all of us! It just made me want to cry he's soooo awesome!" Uhhh... hahaha are you kidding me??? What if I posted that about any other imaginary being, "Today I was thinking about Luke Skywalker, and the sacrifices he made to save the galaxy, and it just made me want to cry because he loves his friends and the Rebel Alliance so much that he was willing to do anything for them! It just melts my heart, his love is so powerful!" People would laugh and think I was a lunatic, and rightfully so, too.
I don't know how people can believe this stuff without being embarrassed about it.
It's your claim that a God made everything to exist and your evidence is that things exist. That's a nonsensical statement in that just because I exist does not make you correct about who or what God is.
Unless you can provide some evidence that someone made everything I have no need to call nature or the universe God.
But your "Nature" DID make everything including you that's why it IS God.
Meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Why is the very source of your existence and the existence of everything else NOT God? What could be more of a God than that?
I looked at the little video and I said to myself: If I only have that speck of knowledge; I would presume that the believers also only have a speck of knowledge. So, I would argue, what makes their speck more knowledgeable than my knowledge?
I look at organized religion, that has amassed tremendous wealth in the name of their god, and I ask why I would be happier if I gave the rich my money? Believing in god is not just believing in god; nobody would care if there was no money involved. People could believe whatever they wanted to believe. Whether it is the tithe or simply the collection plate; organized religion does pretty good for itself (not necessary good for it's parishioners).
Then there are the other issues of control. Organized religion has had it's hand in governments every time it gets a chance. It has taken us to war, encouraged wars, encouraged violence and torture against others that did not believe what they believed. It has remained silent when abuse was found in it's own walls. If there was an all seeing god; would it have turned a blind eye to the crimes committed in it's name?
I am happy where I am at; in control of my own destiny. I don't care if others think I am not as smart; let them be controlled and let them pay.
I suspect Gldn's semantic terpsichore with the Title God is more aimed at antagonizing than edifying, but God as the source of our reality is legitimate. It IS responsible for everything that exists because it exists. That is pretty undeniable and pretty Godlike with respect to us. To blame our very human propensities to ascribe myriad additional BELIEFS ABOUT God to that reality is a poor argument to deny the Title.
Quote:
Originally Posted by badlander
This is a truly meaningless statement.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
Meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Why is the very source of your existence and the existence of everything else NOT God? What could be more of a God than that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by badlander
It's your claim that a God made everything to exist and your evidence is that things exist. That's a nonsensical statement in that just because I exist does not make you correct about who or what God is.
Unless you can provide some evidence that someone made everything I have no need to call nature or the universe God.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticPhD
But your "Nature" DID make everything including you that's why it IS God.
Nobody is capable of understanding what MysticPhD says, except MysticPhD.
Meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Why is the very source of your existence and the existence of everything else NOT God? What could be more of a God than that?
Because your minimal qualities are not enough for most others. Most require their god be conscious at the least, with intelligence, intention, and possibly some supernatural abilities .
It's sort of like you choosing to describe anyone who will cook and clean for you as your wife. Those might be a couple of things a wife does, but most everyone else has a much broader requirement in what makes a wife . Sex, love , having children , etc. So while your minimalist version may work for you, others don't have to accept such a barebones definition of what would be an acceptable wife for them .
Your version of God is as inadequate for most as a wife that only cooks your meals and cleans your house and nothing else .
Last edited by wallflash; 07-22-2018 at 07:12 AM..
Meaning is in the eye of the beholder. Why is the very source of your existence and the existence of everything else NOT God? What could be more of a God than that?
Is this “source” equal to the universe? If so, why call it anything other than the universe?
If it is different from the universe in some way, please state that, and explain how it differs from the universe. Then, prove that differential state actually exists.
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In fact I do not know any atheists who say that they know that God in general does not exist.
