Let me explain; I personally, like most of us, believe God does not exist, with the way he is described to be being so faulty and all. Now, God is described as being all-loving, yet he is mostly human mentally as many have described him as, including his actions of punishment on humans and all. Just like those who still support Donald J. Trump, even with all the bad things he has done, people just look past the faults of a nonexistent being, whether it be in his interactions with humans and their affairs or as a being with many paradoxes and still follow him, anyway, saying he is perfect. Thing is, God was conceived by humans, so there are bound to be faults in what he is as described by humans, and with that, perfection, contrary to what people who first thought of him long ago, is subjective and relative. Now...

Do you think God is more like an authoritarian figure, and absolute monarchy, and a dictatorship; if in a subtle way? I mean, even though I say he is just a mental predisposition humans have, a psychological need, people act like they need to follow him, and are rather brainwashed by others who believe in him as they talk them into following him despite his nonexistence. This is just like those who still follow Trump, or more so, it is like those who can't stand up to Trump. These people are manipulated to the point that they think God can do no wrong. With all that, despite God being described as all-loving (which has contradictions, anyway), he has a big hold on a lot of people in the world. Yes, a nonexistent being has a hold on lots of people in the world. And that all includes the fact that God is said to have given humans free will, yet it is also said that humans must follow God if they don't want to go to Hell. 

While God being authoritarian may not be a regime of fear but rather people thinking everything is okay and everything is good, it is, in a way, like people's minds were brainwashed by God, just like what an authoritarian leader would do. Not only does that take away from free will (which, as myself and some people believe here, does not exist anyway), but it takes away from people being smart, being sapient, as humans are supposed to be. To me, it is as if this God being is making people dumb, even though he granted humans the gift of intelligence, to make sure they don't stop following him, all for his own gain. In fact, I would even accuse God of being like the Devil in that regard, being an entity that seems good and perfect, but is just using humans for his own gain. It does not help that God does nothing and does not seem to care about most of the bad things happening to people (including good people), like wars, murder and all. Again, he has a grip on a lot of people despite being nonexistent. He is more like a dictator, if a subtle one, who asks for people's support and yet gives nothing in return a lot of the time. He is said to be good and perfect, but in the end, he is no different from people like Trump or any authoritarian person.

Do you see what I mean here? If so, what do you all think of this?

More so, what I am trying to ask from all this is...

Don't you all find it funny that a nonexistent being like God has a hold on so many people in this world, in a way like an authoritarian person?

There is no god so this isn't even a valid question.

Have you noticed this is an atheist forum?  Some people seem to miss that.

(December 5, 2023 at 7:52 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: There is no god so this isn't even a valid question.

Have you noticed this is an atheist forum?  Some people seem to miss that.

Maybe this belonged more in the Religion thread, but, with no offense to you, if you read what I said, I said he was nonexistent, possibly more than once.

And this is coming from an atheist, myself. Plus, the question is more metaphorical, for a lack of a better word, than literal.

(December 5, 2023 at 7:42 pm)ShinyCrystals Wrote: Do you think God is more like an authoritarian figure, and absolute monarchy, and a dictatorship; if in a subtle way?

People have pictured God in a lot of different ways. 

The God that Hitchens describes, and that people tend to argue against on this forum, is certainly a tyrant. As far as I can tell, this view of God comes from a literal reading of the Old Testament and some fire-and-brimstone type preachers.

The God of Plato, of Aristotle, of Augustine, of Dante, and many etc., is not at all a tyrant or authority figure.

(December 5, 2023 at 8:04 pm)Belacqua Wrote:

(December 5, 2023 at 7:42 pm)ShinyCrystals Wrote: Do you think God is more like an authoritarian figure, and absolute monarchy, and a dictatorship; if in a subtle way?

People have pictured God in a lot of different ways. 

The God that Hitchens describes, and that people tend to argue against on this forum, is certainly a tyrant. As far as I can tell, this view of God comes from a literal reading of the Old Testament and some fire-and-brimstone type preachers.

The God of Plato, of Aristotle, of Augustine, of Dante, and many etc., is not at all a tyrant or authority figure.

I guess i should have clarified. I did mean God of modern religions, mostly Christianity, in this case.

But to take a step back, I guess what I did mean when I asked this question, what I really meant, was (and I simply put)...

Don't you all find it funny that a nonexistent being like God has a hold on so many people in this world, in a way like an authoritarian person?

(December 5, 2023 at 8:09 pm)ShinyCrystals Wrote: Don't you all find it funny that a nonexistent being like God has a hold on so many people in this world, in a way like an authoritarian person?

I see what you mean now.

That's more of a sociology question, or maybe anthropology. I haven't read enough about that stuff to comment, so I'll leave it to others.

In a rational world this would not be a topic.

(December 5, 2023 at 8:19 pm)Belacqua Wrote:

(December 5, 2023 at 8:09 pm)ShinyCrystals Wrote: Don't you all find it funny that a nonexistent being like God has a hold on so many people in this world, in a way like an authoritarian person?

I see what you mean now.

That's more of a sociology question, or maybe anthropology. I haven't read enough about that stuff to comment, so I'll leave it to others.

Thanks for your post.

I am going to edit this into the original post of this topic. If this is a more scientific question, though, should this be moved to the science forums?

As described in the Bible (whether taken literally or figuratively) I don’t see how God be be anything other than a megalomaniac authoritarian. He dictates how people should eat, dress, pray, wear their hair, marry, raise crops, and so on and so on. The penalty for infraction of the rules is depressingly similar - death. Death by drowning, death by burning, death by stoning, death by wild animal…death, death, death, both in the here-and-now and in the Yet To Be.

How does this murderous maniac of a deity differ in any significant way from Kim Jong Un?

Boru

(December 5, 2023 at 8:21 pm)ShinyCrystals Wrote:

(December 5, 2023 at 8:19 pm)Belacqua Wrote: I see what you mean now.

That's more of a sociology question, or maybe anthropology. I haven't read enough about that stuff to comment, so I'll leave it to others.

Thanks for your post.

I am going to edit this into the original post of this topic. If this is a more scientific question, though, should this be moved to the science forums?

Don't really think this belongs in 'science'.