Has God a future?

[Emmz]

Having finished Karen Armstrong's brilliant "A History of God", i feel inspired to throw the concluding question from the book to you guys at Volconvo: i've been lurking around this forum for over a year or so, so I know there are a fair few bright sparks here, so to speak, and so look forward to your thoughts

Just to make my question a little clearer, I dont want this to dissolve into a discussion of whether or not God exists and whatnot, but to focus on whether the concept of God can survive in our modern society: has religion adapted to suit the 21st Century? Can it?

Well, you get the gist of the question and hopefully you'll expand on it in any case: discuss

[Jack]

Speaking solely of the christian god, I'd say he's so grandly described that the myths about his relationship to humans could survive in our technological age.

What will change as time goes on is the literal interpretation of the bible. As scientific knowledge expands, it eliminates those blank corners in our awareness that religion used to fill. The more we understand about natural processes, the less the bible can be taken seriously.

So it will become more common for the bible to be accepted as metaphor, and the notion of creationism will slowly fade into obscurity. But people will still need to believe in a plan, a purpose. Science won't be able to overcome the fear of death or convince people that all this could come about through evolution and the workings of nature. So I fear there will always be god(s). Superstition and myth have a strong hold on humans. It won't all fade to nothingness any time soon.

[Praxius]

Much like the Greek/Roman and Egyptian Gods, the current forms of religion with end the same way..... and chances are, new religions will arise.

[Gods_Mercenary]

God(s) will always be present. We want to believe our lives have more meaning than a rodent. Plus in the 60s and 70s it would definetely seem that Christianity would have all but died out by now, but its actually become stronger than before.

[Kamehameha34]

Quote by: Gods_Mercenary God(s) will always be present. We want to believe our lives have more meaning than a rodent. Plus in the 60s and 70s it would definetely seem that Christianity would have all but died out by now, but its actually become stronger than before.

Stronger than before?

Religion is in its death throes.

[Jack]

We want to believe our lives have more meaning than a rodent.

That's because religion teaches you that you're superior to all other life forms, even to other humans who don't believe as you do.
It's a pathetic philosophy.

[Gods_Mercenary]

Quote by: Kamehameha34 Stronger than before? Religion is in its death throes.

Interesting view when Christianity is actually growing.

Well, I would like to believe that I'm superior to a rodent. How many rodents can type?

I don't believe I'm superior to non-believers.

[Praxius]

I am not superior to rodents or any other animal on this planet...... every animal can do something that another can not. The fact that many of the Earth's animals are still living as long, if not longer then us, would indicate that they are on the same level as us, if not a better one.

Just because we think differently then other animals, doesn't make us superior. Claims of Dolphins, Elephants and other animals having similar intelligence than us would be a step towards proving this case.

To say we're smarter or more superior to another animal is naive.

[rokinross]

god is a not existant thing i no that jeuses existed but god and christanity are non existant there is no proof of him or it and who ever thought it up is a creak pot

[Epistemologist]

Quote by: Emmz Just to make my question a little clearer, I dont want this to dissolve into a discussion of whether or not God exists and whatnot, but to focus on whether the concept of God can survive in our modern society: has religion adapted to suit the 21st Century? Can it?

Yes, I like how you worded the question. I think that the concept of God can survive in "modern society" regardless of the corruption of the concept by scientific hypotheses. That is, it seems that at least a minority will keep faith in the belief and have ongoing tenacity, assuming that they are indeed parts of that modern society.

And even if that doesn't happen, history would look back upon the time when this concept was a more widely held belief. They may mock it as medieval and naive, or perhaps even look back at with respect and reverence. I mean, we are, after all, ancestors; anthropology is a science. Thus, people would still have a conception of God regardless of whether or not they think He exists; even strong atheists have a conception of God today.

I should also allude to what some philosophers have said concerning this issue. John Dewey says that we should delineate between religion per se and religious beliefs. He says that we can all experience genuine religious experiences if we look less towards trite ceremonial practices and more towards the fundamental beliefs of the religion; by the same token, though, those ceremonies shouldn't be wiped out.

Another philosopher, George Santayana, is an atheist but says that religion is a good thing in a certain sense. He says that although it is metaphysically and epistemologically incorrect, it can give us valuable moral and aesthetic guidance that helps make our world a better place. So, even if belief in God isn't around in the future, some remnants of relevant religions ought to be around because they are enriching. Otherwise, we'll be like those people in the South Park episode saying "Science dammit" and "Thank Science!."

You should also note that even if the belief and even the concept of God are eradicated, it doesn't mean they are incorrect. We would only know what's right in the end, I suppose.