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Does It Matter If There Is No God?
- Thread starter Sunstone
- Start date
d.
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Mike182 said:
i think this is what he's referring to :
http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/hardened.html
PureX
Veteran Member
I'm never quite sure what to do with questions like these. When I use the term "God" I'm using it to refer to a mystery, rather than to a conceptual being, as most folks seem to define "God". So I don't know how to answer a question that's about a mystery.
To ask me "what if there were no God" sort of doesn't compute. It's like asking what if there were no existence, or being? What if there were no me? See what I mean? I have no way or even reason to answer such a question.
To ask me "what if there were no God" sort of doesn't compute. It's like asking what if there were no existence, or being? What if there were no me? See what I mean? I have no way or even reason to answer such a question.
If we pretend for the moment that the story is real, one might reasonably conclude that Pharoah was fully confident that he was the architect of his beliefs and behavior - very much as you are.
MaddLlama
Obstructor of justice
Godlike said:
I think you are the first person I have ever come accross that needs religion in order to have any sense of morality. It's sad, and frankly disgusting that you couldn't exist as a normal, moral human being without God. Nobody really needs God to be the backbone in thier lives, and if you couldn't function without that faith, then your life is already worthless.
This perspective of yours is exactly where us non-theist folks come up with the idea that religion is a crutch. For you, it most certainly is.
doppelganger
Through the Looking Glass
It depends entirely on whether one understands "God" as a symbol for a subjective experience, a placeholder for a logical construct, or an objective thing.Sunstone said:
In the first instance it matters because this is knowable. In the second and third, it matters not.
Hema
Sweet n Spicy
No it would not matter because I would not even be alive to contemplate anything. Without God there would be no life, no universe, no creation. All things and all beings come from God. God cannot cease to exist because he/she has no beginning and no end. God is manifested in every aspect of creation. Creation cannot exist without God. Bottom line is this, the hypothetical scenario of the world and all its inhabitants suddenly existing with God is impossible to me. God is the Master of creation. The Upanishads say that God cannot be seen with the eye, but rather, is that which causes the eye to see. God is the ultimate Controller.
Mr. Hair
Renegade Cavalcade
Sunstone said:
No. Whether there is or isn't, it is as it is. If it wasn't, it wouldn't be.
I'm aware that as an answer it lacks a certain something, but then for questions like these I suspect any complete answer would be well hidden. I'm strongly reminded of the old parable about the solitary fish in a pond, dreaming of dryness... *smiles*
The negative impact if there were 'no God' is hard to imagine because of the enormous loss of those things that have come because of God. One assumes that if there is no God, there was never a God and therefore, we never would have had any of our founders of religion. (My belief is that they all began with a similar source.) Their original experience and unity with 'God' would not have happened and all of the resultant driving forces from the religions would not be here now. Imagine the billions of people that would not have love as a dominant process in their lives. In addition to love, none of the Golden Rule guidelines which are stated in every religion would exist as they do today. And the list goes on and on of principles and wisdom that would not be available to guide us and contribute to the quality of our lives.Sunstone said:
For me personally, if there were no God there would be no realization of oneness with God and oneness with all others; and, therefore, the joyous, underlying thrill and security of my everyday life in unity with God and transcendence to ultimate meaning and eternal life would not be. (- Quite a loss, to express an understatement.)Sunstone said:
Thank you Buttercup for your response to my posting. I have always enjoyed your comments and humor. Not sure I understand correctly the question you raise here; but, let me try to explain my thoughts further. In my posting above, I am writing of the present, this very minute, which is what counts most for me.Buttercup said:
Perhaps my use of 'eternal' is a point that needs clarification. Eternal to me is not timelessness nor endless time, but rather is 'all time.' Realization that we have eternal life through oneness with God is for the living, at this moment. It is a quality which transcends temporality. Eternal life is life in the eternal, life in God. It is not some after-death experience of living with this personality forever or a 'form of a continuation of the temporal life of an individual after death without a body.' That IMMHO is a common misconception. I guess in short my thoughts seem to be totally in agreement with your comment about the NOW and wish to suggest my posting does not have anything in contradiction. I just believe one should experience the NOW to the utmost. Hope that helps. Best Wishes -