h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've read with interest the ideas that people anthropomorphise God. I've also read (an interesting new concept to me) that perhaps God is the universe, so not an entity with all the accompanying foibles that, of necessity, we can only relate to our own.

To date I have been an athiest without reservation or hesitation. Without hesitation because where's the proof. Naturally the theist will now tell me that God is a matter of faith or belief. I accept that this may work for them, but not for me. People believed the world was flat.

No, what I'm most concerned with is God's nature, temper, character, mood. I know I'm ascribing human charactistics, but what's the point in making a God central to your life if you cannot understand at least a minimum of what he (apologies, but it's easier to use this pronoun) expects from you. To know this, you have to have an understanding of the nature of God.

From purely personal observation, God isn't someone I'd want as a friend. I certainly wouldn't want any children to play with him. If he isn't cruel, vindictive and sadistic (if he doesn't take pleasure in people's pain when he could stop it, why does he allow it); then the minimum of which he is guilty is the sin of omission and neglect.

Turn on your TV any daytime and watch all the tormented souls in the news; starving, dying of ancient and modern plagues, treating one another with a cruelty almost beyond belief. Why doesn't he do anything about it?

I won't accept the argument that we've been given the right to chose good or bad in order to develop to our full potential. Why? Except for someone's amusement while they watch us fail over and over again. How wonderful a world would this be if we were born understanding only the beauty of love and caring. How much more could we develop as philosophers, scientists and people if we started from a happier, more stable position?

Much better I think to not believe in any God of any kind. Safer to assume that my path through life is dictated by my behaviour and that of the people around me. To take full responsibility for my own actions and expect others to do likewise.

Still... the concept of God as the Universe... worth a little more thought.

NEITHER WOULD I

way to go
right on, dude!

i'm not an "atheist" b/c i try to be maximally open-minded, but i'm an "agnostic" with extreme atheist tendencies. i find God as believable as the Keebler elves

you'll probably like this quote by robert heinlein

"The most ridiculous concept ever perpetrated by H. Sapiens is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of the Universes, wants the sacharrine adoration of his creations, that he can be persuaded by their prayers, and becomes petulant if he does not recieve this flattery. Yet this ridiculous notion, without one real shred of evidence to bolster it, has gone on to found one of the oldest, largest and least productive industries in history."

it is pointless to debate religion with theists because there is no common grounds of agreement from which to spring forth a debate.
the atheist is using logic and rational thinking whereas the theist is throwing all of that completely out the window. i'm not knocking 'em really, but it's true. "faith" is not logical.

peteY OUT!

Frankly. if a god like the one in the Bible exists, considering how vindictive and tyranical he seems, it is our duty to rebbel against him or her and replace them with a democracy!

Q. Do I Want GOD as a friend?
Required Supposition: There is a GOD
Required Assumption: GOD is sufficiently anthropormorphic to provide me with a 'friend' target (sense of humour [laughs at MY jokes], butt of jokes, shoulder to cry on, willing to drag me, feet first, out of the bar when I've fallen down dead drunk)

However: leaving our supposition as fact for the moment, our assumption falls flatter than a souffle in a thunderstorm... No religious dogma would ever provide a fully anthropomorphic god. No anthopromorphic god would ever stoop to the level of the acts ascribed to god by dogma (except as a big practical joke).

Has anyone noticed that GOD never has a sense of humour? Why not? It is, after all, one thing that definitely sets us apart from the 'lower orders'.... so I would expect GOD to have a GOD sized sense of humour (you know what... maybe (s)he does... maybe that explains the underlying confusion suffusing all of science... as you get to learn just a little bit more, you realize you need to (re)learn a whole lot more and everything you used to know you have to stand on its head)

I agree. From what people have told me and what I have read, God does not seem to be all that nice. Why is it that one widely believed religious opinion is that you only go to heaven if you believe in God? What about all the really nice atheists out there? If heaven were to exist why does someone have more of a right to go there just because they believe in God? And how can you send someone to hell? Surely, noone deserves an eternity of hell? Everyone has some good in them, so where do you draw the line?

I'm not sure that most Christians believe that their God is the nasty,
vindictive one that you describe. That one belongs to the Christian fundamentalists, and that distinction should be made clear at every opportunity.

Ste

Post 5: Would you invite into your home someone who refused to acknowledge your existence?

If you were as kind, loving, and forgiveful as the Christian God is supposed to be, then yes, you would.

If you were as mean, vindictive, and vengeful as another version of God, then no, you wouldn't.

Ste

Insight
just out of curiosity are there any condition sunder which you would decide that your faith in God is wrong?

Would I invite into my home someone who refused to acknowledge my existence?

Yes. But then I like proving people wrong

"I'm not sure that most Christians believe that their God is the nasty,
vindictive one that you describe."
Most Christians definately do believe in the Old Testament, either as fact or metaphor, and, whether factual or metaphorical, the God in many Old Testament stories (Such as... The one where he destroys Sodom... And entire city...) is a right bastard.

No, but I suspect many of them gloss over the things in the OT and forget about what they say about YHWH.

<,Most Christians definately do believe in the Old Testament, either as fact or metaphor, and, whether factual or metaphorical, the God in many Old Testament stories>>
Most - but not all, Wojit... To me, 90% of the Old Testament is metaphor.

I would say nearly 100% of reality is metaphor, as it's component parts all seem to be struggling with the same drama. As far as having god as a friend, I think the devil would be more fun. God would never really do anything cool, as such a display of power would be too vulgar. Of course, if there is a god, then that god would be both root the and the sum of all things, so if you have any friends you're friends with god.