Poll: Peanut Gallery What say you

Be advised that this is a public poll: other users can see the choice(s) you selected.

Results 1 to 30 of 53

Thread: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Senior Member Senior Member naut's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    9,103

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur View Post
    Hmm. I'm more of the opinion that given the vastness of the universe, and the strangeness of the universe, whatever a human being can conceive of as "god" must, by definition, not be god. In other words, if you can picture it, you're wrong. Which does not exclude a maker, a creator, or an animating force. It just means that we are literally bacteria trying to describe a five-act opera. We are necessarily unable to conceive of god in any way that might be accurate.
    I'd have to agree. There are so many gods on this planet alone, imagine how many gods there are across the universe if there is a minimum of one other sentient life force. Gods we can't even conceive of, gods not created under the influence of our human nature.

    When you look at the size of the universe you can decide there may be a creator, but you will never know what it is, because you simply cannot conceive it. And it doesn't care for you or this planet, otherwise it wouldn't have made such a massive universe. When you look at the flawed nature of so many things in the universe you start to realise that it doesn't care if you live or die, or any being lives or dies, otherwise it would have designed you with a lot less flaws. What it seems to appreciate is life itself, the tenacity of life and the strength of life, from single cell to multi-cellular organisms.


    Quote Originally Posted by Hosa
    For many people the belief in God is hope, and hope makes a tremendous psychological difference for them. Is a life without hope inconsequential?
    Life isn't meaningless for atheists or agnostics, they create their own reasons and meanings for life and living. Those who believe in a religion either can't think of their own or are unsatisfied with the meanings they create, so borrow someone else's, IMHO. That's not necessarily a bad or a good thing, as religion creates community within the religion, but also excludes those outside of the religion. Some people need that belonging and hope, some people don't.
    Last edited by naut; 09-24-2010 at 03:44.
    #Hillary4prism

    BD:TW

    Some piously affirm: "The truth is such and such. I know! I see!"
    And hold that everything depends upon having the “right” religion.
    But when one really knows, one has no need of religion. - Mahavyuha Sutra

    Freedom necessarily involves risk. - Alan Watts

  2. #2
    Iron Fist Senior Member Husar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    15,617

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Psychonaut View Post
    I'd have to agree. There are so many gods on this planet alone, imagine how many gods there are across the universe if there is a minimum of one other sentient life force. Gods we can't even conceive of, gods not created under the influence of our human nature.
    You either misunderstood his post or I did, according to my interpretation Lemur said there probably is a god but we have no idea who or what it/she/he is wants etc., you say there are many gods created by humans so "aliens" must have created just as many different ones. You just apply a typically atheist view to his view but I don't see where Lemur said that we created god, I think he is saying that god may have created us but we don't know/don't get his message if there even is any, not that we made god up, which is what you are implying. With Lemur's view one could say that we all have some sort of connection to god/know she exists/spiritualuity but we all interprete it differently, thus creating different religions, aliens might be worshipping the same god but in different ways, that wouldn't mean she was just made up by us, just that we cannot grasp her in any way.

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat
    At any rate, lots of famous, Gauloises-puffing, sexually experimentative French left bank philosophers disagree with you etc etc
    What makes these probably unemployed lazy playboys any more right than Hosa, especially considering even you admit they were under heavy tobacco/drug influence?

    Quote Originally Posted by Beskar
    The 'meaning of life' is to reproduce in a stable environment so life continues.
    God would disagree and say the meaning of life is to worship it and spread its glory, we only exist as its status symbol. The latter part is added by myself, the rest is what I've been told at church.
    Everything we do should serve to show god's glory, for it is loving us and giving us great things if we believe in it and accept it's son.

    Then again, god should be male if Adam was created in his image, unless that was a misinterpretation of the one who wrote it. Is there any monotheistic religion with a female god?


    "Topic is tired and needs a nap." - Tosa Inu

  3. #3
    Senior Member Senior Member naut's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    9,103

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Husar View Post
    You either misunderstood his post or I did, according to my interpretation Lemur said there probably is a god but we have no idea who or what it/she/he is wants etc., you say there are many gods created by humans so "aliens" must have created just as many different ones. You just apply a typically atheist view to his view but I don't see where Lemur said that we created god, I think he is saying that god may have created us but we don't know/don't get his message if there even is any, not that we made god up, which is what you are implying. With Lemur's view one could say that we all have some sort of connection to god/know she exists/spiritualuity but we all interprete it differently, thus creating different religions, aliens might be worshipping the same god but in different ways, that wouldn't mean she was just made up by us, just that we cannot grasp her in any way.
    Lol. I think you misinterpreted my post. I didn't say we "created" god nor that I am an atheist. I'm a Yahwist. I believe in a god, but I don't know anything about him. And I can't, no one can. You can logically deduce certain things, like it may have an affinity towards life due to our existence, but you cannot know its motives. Lemur said we can't conceive of what any god is, wants and does, because we feasibly can't. I agreed with that statement, by saying that other sentient life-forces may also have a god/gods that they worship and the sheer number of these gods is a good way of coming to terms with the fact that we can't ever conceive of the actual details of a god, because every culture/race/species across the universe would apply their own view. That doesn't mean they can't sense or feel a god or a "divine presence".
    #Hillary4prism

    BD:TW

    Some piously affirm: "The truth is such and such. I know! I see!"
    And hold that everything depends upon having the “right” religion.
    But when one really knows, one has no need of religion. - Mahavyuha Sutra

    Freedom necessarily involves risk. - Alan Watts

  4. #4
    pardon my klatchian Member al Roumi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Sogdiana
    Posts
    1,720

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    I voted disagree but "Gah!" might be better.

    As with religion, it's actually the people who make it, not a supreme being.

    I think God's existence is of consequence to human existence, especially if you give a about him/her/it. In terms of day to day impact, I should imagine many faithfull people consider their actions acording to what "he" has "said" he would like/advise them to do.

    But I don't really think I feel the tremours of a supreme being's will.

  5. #5
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Albion
    Posts
    15,930
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Husar View Post
    God would disagree and say the meaning of life is to worship it and spread its glory, we only exist as its status symbol. The latter part is added by myself, the rest is what I've been told at church.
    Everything we do should serve to show god's glory, for it is loving us and giving us great things if we believe in it and accept it's son.

    Then again, god should be male if Adam was created in his image, unless that was a misinterpretation of the one who wrote it. Is there any monotheistic religion with a female god?
    If you make another post like that, Santa Claus will bring you a piece of coal for Christmas for being a naughty boy.


    (That reply is as relevant as suggesting I am incorrect because of an imaginary being says otherwise. )
    Last edited by Beskar; 09-24-2010 at 17:02.
    Days since the Apocalypse began
    "We are living in space-age times but there's too many of us thinking with stone-age minds" | How to spot a Humanist
    "Men of Quality do not fear Equality." | "Belief doesn't change facts. Facts, if you are reasonable, should change your beliefs."

  6. #6
    Senior Member Senior Member naut's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    9,103

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Husar View Post
    Then again, god should be male if Adam was created in his image, unless that was a misinterpretation of the one who wrote it. Is there any monotheistic religion with a female god?
    Which in itself is a fail. Because, genetically, females have more complete DNA, as the Y chromosome is a shorter less complete genetically degenerated version than the X chromosome, so why would god create man in his image if it is less complete than woman. Surely it should be the other way round.
    #Hillary4prism

    BD:TW

    Some piously affirm: "The truth is such and such. I know! I see!"
    And hold that everything depends upon having the “right” religion.
    But when one really knows, one has no need of religion. - Mahavyuha Sutra

    Freedom necessarily involves risk. - Alan Watts

  7. #7

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Unless he were androgyn or suffered from Klinefelter syndrome.
    Last edited by Tellos Athenaios; 09-24-2010 at 17:53.
    - Tellos Athenaios
    CUF tool - XIDX - PACK tool - SD tool - EVT tool - EB Install Guide - How to track down loading CTD's - EB 1.1 Maps thread


    ὁ δ᾽ ἠλίθιος ὣσπερ πρόβατον βῆ βῆ λέγων βαδίζει” – Kratinos in Dionysalexandros.

  8. #8
    Nobody expects the Senior Member Lemur's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Wisconsin Death Trip
    Posts
    15,754

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Husar View Post
    Then again, god should be male if Adam was created in his image, unless that was a misinterpretation of the one who wrote it.
    Actually, if you re-read the first book of Genesis, you'll see that there are two versions of the creation of man. In the first version "male and female created he them." So man and woman are created simultaneously. The more elaborate storytime version where Adam comes first is the second version.

    Even that is a cleaned-up hand-me-down. Depending on which ancient sources you want to credit, there are other versions, including (most interestingly to me) one in which God creates no fewer than three female companions for Adam, getting it wrong at least twice. First God lets Adam watch as he makes the mate, but seeing a human body in all its components disgusts Adam so much that he won't touch her. So God destroys her. She never gets a name.

    Then the Lord creates an equal to Adam, who bosses him around and insists on being on top during sex. Adam, being a typical man, goes whining to the boss, and the boss kicks her out of the garden. She is named Lilith, and goes on to be the "mother of monsters." She gets referenced later in the standard Bible, with no explanation of where she originated. (Don't forget that the sons of Adam and Eve take wives from other tribes, with no mention of where those tribes came from.)

    Lastly God puts Adam asleep and crafts an inferior, more submissive bride from Adam's rib. This is the second version of creation in the standard text, and the only surviving iteration of Adam's wives that is commonly known and accepted by Judeo-Christian-Islamic worshipers.

    And if these stories are meant to be taken literally, then I am the Queen of Norway.
    Last edited by Lemur; 09-24-2010 at 18:13.

  9. #9
    Old Town Road Senior Member Strike For The South's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Between Louis' sheets
    Posts
    10,369

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur View Post

    Even that is a cleaned-up hand-me-down. Depending on which ancient sources you want to credit, there are other versions, including (most interestingly to me) one in which God creates no fewer than three female companions for Adam, getting it wrong at least twice. First God lets Adam watch as he makes the mate, but seeing a human body in all its components disgusts Adam so much that he won't touch her. So God destroys her. She never gets a name.

    .
    "Have you ever seen a vagina by itself? Not for me"
    There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford

    My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.

    I am tired and sick of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation.

  10. #10
    master of the pwniverse Member Fragony's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    The EUSSR
    Posts
    30,680

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Strike For The South View Post
    "Have you ever seen a vagina by itself? Not for me"
    Don't worry it's only a fleshwound

    oh TA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKAW96N-Vms
    Last edited by Fragony; 09-24-2010 at 18:55.

  11. #11
    The Rhetorician Member Skullheadhq's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Antioch
    Posts
    2,267

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Fragony View Post
    Don't worry it's only a fleshwound
    How do you know?
    "When the candles are out all women are fair."
    -Plutarch, Coniugia Praecepta 46

  12. #12
    Needs more flowers Moderator drone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Moral High Grounds
    Posts
    9,286

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Adam should have stuck with Lilith. She was hawt.
    The .Org's MTW Reference Guide Wiki - now taking comments, corrections, suggestions, and submissions

    If I werent playing games Id be killing small animals at a higher rate than I am now - SFTS
    Si je n'étais pas jouer à des jeux que je serais mort de petits animaux à un taux plus élevé que je suis maintenant - Louis VI The Fat

    "Why do you hate the extremely limited Spartan version of freedom?" - Lemur

  13. #13
    master of the pwniverse Member Fragony's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    The EUSSR
    Posts
    30,680

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Skullheadhq View Post
    How do you know?
    Just look at it, looks like an exploded lab-rat. But they seem to get around just fine so can't be all bad

  14. #14

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur View Post
    I am the Queen of Norway.
    Sounds plausible enough. But boy, was Adam ever such a miserable excuse for a human being; I really can't see why Eve ever saw anything in him at all with others to choose from. God fails at QA.
    Last edited by Tellos Athenaios; 09-24-2010 at 18:25.
    - Tellos Athenaios
    CUF tool - XIDX - PACK tool - SD tool - EVT tool - EB Install Guide - How to track down loading CTD's - EB 1.1 Maps thread


    ὁ δ᾽ ἠλίθιος ὣσπερ πρόβατον βῆ βῆ λέγων βαδίζει” – Kratinos in Dionysalexandros.

  15. #15
    Iron Fist Senior Member Husar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Germany
    Posts
    15,617

    Default Re: Whether or not God exists is inconsequential to the human experience

    Quote Originally Posted by Beskar View Post
    If you make another post like that, Santa Claus will bring you a piece of coal for Christmas for being a naughty boy.


    (That reply is as relevant as suggesting I am incorrect because of an imaginary being says otherwise. )
    Can you explain why? If my reply is irrelevant because you do not believe in God, then your replies are irrelevant, too, because I do not believe in worldly science or the logic of the devil.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur View Post
    Actually, if you re-read the first book of Genesis, you'll see that there are two versions of the creation of man. In the first version "male and female created he them." So man and woman are created simultaneously. The more elaborate storytime version where Adam comes first is the second version.
    Or maybe it starts with a broad introduction and then explains the finer details.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur View Post
    And if these stories are meant to be taken literally, then I am the Queen of Norway.
    Are you married to Beskar by any chance?
    If it's not in the bible, it is not God's word as God inspired those who wrote these things and those who chose what gets in and what stays out.
    Those who made our version of the bible of course, the other versions are inspired by the devil to mislead us.


    "Topic is tired and needs a nap." - Tosa Inu

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO