The Concept of God

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Comments

  • Thirty Bills Unpaid
    Thirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    PJ_Soul said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    ^^^
    I certainly hope I am not destined for that half.  What about you?


    I don't really care either way TBH, and if I actually had the choice between it happening and me dying or it not happening and me living, I'd probably choose the first option, for the sake of the Earth (sorry everyone, lol). The world would be in complete and utter chaos if 50% of the world's population died in a short period of time anyway, not to mention the problem of 4 billion dead bodies laying around - maybe it would be much better to die of the disease so you don't have to live with the aftermath..... and honestly, 75% of the population would be better. Humans can turn 4 billion survivors back into 8 billion people in no time.
    I see a business opportunity:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=grbSQ6O6kbs
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,664
    ^^^ Good idea! :lol:
    (oh man, I always thought Monty Python's recreation of the Dark Ages was HILARIOUS!!)
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Smellyman
    Smellyman Asia Posts: 4,528
    edited August 2017
    PJ_Soul said:

    I think he just meant that we're actively preventing further evolution by overriding natural selection...... That will be the case until that massive plague finally arrives to wipe half of us out (I see this as the only thing that might save humanity and preserve the Earth in the long run, so TBH I'm hoping for it to come sooner rather than later. Reboot).
    Image result for plague schrute
    Post edited by Smellyman on
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

      Interesting point!  This thread goes back a ways now and I'd forgotten that.

    To post on this thread in a way that stays with HFD's original question, any answer here would start basically with something like, "I believe God is..." 

    Also interesting is that any answer to that question would clash with theologian J. B. Phillips' notion that any time you try to define God in human terms, your God is too small.  I like that.  I don't know if there is a God and I don't believe there is any way to prove, let a lone describe, "God".  So my answer would be...

    :i_dunno:

    But would that be out of step with the original thread concept?
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,458
    PJ_Soul said:
    ponytd said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    FoxyRedLa said:
    Your posts above come off angry. Before those no there weren't angry posts but hateful ones. And why can't an opinion just be that? Why always the negative bs? There is no longer a discussion going on in this thread.

    I do not know which thread the full blown racist is in. And I don't feel anyone in this thread is racist. I'm just tired of reading post after post with intentions of bringing people down. There is a difference between fun humor and what I feel when I read some of these posts. But again it was an opinion. 

    I can't keep up with all of the different threads. There are so many. I did not randomly pick this thread to say anything. I've been following this thread. 

    My only point was I hate reading the bully type posts here on this site. I do understand it's all over the different places here. I see the closed threads. It is not possible for me to keep up with all on each differ section. 

    i've been on the beach a while, so sorry for the late reply, but i agree with all of your posts completely. when i started this thread, i explicitly stated i hoped it didn't devolve into the type of garbage all other religion-based threads have gone. but it has. and it's too bad. 

    we can all have opinions, but it's how we express them that defines us. 
    Welcome back. There have been some comments here and there, but with any religious or political discussion, there is going to be emotions unfortunately. It's the nature of the beast. We're all adults here and hopefully can continue in the discussion in a rational manner.
    This entire discussion has been totally rational, and I don't even think it's been particularly emotional. I still don't even really know what this "hatefulness" was supposed to be (and again, I haven't been even a tiny bit angry at any point). But anyway, thank GOD you rehashed this tidbit HFD! It's just what the thread needed! :neutral:
    sure. totally rational. sorry. next time i'll just skip to the front of the thread. 
    Hugh Freaking Dillon is currently out of the office, returning sometime in the fall




  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,458
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    Hugh Freaking Dillon is currently out of the office, returning sometime in the fall




  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Hopefully not to detract or be too off track from HFD's thread here, but I'd be curious to know from those who believe in God how you would react to the notion of God being absolutely mysterious and undefinable.  In other words, something incomprehensible to human beings. Would you reject that God, embrace that God, be OK with knowing you can't comprehend God, or find the idea altogether unsettling?
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    It really isn't that simple though, religion IS how God is defined.
    Leaving religion out of it makes it a non-topic.  
    Comments can be made about the nature of God, sure, but the discussion is always going to circle back the the way God is defined and worshipped.
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • Annafalk
    Annafalk Sweden Posts: 4,004
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    Yeah, it's like that discussion about slavery. The God I know would never agree with things like that. 
  • ponytd
    ponytd Nashville Posts: 671
    brianlux said:
    Hopefully not to detract or be too off track from HFD's thread here, but I'd be curious to know from those who believe in God how you would react to the notion of God being absolutely mysterious and undefinable.  In other words, something incomprehensible to human beings. Would you reject that God, embrace that God, be OK with knowing you can't comprehend God, or find the idea altogether unsettling?
    I pretty much think that God is undefinable.  As a child growing up, I  pictured God somewhat like Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel depiction of him. Older, long white hair with a long beard. But as I grew up I realized that was just indeed that, an artist depiction of what they thought he might be. But I don't think God can be defined in the normal human parameters, even though I'd say the strong majority of people think. Much like in the movie Dogma, God is whatever he/she/it want's to be. If God wants to be an old white guy, go for it. If God wants to be a black woman, go for it. If God is just an energy force or a spirit, so be it.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    ponytd said:
    brianlux said:
    Hopefully not to detract or be too off track from HFD's thread here, but I'd be curious to know from those who believe in God how you would react to the notion of God being absolutely mysterious and undefinable.  In other words, something incomprehensible to human beings. Would you reject that God, embrace that God, be OK with knowing you can't comprehend God, or find the idea altogether unsettling?
    I pretty much think that God is undefinable.  As a child growing up, I  pictured God somewhat like Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel depiction of him. Older, long white hair with a long beard. But as I grew up I realized that was just indeed that, an artist depiction of what they thought he might be. But I don't think God can be defined in the normal human parameters, even though I'd say the strong majority of people think. Much like in the movie Dogma, God is whatever he/she/it want's to be. If God wants to be an old white guy, go for it. If God wants to be a black woman, go for it. If God is just an energy force or a spirit, so be it.
    I think we have a human desire, almost a need to define everything.  Perhaps letting go of that rope is a way to be free.

    I'll have to watch Dogma again.  It's been so log I don't remember most of it but I remember it was good.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    Annafalk said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    Yeah, it's like that discussion about slavery. The God I know would never agree with things like that. 
    But see, that's where the religion comes back into it.
    If, by God, you mean Yahweh/Jehovah, you are saying that the God you know is different than the God you believe in.
    Yahweh/Jehovah absolutely agreed with slavery, unless you don't believe the Bible to be true, in which case, why would you believe in Yahweh/Jehovah to begin with?
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • ponytd
    ponytd Nashville Posts: 671
    brianlux said:
    ponytd said:
    brianlux said:
    Hopefully not to detract or be too off track from HFD's thread here, but I'd be curious to know from those who believe in God how you would react to the notion of God being absolutely mysterious and undefinable.  In other words, something incomprehensible to human beings. Would you reject that God, embrace that God, be OK with knowing you can't comprehend God, or find the idea altogether unsettling?
    I pretty much think that God is undefinable.  As a child growing up, I  pictured God somewhat like Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel depiction of him. Older, long white hair with a long beard. But as I grew up I realized that was just indeed that, an artist depiction of what they thought he might be. But I don't think God can be defined in the normal human parameters, even though I'd say the strong majority of people think. Much like in the movie Dogma, God is whatever he/she/it want's to be. If God wants to be an old white guy, go for it. If God wants to be a black woman, go for it. If God is just an energy force or a spirit, so be it.
    I think we have a human desire, almost a need to define everything.  Perhaps letting go of that rope is a way to be free.

    I'll have to watch Dogma again.  It's been so log I don't remember most of it but I remember it was good.
    Yeah, we do need to define everything. And some things we just can't. I feel like we're limited because of fear. If we don't understand something, many of us are afraid of it. We just can't grasp the concept because we need to have some sort of definition of it. I kind of liken it to our mortality. We're only on this planet for a limited time, but many of us just can't see farther down the road past when we might not be here. "Eh, I won't be around in 100 years, so why does it matter?"

    I haven't watched it in a long time either, but I thought it was pretty good. I had some friends that hated it because they thought it was sacrilegious which is absurd in my opinion.
  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    How is something indefinable?
    That concept itself is the least definable one I can think of.

    Everything is definable, how can something exist and not be described?
    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,458
    rgambs said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    It really isn't that simple though, religion IS how God is defined.
    Leaving religion out of it makes it a non-topic.  
    Comments can be made about the nature of God, sure, but the discussion is always going to circle back the the way God is defined and worshipped.
    i disagree. god has been around much longer than organized religion. religions do define god, but god does not define religion. man does. god can exist without religion. there are many people who aren't religious who believe in a higher power. my question was very simple and direct: if you believe in god, what do you think god is? 

    if people can't keep religion out of it, then that's their shortfall. 
    Hugh Freaking Dillon is currently out of the office, returning sometime in the fall




  • Thirty Bills Unpaid
    Thirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    rgambs said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    It really isn't that simple though, religion IS how God is defined.
    Leaving religion out of it makes it a non-topic.  
    Comments can be made about the nature of God, sure, but the discussion is always going to circle back the the way God is defined and worshipped.
    i disagree. god has been around much longer than organized religion. religions do define god, but god does not define religion. man does. god can exist without religion. there are many people who aren't religious who believe in a higher power. my question was very simple and direct: if you believe in god, what do you think god is? 

    if people can't keep religion out of it, then that's their shortfall. 
    So the thread should have consisted of 15-20 people's concept of God and done?

    Why is discourse so frowned upon by some?
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,458
    Thirty Bills Unpaid said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    rgambs said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    It really isn't that simple though, religion IS how God is defined.
    Leaving religion out of it makes it a non-topic.  
    Comments can be made about the nature of God, sure, but the discussion is always going to circle back the the way God is defined and worshipped.
    i disagree. god has been around much longer than organized religion. religions do define god, but god does not define religion. man does. god can exist without religion. there are many people who aren't religious who believe in a higher power. my question was very simple and direct: if you believe in god, what do you think god is? 

    if people can't keep religion out of it, then that's their shortfall. 
    So the thread should have consisted of 15-20 people's concept of God and done?

    Why is discourse so frowned upon by some?
    it's not. but when that discourse careens into bashing entire groups of people, that is frowned upon. especially when that was mentioned in the first two posts. 
    Hugh Freaking Dillon is currently out of the office, returning sometime in the fall




  • rgambs
    rgambs Posts: 13,576
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    rgambs said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    It really isn't that simple though, religion IS how God is defined.
    Leaving religion out of it makes it a non-topic.  
    Comments can be made about the nature of God, sure, but the discussion is always going to circle back the the way God is defined and worshipped.
    i disagree. god has been around much longer than organized religion. religions do define god, but god does not define religion. man does. god can exist without religion. there are many people who aren't religious who believe in a higher power. my question was very simple and direct: if you believe in god, what do you think god is? 

    if people can't keep religion out of it, then that's their shortfall. 
    In answering the question, "if you believe in God, what do you think God is?" you are either describing a religion or creating one.
    Religion, strictly defined, is the belief in God, which means it is the language used to describe God, whether it is an organised and accepted system, or just your personal faith.

    The idea that God and religion can be separated doesn't even make sense.

    Monkey Driven, Call this Living?
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,664
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    Thirty Bills Unpaid said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    rgambs said:
    HughFreakingDillon said:
    PJfanwillneverleave1 said:
    OP  With all due respect you started this thread with
    "so basically the point of this thread is not to argue about faith, or try to convince someone else that you are right or they are wrong. just, what do you think god is, if you believe a god exists?

    Now I'm not one to argue semantics but as a person who does not believe god exists suggests that anyone who thinks this way as well should not post in this thread.  I believe anything religious orientated will bring cross opines.  I understand the rules of respecting a thread but one can't interject every now and then like the hand of god to sway a conversation that was based on a pointed question.

    the original question had zero to do with religion, you can talk about belief in a god without steering it that way. but people always have to chime in and talk about how stupid everyone else's beliefs are to put themselves back in their tower above everyone else. i don't get why it can't be a respectful discussion about beliefs.

    one can interject any time they wish. out of town, in town, doesn't matter. there aren't statute of limitations on when i can post. you need to stop trying to be a mod. 
    It really isn't that simple though, religion IS how God is defined.
    Leaving religion out of it makes it a non-topic.  
    Comments can be made about the nature of God, sure, but the discussion is always going to circle back the the way God is defined and worshipped.
    i disagree. god has been around much longer than organized religion. religions do define god, but god does not define religion. man does. god can exist without religion. there are many people who aren't religious who believe in a higher power. my question was very simple and direct: if you believe in god, what do you think god is? 

    if people can't keep religion out of it, then that's their shortfall. 
    So the thread should have consisted of 15-20 people's concept of God and done?

    Why is discourse so frowned upon by some?
    it's not. but when that discourse careens into bashing entire groups of people, that is frowned upon. especially when that was mentioned in the first two posts. 
    It's just that this thread is going along just fine - I don't understand the apparent need for an intervention into something that doesn't need it.

    I also don't think that a conversation about the concept of God can adequately happen without discussing religion. It's impossible IMO.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    http://www.dictionary.com/browse/religion

    Religion is defined as a set of beliefs about God or other higher power. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf

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