Humans, gods, and delusions

Discuss philosophical questions regarding theism (and atheism), and discuss religion as it relates to philosophy. This includes any philosophical discussions that happen to be about god, gods, or a 'higher power' or the belief of them. This also generally includes philosophical topics about organized or ritualistic mysticism or about organized, common or ritualistic beliefs in the existence of supernatural phenomenon.
Belinda
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Belinda »

Lacewing wrote:
Ruskin wrote: If there are other planets like Earth and other sentient being like ourselves in this universe it will be part of the exact same creation so it would all apply equally to everything and everyone.
But there wouldn't be a bible on other planets, right? Will those beings care about some made-up story on this planet? Maybe they'll have come up with a different goddess and a different story and a different book. Then what?
The development from polytheism particularly involving the sacred feminine fertility ---to the one-god and his wife--- to the all masculine one-god----- to the One-God-----to revelations from the One-God , since god-development relates entirely to human economies as they develop through hunter-gatherers---- to growers of surplus----- to kings and slaves----- to industrialised economies----to post-industrial monetary economies, shows beliefs about gods to be structurally related to how people find their food and shelter.

It's difficult for me to imagine a social species that does not follow the same developmental course.
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Obvious Leo
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Obvious Leo »

Belinda wrote:It's difficult for me to imagine a social species that does not follow the same developmental course.
Would you agree that gods will have outlived their usefulness as the internet age evolves or am I simply indulging in some wishful thinking?
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Seeker of knowledge
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Seeker of knowledge »

Hi there, I'm new to how philosophy works but let me have a go at this.

In my mind I'm trying to imagine and take into account how clever, selfish and greedy humans were in that era. I think about the cause and effect? In that time did humans have more faith in an imaginary being that would strike down evil and slay the wicked, created from their own desires for justice, vengeance or use as a means to control the hoards of boundless devotee's? I think it's plausible that someone had realized they could take advantage of this information to manipulate others in order to place themselves in a position of power.

I have only recently come to a slight understanding of what "God" is/could be and have never really taken an interest into studying religion, but I write here now the thought that many others have had before me.

We are god! everything is. I am, you are, it is... (Im 100% sure you know what that means but if you don't then please take a minute or two to think about it.) if you take into account how big our universe is and how small we are in comparison surely we are apart of something much greater than ourselves, meaning the creator or being itself is so large that there is no scale for it, and if i think of this creator as a working, living thing, that would mean that I am apart of it's cellular structure, maybe I'm no bigger than an atom possibly even smaller, but still we are built from the same being. I say again "We are god! everything is, I am, you are, it is". In this case logically "God" wouldn't invest personally in our planet or favor our race and people. It would instead continue existing in it's own time and space, uncaring of the problems we have or the world we live in and just maintaining itself for itself. We just happen to be apart of "God" so whatever the creator does effect's everything within it.
Ruskin
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Ruskin »

Seeker of knowledge wrote:
We are god! everything is. I am, you are, it is...
It's the same thing atheists believe in a sense but it's important that we are distinct from God (or Nature or whatever you want to call it) if we are to have our independence of will from God or Nature. So you have the Creator and you have his creatures who though they are in a direct relationship with God they are also their own independent beings. Pantheism seems like a nice idea at first until you realise the implications of it, monotheism is the way to go.

We just happen to be apart of "God" so whatever the creator does effect's everything within it.
That's more like it, being within God and God being within everything is the...well it's the more Biblical understanding.
Harbal
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Harbal »

Ruskin wrote: Pantheism seems like a nice idea at first until you realise the implications of it, monotheism is the way to go.
Shouldn't you say what those implications are so that they can be compared with the implications of monotheism?
Ruskin
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Ruskin »

Harbal wrote: Shouldn't you say what those implications are so that they can be compared with the implications of monotheism?
God would be one and the same as the natural world and/or the human race therefore God wouldn't be purely good everything evil wouldn't be a rebellion from God it would be God, if you get lung cancer that would be God or the cigarettes that you smoked were God, Adolf Hitler or whoever else you want to mention was carrying out the work of God. The implications don't really need to be explained if everything is God it's self explanatory what that would mean.

Last time I posted this guy an atheist got upset about me posting a video of a horrible shouting man who hurt their tender feeling or something. But he covers the "five world views" quite well in these.
Fanman
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by Fanman »

Why are calling people being called delusional? In order to call people “delusional” for believing in God or gods, you must first demonstrate that such beings do not exist or are a negative. Since you cannot do this, by any means, you have no grounds to claim that people who believe in God or gods are delusional. Such people are entitled to believe in the existence of God or gods until it is demonstrated unequivocally that such beings do not exist.

Taking a chance on faith: If you put a car in reverse you expect it to move backwards. It certainly isn't going to move forwards is it. Apply this logic, to your arguments for God or gods existence.

---

Lacewing:

In relation to the 'I am God' thread. Please provide one argument from the “mountains of thoughtful feedback and varied insights (as you've stated)” which demonstrate that what I stated in that thread is unequivocally incorrect. This should no problem for you, given what you've stated. If you do not do this, it means that you cannot - which means that I'm not wrong.
Theists believe, agnostics ponder and atheists analyse. A little bit of each should get us the right answer.
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TheDwazy
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Re: Humans, gods, and delusions

Post by TheDwazy »

God, for Christians, created us to Worship him. That's the whole point of our existence.
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