Is God good?

As to quoting Spinoza, since philosophy has failed to come up with an account of the true nature of reality, then his thoughts on the matter are not relevant. In fact, he is also obfuscating by playing with definitions, as you are doing here. What is relevant here, as I may have said in my previous post, is that neither philosophy nor its off-shoot science, has been able to explain the true nature of existence. No one thus far has explained the true nature of existence. That is one’s starting point.

As to people putting you down, you asked a question: Is god good? If all you want is affirmation of your beliefs and opinions, then perhaps you should not ask such questions in the first place, most especially on a philosophy forum.

The existence of god is not about definitions. Playing with definitions will only get one helplessly bogged down in detail. One has to be able to see the wood for the trees. So, forget definitions. The fundamental question is: Is there a god? No, there is not. Gods do not exist. And the reason is perfectly simple to explain when you understand how the mind works. Furthermore, this explanation applies to any god in any religion.

First, delusion. It is a common enough mental illness. I had a lot of contact with a mental health organization at my previous home. I mixed with people with a variety of mental illnesses, including someone who was delusional. He thought he was King of Scotland. Other delusions which are more accepted and often considered, wrongly, as “normal” include the little girl who is “Daddy’s Little Princess”. The princess is the daughter who has been spoiled by her father. By being treated like a princess, she comes to expect adoration, to be the centre of attention, and to having her wishes obeyed as though they were royal decrees. In short, this daughter learns that she can wrap her father round her little finger and eventually expects to be able to do that with everyone. When she grows up, she expects the world to treat her as royalty, and when they do not, she feels herself ill-used. That is delusional behaviour. It is very common.

As to delusion in religion, you first look at the creation myths of whatever religion you are examining. These are interpretable and will reveal that the adherents of that religion were, in the beginning, albeit unwittingly, delusional. Specifically, the founders of the religion considered themselves to be gods. They might, for example, have considered themselves to be all-knowing and all-seeing. They certainly expected to be worshipped and adored as well as to be able to lay down the law. This, you might say, is the ultimate delusion of grandeur. And this delusion, like the princess delusion, is also a common affliction in this world.

My own father certainly expected his wife and children to adore him and he definitely laid down the law in the home. He may not have been so deluded as to think himself a god, but he certainly behaved round the house as if he were a monarch, expecting his wife and his children to run around after him e.g. to have his meal on the table the minute he set foot in the house, no matter the hour. Actually, upon reflection, he was more than a monarch. But he was not quite a god. Thus, my father was afflicted with a demi-god delusion. (The Greek myths are full of demi-gods such as my father.)

The above, then, is a potted account of how religions arose.

You say that god is morality as well as love. You do not know what love is, otherwise you would not mention morality as an attribute. Morality is redundant when people are capable of love. The love you talk about is heartless.

What is love? To love, you must have a heart. Therefore love, real love, is wanting the best for everyone, no matter who, no matter how they have treated you. (Wanting the best for everyone does not necessarily mean molly-coddling them or wrapping them in cotton wool. Nor is love about self-sacrifice. Love is win-win, not lose-lose.)

As to morality, morality is a set of rules by which one should live. A person who has a heart does not need morality. A person who has a heart behaves naturally, behaves well, no matter what. Morailty is about prevention, not cure. If a person is not behaving well, then forcing them to obey rules will only make them worse. The cure for someone who behaves badly is to establish why they behave badly and then to cure them.

One last point about religion. It is very noticeable that people often turn to religion in times of need, not before. My neighbour is such a person. She was going through an extremely bad patch in her life, a sort of mid-life crisis, when, in desperate need of succour, she took to religion. Now she is very devout. However, she is no different from other aging people in this world. Despite her religion, her life is quite clearly going downhill - she has forsaken all her other interests and is now completely dependent on her religious friends. In short, she is closing down. She is dying. Her complete and utter dependence on religion is not freedom.

Just a reminder for those here interested in exploring either the existence of God or in speculating on a God, the God, your God’s nature, that my own approach to all of this is more…existential. So, if you ever feel the need to bring your spiritual contraptions “out into the world” of actual human interactions, here are my own areas of interest:

Bring your conjectures here: ilovephilosophy.com/viewtop … 5&t=186929

A good way to deflect from your inability to answer.

Thanks for the chat.

Regards
DL

“thinkdr”

Hi thinkdr, is this the advice which you would really give to someone? Would you be proactive at all?
Do you believe that God is omniscient? If so, why bring your concern to God? Wouldn’t God already be aware of you?
Why do people always say "in God’s own time?
Perhaps God is saying “Think for yourself” “Do for Yourself”.

What if someone’s time is running out and God does not get there in time?

I can sit in front of a tree, gaze at it, observe it, and gather strength and even wisdom and answers from it. I can even hug that tree and know that it is real. That, to me, is Real.

How can one pray to a God and know that God listens except by faith. Is that “knowing”? What about all of the other people who are still waiting for God’s answer and to be rescued? How is it that God does not show up there?

Are some more special than others in God’s eyes?

Think for yourself.

I believe some people are too stupid to understand what think for yourself means.

…hell, maybe people are too stupid to understand what “Do for Yourself” means, who knows…

either way, it seems really sad to me

people are running around trying to tell others how to think when they can not even think for themselves - check!

how can one even know themselves? given this state of affairs

As far as i can tell, the mormon / LDS point of view on this subject is:
God is the living source of all positive energy.
Anything good in the world came from God,
but everything bad in the world is on the side of the adversary / satan.

I don’t need my God to be all powerful.
I just need some extra support sometimes.

Theological greediness is when people want
the absolute perfect best ultimate god stuff.
But they don’t even need that much God.

That’s right. But as a former theist. I experienced that the hunger for blessings from God is never satisfied. There should be a point where people say, “Thank you, God, I have enough.” But because blessings equate to power, people will just want more and more. As much as human nature is at “fault” for this. The society and times we live in pound us with the notion that more is best. Is it possible that we can stop wanting?

I let go sometimes to re focus myself on my self / existence,
instead of focusing on isolated aspects of things.

Dan,

Very insightful. I think that is a good mindset, it takes strength to drown out the “white noise” of life.

Going the opposite direction, decentering from the self/existence can be a helpful way of coping as well.

I agree, I’m beginning to see the power that desire holds over us.

Yes, when you attain a level that is truly divine with respect to what you were used to. This satisfies.

Daily disciplined work as offering, release the concentration from its ping pong match -

To be satisfied spiritually, it is required to understand that the Earth is not a place to escape, but to explore. It is extremely deep and all of it is divinity. There is more divinity in the Earth than any race of men could possibly skim the surface of. But individual can get very nice paths into the deep light.

All is light, you know, Literally, contained light. There is no end to it, and it is closer than anything to all your thoughts.

Whatever work is given to this light out of adoration is returned in ways too sweet to commit to words.

I do not think so.

When we stop desiring what keeps us wanting life, we go to wanting death.

I have seen that in the old who complain when waking to just another day in bead or a chair, and not much of anything else.

The older I get, the more the pill to end such a waste of a life, becomes more desirable.

Regards
DL

Then it would seem as though it is better to want. It may be a drive that is crucial not only to our motivation. But also to our survival.

I can eradicate my lust from my spirit, but I refuse to do so… because it makes me sharp when I’m building a new plan for existence.

I don’t act out my lust. But that pent up lust that’s not fulfilled (by my own choice) makes me extremely motivated to fulfill it.

The sacrifice I make is laughable to me. I have forever to enjoy myself once this is done.

Indeed.

Regards
DL

encode_decode

Hello encode decode,

It is very nice to be speaking to you again. :evilfun:

You almost sound like you have someone in mind with the above.

Perhaps not necessarily. Some were never taught to think for themselves. Is that stupid? Reading the right kind of books is good for that. Also, teaching our children when they are young is helpful.
Is there a difference between ignorance (never having learned something) and stupidity? Perhaps I have chiseled away too much there. Humans are complicated. Nothing is really ever so black or white.
Some know how to but are too lazy to try. It takes so much time and effort. Some are afraid to.

.

lol You seem to be kind of down on humanity. I cannot fault you for that.

Those are the puppeteers, the manipulators, the despots. They are also the ones who are afraid of losing control.

[/quote]
By looking inward, by listening to one’s thoughts and those of others, observing, by an honest and humble evaluation of one’s self, et cetera…

Hello :smiley:

At the moment, I am just enjoying the simple activity of playing with my food before I eat it.

:laughing:

Your response made me smile, so thanks for that. It did more than that though - it was an exchange and that is something I truly appreciate :smiley:
I will read it again and see what I can pick out for a further exchange.

encode_decode

Aloha, :evilfun:

That sounds like a good zen moment to me, especially for someone who lives in his head as much as you do - still - having observed your signature. The thought may even occur in those moments that God is indeed good…or the Universe…depending on one’s perspective.

“Precisely the least, the softest, lightest, a lizard’s rustling, a breath, a flash, a moment - a little makes the way of the best happiness.”

  • Frederich Nietzsche, Thus Spake Zarathustra

I’m glad of that. Oh, to have been a fly on the wall to have observed it.

I myself might/would compare a good exchange to Ambrosia.

“The aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity.”

  • Ludwig Wittgenstein

Mira! :happy-sunshine:

Enjoy!

A while ago,
i had a direct perception of peace.
I realized that the peace of god
surrounds all physical matter and creation.
Like a transparent cloud surrounding objects.
about 1.5 feet thick.
It’s free and infinite and there for everybody.

Despite this, we can still suffer greatly,
usually because of a mental contraption.

One of my new friends did a test with me.
He sensed my bilocation.
I emanated calmness and peace,
as far as he was able to feel.
This was an encouraging test for me.