Freethought & Rationalism Archive

invictus58 · 04-27-2002, 06:54 AM

Assuming there is a god, what makes a Being a God? Is it being omnipotent? Not dying? The Being that created us? Not operating by the known laws of nature? I was thinking about this the other day and I just couldn't think of what made a Being a god and not just a super-human species.

Marduk · 04-27-2002, 06:58 AM

If it created the Universe we live in and this Universe is apart from him, it's God. If it just created us, it's just some weird alien who has an odd sense of humor.

Automaton · 04-27-2002, 07:52 AM

God = human * the sky

Mendeh · 04-27-2002, 09:34 AM

I got thinking about this a while back, and reached the conclusion that to make up a definition of something before you actually see one is, quite frankly, bonkers.

Where's the sense in trying to figure out a definition of something you're presuming to be real before you've actually seen that something in action? What if nobody knew anything about the East India Company, and everybody thought it was real? Imagine that loads of people have come up with all sorts of innovative definitions of precisely what this East India Company is. But because nobody's been able to take a look at the East India Company, what possible basis in reality could those definitions have? They've simply invented a description out of your own imagination, rather than drawn it out of observation of the actual thing to be described. The same with definitions of what constitutes a god. None of them can ever be anything but inventions of imagination unless they're gleaned from actual observation of the entity in question.

And as we all know, gods are traditionally somewhat shy of observation...

Abacus · 04-27-2002, 11:13 AM

I thought the most important requirement for a being to be god was that it didn't exist, except in people's heads. I'm not sure how to answer this.

DarkDruid · 04-27-2002, 11:49 AM

If you are a being, and people worship you, you are a god. That's all that matters.

B. H. Manners · 04-27-2002, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkDruid:
<strong>If you are a being, and people worship you, you are a god. That's all that matters.</strong>

I agree because the Greek gods were worshiped by people yet still died.

Mendeh · 04-30-2002, 09:35 AM

Surely they just never existed in any physical sense in the first place?

Bree · 04-30-2002, 09:40 AM

Or maybe you're a god because you think you are?

04-27-2002, 06:54 AM	#1
invictus58 Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: MA Posts: 25	what makes a Being a God? Assuming there is a god, what makes a Being a God? Is it being omnipotent? Not dying? The Being that created us? Not operating by the known laws of nature? I was thinking about this the other day and I just couldn't think of what made a Being a god and not just a super-human species.

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04-27-2002, 06:58 AM	#2
Marduk Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: the 10th planet Posts: 5,065	If it created the Universe we live in and this Universe is apart from him, it's God. If it just created us, it's just some weird alien who has an odd sense of humor.

04-27-2002, 07:52 AM	#3
Automaton Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 717	God = human * the sky

04-27-2002, 09:34 AM	#4
Mendeh Regular Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: London, England Posts: 302	I got thinking about this a while back, and reached the conclusion that to make up a definition of something before you actually see one is, quite frankly, bonkers. Where's the sense in trying to figure out a definition of something you're presuming to be real before you've actually seen that something in action? What if nobody knew anything about the East India Company, and everybody thought it was real? Imagine that loads of people have come up with all sorts of innovative definitions of precisely what this East India Company is. But because nobody's been able to take a look at the East India Company, what possible basis in reality could those definitions have? They've simply invented a description out of your own imagination, rather than drawn it out of observation of the actual thing to be described. The same with definitions of what constitutes a god. None of them can ever be anything but inventions of imagination unless they're gleaned from actual observation of the entity in question. And as we all know, gods are traditionally somewhat shy of observation...

04-27-2002, 11:13 AM	#5
Abacus Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: South Dakota Posts: 2,214	I thought the most important requirement for a being to be god was that it didn't exist, except in people's heads. I'm not sure how to answer this.

04-27-2002, 11:49 AM	#6
DarkDruid Regular Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 131	If you are a being, and people worship you, you are a god. That's all that matters.

04-30-2002, 09:35 AM	#8
Mendeh Regular Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: London, England Posts: 302	Surely they just never existed in any physical sense in the first place?

04-30-2002, 09:40 AM	#9
Bree Veteran Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Twin Cities, USA Posts: 3,197	Or maybe you're a god because you think you are?

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