What is God? - Page 2

Aliantha · 08-10-2006, 06:15 AM

I don't think this one will make it to the 'extra new' testiment as a bible story.

Aliantha · 08-10-2006, 06:17 AM

Did you hear the one about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac?

He lay awake all night wondering if there really is a dog...(Har har)

Pangloss62 · 08-10-2006, 08:19 AM

Quote:

God is a sort of like a magnetic north for morality, everything is measured against him.

What? How can you measure something against a concept? Or do you consult the sacred texts for the rules?

Gods are strictly conceptual entities that cultures create to explain their assumed superiority.

It's not that our compasses break, it's that magnetic north is in a different location for each individual and moves around depending on the circumstances of of the individual at a particular time.

We'd be better off without the concept.

smoothmoniker · 08-10-2006, 11:16 AM

Any chance this thread is going to move beyond loud conjecture and personal hobby horses? I'll take "No" for $20.

What is God?

The necessary, non-contingent, personal, a-priori creator.

Necessary – not possible to not exist. If anything exists, God exists.

Non-contingent – God’s being and prerogative are not submitted to any other. God acts without constraint, and exist without prior cause.

Personal – possessing all of the necessary features of personhood, including reason, will, and agency. Not an impersonal force, but a rational agent.

A-priori Creator – God existed prior to any first-event, and was the sufficient cause of the first event.

Flint · 08-10-2006, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaggieL

"If triangles had a god, he'd have there sides." --old Yiddish proverb

. . . He'd have three sides ???

Flint · 08-10-2006, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker

Any chance this thread is going to move beyond loud conjecture and personal hobby horses? I'll take "No" for $20.

Without establishing a definition of what is being debated, no discussion, regardless of the subject, has any chance whatsoever of moving beyond a group of completely isolated comments which cannot be weighed against each other.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

It should be a prerequisite, in these debates, to submit a definition of the word God.

9th Engineer · 08-10-2006, 11:11 PM

My personal theory is someone got REALLY pissed off at some moral-equivalence spouting bastard. Equally good would be something to scare people into behaving like reasonable people instead of what comes naturally.

btw,has anyone ever sat down and really though hard through the concept of moral equivalency? Kind of like communism, nice on paper, sucks the big one in real life.

Flint · 08-10-2006, 11:20 PM

It seems to be a very popular buzzword. That's about the extent of my thoughts on it.

limey · 08-12-2006, 05:12 PM

I like the "big guy with the ant farm" theory. He may also be a little forgetful ...

08-10-2006, 06:15 AM	#16
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	I don't think this one will make it to the 'extra new' testiment as a bible story. __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

08-10-2006, 06:17 AM	#17
Aliantha trying hard to be a better person Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 16,493	Did you hear the one about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac? He lay awake all night wondering if there really is a dog...(Har har) __________________ Kind words are the music of the world. F. W. Faber

08-10-2006, 11:16 AM	#19
smoothmoniker to live and die in LA Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,090	Any chance this thread is going to move beyond loud conjecture and personal hobby horses? I'll take "No" for $20. What is God? The necessary, non-contingent, personal, a-priori creator. Necessary – not possible to not exist. If anything exists, God exists. Non-contingent – God’s being and prerogative are not submitted to any other. God acts without constraint, and exist without prior cause. Personal – possessing all of the necessary features of personhood, including reason, will, and agency. Not an impersonal force, but a rational agent. A-priori Creator – God existed prior to any first-event, and was the sufficient cause of the first event. __________________ to live and die in LA

08-10-2006, 11:11 PM	#22
9th Engineer Bioengineer and aspiring lawer Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 872	My personal theory is someone got REALLY pissed off at some moral-equivalence spouting bastard. Equally good would be something to scare people into behaving like reasonable people instead of what comes naturally. btw,has anyone ever sat down and really though hard through the concept of moral equivalency? Kind of like communism, nice on paper, sucks the big one in real life. __________________ The most valuable renewable resource is stupidity.

08-10-2006, 11:20 PM	#23
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	It seems to be a very popular buzzword. That's about the extent of my thoughts on it. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

08-12-2006, 05:12 PM	#24
limey Encroaching on your decrees Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An island within the south-west coast of Scotland Posts: 7,016	I like the "big guy with the ant farm" theory. He may also be a little forgetful ... __________________ Living it up on the edge ... of civilisation, within the southwest coast of

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