Definition of God?

Well, what if you considered the source of the definition: humans. And while our creativity sets us apart, our needs and vulnerabilities unite us. Definitions about God therefore vary in many great details but something remains that connect them. It is an appeal to a higher perspective and obtaining it gives man a measure of control.

i believe in the real god… and if anything i have lost all control…

False gods again? Turtle my friend would you put a person to death for believing in their God? Its their God, not yours not mine. Just because it is not ours does not mean its false. Left handed people were killed , punished or forced to use their right hand only. Just because right handed people out numbered them and the common belief was , lefthanded folks were evil. what you suggest is on the same level. You wish to remove freedom.

kriswest----no no no no violence…no getting rid of people…but lets not accept santa as a real person but as a pleasant diverson at xmas…

Everything, but it has agency and consciousness.

A definition of God ought to include the notion of maximal greatness. plato.stanford.edu/entries/concepts-god/ Otherwise, one would seem to be holding to be “God” that which is not.

Are you aware of what just happened over in Afghanastan? The Koran was burned by US soldiers , a complete act of stupidity. Now violence. You cannot destroy a religion without war of somesort. Beliefs are not something we give up lightly. Gods are a part of the person’s soul, a part of what makes them unique, what makes them get up in the morning. To try and remove it is viewed as an assault. You may as well stab or beat the person or e ven kill them outright. Gods are a part of a person just as family is. Preach peace not removal of gods, preach acceptance not falseness. accept that gods are real to the people in question and then work for peace.

actually i agree with you except for one thing…
we should not preach…we should be peaceful and accepting…do you show acceptance of my belief in a real god…

How can you teach without preach? One must speak to teach others even if its just a tiny kernel of an idea. Yes I accept your belief in a real God, I accept it as your belief and I respect it. That is your belief in a very sacred thing. But should it be mine? should you throw my beliefs in the trash and insult mine? For you that God exists for me maybe not. I actually am more closely bound to the idea of multiple entities having vested interests in this and other worlds. That makes the most logical sense to me.

teaching is tricky as you know…what do you think about teaching by attraction not persuasion???and how about teaching by discussion not lecture???

I think aseity should be an essential component of a definition of God. Aseity means self-subsisting. God should be independent of all other existence. The ground of being should be in God itself.

good post…helps to clarify…

would aseity mean first cause and supernatural?
would god be a singularity???

turtle–

Not necessarily. The notion of first cause turns out to be an artifact of our tendency to think in terms of causes that explains nothing. On one hand,supernatural pre-supposes knowledge of the limits of the natural which we don’t. On the other hand it implies miracles and magic which are incompatible with logic and empirical evidence. In short, it is an intellectual dead end.

Singularity is a physics concept. It would be misleading to apply it to the concept of God as anything more than an analogy. It doesn’t square with the traditional notion that God created the universe out of nothing. That idea is, of course. impossible to understand. The idea of a singularity does remind me of the theological idea that God must be utterly simple. But as for explaining how that could be…it doesn’t.

If it is to you, then I’d say that you’re in trouble. :laughing:

But then I might just say that a Reese’s peanut butter cup to me is beyond description but I could still somewhat describe it. :banana-dance:

Uh oh, that’s the god that many already believe in/see, turtle…the one which we call the ‘puppeteer’.

I rather like this below definition for god…although I’m agnostic… :evilfun:

“God is the mysterium tremendum that appears and overthrows, but he is also the mystery of the self-evident, nearer to me than my I.”
Martin Buber

The above is the god that I may at times intuit/experience (while at the same time ??? dance around in my head). I have a suspicion that for you it is the same…but I may be wrong.

I think one suit does not fit all, yours will work for some, mine will wok for others. I have learned that many need preaching to learn. Also observe how people congregate in order to listen to one. If such a peaceful method so obviously works for great numbers why fix it or deny it?

Peaceful and accepting even if human beings are being harmed, turtle?

To many … drugs, sex, food, alcohol, the internet - in their unawareness, these addictions are their real god.
Do we simply show acceptance of these gods people hold to be real…peacefully and in an accepting way… or do we try to give them light, show them where their beliefs are in error? Not by preaching - not by persuading or manipulating or talking at them but by communing with them, trying to understand and by helping them to understand how their gods appeared and affect their lives…

Perhaps the only effective way to bring on the god who is real is by human presence. Is there a god who resides within waiting in the wings to be called forth?

why is a god that is not pleasant to some called false? Seems to me that a size 8 shoe just won’t fit everyone. Why not attain peace by accepting all beliefs in everyone’s religion and beliefs? Well unless they happen to have a God that wants them to kill others. that one should be removed.

when i say real god i am not talking about anything supernatural…