NM Squirrel,
Can you define this god that you believe in ? ”
any attempt to do so will find someone disagreeing with it. one size does not fit all..
Of course, would you expect us to just believe without something valid in it's definition to justify the belief ?
“ The problem is not that I don't respect your choice to believe, it's that when asked to really define as best as possible this god, the slope gets very slippery. ”
thats why only you can choose to believe or not. you know your size..
Ok
“ You are left with pure endless speculation or you create a new religion. ”
egads..not another religion..why can't a person just believe and not have to be in any religion??
its fun to speculate..isn't that how a lot of science came to be?
You can, if you only claim faith and not try to justify the belief with definitions then sure, why not. The reason I raise the question is really for you the believer. What god am I believing in ? is a good question.
If you choose something that is essentially hidden away, something that has no definition, then nothing can be attached to it, no actions or responsibilites can be assigned to it. It's just there.
In which case then you should have no problem with someone who chooses not to believe in something that is supposedly just there.
My wife is very spiritual, she can't define it, she just believes there is something more to it. She makes no claims of knowledge and she also understands it's possibly just a side effect of our conciousness.
It's very hard to accept the fact that we will all one day die.
“ So define away. ”
just cause i see him one way
Ok, but how do you see him ? That would be the start of defining it/him. At which point you start to create the religion, at least for yourself.
What's the point in a god if it doesn't do anything ?
It must do something, so how do you see this entity interacting in our lives or our world ?
“ IOW, you don't have to believe in god for things to be the way they are, you are just choosing to do so. ”
i choose to..everyday i choose to..every post i choose to..its not a one shot decision.
Ok, you have chosen to believe. So then I ask in what ?
Again, don't answer it for me. I don't believe. It's a question that I would ask myself if I believed. Otherwise I don't know what I am believing in.
Maybe that is a difference in us. Which in the end is fine, nobody has such knowledge.
“ So then it gets back to what god, define your god. ”
define oneself..
5' 10" 170 lbs, brown hair, green eyes, like sports, backpacking, mountain climbing, kayaking, rafting, skiing, fishing, beer, women in hot outfits, women naked, love my wife and kids at least most of the time LOL. Do I need to continue ?
“ There is no way to do this without making claims of knowledge. ”
which gets argued with..what answer would be acceptable for an atheist?
(don't answer 'proof' or 'evidence')
Well you can't provide proof. But with a definition comes scrutinization. When we scrutinize this definition we will find additional questions. Maybe some that you haven't thought of. See, this is why there are religions. The more the god is defined, the more questions raised and more definitions have to be added. Pretty soon, man is claiming to know exactly what god they are believing in. And unless this god spoke to man and the texts are truly the word of god, then man made it up.
You created this god you believe in because you are not following a god of the bible or koran right ?
At some point you should be able to define what kind of actions it takes etc
If there was something that proved to you there was a god would you believe ? YES ”
does that proof have to be tangible/emperical? why can't it be emotional/spiritual/psychological/etc
It could be. I guess I would know if/when I encountered it. But I would need to have enough of a signficant interaction that I could define it to some degree.
“ Smart, educated theists understand this, that is also why they believe in evolution and allow it to fit in with their religious views. Because they get to a point where arguing against the evidence makes them look the fool, and they aren't. ”
Proverbs 10:14
The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.
Proverbs 13:16
All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly
“ Originally Posted by jpappl
We don't need the bible or the koran or any other specific text to teach us this. ”
that doesn't mean we can't find the good that is in them.IOW its not an excuse to NOT read them.
wisdom comes from any direction, the fool is the one who refuses to look in all directions..(look both ways before you cross..)
True, maybe you have chosen to avoid a label because of all the bad in them. It's fine to pick and choose what inspires you. If you are not claiming to follow a religion, and use the texts to find inspiration then you are just finding ideas that correlate with who you are as a person. You're finding that which supports your personal philosophy.
“ The theist who wants to do good will find that which encourages such behavior in the bible. The bad guy can find things which are condoned by god to do bad. ”
bingo..
Which is why the world is best viewed as gray and not black and white.