the definition of god

[Rainbow]

Quote by: ZNFYRH Simply put, I think what makes a God a God is that they have abilities beyond our comprehension. The Greek Gods, for example, were not tri-omni. But they were still Gods because of the powers they had.

#2
I am afraid that mythology does not apply to this thread's subject.

#1
Can you answer the following questions :
- does God live in the Universe we (Homo Sapiens) reside within ?
- (if the Universe is a property of God, then) does that property is an active or passive form of God's part ?
- to what extent and/or how the Universe's activity influences God ?

[nerdvincent]

Quote by: Rainbow #2 I am afraid that mythology does not apply to this thread's subject.

I'm afraid that yes. Perhaps not especially greek mythology, but the notion of polytheism.

Quote by: Rainbow Can you answer the following questions : - does God live in the Universe we (Homo Sapiens) reside within ? - (if the Universe is a property of God, then) does that property is an active or passive form of God's part ? - to what extent and/or how the Universe's activity influences God ?

No, but I can ask a few other:
-Is God a concious being?
-Does God interract with our universe? (Supposing God(s) exists)
-What's existence and on what extent does it need to apply to God? Explanation: if God is in another universe, does it exist?
And so on...
Of course I'm talking of a non-theist approach of God.

[ZNFYRH]

Rainbow

One culture's mythology is another's religion.

You're doing the exact thing that is the problem... trying to insist that only those things are what define a God.

[Rainbow]

Quote by: ZNFYRH Rainbow One culture's mythology is another's religion. You're doing the exact thing that is the problem... trying to insist that only those things are what define a God.

Are you implying that an atom is mythology related issue ?

[Rainbow]

Quote by: nerdvincent I'm afraid that yes. Perhaps not especially greek mythology, but the notion of polytheism. No, but I can ask a few other: -Is God a concious being? -Does God interract with our universe? (Supposing God(s) exists) -What's existence and on what extent does it need to apply to God? Explanation: if God is in another universe, does it exist? And so on... Of course I'm talking of a non-theist approach of God.

See my reply to ZNFYRH.
Post : #44
Link : the definition of god

[ZNFYRH]

Rainbow

I don't know what the hell you're talking about.

Stay on topic or don't waste my time.

[robby 1957]

Well then . . . mr. atheist .. can you go create something that has the ability to 'contemplate' you ?? . . . I'm sorry that you can't expand your mind to see something larger than yourself

[robby 1957]

you might want to see (in the bible) romans chapter 1 . . . it defigns those who would like to 're-defign' God into their own mage and turn His truth into a lie . . . the end result is not good .. is VERY not good

[nerdvincent]

Bible isn't the ultimate true here. It's equal to Egyptian religious text giving a polytheisitic definition of Gods. I know Bible prohibit us to think because it may be bad for faith, but I remain with my atheist/deist/pantheist definition of God which came out of reflection, not a book.

[Zhavric]

Quote by: robby 1957 you might want to see (in the bible) romans chapter 1 . . . it defigns those who would like to 're-defign' God into their own mage and turn His truth into a lie . . . the end result is not good .. is VERY not good

Are you a Scientologist?

[robby 1957]

no . . . I'm a Christian .. :)

[Jack]

can you go create something that has the ability to 'contemplate' you ??

Only certain gods invented by man have been said to have done that. There are other supposed gods who haven't been portrayed as that egotistic.

I'm sorry that you can't expand your mind to see something larger than yourself

Nature and reality are both "larger" than any individual human.

it defigns those who would like to 're-defign' God into their own mage and turn His truth into a lie . . . the end result is not good .. is VERY not good

This might apply to believers in gods other than yours, but to non-believers it's not impressive at all.

[robby 1957]

not my intention to 'impress' only to tell you the truth .. what you DO with the truth is yours to stand before God with

[Ken Carman]

Quote by: Nemiroff The recent trend among the god debates here have been that any arguments about god have been countered by the statement that we elevated him to a diety status based on what people personified god as. Well then for the sake of fair debate, what is the definition of god. No matter how general a definition, just like the only things we know about the judeo Christian god are the all powerful, all knowing, all good attributes given to him, what are the points about god that are common amongst sll debators on this site. I know that's asking for a heck of a lot, but if not a single consistent definition is given for god then no debate will be possible, and some of us will be stuck coming up with a different answer for everyone, not very fair!

I wrote an unpublished book on this... offering many, many definitions. But I'm kind of like the potato chip commercial: sorry, I can't have just one.

But I do believe that God defines us, and that's whether we believe, we are unsure... or don't believe at all.

If I had to choose...

God is the creative force of the universe. She; just to simplify my gender choices, is the first... but not "only," source of all creation and creative. God does not micromanage the universe... it is set up to operate a certain way like a fine timepiece. It is we who keep attempting to tear it apart or mess with it.

This negates little, whether you believe in a somewhat more fundamentalistic approach, reincarnation... nothing except atheism. And, who knows, they might be right. There is nothing. Wouldn't it be interesting if we're all right because everything that could exist, does exist? And for those who don't believe... then there's nothing?

What is divine is probably far more vast than any of us can imagine, or fathom.

[Jack]

what you DO with the truth is yours to stand before God with

Since I see no reason to believe that your definition of god is any more credible than any of the other definitions of other gods, and since none of those definitions describe a thing that has been shown to actually exist, I'm not just unimpressed but unconvinced as well.

This god's retribution is meaningless without a belief in that god. Christians aren't concerned with karma, Buddhists don't fret over hell, and non-believers don't care about any of it.

The absoluteness of your "truth" is another thing that only you accept as valid. I don't.

[Rainbow]

Quote by: ZNFYRH Rainbow I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Stay on topic or don't waste my time.

Here it is.
Post : #43
Link : the definition of god

Quote by: ZNFYRH Rainbow One culture's mythology is another's religion. You're doing the exact thing that is the problem... trying to insist that only those things are what define a God.

Religion stands for Mythology.
Am I correct ?

[Ken Carman]

Quote by: Rainbow Here it is. Post : #43 Link : the definition of god Religion stands for Mythology. Am I correct ?

Not exactly. Although religions, and believers of different faiths, do have their myths... mythology is a much wider subject than that. Myth isn't necessarily "true" or "false," it's more the common stories we tell as a species. Virgin birth is one, for example. Essentially it is the storytelling of humankind: attempts to explain who we are, where we came from, why we are here and so much more. If you get a chance Joseph Campbell is an interesting study here: Bill Moyer's series where he interviewed Joseph would be a good start.

[ZNFYRH]

Rainbow

Ken has the gist of it.

Religion doesn't stand for mythology.

The difference between religion and mythology is what people believe to be true, either through teaching or through experience.