What is required in your opinion to refer to a powerful intelligent entity as a "god"?

David777

David777

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My basic question for religious believers in this thread, is would you term such an entity with vast though physically limited powers as a "God" like many ancients did, or reserve the term "god" only to entities with unlimited OOO powers and those that do not to something else?

During my 75 year lifetime here in the USA, there has been an enormous loss of people active in Christian religions across all denominations. Though reasons are several, the most prominent in this science and technology age, is due to a lack of belief in church dogmas and what they have been teaching. And unfortunately, most point to those dogmas and teachings for not only leaving churches but also ending a belief in God and or Jesus as though they are the same.

That is mainly because all Christian religions tend to spout they are receiving inspiration from God thus people associate the two as one. But NO. Consider they are probably not inspired, thus God/Jesus/UIEs are not guiding them at least as much as they claim, nor responsible for supposed issues. For example, IMO it isn’t God’s job (if he exists) to stop suffering and unfairness in the world but rather we humans that are advised so.

In monotheistic religions, as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, god has been declared to have Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, (OOO), attributes. Those are all extreme qualities that gradually developed in denominations over centuries during the Middle Ages as supposedly inspired religious scholars sparred debating with philosophers that demanded any true gods in the future must have those magic qualities despite civilizations for several millennium before them only believing in gods with limited powers. OT/NT Bible scripture supporting such views is quite vague and limited by the impossible interpretation of certainty in ancient language meanings. From those perspectives churches before science arose, greatly expanded God's miracle like powers to extremes they could imagine.

Such philosopher demands were easy to respond too during pre-science eras, however in this science era, magic of actions without forces is utter nonsense. (Sure! Our god is better than your pathetic one-dimensional God of the Moon. Our god can do anything imaginable. So SHUT UP!)

Attributes of God in Christianity - Wikipedia

The following is one brief summary example of how philosophers in the Middle Ages before science arose, came to believe and promote such dogma.

Aquinas on Divine Attributes: Understanding God through Philosophical Reasoning - PHILO-notes
 

What is required in your opinion to refer to a powerful intelligent entity as a "god"?​


I am a god. I am sometimes powerful ( lifting huge logs for fire wood and splitting them ), sometimes intelligent ( I got straight A's through most of public school ), I qualify as an entity ( a thing with distinct and independent existence ), so there u go now "Bow down and worship me, or I will
cry". :)

What is required within each human is that they use their imagination to conjure a made up notion of something other that themselves, that really has no existence, but the individual hangs onto their projection as though it was real. Kind of like an imaginary friend that we conjured before we started using our logical mind.
 
David777 said:
During my 75 year lifetime here in the USA, there has been an enormous loss of people active in Christian religions across all denominations. Though reasons are several, the most prominent in this science and technology age, is due to a lack of belief in church dogmas and what they have been teaching. And unfortunately, most point to those dogmas and teachings for not only leaving churches but also ending a belief in God and or Jesus as though they are the same.
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From what I've put together from past articles, people are still believing in some kind of higher power, but are leaving the church because of ideological and political differences. People are searching for something new to accommodate their changing beliefs. I doubt that scientific understandings of reality are the major reason for the exodus. Although it does play a part. There is a new perspective afoot: "Spiritual but not religious," which I hear a lot lately, and churches seem to emphasize religion and the associated dogmas, as opposed to freedom of thought.
 
I was an atheist as a young woman. Then I had a Road to Damascus experience that shook my certainties to the core. I responded to the call and have experienced the eminence and imminence of God many times in the years that followed. I have come to know what is meant by the peace that surpasses all understanding.
 
Warrigal said:
I was an atheist as a young woman. Then I had a Road to Damascus experience that shook my certainties to the core. I responded to the call and have experienced the eminence and imminence of God many times in the years that followed. I have come to know what is meant by the peace that surpasses all understanding.
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I've had that Road to Damascus experience more than once. I just don't think any god/gods are behind these incredible revelations. Don't know what they were; feel I know what they weren't. Or not?
 
David777 said:
That is mainly because all Christian religions tend to spout they are receiving inspiration from God thus people associate the two as one. But NO. Consider they are probably not inspired, thus God/Jesus/UIEs are not guiding them at least as much as they claim, nor responsible for supposed issues. For example, IMO it isn’t God’s job (if he exists) to stop suffering and unfairness in the world but rather we humans that are advised so.
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I think you are spot on that's it our job to help one another.

I feel we've been given the knowledge from a greater intelligence & we should put it to use as it was intended. For me I believe in God & Jesus, but maybe not in the way some others may. This is just my belief & thought after my life experiences.

Whether it was God, Jesus or UIEs, we were taught right from wrong. We are supposed to stand up & protect those who are unable to protect themselves. We are supposed to help those who are in truly in need of help.

Rakaia said:
Miracles are performed on demand, the impossible is strictly by prior appointment. 😏
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Just a thought, but when Jesus healed people it was called a miracle by those around him. Does anyone ever think that he may have had real medical knowledge like we have today in healing people?

At that time of Jesus, people didn't have the words or knowledge we have today to describe what happened. They did the best the had with what they had.
 
What is required in your opinion to refer to a powerful intelligent entity as a "god"?
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There have been several major "accelerations" of Human's DNA lineage since the emergence of life as primordial slime. I don't think such quantum leaps of development have been fully understood. Science Fiction writers have envisioned extraterrestrial intervention to explain the rapid advances from primate to human-oid.

Whoever did this could be considered as a "god".
 
I grew up in a church with a family that believed and I did when I was younger. However, as I matured and went to college in my 30’s I realized it just wasn’t possible.

Some people find comfort in the rituals of religion and the belief that they can turn their problems over to a higher power. There’s nothing wrong with this. Religion has caused many wars, deaths, is a way to control people, get their money and was needed in the past to explain to uneducated people things that they didn’t understand and to teach morals. It’s no longer needed.
 
David777 said:
My basic question for religious believers in this thread, is would you term such an entity with vast though physically limited powers as a "God" like many ancients did, or reserve the term "god" only to entities with unlimited OOO powers and those that do not to something else?

During my 75 year lifetime here in the USA, there has been an enormous loss of people active in Christian religions across all denominations. Though reasons are several, the most prominent in this science and technology age, is due to a lack of belief in church dogmas and what they have been teaching. And unfortunately, most point to those dogmas and teachings for not only leaving churches but also ending a belief in God and or Jesus as though they are the same.

That is mainly because all Christian religions tend to spout they are receiving inspiration from God thus people associate the two as one. But NO. Consider they are probably not inspired, thus God/Jesus/UIEs are not guiding them at least as much as they claim, nor responsible for supposed issues. For example, IMO it isn’t God’s job (if he exists) to stop suffering and unfairness in the world but rather we humans that are advised so.

In monotheistic religions, as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, god has been declared to have Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent, (OOO), attributes. Those are all extreme qualities that gradually developed in denominations over centuries during the Middle Ages as supposedly inspired religious scholars sparred debating with philosophers that demanded any true gods in the future must have those magic qualities despite civilizations for several millennium before them only believing in gods with limited powers. OT/NT Bible scripture supporting such views is quite vague and limited by the impossible interpretation of certainty in ancient language meanings. From those perspectives churches before science arose, greatly expanded God's miracle like powers to extremes they could imagine.


Attributes of God in Christianity - Wikipedia

The following is one brief summary example of how philosophers in the Middle Ages before science arose, came to believe and promote such dogma.

Aquinas on Divine Attributes: Understanding God through Philosophical Reasoning - PHILO-notes
Click to expand...
If we believe this, then God created the world and everything but left US to fix it? I don't understand this logic. Can you explain how this is supposed to benefit anyone or anything. Forgive me if I sound irreverent but it makes God sound like an abusive parent. :unsure:
 
chic said:
If we believe this, then God created the world and everything but left US to fix it? I don't understand this logic. Can you explain how this is supposed to benefit anyone or anything. Forgive me if I sound irreverent but it makes God sound like an abusive parent. :unsure:
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That is the crux of God's great experiment, to see if we can rise above our base instincts and become more god-like.

Sure, God could fix everything, then that would make us just puppets.
 
Nathan said:
That is the crux of God's great experiment, to see if we can rise above our base instincts and become more god-like.

Sure, God could fix everything, then that would make us just puppets.
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On the other hand it could make us grateful successful children able to help others in ways that matter and change the world for the better. This will not happen for children being experimented upon with abuse so severe they have no life, they just survive. As a Vietnam vet, you must understand at least a portion of this? You've experienced some things so horrible the rest of us cannot imagine them. :unsure: :unsure:
 
chic said:
On the other hand it could make us grateful successful children able to help others in ways that matter and change the world for the better. This will not happen for children being experimented upon with abuse so severe they have no life, they just survive. As a Vietnam vet, you must understand at least a portion of this? You've experienced some things so horrible the rest of us cannot imagine them. :unsure: :unsure:
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I don't blame God, the U.S. government sent me there to do it's bidding... shrug.gif
 
chic said:
If we believe this, then God created the world and everything but left US to fix it?
Click to expand...
Perhaps if we hadn't screwed it up so badly, there wouldn't be so much to fix. That doesn't put the blame on God... but on the "screwer uppers." Children who are not made to correct their own self-induced self-chosen messes turn out mighty spoiled, don't they? "Don't worry, Mommy/Daddy will fix it for you." "I'll make that nasty speeding ticket go away." "You were arrested for WHAT? Oh well, let Daddy go talk to the people in charge, don't you worry." Doesn't work that way.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
How is this thread any different than starting a politics thread? Did you really think this through? I hope your thread gets locked. It deserves to be.
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I'm not so sure, but I agree that rational and civil discourse on such a topic is tough.

One person's thoughts on the subject might be taken as beliefs, then when those conflict with another's convictions and beliefs things can get pretty heated. The first person naively expects to explore the issue but then gets roasted just for expressing thoughts he might not even be personally invested in.

Hmm, I may have just argued myself into agreement after all.
 

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