What Defines a God?

[SomeBritishDude]

A creature of myth.

 

[Baby Tea]

I don't really believe in any particular religion's god, but I would say the laws of physics and other natural and mathematical laws are god. If you get my meaning. To me god isn't a being but kind of like a force, like the force.

You mean midichlorians?

 

[hamster mk 4]

It is the believers that define a god. If people believe there is a flying spaghetti monster that created the world with his noodley appendages then flying spaghetti monster is a god. Similarly if nobody believes in a god that god ceases to be. After all nobody fears the wrath of Zeus much these days, especially after Ben Franklin invented the lightning rod.

 

[GonzoGamer]

If enough people worship something/idea it becomes a god. It doesn't mean that it exists in our physical reality but neither do a lot of things. What everyone wants to know is which came first. Even the gods don't know that for sure.

But weather we created the gods or they created us, we're stuck with them now, so let's just make the best of it.

 

[AgentNein]

I don't really believe in any particular religion's god, but I would say the laws of physics and other natural and mathematical laws are god. If you get my meaning. To me god isn't a being but kind of like a force, like the force.

You mean midichlorians?

Yes. Or nanomachines. That's my bet. God is nanomachines. MGS4 actually makes sense now.

 

[Fightgarr]

God is a concept to me. If its an existing entity then it is far beyond human comprehension. Unachievable through logic because existence itself is completely absurd. God is time and the universe and everything. God is an absurdity like everything that has ever been.

 

[bue519]

A god is a weapon of mass seduction.. A made up figure trying to unite people against a common "enemy" to serve the leaders of the cult best, often financially..

Ah yes, isn't religion the "opiate" of the masses?

People always interpret that as a bad thing. I don't think the quote was ever actually intended to be a knock on religion.

We live in a harsh world. Most of us forum goers don't really realize how harsh and cruel the world can actually be to some people. An opiate such as religion can help fend off the hopelessness for a lot of people.

While I can understand some people wanting to believe in a higher power; I dislike how many people us God as a justification for some of the worst acts on the planet. If the institution of the church did not exist, I would probably be more apt to believe in God.

 

[Hunde Des Krieg]

I don't really believe in any particular religion's god, but I would say the laws of physics and other natural and mathematical laws are god. If you get my meaning. To me god isn't a being but kind of like a force, like the force.

You mean midichlorians?

How dare you mention medichlorians! I don't recognize the prequals, and anyway medichlorians were just force manipulating bacteria that somehow allow jedi to utilize the force(WTF?), not the force itself. It was kind of a joke anyway.

 

[AgentNein]

A god is a weapon of mass seduction.. A made up figure trying to unite people against a common "enemy" to serve the leaders of the cult best, often financially..

Ah yes, isn't religion the "opiate" of the masses?

People always interpret that as a bad thing. I don't think the quote was ever actually intended to be a knock on religion.

We live in a harsh world. Most of us forum goers don't really realize how harsh and cruel the world can actually be to some people. An opiate such as religion can help fend off the hopelessness for a lot of people.

While I can understand some people wanting to believe in a higher power; I dislike how many people us God as a justification for some of the worst acts on the planet. If the institution of the church did not exist, I would probably be more apt to believe in God.

This is coming from an atheist mind you, but I've always felt that religion is scapegoated far too much when it comes to all the bloodshed attributed to it. To put it simply, if it wasn't religion in my opinion, it would be something else. Point being, people in situations of power want more power. They want to control more people, either physically or mentally. We're also a violent creature by our very nature.

 

[fenrizz]

So i surpose Worship defines a god, a god can have flaws everyone knows from the bible that the gods had many flaws, hell the norse people knew there gods were dicks by the stories written about them (note im not saying their gods were real)

worship would bring anyone to a god-like status, if i could get my two dogs and my cat to bow and do my bidding on command and they build a statue of me with there crappy paws then i surpose i would be a god

Why arent the norse gods real, if i may ask?

 

[Sixties Spidey]

I pray and fast, but these days, I'm not entirely convinced of the view of an omnipotent figure that controls all of us and the world. The people that say the world is a beautiful place because of a God, but if the world is a beautiful place, then it wouldn't need a God to excuse it. Quod Erat Demonstrandum.

 

[Incredible Bullshitting Man]

The said paradox can also be resolved with the notion that an omnipotent being doesn´t have to work within the frame of logic. It can create an object too heavy to lift and it can still lift it.

...so one thing God can't do is set up a rigid and unbreakable structure of physical laws for the world? Because said god could always break said rigid structure? Or he can't break the structure he created, either way he is not omnipotent. But now we're back at square one, aren't we?

This would only be an issue of course if you define god as an omnipotent being. If you believe that your god has 'great and near limitless power', that's another thing entirely.

Well, my argument was that omnipotent God doesn´t have to follow human logic. Logic would seem to dictate that if God breaks a rigid and unbreakable structure of physical laws, then said structure wouldn´t be unbreakable, but God doesn´t really give a damn about our notion of logic. Silly thing this is, really.

Anyway, this is just a funny little mind game with no connection to religion, as far as I´m concerned. Nothing more than a pastime.

 

[oliveira8]

God is.....dog spelled backwards!!! dum dum dum!!!!


Hmm...my idea of God is the same of the Warcraft lore. To be a god you need to be immortal and be worshiped.

Anyway I dont believe in God or Gods...I believe in the human race!!Even if its filled with stupiity!

 

[Ixus Illwrath]

What defines a terrible question?

 

[MortisLegio]

For the most part you are correct, but when starting a sentence 'Gods'(even if it is wrong)is a correct statement.

 

[bue519]

A god is a weapon of mass seduction.. A made up figure trying to unite people against a common "enemy" to serve the leaders of the cult best, often financially..

Ah yes, isn't religion the "opiate" of the masses?

People always interpret that as a bad thing. I don't think the quote was ever actually intended to be a knock on religion.

We live in a harsh world. Most of us forum goers don't really realize how harsh and cruel the world can actually be to some people. An opiate such as religion can help fend off the hopelessness for a lot of people.

While I can understand some people wanting to believe in a higher power; I dislike how many people us God as a justification for some of the worst acts on the planet. If the institution of the church did not exist, I would probably be more apt to believe in God.

This is coming from an atheist mind you, but I've always felt that religion is scapegoated far too much when it comes to all the bloodshed attributed to it. To put it simply, if it wasn't religion in my opinion, it would be something else. Point being, people in situations of power want more power. They want to control more people, either physically or mentally. We're also a violent creature by our very nature.

Well, its really the perfect method of control. Because the only other form of societal manipulation is nationalism, but the problem with this is that it usually doesn't transcend cultural boundaries, due to different languages and such. But, with religion it can unite many groups under a common cause.

 

[Zorg Machine]

A relatively immortal being (usually really really strong and dosen't age) that has supernatural powers and medles with the human word.

 

[L33tsauce_Marty]

See I can't pinpoint what exactly what any religion such as Christianity would define a god. I remember a teacher talking about if god could make a rock so big that he couldn't move it, would that make him powerless? Is it the unstoppable force or the immovable object? Or what defines a god?

Well, as far as I can tell from my upbringing in a Judeo-Christian environment, a god is a sentient being that possesses both knowledge and eternal life. Hence, when Adam and Eve partook in the forbidden fruit of knowledge God banished them from Eden so as not to allow them the chance to become immortal as He and the angels are.

Others might say that the ability to create life is god-like. But that's just a branch of knowledge in my opinion.

It's more like, creating life without life is god-like. When a man and a woman make a child (thus life) it isn't god-like, but if someone uses molecules and test-tubes to make life, then it's perceived as god-like.

Well I suppose if you can make that baby immortal...