Quote:
Originally posted by Dragonlich
sorry, but this is just vague philosophical dribble. "The right relation with the world". Bullocks. God is a creature, all-powerful, all-knowing; he created us all. God is all about this creature. Worship of said god, following it's holy books: *religion* would be about the "right relationship".
|
God being a creature, or physical manifestation directly responsible for creation is only ONE view of God. I personally don't find it particularly compelling.
Perhaps i should have been more clear, since your refutation of my assertion that God is an abstract concept based in reality, rested on the idea that God is a supernatural being. Indeed, some of the most recent Christian theology, and some of the oldest conceptions of God don't include a Big Guy in the Sky formula, but rather focus on natural law, and the inherient goodness of being. I think it's quite fair to accept that latter formulation as an abstract idea, along the lines of love or freedom.
Moreover, when a person says "I believe in freedom" they are making more of a claim than "it's a good idea." They claim that it exists...that there is such a thing, and that it is possible in the realm of human affairs. Perhaps "love" is a better example...i've heard love be cynically dismissed more times than i can remember. But i still "believe in love" because of my personal experience. You can tell me it's all a chemical reaction, you can tell me that it's all a game...but i'll still believe in love. When i say i believe...i make the claim that it is possible, that humans can reach a state worthy of the title "love." Belief in any such abstraction is tested only by experience...does your life lead you to believe that freedom can really exist, that people can be free in spirit, and not just in theory? Has your life shown you that love can really be true, and that it is more than the physical parts that make us percieve it? And for some, God is such a concept...their experiences bring them to find deep meaning in this abstract which to them describes a reality about life.
I don't mean to impose a semantic debate on you just for the purpose of playing word games...i personally find it to be important to how i perceive God. But if it's not of intrest...i'd gladly call it a draw. I'd just ask that you be somewhat more careful in your assertions of what religion is and isn't...