RE: Hey Gnostic Atheist - prove your point
September 18, 2014 at 7:14 am
(This post was last modified: September 18, 2014 at 7:42 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(September 18, 2014 at 12:01 am)answer-is-42 Wrote: IF the god of the Bible existed, I would personally not worship it/him/her because of my views on morality are inconflict with "his" but that would change whether it was a deity (by definition it is).Actually, it would modify that statement - the word deity has no meaning whatsoever apart from a faith tradition (or one's acceptance of the claims made -by- that faith tradition). The christian god is a deity not by virtue of it's existence or attributes (try to claim otherwise and see where that takes you) but by it's definition -as such- by the christian faith. A deity can be absolutely anything, it isn't required to have anything in common with the christian god (and a quick look at the field of the "divine" ought to have made this much plain). The Hut-tut tribe of whereverthefuck might consider the christian god a ghost, not a god (because Big J might not do anything important to them, he might have no relevance whatsoever).
So, by definition, the christian god is what again, and who's definition is that? Personally, my gnosticism doesn't rest on accepting or denying any particular definition of god (let the faithful hash that out amongst themselves), but rather, demonstrating that any given conception of it is incoherent or meaningless, misattribution or baseless anthropomorphism.
"I worship this toaster because I believe that it created the world and everything in it and is, therefore, a god"
-No it didn't, and therefore, by your own definition - it is not.
"I worship this toaster because I believe that it has thus and thus attributes, making it a god"
-No, it doesn't, you have those attributes. You are worshipping a projection of yourself - not a god, or even the toaster.
To use the poster aboves example:
"I define god to be -the universe-"
-and I define god to be -a toaster-.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!


