God, defined.

[Aliantha]

We live in hell. Heaven is the next plane of existence. Our little brains are just too...well...little to comprehend anything more. We're so consumed by our earthly bodies that we forget our minds and spirit and think only in terms of satisfying the body when we think of 'heaven'. The funny part is, our body doesn't get to go to that place anyway.

God to me is that spiritual ideal that we all strive for and think we're getting closer to with every perceived 'good decision' we make.

We're so far from close it's not even funny. Even the best of us.

It's good to keep trying though.

[Clodfobble]

There's a reason the parental metaphor gets used in most religions, and it's not just creation-as-procreation. Children often don't understand why their parents do certain things, or that those things are in their best interest even when they don't seem to be. A child denied a cookie might wonder how mom/god can possibly be benevolent when she allows evil/cookie-loss in the world. But someday, eventually, they understand the point. Life for many believers is just another version of toddlerhood, doing their best in a confusing world that teaches hurtful lessons, optimistically hoping that someday they will be ready to understand the point.

[footfootfoot]

OK Now I am disappoint that no one has made a "God, deepfried" clone thread.

[DanaC]

So...the cosmic equivalent of 'just because'.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by DanaC

So...the cosmic equivalent of 'Just Because'.

Hehhehheh, cosmic message for Dani - What else could it stand for?

The cosmos moves in mysterious ways.

[regular.joe]

To understand the Casimir Effect, one first has to understand something about a vacuum in space as it is viewed in quantum field theory. Far from being empty, modern physics assumes that a vacuum is full of fluctuating electromagnetic waves that can never be completely eliminated, like an ocean with waves that are always present and can never be stopped. These waves come in all possible wavelengths, and their presence implies that empty space contains a certain amount of energy--an energy that we can't tap, but that is always there. (http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...-casimir-effec)

What interests me is that the smartest, most intelligent and brightest of our society today will readily accept the idea that empty space may indeed be filled with an infinite amount of energy, of all wavelengths..like an ocean of waves that can never be stopped, an energy that we can't tap but is always there...and instantly rebel at the idea that God exists.

[Griff]

Could it be that they reject the idea of god as it has been handed down from primitive desert dwellers but may be open to a less pre-packaged god. One which fills the needs of a modern mind?

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by regular.joe

What interests me is that the smartest, most intelligent and brightest of our society today will readily accept the idea that empty space may indeed be filled with an infinite amount of energy, of all wavelengths..like an ocean of waves that can never be stopped, an energy that we can't tap but is always there...and instantly rebel at the idea that God exists.

If scientists claimed that the energy was intelligent and didn't want people to masturbate, I'd be skeptical.

[sexobon]

There's an idea, God should have a sockpuppet. But what to call it?

[ZenGum]

Well, I guess it's time I owned up, eh?

[Griff]

slang used to speak for God here.

[regular.joe]

I am not a Christian, Muslim, Nor a Jew, I claim to know nothing of the desert dwellers and their religious practices and how they tell people not to masturbate. I prefer to leave discussion of religion out of discussion about God. I'm not a religious man, so it seems only fair. I can't talk about something I know nothing about, nor participate in.

Masturbate all you wish, I'm not hanging about to tell anyone what God would have them do.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

If scientists claimed that the energy was intelligent and didn't want people to masturbate, I'd be skeptical.

Originally Posted by regular.joe

I am not a Christian, Muslim, Nor a Jew, I claim to know nothing of the desert dwellers and their religious practices and how they tell people not to masturbate. I prefer to leave discussion of religion out of discussion about God. I'm not a religious man, so it seems only fair. I can't talk about something I know nothing about, nor participate in.

The problem for scientists is that religion has so often opposed progress in science this forces people into camps based on their training and individual wiring/ brain functioning. Joe's God could be amenable to science but once groups start defining "him" we're putting structures in place that will lead to conflict. In religion there is value placed in faith, believing what their is no evidence for. I've heard very intelligent people defend that. They get something from that cognitive dissonance and believe society gains something from it as well. I'm open to the idea of God but I'm not able to construct one sufficiently durable.

[sexobon]

Originally Posted by Griff

... In religion there is value placed in faith, believing what their is no evidence for. I've heard very intelligent people defend that. They get something from that cognitive dissonance and believe society gains something from it as well. ...

In religion, faith in God is a sacred cow.

[Griff]

Wait, what?