On Hell and Forgiveness

[RoadRunner79]

See, I actually like spinoza...but I have a novel take.  The man was trolling the religious when trolling the religious was still an offense punishable by summary execution, lol.

In a more academic tone, his place in time necessitated and leads to a stronger connection to the idea of gods and theism than would be warranted or present if he dropped his metaphysics on our heads today.  In sum, he considered nature to be metaphysically ultimate.  That all properties and qualities assigned to a god (and everything else) were, in actuality, properties of nature.  What has all known and possible attributes?  Why..nature does.  If there is only one substance what is that substance?  Nature.  What are all known and possible things a part and piece of?  Nature again.

This didn't escape his contemporaries - they called him an atheist for a reason.

Yes. If there is *any* sort of theism that makes any sense, it is pantheism: identify the universe as God. The problem, as I said, is that this seems to shift the definition of 'God' so much it has little link with the usual concept (however poorly defined it is).

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This seems to presuppose that God is not there.  Which again would be a claim which needs to be substantiated.

Please prove there are no invisible gnomes and unicorns in my garden that make my garden grow.

Why do you think that there is? If you are claiming, that because we can’t see something, that it does not exist, and hence a person claiming so is delusional, then I don’t think that is a very good argument and one that I can make you contradict fairly quickly; if that is the road you are intending to go down.