A being of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, and benevolence. One mythical figure whose legends span several generations. He is said to be a divine being who crafted the universe and all its creatures. Many have different interpretations of him, and his depictions range from being personal or incorporeal. He has been theorized has one who sustains the known universe, or might even be the very universe itself. However, many do not truly believe at all because, where is the undeniable proof? What is a god, specifically speaking? How many are there? The stories and legends are few and far between society. I speak of this because I am quite religious, and am also interested
in how we should approach and interpret the meaning of god. It’s up to us to decide and debate, and why don’t we do that?

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Do you believe in a god? If so, which kind? If not, why so? Your thoughts are appreciated.

To be honest my answer to that question would be I don't know. I may be a Christian, but I really have only faith to go off saying that God is real. So I really don't know if any God is real, all I pretty much do is believe there is one.

I personally don't believe in anything, be it God, ghosts, or anything of the like. I've always been someone who believes every question in this universe can be answered through science and logic, whether we as humans understand it or not. That being said, I'm not going to try and push the idea of "God isn't real" unto others because I'm only a human myself, so who am I to say God doesn't exist? I've always held the belief that if there is a God, it is a being far beyond our comprehension in terms of "what" "where" or "who" it really is.

The main thing people of differing religions should realize, no matter what God you believe in, we all came from the same one.

Ultrajeff :

Yes, and the Christian God.

"God" can be taken in multiple ways, depending on how you need to use it. Pagan gods are about fertility, or alcohol, or knowledge, or the sea, or whatever. This conception of "god" can be taken to mean "What is most important in your life?" Whatever that happens to be, we can call that someone's god.

However, while that's a good tactic to differentiate between those that say they're religious and those that really are religious, it doesn't do much for metaphysics. The other way "god" is talked about is as a mega-spirit that floats around and pokes at us occasionally. I almost hate the descriptions my fellow Christians give more than I hate the metaphorical "god" in my first definition. If you're going to posit a metaphysics, it better be logical, and it better be explainable.

But finally, I'll answer the question my own way. The proof of a Creator must be in the term itself. Is there a Creation? The Christian posits all the things that exist in the world (material or immaterial, including heaven/hell) to be that Creation of the Creator. Well, is there any evidence to suggest this? Absolutely, and I think the evidence is about as basic as it gets: it exists. Matter is not the kind of thing that necessarily exists; it doesn't exist in and of itself. It needs something that supports its existence. And that notion that the entire universe must be existentially supported leads huge credence to the fact that it is Created and relies upon a Creator.

God should be talked about most fundamentally as Creator. Only from this perspective can God be further understood.

Nice Explanation. However, I'm not Christian (I'm Muslim), so we obviously have different interpretations of god. What might your opinion be on the concept of many? Also, how does God affect your daily life? (Praying, Fasting?)

Ultrajeff :

tornadocam : tom, nice to meet you.
tx, nice to make your aquaintance.
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. {king james version}
today, the Book of Kings is obselete to make money off of war for the rich and kings because we have 21st century technology that can destroy the entire world. and then the end of man will happen, the extinction of Man. no more Life will then remain on Earth.
tom, if this is your idea of a solution, then so too is this the "idea" of the oligarchy of rich control who, in money, rule of all the world, in power and title and position and the 7 Kings. the ultimate evil, with the tool of the rich in hand, plans on causing the extinction of Man. the rich have the number of the beast, with of billions in hand.
prophecy #9
To much money is the root of all evil
{beware'th of the'st day when so'est it is to cometh, of the sons of Man. when'st of the day when the dollar bill shall'n of so'eth determine the life or death of thy world entire}
of in degree, in number, in society, in level, of in high, of secrets, of organization to so determine.
that is not the solution to the future of Man, an "order" that enslaves all of the world and plans to exterminate them with their own money that they give to the aristocratic elite in political control out of the goodness of their heart. PRIDE will cause the world to fall.
do not have PRIDE, or thy world to fall, and of Man, then to of NONE. God's solution to all the problems in the world is not an army, not an attack, not war, not death, not the suffering and pain of conflict, not the extermination of 90% of the entire world. not the "Order" to inherit of the Earth through the death of all of the poor.
death is the oligarchy. you do not ask Death about the "how to" of Life.
Decree of God:
To Man, ye will be the Caretakers of the Earth
{a New Age of't Man will'n of to'st dawn upon thy world. as'n the Stone Age, the'st Bronze Age, this New Age of Man will'st bee'th of "perfection" of thy society, of perfection of thy civilization of man. but of not'n through of war and death are thee to'f in solution. this'n is not'n the will of God, of the souls of Man to burn in hell, or de-for'st of the extinction of Man and the'st death of all Life on Earth}
and man's chin shall be lifted when there is no longer of war on the Earth. so it came to pass that the heart of Man was lifted, his spirit raised.
tx, if you perform the Ritual of Purification, if everyone in your nation does this, if everyone in the world performs this, to have of all the virtues known to Man, those that are listed in your Holy Bible and those found throught the entire world, even if only for 2 weeks of time, a New Age of Man will dawn upon the world, and World War 3 will have been prevented. all you have to do is to perform the Ritual of Purification and you can prevent World War 3 from happening.
World War 3 is the first extinction of Man. this is the Final Test of Man. there are 8 extinctions, and each and every one of them can END ALL LIFE ON EARTH. together, we can save all of Mankind. and the Gates to Heaven above will be opened. the "concept of many" is for all of us to work together for a common cause to prevent the extinction of Mankind.
{we are all'n here on'st the'th Earth together}
pray for the salvation of Man. pray for men's souls to be saved. pray that the Lord has the power to save all'n of Mankind. pray not for yourself, but for others, for even in prayer, and with your blessings of the Lord you do not want to be selfish; and then you can pray for HOPE that you will have a better life. but everyone else on Earth comes first before you. for in your obendience to God, to serve of the Lord, to perform the labor of love, the work of God, other people's souls will be so delivered.
Decree of God:
Of all denominations and religions to come together, no longer in disagreement and strife, in judging and conflict, for there is only ONE God. Of all of Man, ye must to work together. This is the Will of God.
{pray for'st of thy virtues, in strength'n and'n in'st of'in number, to'n of good deed'n, and salvation for'st of Man. pray for'st of all of Man to'n bee'th so saved}

Man, this guy needs to learn formatting...

1. "The concept of many" was referring to the religions and cultures that believe in multiple godlike entities.

2.  Well.... I guess it depends on preference or your opinion. Sure submission's good and all for our benefit, but Allah has no reason to submit to his followers. In Islam, Allah is higher than everyone else and has nobody to submit to. In Christianity, Jesus Christ is the son of god, right? He can submit because he has higher authority. Allah doesn't. If Allah submitted to his own rules, wouldn't he not be the judge but just a follower? Take this to mind, sir.

I believe there is in fact an almighty god who watches over us. Being that I was raised in a Catholic family, I did of course go to church every Sunday and the like when I was younger. But over time, I got less and less religious to the point where I wouldn't really call myself a "Catholic." In terms of religious belief I would simply say "Yes I believe in a god, but maybe not necessarily The God (father of Jesus Christ)." It's kind of hard to explain it.

I want to believe there is a supreme intelligence out there. Because if we humans are the pinnacle of creation,we are so F--KED. I do not believe there is a God. Let me explain why. If there was an almighty,omnipotent,all knowing being watching us,he would be severely p--sed off at us all. People starting wars over dumb things,diseases that appear out of nowhere,people worshiping celebrities,reality TV,every kind of deviant running free,people getting dumber and meaner and less compassionate,people that just stare at a screen and do not interact with others.

If there was a God,would he not be enraged at our behavior and strike us from existence and start over from scratch? Would he not make all people the same in his image? Would he not have us have the same values and language?

If there is a God,he is doing a very poor job and should be sent to Human Resources for dismissal.

Mynamescox44 : Here's a silly question: Can logic and science answer questions about people's pride, love, and why humor exists?  I'd be curious for you to define those emotions (and others) with science.

The folks who support Christianity say God is Love.  Love is tough to science, you know?

Ghostbear1111 :  We don't understand entirely how the brain works yet, but I'll provide what information I readily know.

To answer about love specifically, that's mostly a chemical in your brain called oxytocin that is produced through actions that make you feel attached to someone. While it's not the ultimate deciding factor, it plays a large part in influencing who you feel what for. Areas of psychology such as co-dependence can play a part in who you feel love for, although it doesn't necessarily have to be a negative trait, yours or otherwise, that causes the attachment. The argument that oxytocin can have the opposite effect in people is mostly predominate in those with personality (or other) disorders.

My main point being, through study of brain chemistry and psychology, it can be narrowed down in many cases why someone feels love for another.

As for humor, I would imagine it's simply a psychological coping mechanism that we have developed to help get through how depressing life can be. In a way it's a survival instinct, making us find joy where there otherwise would be none. It's similar to how nostalgia clouds the negative aspects of the past, but focuses on the good. It's just a way to keep our mental health as positive as possible, since a person is not as efficient in their daily life when constantly depressed or stressed.

Pride is once again something that can be covered in psychology, and greatly influenced by brain chemistry, but this post has dragged on long enough.

Mynamescox44:hello Mynamescox44.
how's your day been?
      hi bear, glad to see you again my friend.
Oldschool777,
      how's everything?
      PRIDE. you do not want to have this. "pRIDE" is the worst lack of virtue that you could possibly have. Pride is one of the red light's that are seen in people who have the Unholy Trinity. those with the Unholy Trinity are people who are beyond the character of good to ever act with of right and good deed and instead always do the wrong thing, always to think that there is no other SOLUTION besides doing the wrong thing. you do not want to have a lack of virtues, and you definitely do not want to have the three worst of lack of virtues that any man could have, for that will bring danger to thy life, to thyself, and to thy world.
      all you have to do is to perform the Ritual of Purification, to have of all of the virtues listed in the Holy Bible and all of the virtues known to Man, even if its only for two weeks of time. if you do this, if everyone in this nation does this, and if everyone in the world does this, then World War 3 can be prevented.
      {on days when'st of ye to have'th no hope left'n for'st God, have'th no hope about'n thy life or the'st world, then'st in the'st Lord can ye to find'th thy way. Have'th of FAITH, and'n thy spirit to lift, of thy depression to fade, of thy stress to no longer}
      God can save of thy life. God can save of thy soul. God can save of this world. the Lord can make of thee to'n a better life, give of to ye of greater happiness, give to thy world of greater in prosperity. give to the Lord of a chance, and of thy life to renew, of thyself, and of thy world.
      the oxford chemical in the brain gives of attachment to those that we love so that in love, of this in life to never in missing, so that we shall always have of love. and when this to no longer, then'st in the Lord to find of our way when'st of path before us and eyes to none. trust in the Lord and the Lord to protect of thee, to protect of thy feelings, to heal of thy hurts and wounds, to heal of thy emotions and pains, to heal of thy cuts and bruises. of all these things the Lord doth to ye in provide.
bear
"Can logic and science answer questions about people's pride, love, and why humor exists?"
      yes, science can measure the universe. science can prove why God is good. science can prove why virtue is necessary for thy world's survival. science can prove how you can have happiness. the King of Kings can show how thy nation and world to'in prosperity, and of the life of Man to have of a future.
      love comes from the oxford chemical in the brain. love gives us life, helps us to have happiness and to prevent stress and depression. love makes the world go around. love can change the face of the world. we hope to have love so that we can produce the chemical of dopamine in our brain, which will appease us and sedate us into calmness, for calmness is the goal, and our elation to have it. this prevents chaos and erratic behavior, prevents irritability, prevents hate and unkindness, helps for us to have brotherly kinship with others in this world. we need this.
      pride comes as a result of pychology in that a person lacks of virtue and becomes too egotistic, a point where the super ego has overtaken of thee in total and absolute control so that you are no longer in control of a sound and rationale scope of things where of the whole of soceity to be of "the importaince", which is greater than the ego and self, to work together for a common cause to prevent of Mankind from becoming extinct.
      humor is an extension of love, a reaction influenced by our body to try and produce the dopamine chemical in our brain. this is important because it helps us to feel good, to raise our spirit and to bring happiness not only to ourself but to others, a way to have interaction with the rest of your species, to be part of the herd.
      {God brings love to thy world. and'n the more'n that'f God is in thy world, the more'n love that'f thy world will have'th. but beware'th of the day, sons of Man, when'st no longer of there to be any love left in thy world, for then'st of thy world to NONE}
OldSchool777
"I want to believe there is a supreme intelligence out there."
      that of ye to must in 100% certainty to have of belief in the Lord so that thy world is saved. you must have 100% certainty in the Faith of God to save all of Mankind. you must have 100% certainty of your hope that the Lord will to protect of Man and to prevent of Mankind from'st of extinction. do not falter in thy path, or thy world to falter, of thy heart to falter, of thy good deed to falter and in only on occassion. do not of thy virtues to falter, or thy hope to not in mountains of strength.
OldSchool777
"Because if we humans are the pinnacle of creation,we are so F--KED."
it is not the "tool" that is bad, but rather the weilder. the problem is not in Humans as a species, but rather in the mind of pychology so controled, so enslaved of their own money and in others to control, with of crown and authority and money and power, with of sway over even of thy every action and behavior, even when'st of ye to not'n think of it, in ID of unconscious thought, to'st of thy hand to act. the problem is not the animal of Human, but rather those who have the number of the beast, with of billions of numbers of dollars in hand.
      those with the number of the beast will torture and kill all those who do not have the number of the beast. those who have the number of the beast are those with more than a billion dollars. one or two exceptions have survived of this terrible thing with of the strength of the Lord and their virtue, but for the rest, the reason why they are so wealthy is because they sold of all of their virtues away to make of money.
     {Woe be to the sons of man, that'n the day will to cometh when those'f with of the number of the beast to'f of destroy thy world, to bring'th of the
Four Horsemen, of the oligarchy in organization, to bring'th of the 8 extinctions of Man. Of the Lord to only'n bee'th of thy only hope and deliverance for thy soul}

I do believe that there is a god. I am, like you a muslim. And I can't imagine believing in anything else. I have read some of the quran and I do believe in it.

If you look closely at this world, like the plants, the animals, the numerous insects, and of course us humans, how did it all get here?

I am an atheist. This is only the way I see it, not saying I'm right I'm just a human after all. But I used to be a protestant when I was old enough to start thinking critically I started questioning the bible finding it to contradict itself, and a lot of the morals set by it seeming immoral in my eyes. Overall in a lot ways it felt dated to me. I also learned about pagan religions dating further back of which it seemed to have been heavily influenced by. All in all leading me to the conclusion that the religion was very likely created by humans subject to the influences of their time. Thus leading to me becoming non religious (a deist) and eventually an atheist after coming to the conclusion that the world can exist without having been created by a god. 

I used to be very adamant in that belief just after making the switch, now I've come to accept more of a live and let live attitude as long as people don't push it onto others (which goes for atheism too). I believe in science and logical reasoning. I think as science and our reasoning advances and through it our understanding of the world and its origins it more and more seems to me to be pointing towards there not being a creator. Especially not one that adheres to the frame of any one religion. I also feel that god is the thing used to fill the void for the things we cannot yet explain just like it has been used in that way in the past when science and reasoning was less advanced. Which I'd argue is natural since we don't like not being able to answer things.

I believe the concept of god to be manmade. Something that was created when there were no other explanations, then misused through religion by many people to gain power. Later held on to by people for the comfort it provides. Gives a greater meaning to life, something to strive for. A feeling of assurance with there being an afterlife as well as somewhere to turn to when you need guidance in your life and some people can be pretty persuasive in their arguments. It's also an answer that can both be made simple and more complex. Only makes sense that one would want to believe it.

I'm really not trying to say that people shouldn't believe in god or religion if that's truly what they believe. In some ways I wish I could myself. I'm just giving the completely honest version of my thoughts here which might not be particularly wise thing to do thinking about it but oh well. As long as everyone practices their religious beliefs without forcing them onto others I don't really mind one way or the other.

Well, it's fine to not believe. You do make a good point. People use "God's will" for awful things like faith healing, animal sacrifice, honor killings, stoning, blood sacrifices, genital mutilation, holy wars, etc. Well, what do you believe in life? (Values, morality, etc). 

Ultrajeff : Pretty sure you wanted to summon zlinqx so i'll do it for you


Zlinqx :