Religion What is God/god?

[Tsuyoiko]

Ah, I see what you mean now, Tsuyoiko. :relief:

Phew! :relief: Thanks for keeping me on my toes, although they are starting to ache a bit!

 

[Mycernius]

I have always see that people idea of a God is something to be worshipped or resposible for things that we cannot explain. I don't see nature as a God. Nature is a natural process that doesn't really care if we live or die as a species. Most peoples idea of a God is something that has a vested interest in Humans. As Sensuikan san pointed out, Gods need man. Without man there are no Gods. Nothing else in nature needs to worship a higher intelligence. If apes were able to grasp such an abstract idea, would they worship man? We can do things they can't would they. We can fly, cure ills, kill things from a great distance, create lightning. To our primitive ancestors we have the powers of their Gods.
As we discover more about the universe and its mechanics I think the idea of God will fade. Just think, 500 years ago Maciamo, Sensuikan san and myself could be executed for our beliefs, or lack of them. Thanks to a greater understanding of the world around us our views are no longer seen as heretical, but are becoming more intergrated into human thought, especially in Europe and the west in general.

 

[Tsuyoiko]

As Sensuikan san pointed out, Gods need man. Without man there are no Gods. Nothing else in nature needs to worship a higher intelligence. If apes were able to grasp such an abstract idea, would they worship man? We can do things they can't would they. We can fly, cure ills, kill things from a great distance, create lightning. To our primitive ancestors we have the powers of their Gods.

That's the idea behind the evil aliens in Stargate SG1 - a great show that raises some interesting points on this subject.

 

[Winter]

Asking 'what is g*d?' to a person is like giving a monkey a wristwatch.

And speaking of monkeys, Mycernius mentioned apes viewing humans has higher beings; on that note, did you know that apes are actually starting to show signs of evolutionary progress?

I forget where I read it, but it was a quote along the lines of apes advancing their usages for tools, and refining the tools themselves.

Makes you wonder if apes will evolve to our level; and if that happens, no doubt we are bound to make another evolutionary jump.

Actually, now that I think about it, I did read once that in a few eons, the next evolutionary jump for humans is to trancend gender and branch off into two specifically different human species. I dont remember where I read that, and I dont have any fancy schmancy links to put up here like yall with your examples, unfortunately.

 

[toyomotor]

GOD can be anyone you want him/her to be. The various religious schools, such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhist etc. have a clear vision of what their God expects from them, without actually knowing who (or what) their God is. IMO God is simply something upon which one can focus in times of need. Personally, I cannot believe that a God would permit what is currently happening in the world to continue without supreme intervention. I do not believe in the concept of Gods.

 

[American Idiot]

If there was a 'God' - where would he be ... without human beings to believe in him/her ...?

�W����

Humans created "God".....not the other way around. Any higher power is simply a projection humans make of their own sub-conscious. If you look at all the othe primates, they are social creatures, just like us. There maybe lone wolves but not lone chimps. And we humans are the most social primates of all and with our much larger frontal lobes we think and experience things on a whole new level that other primates are incapable of. So for us, being the social creatures we are, have a basic need to not feel alone, in the universe. Plus we need something to make sense or some kind of reasoning when things happen out of our control, like the death of a loved one or our own mortality. It's part of our basic drive to not want to be alone, so we invent higher powers to make us...well....not feel alone (duh!) "God" is simply in our head.

 

[LeBrok]

Humans created "God".....not the other way around. Any higher power is simply a projection humans make of their own sub-conscious. If you look at all the othe primates, they are social creatures, just like us. There maybe lone wolves but not lone chimps. And we humans are the most social primates of all and with our much larger frontal lobes we think and experience things on a whole new level that other primates are incapable of. So for us, being the social creatures we are, have a basic need to not feel alone, in the universe. Plus we need something to make sense or some kind of reasoning when things happen out of our control, like the death of a loved one or our own mortality. It's part of our basic drive to not want to be alone, so we invent higher powers to make us...well....not feel alone (duh!) "God" is simply in our head.

It is a very interesting idea and I think it is a viable explanation to the origin of god. To be lonely and helpless against cruel nature creates an uneasy feeling to deal with. Certainly helping and friendly god/gods fill this void and gives us comforting feeling.

 

[Aberdeen]

I think it's quite likely that energy sources such as the Earth, Moon and Sun are the physical embodiments of conscious aware entities, so our Pagan ancestors who worshipped Gods and Goddesses may have been on the right track. But I don't know how much such entities actually care about or intercede in human affairs. And these Gods and Goddesses are part of our universe. As for whether there's a transcendent god that created the universe, that's a difficult question, IMO, because if no entity created the universe, it's hard to say where it came from, and if an entity did create the universe, it's hard to say where that entity came from. And I think that to say that a creator god is eternal, had no creator and has always existed makes less sense than to say that the universe is eternal, had no creator and has always existed, since we can at least be certain that the universe exists (although I know some would argue that). But if there is a creator god that made billions of galaxies, does he/she/it watch over individuals and criticize their behaviour? I think that's extremely unlikely, so I don't find the Abrahamic religions to be very logical.

 

[American Idiot]

I think it's quite likely that energy sources such as the Earth, Moon and Sun are the physical embodiments of conscious aware entities, so our Pagan ancestors who worshipped Gods and Goddesses may have been on the right track. But I don't know how much such entities actually care about or intercede in human affairs. And these Gods and Goddesses are part of our universe. As for whether there's a transcendent god that created the universe, that's a difficult question, IMO, because if no entity created the universe, it's hard to say where it came from, and if an entity did create the universe, it's hard to say where that entity came from. And I think that to say that a creator god is eternal, had no creator and has always existed makes less sense than to say that the universe is eternal, had no creator and has always existed, since we can at least be certain that the universe exists (although I know some would argue that). But if there is a creator god that made billions of galaxies, does he/she/it watch over individuals and criticize their behaviour? I think that's extremely unlikely, so I don't find the Abrahamic religions to be very logical.

I agree, and IMO religion has always had more to do with emotions, not logic.

even in a historical perspective, it can be based more on social issues than actual spirituality.
In dark-age Europe, a religion like christianity which preached about how the poor and meek will inherit the earth, sounded very attractive to most European peasants who could only hope you have a brief, hard life filled with death, disease, threat of being enslaved, and under constant subjugation from whatever powerful group/person was in control of where they lived.

religion gave them a "hope" that the man-made social issues they were having to deal with could be better and in their favor.

It's the same reason groups like African Americans were so drawn to religion during times like the civil rights movement and the abolition of slavery.

When in reality none of these have anything to do with spirituality or religion, but merely just human nature and social issues at the time.

people invented religion to make them feel not to helpless. "God" is basically just a human being talking to himself and telling himself things will be ok and there is hope.