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I also wouldn't call it a "freak out" - which hyperbolizes what atheists usually say when god is mentioned.
BUT ...
You're pretty much illustrating the problem: The word "god" has way too much baggage. If you're not talking about some kind of all-powerful, transcendent, supernatural, anthropomorphic being - the kind of god worshiped by at least 4 billion out of the 7 billion people on the planet, then the word "god" muddies the waters. And when I say "muddy" I mean it turns the water literally opaque.
Thus whenever you call the universe "god" or collective conscious "god" or whatever you perceive regarding the universe, you bring into the fray all the baggage that word carries.
Rest assured, it has nothing to do with "other issues" as you pointed out. (There's way too much diagnosing going on lately - as if this forum hosted a swarm of clinical psychiatrists qualified to make them).
But it would be more precise language - with a lot more finesse - if non-religious believers in a higher power stayed away from the word "god."
Unfortunately, some folks - Mystic for example - has incorporated certain aspects of religiosity and Christianity in their non-religious beliefs which makes it even more difficult to deal with. It's hard to debunk the religious aspects of these beliefs without debunking the entire belief. Thus the illusion is presented that the entire paradigm is under attack rather than just a part of it.
I mean, you have a point.
But do we reject the claim based on how we feel about the word? or about the claim itself?
mystic's interpretation are easy to deal with when we don't worry about answering to a statement of belief god/religion to me.
Yes, that would scare the hell out of most people, especially with the ambiguity of the unforgivable sin.
On a side note: Interestingly, some believe the molten core of the earth is hell.
Those who commit the unforgivable sin of Matthew 12:32 are classed with the wicked of Psalm 92:7.
The wicked will be ' destroyed forever ' as per Psalm 92:7.
In Scripture we find Jesus did Not believe hell to be earth's core.
Rather, on the day Jesus died he went to biblical hell or the stone-cold temporary grave - Acts 2:27.
If biblical hell was a permanent place then Jesus would still be in hell.
Jesus taught, Not pain, but taught sleep in death at John 11:11-14.
Jesus learned the sleeping condition about the dead from the old Hebrew Scriptures:
Such as Psalm 6:5 Psalm 13:3; Psalm 115:17; Psalm 146:4; Isaiah 38:18; Ecclesiastes 9:5
Yes, that would scare the hell out of most people, especially with the ambiguity of the unforgivable sin.
On a side note: Interestingly, some believe the molten core of the earth is hell.
I think it's more than some, and many NDE's refer to it as being in the interior of the Earth.
I find it hard to believe it is an actual place though on earth, that is since the earthly body is gone, how can the spiritual body or soul still be occupying space in the earths core?
Does not make sense.
However, if this Hell place is for real and for the souls of the damned , it pretty much trivialises everything that has happened on earth in one's lifetime, as the eternal torment is going to be so many times worse than anything that happens or has happened in all of our lives.
Hell is just too awful and horrible to even contemplate, esp as there is no way out apparently.
There is nothing on earth to really worry about right now, as it pales into insignificance to what God has in store for us.
We may as well all be preserved Walt Disney style, and just hope to God (no pun intended) that death can be reversed.
Or so it seems...
I think it's more than some, and many NDE's refer to it as being in the interior of the Earth.
NDEs are fantasies and prove nothing.
To even suggest that NDEs might be remotely relevant, you would first need to conduct a proper scientific experiment.
To do that, you need a representative population sample, about 2,800 to 3,200 people who had been raised from infancy in a sterile environment completely absent any religious concepts.
That means those people raised from infancy who reach ages of 50, 60 or 70 years have no knowledge of things like gods, or religions or bibles or Heaven or Hell or an after-life. Those words aren't even part of their vocabulary. If you said, "Church" to them, they wouldn't even know what a church was and the word wouldn't be part of their vocabulary and they would never have seen a church and would have no understanding of its purpose or use.
If those people had NDEs, then you might actually be onto something. But, if they didn't, that would refute NDEs.
NDEs are just mind-games. It's not unusual for people to hallucinate when under extreme internal or external stress. I'm guessing you've never been on a battlefield, or worked in an ER or had to extricate dying or severely injured people from vehicles. It's not unusual for people to call out for their mothers, or spouses or children, because they're hallucinating and actually believe they're standing there right in front of them.
NDEs are just mind-games. It's not unusual for people to hallucinate when under extreme internal or external stress. I'm guessing you've never been on a battlefield, or worked in an ER or had to extricate dying or severely injured people from vehicles. It's not unusual for people to call out for their mothers, or spouses or children, because they're hallucinating and actually believe they're standing there right in front of them.
That's because their relatives ARE standing in front of them. In the spiritual realm. They can see them because they are close to death and their spiritual eyes have been opened.
Unfortunately, some folks - Mystic for example - has incorporated certain aspects of religiosity and Christianity in their non-religious beliefs which makes it even more difficult to deal with. It's hard to debunk the religious aspects of these beliefs without debunking the entire belief. Thus the illusion is presented that the entire paradigm is under attack rather than just a part of it.
I am saddened that my views frustrate your efforts to enlighten those who believe in irrational things that pose real dangers for human societies. If your efforts were strictly designed to do that without eliminating belief in the existence of God (an actual non-capricious human purpose), we would have few disagreements, Shirina. Personally, I cannot help but believe that the existence of such similar religious memes across millennia, cultures (some isolated), generations, and evolved environments are the result of cognitive influence from God - the consciousness I personally experienced in deep meditation. I fully sympathize with any reluctance to accept this absent such experience. I had to eliminate any and all expectations about what and why this consciousness is there because little of the extant expectations made any sense whatsoever to me - what you call all the baggage associated with the term God.
If your efforts left open the possibility for more enlightened beliefs about God, they would be remarkably more effective (IMO), especially since you really DO NOT KNOW for certain if God exists. The God as defined in the many religions can be refuted easily, and you do an excellent job of it. The really harmful and dangerous dogmas should be exposed for what they are but the underlying belief in God, especially about love does not deserve ridicule or mockery. Love should be elevated and revered to the maximum (again IMO). No good or decent motive exists for a lack of love or any harmful or negative treatment involving it, (yet again, IMO).
Do you think that the Afterlife has a literal Hell? By that I mean the Hell as taught by Islamics and Christians, that is, an actual place where people are burning in fire, tortured for all Eternity.
I believe the wicked should be punished. But why for*all eternity? That would be the height of Cruelty. Should they not get a chance to redeem themselves? According to those Bible-teachings, what disturbs me is that the torture will be eternal.
Read up on Near Death Experiences. Some people have a hellish experience. Some manage to escape it, by reciting a prayer or saying Jesus' name. I don't recall any stories of people who were brought back to live while in the midst of a hellish experience with no apparent way out, but there may be some.
Interesting stuff.
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