Can a slug be God?

[Kingpin]

I will bite.  

We get in to a slippery territory when we start debating definitions as definitions seem to evolve and at times be subjective.  

In the scenario you described I would define the slug as a Creator, not a God.  Why?  Because the slug died.  Death is a natural occurrence.  ALL biological entities are constrained by the limits of nature and will cease to exist.  "God" by definition is outside of natural law, space and time and would have no limits.  Limitations only make sense in a universe governed by demonstrable limits.  This concept is difficult to grasp since we are constrained by limits and have no way to apply personal experiences to such deistic qualities.

A "God" is really just an entity that is outside of and not limited by their creation.  They make the rules, they can manipulate as they choose to and the creation is bound to the limits set upon it.

My question to you would then be, was Jesus 100% god, 100% human, both, or neither?  Because when people say that "Jesus died for your sins," they aren't talking only about the body-puppet he was inhabiting at the time, otherwise "Jesus" as an entity never really died, he just left his 'host' body.  I see a problem here if you claim that Jesus is God, a God cannot die, and Jesus died for our sins.

I know some will see this as a cop out or an unverifiable conclusion, etc but go back to the definition I provided of a God.  A God would not be limited in its ability.  I believe Jesus was both God and human, God in human form.  The description of miracles he performed would show the power to not be limited by natural laws.  Walking on water, calming storms, healing sick, raising from the dead etc.  You will say, ahh but he DID die showing he was limited just as humans are.  Which is no argument at all given the resurrection of the body.  We are now getting in to specifics about claims that very few on here would care about and I don't want to stray too far from the topic.

[Kingpin]

In the scenario you described I would define the slug as a Creator, not a God.  Why?  Because the slug died.  Death is a natural occurrence.  ALL biological entities are constrained by the limits of nature and will cease to exist.  "God" by definition is outside of natural law, space and time and would have no limits.  Limitations only make sense in a universe governed by demonstrable limits.  This concept is difficult to grasp since we are constrained by limits and have no way to apply personal experiences to such deistic qualities.

A "God" is really just an entity that is outside of and not limited by their creation.  They make the rules, they can manipulate as they choose to and the creation is bound to the limits set upon it.

Suppose it was a tri-omni slug that was not constrained to die, but permitted itself to die (entailing that it had morally sufficient grounds for permitting this). Then would it be God?

Sure.  I don't see why not.

[FatAndFaithless]

Well..you're right in that I'd say that's a bit of a cop out, because it seems like you're saying that Jesus can both die and not die because a God isn't limited by our understanding of reality or our limitations.

[Kingpin]

Well..you're right in that I'd say that's a bit of a cop out, because it seems like you're saying that Jesus can both die and not die because a God isn't limited by our understanding of reality or our limitations.

We are getting in to very heavy and abstract concepts that are difficult to grasp.  The Bible says that Jesus died for the sins of all.  So one could argue that his death was necessary.  Yes, God condemned his creation and then elects to "save" creation by sending his own self down in bodily form to pay the price that he demanded to himself.  We will equivocate the whys of that statement forever.  But if this is the concept then Jesus death was a choice and not an example of a limitation.

[FatAndFaithless]

Well..you're right in that I'd say that's a bit of a cop out, because it seems like you're saying that Jesus can both die and not die because a God isn't limited by our understanding of reality or our limitations.

We are getting in to very heavy and abstract concepts that are difficult to grasp.  The Bible says that Jesus died for the sins of all.  So one could argue that his death was necessary.  Yes, God condemned his creation and then elects to "save" creation by sending his own self down in bodily form to pay the price that he demanded to himself.  We will equivocate the whys of that statement forever.  But if this is the concept then Jesus death was a choice and not an example of a limitation.

Oh, I wasn't intending to get into the why's of Jesus' death or God's plan or sin or anything like that.  I meant specifically the death of Jesus itself.  Was Jesus ever actually "dead"?   Because according to your definition of a God, that's something he could not be, since a god cannot die.  And if Jesus was not dead, since a God cannot die, then how can one claim that Jesus died for our sins?

[RozKek]

To the theist, they will tell you the answer is "evident".
He supposedly made us in his image, therefore he must look like man.

I don't buy it one bit.

He had all the power in the world yet he too choked on water. What a perfect being.

[robvalue]

Well kudos Kingpin for answering!

So, if the slug didn't die, would it be God then? Let's say it stayed in suspended animation forever. It's unaffected by our reality.

Is it god now?

It's interesting however that we have something that does satisfy all the cosmological arguments and such but which isn't God. According to Kingpin anyway, every theist seems to have their own ideas, hence my attempts here to hammer it out.

Do other theists agree with this? Does God have to not die?

[ignoramus]

If God has to die, then he had to be born also?
Then he is not tri omni.

[robvalue]

I'm wondering why God has to not die.

What is the definition?

Anyhow, so far we've got:

-Created all realities

-Can't die

Is that enough criteria?

[Ignorant]

...So my question is this: would this slug be a god[1]? If not, why not [2], and what else would make it into one [3]?...

1) No.
2) Because it's a slug.
3) (a) Not being a slug (b) An identity between what it is and the act by which it is being what it is