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

Naturally said:
Often as I sit in the sanctuary of my backyard, I watch many birds flutter about. To each I could give a name ... Pete, Sam, Jeanette, Suzie ... and what if I told you, "Pete came to my house today. He spoke a language I could not understand and he can fly. I saw it for myself !!!" ... would you believe me?
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And if I told you I'd knocked at the door of His "house" beyond the bright light and we communicated in a language I couldn't comprehend and "He could fly". I've seen it for myself. A REALITY. ... Would you believe me? ... many would not and that is their CHOICE.

How can I prove the spiritual reality I and others have experienced beyond religion? I sure didn't have any electronic devices to record the experience, nor they. Perhaps neither I nor science can explain ... though we try ... sometimes ... and sometimes unless compelled, I just have to walk away when topics like these come up HA ;) ... "believe" what you want. I KNOW what I experienced when struck down instantly by lightening over 50yrs ago. Given a choice, He sent me back. My choice.

... I still don't know His "name" though :oops: well ... maybe one "I've" given Him. When speaking specifically of my experience I just say, my higher power.
 
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Naturally said:
And if I told you I'd knocked at the door of His "house" beyond the bright light and we communicated in a language I couldn't comprehend and "He could fly". I've seen it for myself. A REALITY. ... Would you believe me? ... many would not and that is their CHOICE.

How can I prove the spiritual reality I and others have experienced beyond religion? I sure didn't have any electronic devices to record the experience, nor they. Perhaps neither I nor science can explain ... though we try ... sometimes ... and sometimes unless compelled, I just have to walk away when topics like these come up HA ;) ... "believe" what you want. I KNOW what I experienced when struck down instantly by lightening over 50yrs ago. He sent me back. My choice.
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I have several Salamanders out in our rock wall The Oldest is quite a lizard in size. We named all of them Sammy's. They know us.
 
Naturally said:
And if I told you I'd knocked at the door of His "house" beyond the bright light and we communicated in a language I couldn't comprehend and "He could fly". I've seen it for myself. A REALITY. ... Would you believe me? ... many would not and that is their CHOICE.

How can I prove the spiritual reality I and others have experienced beyond religion? I sure didn't have any electronic devices to record the experience, nor they. Perhaps neither I nor science can explain ... though we try ... sometimes ... and sometimes unless compelled, I just have to walk away when topics like these come up HA ;) ... "believe" what you want. I KNOW what I experienced when struck down instantly by lightening over 50yrs ago. Given a choice, He sent me back. My choice.

... I still don't know His "name" though :oops: well ... maybe one "I've" given Him. When speaking specifically of my experience I just say, my higher power.
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I’ve had many bizarre spiritual experiences I can’t possibly explain so don’t bother trying so I commend / respect you for trying. It was very brave of you.
 
What is required in your opinion to refer to a powerful intelligent entity as a "god"?

I haven't read every post So if someone already posted this opinion I apologize.
IMO I think this qualifies

AI could be considered a god within the parameters of the OPs question

Machine Learning’s Role: At the heart of AI’s power lies machine learning, a subset that empowers systems to learn from data and improve over time without explicit programming. This adaptive nature allows AI to analyze vast datasets, recognize patterns, and make predictions, making it a formidable tool in fields like healthcare, finance, and beyond.

That "and beyond" is powerful.
This speaks to intelligent
that a subset that empowers systems to learn from data and improve over time without explicit programming.
 
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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?
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For me, the word 'entity' in the more common term points to a containment, like an establishment, or a human being. This idea already opposes OOO.

We humans beings are entities of consciousness. The question is, what are we conscious of; the truth or a deception. IMHO, truth is. Aka OOO. Anything other than truth is a deception (contained).

The Christian belief system say that God is Truth. Why can't we leave it at that? Because we are thinking machines that loves to contain things in bits of logic and reasoning, it makes us feel powerful and in control to do so.

Some Christians believe in the trinity. So do I, but in a different way. Truth (in a contained way is God), Love (is the expression of Truth, or the spirit of truth), Faith (in a contained way is the son of Truth, born from love and truth). Truth, love, and faith, without containment is unconditional, hence OOO.

Unconditional faith allows our inner unconditional truth to become our consciousness of what is true. When it does everything becomes nothing containable; a consciousness that is true, doubtless, obvious, fearless and loving; in other words 'heaven'.

Religion is a conatinment; unconditional truth, love and faith isn't. Fear is the father of containment. Truth set us free from our fears.
 
Teacher Terry said:
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.
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My association with church had led me to understand the power of forgiveness. I no longer hold grudges against people and I have been able to find forgiveness for myself. Forgiveness for self and others is the path to peace.

I have found that self forgiveness has been much harder than letting go of grudges against people who have hurt or wronged me.
 
reteP said:
Fear is the father of containment. Truth set us free from our fears.
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Yes, I agree with that. What is fear except the unknown and the fear of nothingness? And one way I see that fear is contained is to deny everything--meaning life itself. When a child is born where does it come from? From nothingness? The child isn't the parent. He/she is her/himself. There can't be nothingness. Thinking logically proves that.
 
Our Universe may be just one of the Lords Nutz. So it created life and a will to survive. Sure Satana came to play with his nutz.
And what about the other ones creations. Pure hell probably. Sure we are in the Lords heaven but screw up and Satana now
dressing as a drag queen grabs, ya with promises. Sure, she a lying Batch!
 
Seems weird to talk of God as being a member of a class of things or entities meeting some presupposed criteria.

For me, "God" only arises in response to the question "why does anything exist instead of nothing?" Along with @gruntlabor I am an agnostic, recognizing the inaccessibility of conclusive reasons for coming down on either side of the belief divide. Did something have an intention or goal long before we big brain creatures came along and push origins in the direction it has gone or is it just random chance and meaningless but ineffectual speculation? I now think there is something more but don't presume it is at all human like.

I was an atheist for a long time but I never believed I had any more solid grounds for disbelief than those of faith had for belief, though those whose faith pin down God with a particular name, set of attributes and historic back story seem deluded to me ... though no more deluded than those who assume teleology is impossible or that meaning is just something we make up.

I don't begrudge those with intact, ancestral beliefs but I don't respect those who lie to and badger others to agree with them. Likewise I don't begrudge those who prefer to believe we're all just a kind of matter pinging around the universe in a totally deterministic manner, unless they overstate their case to lie to and badger others in a misuse of whatever credibility they've earned for their accomplishments in cosmology, philosophy or evolutionary biology.
 
Understanding that your country will be slammed into all the rest of the world,
one Continent divided into a bunch of hate, one day far in the future may just be enough for you ?
 
MarkD said:
I don't begrudge those with intact, ancestral beliefs but I don't respect those who lie to and badger others to agree with them. Likewise I don't begrudge those who prefer to believe we're all just a kind of matter pinging around the universe in a totally deterministic manner, unless they overstate their case to lie to and badger others in a misuse of whatever credibility they've earned for their accomplishments in cosmology, philosophy or evolutionary biology.
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I don't understand what you mean by these accusations. How can one tell if they are lying?
 
Well you can't of course but you know when they've said something you know to be untrue or overstated the case for a position they hold. It may not technically be a lie or leastwise you may not be able to convince someone who likes the lie but we all are free to hold them responsible morally regardless.
 
God invented this adventure game. God really doesn't care if you believe in him, as he is off building new universes.

Yes he.

God couldn't possibly be female. All that drama and crying. 🙄

We sometimes "do" and can have magical effects on this timeline.

At the same time, it was God that said "Men make plans and God laughs"

There are invisible players in this hologram that can sometimes affect the timeline. In their visible forms they often appear as cats, to mirror their invisible humor.

No, that vase would look better shattered on the floor.
 
Whenever I share the reality of my personal spiritual experience and meeting my higher power when struck down by lightening, clearly there are those in dubious disbelief. Perhaps even quite understandably so and I don't begrudge them one iota. Nope, not one bit ... at all. It doesn't get to me. It's not my place to judge. The lesson I was left with is that we all have choices and I begrudge no one theirs. But the thing is, I KNOW the doubters have their own personal experiences coming sooner or later. They just may be uniquely incapable of sharing their experience at that point going forward and subject it to the perception and "judgement" of others. Good luck with that.

Since the time of my experience, I've spent my life in pursuit of imperfect human endeavors. Some choices have been good and others not so good at all. I just hope that Guy is still working there when I get back ;)
 

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