I've been far removed from the likes of the Abrahamic faiths for a few years and opted for Buddhism, but have seen a very liberal trend in the nature of this entity known as "god." My question is, how would you define this word and why?

quote:Originally posted by NurotiK_SykotiK:

I've been far removed from the likes of the Abrahamic faiths for a few years and opted for Buddhism, but have seen a very liberal trend in the nature of this entity known as "god." My question is, how would you define this word and why?

How to define the indefinable? I'll have a stab, entirely subjective of course http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif) but if you're looking for a definition similar to the xian idea, sorry!

God is the highest, or controlling principle. That is each individual's god is whoever/whatever is the most important thing in their life. Whatever it is that controls or directs their behaviour.

For example some of the ancient greeks believed that logos or reason was the controlling principle of the universe. Logos can be translated as either 'reason' or 'word', thus we read in the first verse of Gospel of John - "In the beginning was the Word(Logos-Reason), and the Word(Logos-Reason)was with God and the Word(Logos-Reason)was God." To the greeks reading this they would have understood the writer to be talking about the highest or controlling principle and if we apply this to our own minds, what is the controlling principle? Hopefully, rational people use reason as their controlling principle, but whatever, my point is there are many definitions of god that do not correspond to the classic or orthodox idea. Here's a few:

quote:God is Consciousness that pervades the entire universe of the living and the non-living.

-Ramakrishna

It is both near and far, both within and without every creature; it moves and is unmoving. In its subtlety it is beyond comprehension. It is invisible, yet appears divided in separate creatures. Know it to be the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer.

Dwelling in every heart, it is beyond darkness. It is called the light of the lights, the object and goal of knowledge, and knowledge itself.

-Bhagavad Gita 13:15-17

THE ALL (which is the Substantial Reality underlying all the outward manifestations and appearances which we know under the terms of "The Material Universe"; the "Phenomena of Life"; "Matter"; "Energy"; and, in short, all that is apparent to our material senses) is SPIRIT which in itself is UNKNOWABLE and UNDEFINABLE, but which may be considered and thought of AS AN UNIVERSAL, INFINITE, LIVING MIND.

"THE ALL IS MIND; THE UNIVERSE IS MENTAL."--THE KYBALION.

God is Spirit

Gospel of John



The authors of the above all believed God to be an incorporeal being, whereas the common or orthodox image is of an actual person. In contrast the law says not to make images and the ancients seem to have been more advanced in this. Here's some more from the Greeks:

quote:The universe is a living thing, endowed with soul and with reason.

The whole world and heaven are the substance of god. [DL 7]

God, being eternal and existing throughout all matter, makes everything. [DL]

The Stoics made god out to be intelligent, a designing fire which methodically proceeds towards creation of the world and encompasses all the seminal principles according to which everything comes about according to fate; and a breath pervading the whole world, which takes on different names owing to the alterations of the matter through which it passes. [Aetius 1.7.33]

The term cosmos is used by them . . . of God himself, the individual being whose quality is derived from the whole of substance; he is indestructible and ungenerable, being the artificer of this orderly arrangement of things, who at stated periods of time absorbs into himself the whole of substance and again creates it from himself. The world . . . is ordered by reason and providence, inasmuch as reason pervades every part of it, just as does the soul in us. [DL 7.137-8.]



They give him the name Dia, because all things are due to him; Zeus, in so far as he is the cause of life; the name Athena is given, because the ruling part of the divinity extends to the aether; the name Hera marks its extension to the air; he is called Hephaestus since it spreads to the creative fire; Poseidon, since it stretches to the sea; Demeter, since it reaches to the earth. [DL 7.147]

Mind penetrates into every part of the world, just as the soul pervade us. . . The whole world is a living thing endowed with soul and with reason. [DL]

Zeno also argued as follows: "Nothing lacking sensation can have a sentient part. But the world has sentient parts. Therefor the world does not lack sensation. He then proceeds to a tighter argument: "Nothing without a share in mind and reason can give birth to one who is animate and rational. But the world gives birth to those who are animate and rational. Therefore the world is animate and rational. [Cicero, On the nature of the gods, 2.22.]

The deity . . . is a living being, immortal, rational, perfect or intelligent in happiness, admitting nothing evil, taking providential care of the world and all that therein is, but he is not of human shape. [DL 7.147]



I also lean towards the buddhist teachings especially Buddha's teaching that it is futile to attempt to know or define God, but the best thing is to concentrate on making life, as far as we are able to know it, as good as possible. However i also believe that an individuals "god-view" determines much of how they conduct their life and it's beneficial to examine it in that respect.

Peace http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/smile.gif)

[This message has been edited by redzed (edited 01-04-2007).]

Only fucking retarded dumbasses believe in God. They should be killed, damn retards.

God is a crutch for weaker men. God is an excuse - An excuse one uses to refuse to take responsibility for one's own actions. "God made me do this," or "God willed it this way." God is an excuse for the weak to refuse to take responsibility for their own lives and decisions. "Oh, god. Why did you cause this harm/misfortune to befall me?" Thus cries the weak man, while the wise man knows that his life is dictated not by god but his own decisions and the actions of others. God is what people blame now instead of lady luck. God is what people use as a cop out for developing their own morality, instead desiring that someone dictate it for them.

God is the wrong answer.

Yes, it's used like that quite often. I think those people are misinterepreting 'God'.

I posted this in another thread but I'll re post it as it fits this well.

The whole history of the Universe is sort of like a computer program. What will happen has already been scripted, as was what happened. Yet, there exists free will, because the whole Universe develops in a single instant in time, which we percieve as infinite. God is the Universe, and all within. Therefore, he is omniscient and Omnipresent, because everything is a part of him. The script is God's plan. For his plan to work it must be perfect, and whatever has happened is perfect. What we call Bad is bad because we feel it to be against our will in some way, but there is actually no bad or good, since all is God's will, and all works according to his plan. His plan is the only perfect outcome. So, why, you say, does he not conform to logic. Here's why: Any one event, as tiny as it may be, will have an infinite amount of consequences, which will in turn produce another amount of consequences, and so on. Only God can follow the logical outcome of every one of these, because they are a part of Him, and His perception is not hampered by our relativistic notion of time. So, only one given set of events will produce a desirable outcome for all events, and the entire Universe itself. God's perfection is not only based on perfect deeds within the physical confines, but it stretches across infinity in time, so He is Absolutely perfect. This is the mechanism of the Universe laid down in short form, and I'll be happy to answer any questions on specific areas of it. My e-mail is hector_capuano@hotmail.com

So, to make it short, God is the Universe. That means you, me, and the computer I'm typing this in are all tiny little constituent parts of God.

I believe the universe is made up of energy, and that this energy is alive, experiencing itself.

quote:Originally posted by ---Beany---:

I believe the universe is made up of energy, and that this energy is alive, experiencing itself.

You're probably way closer to the mark than any bible thumper.

You're separating the concept of a creator - as in something bigger than us that we don't quite understand yet - from thousands of years of monotheistic earthbound religious dogma.

This is a good step; It shows a thought process at work.

quote:Originally posted by LavaRed:

I posted this in another thread but I'll re post it as it fits this well.

The whole history of the Universe is sort of like a computer program. What will happen has already been scripted, as was what happened. Yet, there exists free will, because the whole Universe develops in a single instant in time, which we percieve as infinite. God is the Universe, and all within. Therefore, he is omniscient and Omnipresent, because everything is a part of him. The script is God's plan. For his plan to work it must be perfect, and whatever has happened is perfect. What we call Bad is bad because we feel it to be against our will in some way, but there is actually no bad or good, since all is God's will, and all works according to his plan. His plan is the only perfect outcome. So, why, you say, does he not conform to logic. Here's why: Any one event, as tiny as it may be, will have an infinite amount of consequences, which will in turn produce another amount of consequences, and so on. Only God can follow the logical outcome of every one of these, because they are a part of Him, and His perception is not hampered by our relativistic notion of time. So, only one given set of events will produce a desirable outcome for all events, and the entire Universe itself. God's perfection is not only based on perfect deeds within the physical confines, but it stretches across infinity in time, so He is Absolutely perfect. This is the mechanism of the Universe laid down in short form, and I'll be happy to answer any questions on specific areas of it. My e-mail is hector_capuano@hotmail.com

So, to make it short, God is the Universe. That means you, me, and the computer I'm typing this in are all tiny little constituent parts of God.

"Only God can follow the logical outcome of every one of these" the old god is beyond us and this explains everything. Beats the hell out of actually reading physics and biology textbooks doesn't it?