I want to know what philosophy or religion I fall under.
I don’t believe in good and evil. I think there is no way to know what the ultimate truth is as far as religion goes. I think people act only in their own interests. I don’t have an opinion about whether there is a God, or I consider God to be everything that isn’t me or under my control.
Well, I’m guessing when you say you don’t believe in good and evil you mean that you don’t believe in an ‘absolute’ good and evil. I’m pretty sure this position qualifies as ‘moral relativism’. Other than that, you have a sceptical bent: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_skepticism
Labels are not useless.
What if you’re allergic to peanuts and you didn’t notice that ‘may contain peanuts’ label on the Planter’s Roasted Peanuts can? It could be bad.
What you are is a labelist, and you were born with a mind full of post it notes… You should really consider that to define God as something other than self, you must first know Who you is, because presumably you are finite, and God is infinite; Yet, knowing who you are might give you a sense of who God is not…
No… Mostly he is correct… Good and evil are moral forms, -the way we concieve of causes for human behavior that do not have a specific rational cause, since no physical thing called evil or good can be shown, so belief is their sole evidence, other than the results we associate with them that we consider with their causes, good, or evil…
He is right that we have no way to know what ultimate truth is, in any sense… We do not pursue ultimate truth for this reason, but practical truth, useful truth, and verifyable truth… All knowledge is truth. Can you say you know what is untrue? No. We cannot know infinites… What does not equal 2 plus 2??? infinite other numbers than four… But the ultimate is also an infinite, and the absolute is an infinite, and since we are finite, that is the quality of truth and knowledge we seek.
People act in their own interest, or more correctly act in accordance with their perception of their self interest; and so you see people who locate their being in a community often risk their lives for their community feeling they will not die so long as their people live. … What is the value of an opinion about the existence of God??? We have plenty of specious testimony and no evidence… We have effect without cause, and can imagine no effect without cause, so we imagine a cause for the effect… But no one can say…For all I know life is made of star farts for all the rational demonstration of will; so who can say there is a God, or deny their fellow man who is so much more real than God… I may be God for all I know, because if I know some one in need is praying I help them, and forgive them and care for them and see no difference between caring and loving…When we externalize God, we deny our own power to do good to others whether we believe there is such a thing as good or not, because Good is a moral form that we give meaning to, and we should give meaning to good.
Wow thats alot from saying he was slightly sinical. Which he seems from that statment. That was only refering to the statment that we do things in our own interests. Which is of course a simple matter of view.
I have a couple of comments
People act in their own interest, or more correctly act in accordance with their perception of their self interest; and so you see people who locate their being in a community often risk their lives for their community feeling they will not die so long as their people live. …
I would give my life for anyone, whether they are “my people” or not. As I said this is simply a matter of perception. We can say that people do things for a positive feeling, (which is of course a gross over simplification. Especially considering exceptional torment and pain that some go through) Selfishness can in my opinion be registered on a spectrum. Just as good and evil can. No action is good or evil. But we must have an innate idea of what one or the other is in order to be able to understand right and wrong. Whether it is taught or not is irrelevant.
What is the value of an opinion about the existence of God??? We have plenty of specious testimony and no evidence… We have effect without cause, and can imagine no effect without cause, so we imagine a cause for the effect…
Whether you believe in God or not the answer to this question is simple. God was (as most evolutionary scientist agree) most likely very important for the survival of our species. Ideas of God or afterlife give hope, and we needed allot of that in times past. This has nothing to do with truth. I don’t know why you have connected the above question with wanting to know what the truth is.
As to evidence. In law testimony is evidence. In science of course it is not, however seeing as only a few decades ago that we discovered the existence of other galaxies, we cannot assume that God does not exist because we have no absolute proof. Especially when you consider that absolute proof is a myth in any instance. Evidence exists, though it is not always accepted as evidence, there is debate among scientists.
The cause and effect argument is understandable. Effect without cause goes against logic and yet, that is at it is, as far as evidence is concerned. In all instances since the singularity there has been cause and effect, why would it be any different then? Makes no sense, does God fill this rift? Not really, its not an argument i would choose to make if i wanted to make a case for his existence.
I may be God for all I know, because if I know some one in need is praying I help them, and forgive them and care for them and see no difference between caring and loving…When we externalize God, we deny our own power to do good to others whether we believe there is such a thing as good or not, because Good is a moral form that we give meaning to, and we should give meaning to good.
That’s actually a very Christian view. It’s a misconception that God is external in the Christian faith. In Christianity God is everywhere, God is in everything. That would make the good in you, a part of God. That’s the point of religion often ignored, people put to much preference on “Who” God is. The important thing to understand is what he represents. Which obviously becomes obscured in organised religion, but can be observed by certain Golden rules that apply in most spiritual circles.
God in my eyes is the edge of the infinite spectrum that no one can put their finger on:
Go(o)d. The Devil would of cause be the other end: (D)evil.
They are representations of far more important concepts.
So do I believe in God as a living entity? Yes in the sense that he is no less real than our own living consciousness.