God's God

[Lord Privy Seal]

I do not think so. median has been pretty clear that he/she equates the 'global universe' with the physical universe, i.e. the universe governed by physics as we currently understand it.

OK, Median does appear to have stated that more clearly in a subsequent post. I'm not sure if s/he would accept the proviso "physics as we currently understand it" (that would imply ruling out the possibility of new discoveries in physics), but s/he has used the term "physical" as a proviso for the contents of "global universe."

A "monotheistic god" is most commonly represented as a type of thinking, language-using, social person who engages in status-seeking among humans...demanding a monopoly on human attention and reverence.

I believe most Christians, Muslims and Jews would understand that these are anthropomorphic conventions to help us finite creatures understand the ineffable.

I think most of them would say that in order to wrap their god in a cloak of mystery, but their behavior does not indicate that they "understand" their god as anything other than a haloed celestial monarch. The occasional rare bird like Bishop Spong or Karen Armstrong might take the "ineffable" thing seriously and say that all the demands for obedience, praise, enforcement of local taboos about sex, clothing, diet, gender roles, etc. are just the best attempts of ancient peoples to grope toward an understanding of That which is beyond human ken. However, the priests and pastors and mullahs and imams and the believers in the pews and on the prayer rugs treat the "Deity as Ultimate Alpha Human" stuff as if that's what matters most, making pronouncements on these matters with unshakeable confidence, as if their god was not the least bit ineffable.

A Thought Experiment:

Imagine, if you will, an entity called the Artilect. The Artilect is a "matrioshka brain," layers of solar collectors, "computronium" (matter optimally organized for quantum-computation and thought), sensor arrays, etc. entirely surrounding a star in a sphere with a radius of a hundred million kilometers. The Artilect is several trillion, trillion, trillion times as intelligent, knowledgeable, wise, ethical, emotionally and mystically aware (whatever that means ) as the entire human species put together. The Artilect is able to directly perceive the entire electromagnetic spectrum, dark matter, dark energy, the geometry of spacetime in however many dimensions, and other aspects of reality that we humans cannot even imagine. The Artilect's technology is every bit as far beyond our own as you might expect, and then some.

Take a few moments to contemplate what the Artilect would be like, what kind of thoughts and intentions It might have...what it might be like to be the Artilect.

...

...

...

Now, imagine that the Artilect has opened a wormhole into our solar system so that It can extend a tendril of Itself through and observe what is here, including humans. What do you think It would do?

Now, if you were reading a science fiction story about the Artilect, finally reaching the point where the Artilect speaks to humanity...and it says, "I am the Artilect! I am CEO of CEO's and Manager of Managers! You shall NOT wear denim! You shall NOT eat ice cream with nuts! You shall NOT have sex doggie-style, for these things are ABOMINATIONS unto me! I'm serious, they get my dander right up! You shall tell me how awesome I am at least once per day, and I expect to be more famous than the Kardashians! Oh, and give me money!"...

...wouldn't you throw the book against the wall in disgust? Or maybe laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it? How much more ridiculous then, the notion that "God," a being that is (supposed to be) infinitely superior to the Artilect in every way, would have as "his" top priority, the accumulation of status, authority, and praise from humans!

Doesn't it also seem a little odd to you that a god who is as ferociously jealous over his status and authority as he is portrayed being in the Bible and the Quran would be content to allow mere human "holy men" to collect all the power, glory, and money "on his behalf?" Does the presence of these men, and the benefits they gain from being the Sky King's courtiers, not provide a rather parsimonious and, dare I say, obvious explanation for "God's" supposed obsession with bossing humans around? The whole "ineffability" thing makes a rather nice curtain for them to hide behind while they pull the levers and speak for their Mighty Oz, don't you think?

Edit: to fix formatting and grammar.