(November 17, 2018 at 6:25 am)Homeless Nutter Wrote:

Quote:Imaginary friends  Gods (also known as pretend friends or invisible friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than external physical realityreality. [...]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaginary_friend

QFT

(November 17, 2018 at 5:41 am)Azu Wrote: What's your definition of god?

Usually I leave that in the hands of the people trying to argue that a god (theirs, specifically) exists. To do otherwise would be a strawman. They get to define their position, not me.

That said, I will feel willing to call bullshit if what they are describing is so alien from the common usage of the word that calling it a god has no purpose other than confusing people with the choice of terminology. So I guess I'll share kinda where my boundaries fall on that.

A god must be...

1) an entity with a mind, including things like desires and preferences, memories, a thought process, planning ability, a sense of self distinct from the rest of the universe, and so forth. So, no taking "God is love" literally as a way that proving God exists.
2) capable of exercising power that supersedes the natural order, eg the laws of physics. (I'll allow deist gods that once exercised such power but no longer do.)

There's probably more qualifiers I should throw out there. As is, some sort of wizard would qualify. But frankly just that much would be enough for me to seriously reevaluate my view of the world, so no need to place the bar higher. If someone can show that much I'd have to sit down and have a serious think about it.

(November 17, 2018 at 6:25 am)Azu Wrote:

(November 17, 2018 at 5:49 am)downbeatplumb Wrote: That's for the people to believe to tell us isn't.

They all seem to be different.

Why are beliefs in god apparently all different?

I think its because what people mean when they think of god is really a "super" version of themselves. 
So god is as individual as the people who believe it.

Gods certainly shares their prejudices and hates.

any member of a set of supernatural entities contended to possess power or authority over one or more aspects of the natural world; anthropomorphized representations of natural forces, cultural tropes, and social institutions.

You show me yours and I'll show you mine.

(November 17, 2018 at 9:39 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: You show me yours and I'll show you mine.

DEAL!!!

Boru

Mythical being(s) created by primitive men to explain away the gaps in their knowledge of the world around them.

"Men cannot create a worm, yet the can create gods by the dozen." (Blaise Pascal)

(November 17, 2018 at 5:41 am)Azu Wrote: What's your definition of god?

There are the standard "omni" concepts people buy into, "all loving, all seeing, all knowing, all powerful". <---- Problem even with those agreed upon attributes, they still cause divisions even under the same umbrella camps between sub sects, because it seems god is always on the right side of the different camps. 

Getting a universal definition is like trying to nail jello to the wall.

Getting a universal definition from people with a commitment to deny the existence of all other gods while asserting their own may be impossible..but that's a them problem, not a definition problem.  

You're going to be hard pressed to find a god that defies the anthropological or literary description.

The one who gives everything it's reality, definition and form with relationship to the truth of his reality and is what guides it and has made everything speak.

There is no doubt to his existence in my mind or heart.

He is the one who illuminates all light and is the light of all light.

He is the one who hears and sees and who we exist through his perception, as such is with us all closer to us then all things.

He is the King by which morality exists through, the one to be obeyed in all that, and pleased in all that, and it's command and will that makes morality what it is.

He is the one who the path leads back to and calls to.

He is the endless sky that cannot be reached but we know exists through the path that points to Him.

He is the one who creates the stages by which we are distinguished in rank.

And he is the one who accounts every soul by what it has earned and were it not for his vision, actions would not be part of who we are.

He is the absolute judge by which things are created in truth.

He is the one who if he can beget would have out of compassion, love and generosity, but is above that, and had decided to try his creation to see which one is best in action.

He is the one who is with us in our hardships, extends his rope to us, and will aide those who depend on him in ways they didn't ever imagine.

He is the one who is still to be found when the mind fractures and the soul has fallen out of realms of rationality and he is the one who will extend helpers and guides so that we remember him and remember to hold on to what is most important in such moments of despair.

He is the love by which all things were created through true fabrics of love, that connect us all through his guide of time.

He is the one who has illuminated all things through his name and is the light of his name and called and reminded through that guiding king.

He is the one to be lived for and who is the best reward and most everlasting investment we can have.

He is the one who tries us by good and evil, and to him is the return in all that.

He is the one who responds to prayers by those who connect to him through his names and reminders.

He is the one who calls his creation back to forgiveness and wishes to fix their corruption by repentance.

He is the one who believes in us even when we have despaired of him.

He is the Greatest, the Best, The Good Lord I put my trust on and see every day through vision he grants me though what is hidden behind the veils is much greater and what is treasured of his names much more sacred from that which he is uncovered from my sight.