Who is god? (Non religious post)

[Archon_Wing]

I don't think either is more likely. But things are complicated. You may have a being that is can be well meaning but may be prone to bouts of lack of self control, much like the main character in the Bible.

Would insects (if they knew how to think) consider me evil, moody, and irrational when they piss me off? Most likely.

[drzen]

[ QUOTE ]
Shame, I thought more people would take this seriously.

My point was really related to a bigger picture, prompted by the two recent posts - 'If god contacts me I'll do anything he says', and 'If god contacts me I WONT do anything he says'. How can we judge wether such a creature is moral/more moral than us, etc.

People in those threads made assumptions that they haven't made here.

[/ QUOTE ]

You cannot judge whether God is moral. You have no standard by which to judge him. This is very difficult for the atheists here to grasp because you hate the cartoon you have painted of God.

The thing is, if God came to you, you would know it. It's not that he would prove it, or you would be able to test him or something. You would just know it.

And wouldn't it suck? To know with certainty something exists but have no means to prove it.

[hitch1978]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Shame, I thought more people would take this seriously.

My point was really related to a bigger picture, prompted by the two recent posts - 'If god contacts me I'll do anything he says', and 'If god contacts me I WONT do anything he says'. How can we judge wether such a creature is moral/more moral than us, etc.

People in those threads made assumptions that they haven't made here.

[/ QUOTE ]

You cannot judge whether God is moral. You have no standard by which to judge him. This is very difficult for the atheists here to grasp because you hate the cartoon you have painted of God.

The thing is, if God came to you, you would know it. It's not that he would prove it, or you would be able to test him or something. You would just know it.

And wouldn't it suck? To know with certainty something exists but have no means to prove it.

[/ QUOTE ]

How would we know it? How would I diferentiate between god and satan if an almighty being was in front of me? Serious question.

[onesandzeros]

+ or - can you understand that?

[madnak]

[ QUOTE ]
Would people accept the chance of this being a good benevolant god (Similar to the one in the bible in his goodness) and an evil devil (Similar to the one in the bible in his badness) as equal?

If so why? If not why not?

[/ QUOTE ]

Any reasoning I could use to characterize the motivations of such a being would be ridiculously petty and simplistic, so I think the probability would be about "equal." Not in that the probabilities are actually the same in a mathematical sense, but in that my intuition isn't up to the task. Any suggestion of probability would be arbitrary on my part.

This is true in general, but discussing the probability of God is much easier when he isn't in the room.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
I do think it's an interesting question, but for me there's not much to say about it. This being obviously understands more than I ever can and has enormous power, so by default I'd throw in with him. I will even believe him if he says "I'm God," because he's working at a level much higher than I can imagine and even if he's wrong doubting him is an exercise in futility. I think that for all intents and purposes, a truly omnipotent being is equivalent to God. Some people might talk about things like whether he deserves credit if he didn't create the universe, but I think it's all irrelevant.

Now, if he were clearly immoral or capriciously cruel I'd still oppose him. That too would be an exercise in futility, and perhaps a feature of my limited intellect, but so be it.

[/ QUOTE ]

Or so you say. I highly doubt you'd do much to oppose an omnipotent being. You might not even want to, but even if you DID want to, this "want" should be no match for Him.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Shame, I thought more people would take this seriously.

My point was really related to a bigger picture, prompted by the two recent posts - 'If god contacts me I'll do anything he says', and 'If god contacts me I WONT do anything he says'. How can we judge wether such a creature is moral/more moral than us, etc.

People in those threads made assumptions that they haven't made here.

[/ QUOTE ]

You cannot judge whether God is moral. You have no standard by which to judge him. This is very difficult for the atheists here to grasp because you hate the cartoon you have painted of God.

The thing is, if God came to you, you would know it. It's not that he would prove it, or you would be able to test him or something. You would just know it.

And wouldn't it suck? To know with certainty something exists but have no means to prove it.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL if you say so boss.

[madnak]

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Or so you say. I highly doubt you'd do much to oppose an omnipotent being. You might not even want to, but even if you DID want to, this "want" should be no match for Him.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, if he pushed I wouldn't hold out long. But I like to think I'd put up a show of resistance. Or at least think about it.

[vhawk01]

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[ QUOTE ]
Or so you say. I highly doubt you'd do much to oppose an omnipotent being. You might not even want to, but even if you DID want to, this "want" should be no match for Him.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, if he pushed I wouldn't hold out long. But I like to think I'd put up a show of resistance. Or at least think about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

What kind of omnipotent pussy would even let you think you knew whether he was good or not? Surely he'd be able to dupe you like you were an elderly woman buying shingles.

[madnak]

Yes yes yes, he empties out my brain and fills it with apricot preserves so the whole question's moot.