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Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 14, 2015 at 3:36 pm
In so far as concepts have meanings the concept of a god appears only to be defined by negative or relational attributes.
God is immaterial is not meaningful but insofar as it is, it is negative, ie not material! In other words telling us what god is not, but not what god is! God the creator is a proposed attribute, but it is relational, in that juxtaposes a god to a universe and asserts a causal relationship.
Thus there is no god concept defintion which identies gods nature (which in itself is meaningless because god is not natural but supernatural according to theists). No one can identify what a god is and what its primary attributes are, leaving theism at best poorly defined, but at worst meaningless. God talk becomes nothing more than babbling nonsense given our resulting descent into non-cognitivism.
"I still say a church steeple with a lightning rod on top shows a lack of confidence"...Doug McLeod.
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RE: Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 14, 2015 at 3:39 pm
After hearng all of the definitions of god, the only attribute I can nail down for sure is the he's flexible.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 14, 2015 at 3:41 pm
For the monotheists I'll agree. What about the others? Native American Indians belief system comes to mind. I'm not in this for debate, just want to know your views.
Thanks.
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental.
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RE: Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 14, 2015 at 3:43 pm
(September 14, 2015 at 3:39 pm)Faith No More Wrote: After hearing all of the definitions of god, the only attribute I can nail down for sure is the he's flexible.
A gumby god? I like it. (sorry, not in a very serious mood today)
Being told you're delusional does not necessarily mean you're mental.
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RE: Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 14, 2015 at 4:01 pm
A Gumby god would be awesome, because claymation is cool.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 15, 2015 at 5:03 am
(This post was last modified: September 15, 2015 at 5:04 am by robvalue.)
Yup, totally agree which is why I identify as ignostic rather than agnostic.
Instead of "I don't know", my answer is, "I don't know what you're talking about, and I suspect you don't either."
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RE: Meaninglessness of the god concept
September 15, 2015 at 5:36 pm
I would add that such a concept of an immaterial God- prevents us from giving definitions, and if we are not allowed to give any definition, it will not let us to reject his existence; since if we could know what HE EXACTLY IS- we could verify or deny the existence, like in science.
I think it's a smart way to make people think all the time over and over, without the need to give them proofs for anything.
