For Theists/Deists, how would you define God (hell, church, after-life)
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From an Atheist, for Theists/Deists, how would you define God? What specific attributes do you consider to separate god from all other entities. Things that make god different and unmistakably identifiable.
From an Atheist, for Theists/Deists, how would you define God? What specific attributes do you consider to separate god from all other entities. Things that make god different and unmistakably identifiable.
"GOD" isn't different or separate from anything.
Anything & everything (in totality), IS God....and, thus, inclusive of every trait and attribute there is.
From an Atheist, for Theists/Deists, how would you define God? What specific attributes do you consider to separate god from all other entities. Things that make god different and unmistakably identifiable.
I'm an atheist (as god is currently generally defined), but I have from time to time thought that a deistic god is far more likely than biblegod.
"GOD" isn't different or separate from anything.
Anything & everything (in totality), IS God....and, thus, inclusive of every trait and attribute there is.
I understand the premise, but not the logistics. For example, if everything is god, and there is some punishment for non-believers awaiting in the after-life, wouldn't that mean god is going to punish god?
I understand the premise, but not the logistics. For example, if everything is god, and there is some punishment for non-believers awaiting in the after-life, wouldn't that mean god is going to punish god?
I think of God as a sort of "that mysterious thing which connects us", although that phrase doesn't really express exactly what I perceive, and there's a lot more that could be said about it. However, it's not something I'm likely to discuss on a message board with people who are simply looking to shoot down everything said about any type of spirituality. I am not interested in trying to persuade anyone else to see things the way I do.*
I find the Pagan forum is probably the best place for such a discussion because people in that world tend to be more open-minded about one another's spirituality.
I have long been part of a (liberal) Christian community, although I'm not at the moment. I don't see a conflict between what I did there and what I said above, but others might. No, others DO.
*ETA. That is not entirely true, in that while I don't try to persuade anyone else to see things the way I do as far as my perception of "that which connects us", I obviously DO try to persuade others to see things the way I do when it comes to specific matters, as anyone who has read my posts in the Christianity forum LGBT thread or discussions on the belief in Bible literalism can tell you.
I think of God as a sort of "that mysterious thing which connects us", although that phrase doesn't really express exactly what I perceive, and there's a lot more that could be said about it. However, it's not something I'm likely to discuss on a message board with people who are simply looking to shoot down everything said about any type of spirituality. I am not interested in trying to persuade anyone else to see things the way I do.
I find the Pagan forum is probably the best place for such a discussion because people in that world tend to be more open-minded about one another's spirituality.
I have long been part of a (liberal) Christian community, although I'm not at the moment. I don't see a conflict between what I did there and what I said above, but others might. No, others DO.
Thanks, as you know this is always an on going differential between the many religions/spiritualities, as evidenced in the short list of assorted sub-forums under "Religion and Spirituality" here.
I have my list of what I, sort of, think could be attributes of a god if one existed, and that has certainly changed over time, especially when we consider separating the earth and it's history from the universe and it's, which are almost always conflated. Why separate? Mostly because most religions are rooted in terrestrial origins, then they find ways to extend that to "all of creation", when what people knew of "all of creation" certainly was NOT the universe at the time of penning.
Additionally, what if the development of life on earth was seeded from another culture, hypothetically. Then what is commonly thought of as the god of earth, might be quite different from the 'god of/the universe'. It's always interesting to see what different people think on a matter, even if it, no, especially because, it doesn't fit our own individual perception.
More than not, I tend to ponder why something makes sense to one person, and not someone else, rather than just if it makes sense at all, which is really shorthand for makes sense to me. And I too, occasionally attend a Christian church, because I like many of the people, some of the activities they participate in, and foremost, because I have family members that are believers, and why should I forfeit time with them over something I don't believe in? Plus sermons aren't always full of what I consider BS, they do sometimes contain thought provoking ideas and encouragement/reminders that are simply pragmatic.
I understand the premise, but not the logistics. For example, if everything is god, and there is some punishment for non-believers awaiting in the after-life, wouldn't that mean god is going to punish god?
So that is the whole problem : the atheist fear of Hellthreat! What a pitiful boxed in mindset.
I understand the premise, but not the logistics. For example, if everything is god, and there is some punishment for non-believers awaiting in the after-life, wouldn't that mean god is going to punish god?
Your religious indoctrination is responsible for considering whatever consequences exist after death to be punishments. They are just natural consequences for failure to develop our spirit properly. We will experience whatever attends the kind of spirit we have become.
We accept that there can be negative natural consequences for what we do while alive. Why pretend it is any different after death. It has nothing to do with punishment. It is what is meant by reaping exactly what we sow.
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