I guess if I had to try and define a god, it would only be a god in relation to something. A god over a certain domain, one who has total or near total control over it.

I mean if an ant could somehow comprehend humans, it would probably view us as gods.

(December 22, 2014 at 12:24 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Augustus was a god. The Senate so decreed!

And he's got at least one similarity to the christian god. He was also very interested in sanctioning what people did in their bedrooms. He even banned his own daughter to a remote island for being sexually active.

(December 22, 2014 at 12:32 pm)abaris Wrote:

(December 22, 2014 at 12:24 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Augustus was a god. The Senate so decreed!

And he's got at least one similarity to the christian god. He was also very interested in sanctioning what people did in their bedrooms. He even banned his own daughter to a remote island for being sexually active.

Wow.... but hey a whole island to yourself.

(December 22, 2014 at 12:19 pm)robvalue Wrote: OK, well it sounds to me like you're an atheist brucer, unless you have some other beliefs you're not mentioning. Just observing, not trying to pigeon hole you. If you define people as gods then, yes, there are lot of gods. I don't see the point of that though, unless you'd care to elaborate?

Why do you think anything jesus did or said is special or should be given any weight? He's just some guy, right? The golden rule is just common sense and predates jesus.

This will take some explaining, but bear with me.

Firstly, we need to establish that Jesus did in fact regard people as gods, so the following verses come into play. Note that I have added my comments near the end of some of the quotes:

Joh 10:30 - 10:36:

I and the Father are one! Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from My Father; for which of these do you stone Me?"

The Jews answered Him, saying, "We do not stone you for a good work, but for blasphemy, and because you, being but a mere man, make yourself a god. (Capitalization of God removed, not in original text. Original text says "a god," capitalized by Christians, an interpolation to make Jesus of Nazareth appear to be saying he is God as per their religious views. Please consider my next comment for added verification)

Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, "I said, You are gods?" (from Psalm of David Psa_82:6 I have said, You are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.) + (The lower case use of "gods" here demonstrates the intent of the use of 'god" in the previous verse, since Jesus is responding to lower case here, and his comments would make no sense if he was responding to an accusation of being the almighty God.)

If He (god) regarded those as gods and whom the Word of God was with- and that Scripture cannot be disputed- then why
do you say of me whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, 'You blaspheme,' just because I said that I am also a son of God?" (the word "the" in KJV is an interpolation, and the use of it contradicts the Christians' view that Jesus was calling himself God" in John 10:33. If the word "the" was intended, then was Jesus God, or was he the Son of God? He cannot be both.)

Jesus is arguing here that everyone is a god. He makes this argument to justify his statement of "I and the Father are one." he reasons that since the father had regarded others as gods, then he too should also be considered a god. he uses the Psalm as evidence that the Father does consider all to be gods.

So that is part of my reasoning. Now the next part:

Matt 22:36 - 22:40

Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?

Jesus replied to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. But the second commandment is just like the first, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Here Jesus compared the 2nd Commandment to the 1st Commandment by saying the the 2nd was just like the first. This again confirms his teaching that we are all gods. Also, he says that all of the laws and everything the prophets said points to just these two commandments, and when you think about it, he's correct.

For example, if people truly loved one another as per the 2nd Commandment, would they:

Lie to each other?
Murder one another?
Steal from each other?
Commit adultery?
Covet anything belonging to anyone else?

No, if people loved one another as per the 2nd commandment they couldn't break any of the laws. It is my opinion that every last thing in the Torah was understood by Jesus as pointing to the 2nd Commandment. All the horrors of the Torah were designed to point people to the 2nd Commandment.

Therefore, not much religion here. It's very simple.

Have love for one another, and treat each other as though you were gods.

That's all.

(December 22, 2014 at 12:39 pm)dyresand Wrote: Wow.... but hey a whole island to yourself.

Don't suppose it was Lesbos, by any chance? Just wondered if she took a friend along.

(December 22, 2014 at 12:00 pm)robvalue Wrote: It depends entirely on who you ask [what a god is]. Everyone has their own definition.

We learned that with HM. To him, "god" is a title of a jointly held organization, like shares in a company. Thus, he semantically evades the label "polytheist" only by redefining what a god is.

(December 22, 2014 at 12:50 pm)Brucer Wrote: Therefore, not much religion here. It's very simple.

Have love for one another, and treat each other as though you were gods.

That's all.

So, as far as I see it, you're a mixture between a deist and an atheist. There are many neopagan traditions that say exactly the same, not the least the ten rules of witchcraft, which say, you should never direct anything negative towards a fellow human being, cause it will bounce back on you tenfold.

So, let me ask you this Why of all possibilities Jesus?

(December 22, 2014 at 12:58 pm)abaris Wrote:

(December 22, 2014 at 12:50 pm)Brucer Wrote: Therefore, not much religion here. It's very simple.

Have love for one another, and treat each other as though you were gods.

That's all.

So, as far as I see it, you're a mixture between a deist and an atheist. There are many neopagan traditions that say exactly the same, not the least the ten rules of witchcraft, which say, you should never direct anything negative towards a fellow human being, cause it will bounce back on you tenfold.

So, let me ask you this Why of all possibilities Jesus?

His teachings simply resonate with me, not unlike the teachings of Richard Dawkins resonate with atheists.

Truth can be found in many things, and it's not always about religion.

OK interesting, thanks for sharing.

(December 22, 2014 at 1:01 pm)Brucer Wrote: His teachings simply resonate with me, not unlike the teachings of Richard Dawkins resonate with atheists.

Truth can be found in many things, and it's not always about religion.

Don't make the same mistake again of painting all atheists with the same brush. Personally I like Dawkins or AronRa because of their humorous presentations, but I don't like Harris for example, since he's got a tendency to generalise. I like AronRa even better than Dawkins, since he was a deist, which I was too for quite some time.

That's why I asked you to be more specific about your personal beliefs.